We just made our decision though I am not happy about it. I also wanted to use CFLs and did find some that are dimmable. Two problems - they are big and stick out from the recessed cans a LOT. They do not dim as much as I wanted. Oh - make that three problems - at the lowest setting they hum.

We went into one of the big box stores and bought a selection of various R20 bulbs for recessed fixtures to try out - flood, spot, halogen, reflector, etc. For the small eyeball recessed cans we choose halogens. They have a whiter, more directed light and the front of the bulb is flat so it does not protrude from the fixtures.

For the larger cans in the kitchen, we are using R20 flood light bulbs - 75 watt. On the lowest dimmer setting they go far dimmer than the CFLs and at the highest setting they are brighter, which will be good for cleaning.

By the way, these are all small sized bulbs to fit the 3.25" eyeballs in the living room.

Thank you woodswell. That's exactly the info that I was looking for. By the way, have you noticed significant heat output from the floods? Thanks!

We put all CFLs in our 6" cans. In our kitchen, we have levels (for lack of a better term) of light. Pendants and undercab for functional lighting, cans for general light. Same goes for other rooms. And we don't miss the dimmers at all.

The only (mental) adjustment is the 30 sec or so it takes them to get to full output.

With multi-pack CFLs so cheap, it's worth a try before ditching the concept entirely.

I was watching a show on HGTV, Living with Ed. I am almost positive they had a suggestion for CFL's for can lights/dimmers. I will see if I can find out for you!

Kelly

Did you post this on the lighting forum? Plenty of lighting experts there who can help.

Keep in mind the color difference as well. CFL have a very clinical look to them to me...not a warm soft light at all.

I too am interested in the "heat" factor of various bulbs for recessed cans. I know I don't want to go with CFLs or halogen lighting.
Monica

I took the plunge and ordered LED bulbs for my kitchen can lights. They are about the equivilent of a 60-75 watt bulb, put out no heat, and are supposed to last for 17 years if they're on 8 hours a day.

They're expensive -- over $100 per bulb. But they contain no mercury (like CFLs do), they are dimmable, and the wattage usage is about the same as a CLF. I bought what was called "warm white". It's not nearly so warm as an incandescent bulb, but it's not blue white at all. I find that they put out more than enough light for my kitchen.

I got them from a seller on ebay who actually telephoned me a month after I bought them to check on how they were doing and if I had any problems. I almost fell over in shock!

Here is a link that might be useful: Here's the ebay seller I bought from

Did you say $100 (one hundred dollars) per lightbulb? I've never heard of a lightbulb costing that much. For that kind of money I'd better look 30 years younger when under the light and it better last the rest of my life too. LOL

soonermagic,
We're not in the house yet so I have no had the bulbs on very long. But heat is one reason I did not really want to use the halogens. With workmen walking in and out all day any extra heat is probably because one of them left the door open!

The eyeball fixtures that have the halogens in them are for highlighting artwork and special features so the quality of the light was very important to me. Of all the bulbs we tested, the halogens had the cleanest, whitest light and the beam that was most directed,

The flood and spot light incandescent bulbs were all yellowish and the beams were very diffuse.

brutuses-
yep, that's the cost all right. But it was really important to me not to have the mercury CFL bulbs. (Just for an example, one CFL bulb contains 44 times the amount of mercury the EPA says is safe to inhale in an 8 hour period). There are no mercury reclamation facilities where I live, so all the CFL bulbs are going into our local landfill, and then the mercury ends up leaching into the ocean.

Here are some LED lights that are much cheaper than $100. http://www.solarpanelstore.com/lighting.interior-lights.html 120AC for about $44. They are not dimmable though. There are some out there that are for around the same price. Do some google searching.

labradoodlelady- hopefully your landfill has a properly-designed liner so just that doesn't happen. I'm sure you could find an economical disposal alternative for a CFL (especially with a $95 price difference to work with). And the mercury is only an issue if you break it, which you can avoid without too much effort.

I think DW said the other night that she saw someone buying dimmable CFLs at Target.

Here is a link that might be useful: EnergyStar.gov on Mercury in CFLs

I just wanted to say that the color of CFLs is much better than it used to be. If you haven't seen them in the last year, you'll be pleasantly surprised.

Like Thull, I'm planning on having a few extra circuts in place of some dimmers. I think it lets you tailor the mood just as well, but is simpler to live with.

I'm not sure there will be enough left in the budget for many $100 dollar bulbs, but the idea of not having to replace it for 20 years is pretty appealing.

Before long the kiddies will all gather round to see a light bulb changed-- an event that will only happen a few times in their lives.

Are those bulbs about the size of a regular incandescent bulb? I have a chandelier on my stairway landing that requires a 17 foot ladder to change the bulb ! It would be worth $100 to get a bulb that lasted !

I went with dimmable CFLs in my basement. I had approximately 15 cans on one switch (and one other smaller section with approximately 8 bulbs on its own switch) and although I bought a 1000 watt max dimmable switch, the wattage (60w x 15 = 900 watts) would result in the switch becoming very warm to the touch. Also, the heat generated by all those bulbs made the room too hot.

There are GE 15w CFL dimmable bulbs that look exactly like regular 60w floods (the spiral light bulb is inside another glass bulb that is identical in shape to a regular flood bulb). They sell at Walmart for about $12. I think they come with a 5 year guarantee, but I never keep receipts. I think I have had one burn out in about 2 years. I never see these bulbs for sale at Home Depot or Menards, but Walmart has carried them for years.

As another post above mentioned, it does take a minute or two for the bulbs to get to full brightness, but once they're lit you would never know you're using CFLs.

I talked with someone the other day and they said you can find reliable CFL's and they got theirs at Home Depot but, if you can afford it to go with LED's. I think we are going to look into the LED's.