recessed lighting

[cj]

greetings, i will be building a soffit? over a kitchen island and i have a few questions. first of all i bought a six pack of lighting cans from home depot (halo brand) and i got the type that can be touching insulation. their will be no insulation in the soffit so is it okay to still use there lights or should i get the no insulation type? also, what would be the recommended distance between the top of the can and the ceiling above? the soffit will be constructed on the floor and then attached to the ceiling that has drywall. should i be concerned about heat build-up? i am planning on using three lights spaced evenly in a 7 foot long rectangular soffit. i also would like to have the lights hooked up to a dimmer switch. thanks for any tips, input and advice cj

[SQLit]

Personally I will not install the non insulation rated fixtures. Since you bought fixtures the can to be in contact with insulation you have no worries about clearances to the drywall. The IC rated fixtures have a thermal switch in them. When they get to hot they shut off, which freaks out people when the lights are "twinkling" cause they decided to install larger bulbs than recommended by the manufacture.

[RBM]

It all depends upon which trim you'd like to use. IC, non IC, ICAT, etc all use specific trims. All of these frame in kits use thermal protectors which shut off power if the units overheat. I don't believe there is a minimum distance to the framing above the fixture, but I believe they must be one inch away from framing on the sides

[cj]