Disappointed with my LED recessed lights ... what now?
aussies
15 years ago
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lightguy
15 years agoneverdunn
15 years agoRelated Discussions
Bite the bullet and buy LED recessed now, or wait and retrofit?
Comments (9)You've definitely got a point about the overall cost. $100.00 or so per fixture is a lot- no matter what. So that's just a matter of budget. 3 grand is 3 grand. I don't necessarily agree on other issues for waiting. I have the LR6 mounted right next to a 50 watt (Ushio) MR16 recessed light to show customers. The MR16 still of course is crisper and whiter, but the LR6 is darn close. By far it's superior to incandescent and fluorescent. I don't know what electricity pricing is in FL, but just in the amount of energy people save here in CA with the LR6, they cover the costs of the bulb. Again though, they have to plunk down a lot of money to start with. In general, I agree with the lighting designer. LEDs aren't ready for prime time (main task/ general lighting), except for the LR6. It is wonderfully engineered. It can actually sense when the color it is emitting goes out of whack. It'll then automatically adjust the LEDs internally to get back to the CRI you started with. Cree doesn't use white LEDs within the bulb. They use a combination of yellows and other colors. They then have the frosted shade in front to give the final touch. White LEDs still aren't right. But overall, waiting never really hurts. No matter what comes out, it'll be made for a standard 5" or 6" can. And the price most probably will drop in a year or so....See MoreLED lights for recessed lighting in house? is it possible yet?
Comments (7)My guess is that 100 lumens per watt LED bulb is still in the laboratory, and likely costs a mint. Exactly. I would also point out that a $5 LED with an efficacy of 150 lumens per watt isn't very practical for home lighting when its output is only 50 or 100 lumens. A 75 watt incandescent lamp produces about 1200 lumens. Think about how many 75 watt incandescent lamps the usual kitchen fitted with can lights requires, and add up the total cost for LEDs. Ouch. And before you dismiss this, consider that blue LEDs cost about that much per copy, 10 or so years ago. On the other hand, as I said above, LEDs really shine (groan) in low-output applications, where incandescent lamps and even fluorescents have poor efficacy. My point is that we have to consider what technology is appropriate for a given application. It's important to distinguish brightness and illumination. You need brightness when you want a light TO BE SEEN. You need illumination when you want to SEE BY a light. LEDs have high brightness but poor illumination qualities (low lumen output). Because of the brightness, it can actually be painful to look at an LED. This makes them appropriate technology for situations where the light source must be seen at a distance. They're good for indicators such as automotive taillights and traffic signals. Because they emit light from a very small area, LEDs aren't very good for lighting up rooms. However, because incandescents and even fluorescents diminish markedly in efficiency as they're asked to produce lower illumination (lumen output), LEDs can be an acceptable alternative. (But find a way to eliminate ballast losses, and fluorescents could still win at this game.) Fluorescents have high illumination (lumen output) but low brightness. They produce a smooth, even light. It is not usually painful to look at a fluorescent, because it emits light from a large area. This makes them appropriate for lighting up rooms, but not so good as indicators. Rather than follow up on this any further here, I would direct you to Don Klipstein's outstanding lighting pages. Don follows lighting developments, especially in LEDs, pretty closely. This page has more on why LEDs are so well suited to flashlights and traffic signals. Anyone with an interest in lighting, especially high efficacy lighting, will most likely find Don's pages very interesting....See Morerecess lights, LED kit, or ordinary one with led bulb?
Comments (15)air tight trim is a joke in my opinion.I base this on having tested for air leakage with a blower door while sealing these lights & trims. the foam rubber gasket does little to stop the air leakage from exiting the trim. the best way I've found is to use the hardcast 1402 mastic tape to seal housing to the sheetrock. similar to how supply box is sealed in pic of previous posting. tape goes into edge of housing and overlaps to sheetrock. allow 1'2" overlap as trim will cover the tape. this with the ICAT recessed light will stop as much of the air leakage as possible. there will still be a small amount of leakage, but not enough to be of concern. note this when you look at the recessed lights again: Halo's insulation contact air tight lights have two things that identify them. no holes in housing and a orange sticker inside the can that says it is air tight. orange sticker, not red. the red sticker says air tight when used with the following trim kits. deceptive lableling IMO. reading the small print inside IC cans the trim kits include, insert/baffle to fit inside the can to address holes in housing (@$14 each) and air tight trim kit, not sure of cost. as the insert/baffle would be needed at every recessed light, buying ICAT makes better economical sense. installing the baffles is a pita. so add labor for that to cost. buy ICAT, use mastic tape in place of 'air tight' trim. if you are putting IC cans outside under porches patio, unconditioned space this is what happens. as the install of recessed lights is ongoing, the electrician mixes up the boxes. some inside are ICAT, some IC. same outside. make it easy on everyone and buy all ICAT. wasps like IC, but not so much ICAT, less air movement. the cost per contractor case between the two is minimal when you compare to retrofitting each IC to air tight. best of luck....See MoreRecessed LED lights... what am I getting for my money?
Comments (1)Another commenter on Houzz tested a bunch of 4" LEDs and found the Juno 4" produced the least glare. They're available in many configurations (lumens, color temps, beams) and are much less expensive than the Nora lights you asked about. (I know I didn't answer your question.)...See Moreaussies
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