LED Panel Sizes Explained: Which Watt and Shape for Your Ceiling

LED panel light size: the short answer

An LED panel light is sold by its wattage, such as 6W, 12W, 15W or 22W, and higher wattages are usually physically larger, but the exact face size, cut-out and depth vary from maker to maker and series to series, so the only reliable size is the one printed on the carton or measured from the panel you are buying.

That catches people out on renovation jobs. A false ceiling cut for one 15W panel will not always take another 15W panel, and a slimmer replacement can leave a gap or fall through. Matching wattage does not guarantee matching size.

This guide covers how panel sizes are described, how to measure the cut-out, round versus square, what a 2x2 panel is, how deep a panel needs the ceiling void to be, and where our own VIYONA LED panels fit. We make them at our works in Marol, Andheri East, Mumbai, in three series, square and round.

Our price list gives wattage and MRP for each panel but does not print face or cut-out dimensions, so we do not put numbers on our panels here that we cannot point to. We tell you how to get the right figure instead. For the price of each panel and how it compares with a downlight, see our panel light vs downlight guide.

What size is a 6W, 12W or 15W LED panel?

A 6W LED panel is a small fitting sized for a downlight-style hole, a 12W or 15W panel is the common mid-size for bedrooms and small rooms, and an 18W to 22W panel is larger again, but these are general patterns only, because the face and cut-out of a given wattage differ between makers and series.

We do not make a 6W panel; at 6W our list has the 1012 aluminium body LED down light at ₹160 and the 1006 concealed surface LED light at ₹160 MRP. Our panels start at 8W and stop at 22W.

What is the cut-out size for an LED panel?

The cut-out size for an LED panel is the hole the body drops into, slightly smaller than the face so the rim covers the edge, and it should be taken from the carton, the maker’s template or by measuring the body of the actual panel, because cut-outs differ between brands and series even at the same wattage.

How to measure safely before cutting: 1. Read the carton for a cut-out figure. 2. Measure the body, not the face, across the widest point that goes through the ceiling. 3. Check the clips need room to spring open above the board. 4. Cut small, test, then enlarge.

Our price list does not print cut-out sizes, so ask your dealer to show you the panel and measure it before the ceiling is cut. Buy all the panels for a room from one series, so every hole is the same.

On a replacement job, take the old panel to the shop. A mismatched hole means patching the ceiling.

Round vs square LED panel: which is better?

Neither a round nor a square LED panel is better for light; at the same wattage and from the same series they give similar light, so the choice comes down to the ceiling design, the shape of other fittings in the room, and how easy it is to cut a neat hole in your false ceiling material.

Square panels line up with straight ceiling edges, cove lines and tile grids, and suit modern rectangular rooms. Round panels suit softer designs and are often easier to cut cleanly with a hole saw. Keep to one shape per room; mixed shapes look like an accident.

We make our panels in both shapes. The Ultra Prime and slim panel series and the aluminium slim panel series are each listed square and round at the same MRP, so shape does not change the price. VIYONA LED 1022 is a 15W Ultra Prime panel, square or round, with an MRP of ₹400.

What is a 2x2 LED panel?

A 2x2 LED panel is a large square fitting sized for a 2 ft by 2 ft ceiling grid, about 600 × 600 mm, of the kind used in offices, shops and hospitals with grid false ceilings, where it drops into the grid in place of one ceiling tile rather than into a cut-out in a plain board.

A 2x2 panel is a commercial format. Homes with a plain gypsum or POP false ceiling usually use the smaller round and square panels instead, which fit a cut-out rather than a grid. A 2x2 panel in a home needs a grid or a surface frame to hold it.

We do not list a 2x2 panel. Our largest panels are 22W: the 1023 Ultra Prime at ₹580 and the 1034 super slim and 1028 aluminium casting at ₹600 MRP. If your office ceiling is a 600 mm grid, buy a 2x2 fitting from a brand that lists one.

For an office fit-out, our modular switches for office page covers the switch board side.

How deep is an LED panel, and how much ceiling gap do you need?

An LED panel needs enough depth above the false ceiling for its body, its spring clips and its driver, which on many panels sits as a separate box on top, so check the depth on the carton and leave room for the supply cable and a little air around the driver rather than squeezing it against the slab.

Slim panels are made for shallow voids, which is why they suit low false ceilings under beams. Even so, the driver has to go somewhere: beside the panel on the board or in the void above it.

Our panel drivers are separate parts, listed against IS 15885 with registration R-71026310: the 1041 for 9W to 15W panels at ₹180 and the 1042 for 18W to 22W at ₹200 MRP. Being separate means a failed driver can be changed through the cut-out without replacing the panel.

Leave a service gap so a hand can reach the driver through the hole. Our panel light vs downlight guide explains what the driver does.

Same wattage, different body: how do our 15W fittings compare?

At 15W our catalogue has several bodies for the same wattage, recessed panels in three series and surface lights, with MRPs from ₹400 to ₹590, so the right one depends on the ceiling: a recessed panel for a false ceiling, a surface light for a bare slab, and a 3 in 1 version only if you want switchable colours.

Different series of the same wattage can differ in face, rim and depth. Choose the series first, then measure. Our guide to how many lights in a room covers how many to fit.

What size are LED down lights?

LED down lights are described by watts and often by their size in inches, and our price list names two that way: the 1010 LED down light 3.25-inch at 3W and the 1011 LED down light 3.5-inch at 5W, with the 1012 aluminium body down light at 6W, which shows how small fittings are sized differently from panels.

Our MRPs: 3W ₹100 (1010), 5W ₹135 (1011) and 6W ₹160 (1012). The inch figure in the name is how the fitting is commonly described in the trade; ask your dealer whether it is the face or the cut-out before you cut, because the two differ by the width of the rim.

Down lights and panels are listed in our catalogue under IS 10322 with registration R-71026476. For how to choose between them, see our LED downlight types and range.

No false ceiling? Surface panel sizes

If there is no false ceiling, a surface LED light or surface panel fixes straight onto the slab, so there is no cut-out to match and no void depth to worry about, only the diameter or width of the fitting on the ceiling and the position of the existing point.

We make surface lights in 10W, 15W and 22W in the big surface series (1003 to 1005, ₹360 to ₹700), and borderless surface lights in 15W and 20W (1007 and 1008, ₹450 and ₹600). VIYONA LED 1005 is a 22W big surface LED light with an MRP of ₹700.

Surface lights suit rented flats, older buildings and shops with a concrete ceiling, and they can be changed later without any ceiling work. The surface LED light page has photographs of each.

Check the fitting covers the old mark left by a previous fitting, or plan to repaint around it.

Which panel size for which room?

As general practice, smaller panels of around 8W to 12W suit passages, bathrooms and small bedrooms, 15W panels suit typical bedrooms and kitchens in Indian flats, and 22W panels or several smaller ones suit living rooms and halls, but the right size depends on the lumens on the carton and the room’s size, not on the watts alone.

Two smaller panels often light a room more evenly than one large one in the centre, especially in a long room. A single large panel over a small room is glare, not comfort.

To turn room size into a number of fittings, use the lux method in our guide on how many lights in a room, and our lumens vs watts guide to read the carton. For colour, see warm white vs cool white.

LED panel size: a checklist before you cut

Before cutting a false ceiling for LED panels, choose the series and shape, get the cut-out and depth from the actual panel or its carton, confirm the driver will fit above with a service gap, buy every panel for the room from one series, and mark each hole on the ceiling plan against the furniture.

Series and shape chosen Cut-out from carton or measured Depth and driver checked Same series for the room Holes marked on the plan

Buy one spare panel from the same batch for a large job, so a future failure does not mean a mismatched hole. Our panels are packed by the box; your dealer can tell you the count per box for each code, and our full range is on the VIYONA LED lights page.