The NEC places a lot of restrictions on the placement of any fixture in a clothes closet.

The easiest fixture often is a recessed can with a glass cover in the ceiling centered above the door opening.

We have a large walk-through closet. The people at Lightology fixed me up with some very bright but small adjustable track lights. They are white and look kind of techy but are NOT low voltage.

I'm no lighting expert, but I'm so glad I did this! The closet is divided into 4 sectors so I purchased four lamps. We have 9 foot ceilings by the way. Also, they are on a dimmer, a nice touch!

They are not the most economical way to go in terms of energy consumption, but one needs to be able to SEE in ones closet. And we really spend very little time in there.

Take your question to the lighting forum. The folks there helped me tremendously!

Light that thing up!!!!

Thanks everyone. I think I am restricted from using track lighting. I will ask over on lighting too.

I used 5" cans and cfl's with the encased bulbs. inexpensive and work great

We used two 6" recessed lights for a 10x10 walk-in.

Everything depends on the dimensions of the space and how the storage is arranged.

Surface mounted incandescent light fixture with a "completely enclosed lamp" must be 12 inches from the nearest point of the "storage space" as stipulated by the National Electrical Code and the IRC).

The minimum distance for enclosed incandescent recessed fixtures and unenclosed surface or recessed fluorescent fixtures is 6 inches. "Storage space" is defined as 24 inches from the back and side walls up to 6 ft above the floor, and 12 inches out from the walls (or the depth of the shelf whichever is larger) up to the ceiling.

When a closet is large enough and/or open enough and/or the storage space is enclosed by cabinet doors, etc., the covered lamp requirement may be waived by the building inspector.

Just a comment - fluorescent is a waste in closets (expect perhaps a large master that is used for dressing). The main advantage of fluorescent is lower energy use but they have a higher requirement on start up. So using them for occassional light is wasteful - they cost more, they don't appreciate being turned on and off (shorter life), and they don't function optimally until warmed up.

I just moved out of a house where they had fluorescents in the closet and it just doesn't make sense. Now in the kitchen - that makes sense.

The places I would avoid using fluorescent lamps are near food, mirrors, or artwork if color balance is important to the homeowner.

Here is a link that might be useful: fluorescent light info

I have 4 6" cans using 100W (equiv) CFLs in an 8'-6" x 9'-6" closet. No lens is required on the cans if you maintain distances spec'ed in the NEC.

The most important thing with closet lighting: a door operated switch.

I'm not a fan of door-activated switches, both from hearing complaints and because too often the door/s aren't promptly closed so the lights remain on. GC friend uses short-period motion-activated switches with ceiling cans and seems happy with that method; I often note shadows interferring so be careful when installing -- no ceiling lamp is going to light the back of the shelf or the floor beneath the hanging clothes. As noted elsewhere, the usual cure is to increase the wattage which will increase the reflected light into dark corners.

However, for all my closets and cabinets I use small battery-powered fluorescent or LED lamps applied to the facing wall or cabinet door's back, slightly above and aimed onto the shelf contents. IMO, 5 watts directly applied to where you need it is more effective than a couple hundred watts throwing a shadow where you are reaching. Definitely a case of YMMV.

I do think it's reasonable to recommend using LED lamps wherever possible. They are now available in configurations which give lumens equivalent to high-wattage incandescents, and can be installed in place of the common bulbs. The initial cost is slightly higher, the wattage savings is both immediate and long-term.