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Remodeling Lighting Kitchens

Kitchen Lighting---Recessed Cans vs Wafer LED

21 days ago

I am planning a kitchen remodel and torn between traditional recessed cans that accept a bulb or the wafer style LED recessed units. I use GE Relax LED bulbs throughout my house; it is the closest LED bulb that I have found to the traditional soft glow of incandescent. So, I am leaning toward the traditional cans that will accept these bulbs. I want soft, inviting light in the kitchen. I am not a fan of cool temperature lighting for anywhere in the home and I want cohesive throughout the home. Are people still using traditional recessed cans when updating a home?

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Comments (5)

palimpsest
21 days ago
I would use traditional cans with replaceable LED bulbs. Particularly if you want soft light, it means you want the bulb to be recessed up inside the can, (this is usually adjustable). You won't get this with a wafer. They are essentially right at the surface of the ceiling.
mxk3 z5b_MI
21 days ago
last modified: 21 days ago
"...it is the closest LED bulb that I have found to the traditional soft glow of incandescent."

Yep, that's why I went with traditional cans. I by far prefer halogen, but those are phased out, so stuck with LEDs now -- which dim to a dingy, depressing white glow. No thanks. I use Phillips 3000K warm glow bulbs in my cans. On full they put out plenty of bright light which is NOT yellow, and they dim to a beautifully enveloping warm glow: Warm Glow dimming | Philips lighting .

Canless recessed lighting has come a long way, no doubt, but its not there yet in terms of putting out bright non-yellow task light and them dimming to a warm glow -- you can set them to a specific color temp but you're stuck with the color temp on full. If they ever get there, I'll probably retrofit my regular cans because aesthetically I do think the integrated looks better, but for now I'm happy with the cans -- I'm not staring up at the ceiling thinking oh look at those cans, I'm basking in the pleasing light they emit.

ETA re: terminology: There is a range of canless options. Wafers sit right at the surface, but there are deep baffle options where the bulb is recessed into the fixture.
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palimpsest
21 days ago
I don't consider wafers recessed, because they really are not.
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J M
Original Author
21 days ago
Thanks all for confirming. Canned it is!
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chispa
21 days ago
If you don't like glare, then the best choice is a light source that is recessed into the can, be it an integrated LED module or a changeable LED bulb.

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