Use an LED. We changed all our cans to Cree EcoSmart LEDs and couldn't be happier with the quality of the light or the fact that they are noticeably cooler. We never realized hoe much heat the old bulbs generated until they weren't there.

The LEDs we put in are an integrated trim and bulb unit, but we needed to replace the trim rings anyway. There are now more LEDs available as bulb only, if you prefer that.

The bulbs you listed put out a lot of heat, use a lot of energy and may not be so comfortable standing under for extended periods of time if you ceiling is 8' high.

I would go the LED route for sure. It will save money on energy and you won't have to spend money on changing a bulb for possibly decades.

LED, definitely.

So....do the above lights not come in an LED. In the housing they were the ones listed to use. I thought those bulbs above were available in LED, CFL, etc. and the PAR and BR was the difference. ?

I don't know about the LED bulbs for the can lights (we are using them elsewhere in our home), but the GE Reveal is the brightest bulb that we have found for our kitchen. Love the true bright clear color (although, oddly, the Reveal lamp bulbs do not give out that bright light that we prefer.)

However, I am not sure that you can still find the Reveal. We bought out all that we could find at our local 2 Lowe's stores when the switch to LED started several months ago.

I would be interested to see how the Cree EcoSmart LEDs compare when we run out of Reveal.

I like the Cree EcoSmart LEDs a lot. I used to have the Reveals.

Do you find them as bright?

I've just finished watching the following helpful video, and not so sure about the light output.

Here is a link that might be useful: Installing the Cree EcoSmart LEDs

I changed out all the bulbs in the can lights in my kitchen with LEDs from Costco, similar to this, but mine aren't dimmable. They are a nice warm white.

Here is a link that might be useful: More Costco LEDs

I just put 4" Halo cans with LEDs in a shower and was very pleased with the amount and color of the light. We went with a soft white rather than a bright white light color and it was perfect. I would definitely use these in a kitchen.

The latest Feit LED BR30s sold at Costco are outstanding and affordable (especially in areas that offer utuility-company rebates). The last time I was there they sold them in 2-packs. Look for an item on the packaging stating "shows COLORS true & natural, 93+ CRI" . That's lighting parlance for "won't make colors look dull like a CFL bulb". They also sell the smaller BR20 and larger BR40 sizes that are equally good. These dim nicely as well. Don't confuse these with the PAR30 which is the same size as the BR30 - these also have excellent color rendering (the same 93+ CRI) but are more of a spotlight or narrow-flood rather than a wide flood, and the color is cooler white than an incandescent bulb (although that may be what you want, especially if you have high ceilings, and the cooler color will look a bit more like a GE Reveal than a typical incandescent bulb. I've never tried these myself). If you want something that looks exactly like an incandescent floodlamp bulb but uses 1/5 the electricity, the Costco BR30 is the way to go.

The GE Reveal BR30 LED also is excellent if you like the crisper, whiter color these give out - CNet raved about them - although they're more expensive then the Costco lights.

The Cree TrueWhite LEDs sold at Home Depot (in the dark blue box) were once the best thing out there but if you already have a trim ring you don't need to pay extra for these (which have a built-in trim ring) vs. the Costco bulbs, and their light quality, though excellent, is a tad pinkish. It is the most efficient of these however. The Cree BR30 without the trim ring doesn't render colors very well (CNet didn't like them either).

All LED bulbs by nature won't get hot underneath like an incandescent or halogen bulb. Whatever heat an LED downlight puts out is on top; the part that lights up doesn't even get warm to the touch when on.

This post was edited by lee676 on Mon, Sep 8, 14 at 15:31

Very good info...thank you. Glad to know there is an LED Reveal. ;)

Sorry it took so long for me to get back to this. I appreciate everyone's info and suggestions.

Unfortunately there isn't a Costco near me. I ended up buying a GE Reveal 65W BR30. I wanted the LED, but they didn't have it! The guy tried to tell me they don't make it. :) I figured I won't have the light on that much. I found the LED at another store after I bought one. It was $25 bucks, yikes. Quite spendy if you have a bunch of cans. When the one I have goes out, I imagine I'll end up with the Reveal LED.

Sheesharee, you may have to order an LED, but they definitely come in the sizes you listed. It takes a bit to figure out what all the size codes mean, and on top of that you need to figure out the brightness (most easily described as equivalent to an incandescent bulb). And lastly, there's the color of the light in terms of warm or cool.

Lots to learn but there is a huge benefit. LED lights are so much better than anything else out there and you will save money and energy.

sheesharee-
Take a look at the link below. Amazon has most of the Reveal bulbs for a lot less.

Here is a link that might be useful: Reveal bulbs