We tried both the CR6 and LR6 lights in our house. Except for some high-powered LR6-1000 in a room with high ceilings, we greatly prefer the CR6 lights. First, our electrician had a nightmare fooling with the dimmers on the LR6 lights, even following the list of recommended dimmers from Cree. Second, I really like the built-in trim on the CR6 lights. Third, the CR6 dims low MUCH BETTER than the LR6s -- if this was the only difference it would be enough to choose the CR6. I can't emphasize enough how important this was for us, especially in the dining room and the kitchen. Last, the CR6 is cheaper. It lasts 50,000 hours just like the LR6 if you buy it from Cree. The Home Depot version lasts 30,000 hours. So, I suggest you stay away from the LR6 lights, but if you're not sure, buy some of each and compare them yourself with dimmers attached. Billy

David, I did try the bulb you recommended and I did not feel it had enough Lumens for my needs in the kitchen so I knew I would not like it in the office. Thank you for caring and trying to help. I may still move the bulbs down a little bit in the light (waiting for electrician to stop by to help me) to see if this would help any. I can't seem to figure out how to get more light in the dining room now as the bulbs surrounding the middle changed to LED Fixture are not where I need the light and if I move them from not being on top of a cabinet, then they are not even in distance from the middle light. I wonder if I sold my townhouse and made the lights not even, if this would cause me problems. I think the following bulb if it was much cheaper would have suited my needs and if it came in an Edison Base. I wish I went with 12 recessed cans instead of 8 recessed cans now. I was given the option but the other electricians said 6 or 8 so I thought 8 would be good. Cree LR6-10L-30K LED Downlight : Polar-Ray.com0 74 degree spread w/1,000 Lumens, 3,000K temp But GU24 Base Type and $109.99 so expensive each bulb- if had the right Edison Base & was less money, this would have been better for me. http://www.polar-ray.com/residential-47/led-recessed-lighting/recessed-led-d ownlights/six-inch-led-downlights/cree-lr6-10l-30k.html Details 3000K (Warm White) Six inch LED downlight 90W Equivalent Light Output: 1000 Lumens Beam Angle: 74 Degrees (approx.) CRI: 90 Base Type: GU24 Base Dimmable to 5% Life: 50,000 Hours Input Power: 11 Watts Input Voltage: 120V Warranty: 10 Years Includes GU24 adapter Damp Rated UL Listed California Title 24 Compliant ENERGY STAR Qualified Here is a link that might be useful: This Cree Bulb would have been better for me but the price is 4.4X as much

Thank you Lee, and sorry for the hijack, Jasperdog. You've pretty perfectly described what our old fluorescents are doing, Lee. We are going to look into new fixtures as we are also looking at these and asking ourselves why we live with such ugly fixtures anyway! But I appreciate the option you've suggested, as it will be a problem replicating the light level. One issue that Jasper might also consider, and that plagues us, is that light really only does its thing when it bounces off something, and as such the size of the room and the placement of the fixtures really matters. Any fixture near a wall will have more impact that the same fixture hung in the middle of open space. Our kitchen is 10-16 and the three fixtures are placed crosswise at about 4, 8, and 12 feet of the 16 foot dimension, so there is light reflection off the end walls. Also, because they have translucent sides they beam light off the adjacent ceiling as well as directly down. The end effect is a really nice ambient light from, of all things, these industrial-looking fixtures. It maybe helps that the ceiling is warm colour, sort of a peach tone. So if you are at the planning stages of a large room, you might already consider how you will arrange furniture and thus whether you can put fixtures somewhere other than in the middle of the room - over conversational groupings for example. Otherwise you can always swag the lamps from wherever the boxes are installed, of course. With recessed fixtures I think you would lose all the advantages of ambient light. Karin L

I appreciate your replies. I have been rereading them to absorb as much as possible from your recommendations. A couple of comments: Shannonplus2, you have renewed my interest in 5". I thought I could only go up to a r20 in 5" but after your post I found I could use r30s, so there is no reason to go with 6"...still checking this. You are the second person who mentioned Alzar. I really want to see them to understand why everyone likes them. The "clear" got me. Are you saying the highly refective is good. I tested one and found it really shot out the light, but I was using a pretty strong bulb. Janwad, If I use a cfl, the watt (65) restriction doesn't really affect me because even a 100 watt CFL only uses 23 watts. The real issue is how much heat the ballast on the bottom of the bulb can take. In a can the heat , although a fraction of that produced by other bulbs (except LEDS) might become too high for the CFL. I tested the heat on 3 spiral CLF bulbs and compared them with the manufacture specs. None passed. The heat was not high, but it was too hot for the ballast. I spoke with bulb manufactures about this. One even told me to drill holds in the can at the top to get the heat out. Of course there should be no insulation contact. The bottom line is only CFLs that are authorized for recessed cans should be used. The can thermal switch might not trip because the heat is low but the ballast may stop working. I found 2 cfl bulbs that get the light I want that I will be trying, that are OK for recessed cans. One is $32 (and it is not dimmable; the other is a $23 dimmable. Both give 1100 lumens. Thanks for the info about the fixtures you have. Maria and coffeehaus, thanks for the info about the LEDS. Fern4, Sam's also now carries LEDs. Check the lumens and color. The Cree gives 650 lumens, can be purchased in standard 2700k and, my preference because of a white kitchen,the 3500k. The CRI is 92 which is amazing,it is supposed to go on instantly and is dimmable to 25% (but I don't know if it needs a special dimmer). But darn is it expensive, but it should last a very long time. Alot of manufactures are working on LEDs on. I may switch if the price goes down. Here is a question to you Cree owners. It appears that the trim and reflector is built-in. Is that correct? That could save money which would help justify the bulb. Thanks again for your posts. Bob