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Need help with LED recessed lights

6 years ago

I have approximately 30 Halo H995ICAT 4" housings in my new home. Unfortunately the lights that were installed are very bright (4000K) and appear to be low quality. I have been researching options that will work with this housing that will give a warmer and less intense light, I plan to put most on dimmers. My ceilings are mostly 8' with the living room slightly vaulted to about 10', and the house is a 1950's bungalow that has a midcentury vibe. I love the look of all the low-voltage gimbal trims with smaller aperture that are available for 4" housings but my cans are line voltage and dedicated LED with quick connect. I have purchased a few retrofit lights to try and to be honest they look cheap and plastic-like even though they were decent lights (HALO, etc).

I did find an MR16 style LED bulb that uses 120V and has the same quick connect (Elco Lighting PSA37 Quick Connect MR16 LED Lamp). It looks like this bulb could be used with a variety of trims including gimbal, wall wash, etc. and I like the fact that it is only 7w and 500 lumens. So my question is........can you use "low voltage" trim with a line voltage bulb and housing, a 7W LED? Is there something about the trims themselves that make them only suitable for 12V application?

Lighting experts please share your thoughts! Another option would be the new Halo ML4 series which has a variety of bulb/trim options but they are much more expensive. Is there anything else out there that would give the look of MR16 lights and trim?

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Comments (2)

PRO
JSL, Inc. - Lighting Design
6 years ago
You have 4" cans with LED inserts right now, is that correct?

If you use 120V cans, the best option for dimming and color temp is the Soraa lamp. PAR30, MR-16. They come in color temps from 2700 to 6000. It sounds like you want the 2700K lamps.

They dim very well if the dimmer device has a neutral wire. This is very important!.

Good luck

Jim Sale
laura855
Original Author
6 years ago
Hi Jim, thanks for taking the time to respond. I am a newby about current lighting options and have already spent far too much time ordering and returning lights.

Yes, I currently have 4" cans with LED inserts. I looked at the Soraa lights and while they look great they do not offer a bulb that will work with my current Halo cans. Then cans that I have are dedicated LED with the orange quick connector that plugs directly into the light module. Regular screw type base bulbs or G10 style will not work. That's why I was hoping the Elco light would work as it has the same connector, although it only comes in 3000K.

Halo does have some new options that look nice but they run about $90.00 per light and I have 32 to change out. The 3000K might be OK for kitchen and bath but I might need something warmer in the bedrooms .
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