The Best Cable Lighting Heads in 2022

Looking for the best Cable Light Heads to add to your suspended lighting system? We’ve put together our favourites with buying guides to help you choose the right solution for you.

Let’s get started.

What are Cable Lighting Heads?

Cable lighting heads are suspended directional spotlights for cable lighting systems. They are an integral part of any cabled system as they provide the majority of the task, accent and ambient lighting a room always needs.

Cable Lighting heads differ from ordinary directional spotlighting as they cannot be installed in a normal ceiling but instead play an important role in the versatility of a cable light system.

Why Use Cable Lighting Heads?

A great benefit to using cable lighting heads is their ability to be added or removed quickly and repositioned anywhere along the cable lines. This customization potential opens up opportunities to transform the look of any space by instantly adding accent lighting when the light is washed across a wall, task lighting down onto a table and ambient lighting when used as a general source of light.

You should consider the modern professional solution of cable spotlight heads when an interior not only needs adaptable lighting but will benefit from a lighting system that can illuminate a room with a style that means business.

Where Best to Use Cable Lighting Heads

Cable lighting heads are the primary source of light from any cabled system, so they can be used in the same way a recessed light or spotlight would but with added benefits.

Most interiors include recessed lighting to add an ambient general lighting layer of light, and by positioning the heads downwards a room will be lit the same way. However, the spotlight head can do way more, by swivelling and angling in all directions directing the light to exactly where you need it.

Use cable lighting heads in rooms where installing recessed lighting is problematic, such as concrete ceilings. The lights can suspend on short drop heights from the 2 cables and position light exactly where you would otherwise find impossible.

Pitched sloping ceilings that follow a roof line also benefit from a cable lighting spotlight that can follow a chosen line of cable to position along rather than have to be mounted onto an awkward surface to direct light down from.

Use cable lighting heads for direct lighting over kitchen islands where sometimes a well lit surface is important and other times replaced with cable light pendants for a more decorative feature light. They can be changed anytime, even quickly before a dinner party!

Choosing Cable Light Heads

As the main source of lighting on a cable system, first plan where you need to deliver the lighting within the room and make sure the cable heads are going to be near those areas so the light will reach. Choose the areas that need direct task lighting but also use cable heads to reflect light back into the room off of walls or even back up onto the ceiling. You can then choose a spotlight head with the appropriate wide or narrow beam angle.

The finish and design of a cable head can also be chosen to compliment the room they will be in. Cable lighting systems bring a strong aesthetic but use that to enhance the look of a space with the color of cable head body and drop rod. 

Do take care choosing cable lighting system components and aware that the cable heads may need to be selected for the system they were designed for. If you prefer one from a different system just check that the voltage and connection mechanisms are compatible.

Choosing the physical size of a cable lighting head is a little limited but they can certainly make a statement by being grouped in multiples, say over a dining room table or office reception desk.

Best-Selling Cable Lighting Heads

With so many cable lighting head choices found online it can be difficult to know which brand to use and put your trust in simply an image found on a webpage. That’s why we recommend only heads from good quality brands and manufacturer’s.

Kable Lite Pivot Head 5.5″

Specifications

• Included – Pivot head only
• Dimensions – 5.5″ wide cable
• Light Source – Ready for your own choice
• Finish – Satin Nickel Finish
• System – Tech Lighting’s Kable Lite System
• Price – $$ (Check current price)

A minimal design that is easily positioned.

Kable Lite Corum LED

Specifications

• Included – 1 Pivot head only (shown with 3)
• Dimensions –
• Light Source – 7.2W LED 550 lumen
• Finish – Satin Nickel Finish
• System – Tech Lighting’s Kable Lite System
• Price – $$ (Check current price)

7.2W LED Spotlight Head, sold individually. Modern neat high end spotlight offering 550 lumens output with a general wide beam good for ambient lighting.

For lots more on suspended lighting choices check out: The Best Track, Monorail, Freejack & Cable-Lighting

Andrew Orange, the owner of Orange Lighting qualified and worked as an interior designer in 1993 before specialising in lighting working on high profile projects based in London. Since starting Orange Lighting Ltd in 2003 he has been sharing his knowledge and unique teaching style mostly to his designer clients, offering practical real life advice born from running a busy consultancy and lighting supply business. Launching in 2020, his blog has evolved into Quick & Easy Lighting, curating some 25 years design experience into making the lighting choice and design process achievable and easy to understand for all.