"we haven't sold one fluorescent fixture in over 4 years ..." Well, sure. Stores sell what they push. If you don't suggest that customers buy a product, most won't. (I'm the exception, as I usually know what I want long before I step into a store. :) "the difference between low voltage halogen and fluorescent in terms of energy use and life is nothing close to what the numbers claim." As the old saw goes, the plural of anecdote is not data. If you have your lights dimmed most of the time, you've probably chosen the wrong light. Curiously, low light output is one of the places where low voltage incandescents "shine" (sorry). For a given wattage, the filament is thicker for better life and durability. Compared to line voltage incandescents, they can run hotter (and whiter) for better efficiency at low light output. But that's when they're run at normal voltage. You lose that advantage when you dim them. As you dim any incandescent lamp, its efficacy in lumens per watt, already overall the lowest of modern lighting systems, becomes even lower. This is a natural consequence of the lower filament temperature. In other words, your energy use is low because you aren't producing much light, not because your lights are efficient. So you could use even less energy if you'd use even lower voltage lights running flat-out - assuming you could find such lights. (Practically speaking, this is where LEDs come in.) BTW, a dimmed halogen lamp also loses one of its other great advantages over a conventional incandescent - maintaining light output over the full life of the lamp. That's because the chemical reaction that keeps tungsten boiled off the filament from deposting on the lamp envelope doesn't run at the lower temperatures of a dimmed lamp. "most fluorescents can't dim..." There are some retrofit dimmable CFs that dim rather nicely. I'll admit that they don't dim as low as many people would like, however. "Mercury is one of the biggest contaminants in land fills." I don't doubt that it could be a concern, but I'd like to see your source for this statement. Here's what counts, folks. When you use a fluorescent lamp, you are releasing LESS mercury into the world. Period. Most people state that and let it go, but here are the hard numbers. The amount of mercury in fluorescent lamps has gotten drastically smaller in the last couple of decades. A typical compact fluorescent lamp has only about 5mg. There are even some full-size linear fluorescent lamps (Philips Alto range, for example) that contain so little mercury - less than 3.6mg per 32 watt F32T8 lamp - that the EPA has actually approved disposing of them in regular trash, though I still recommend taking them to a household hazardous waste (HHW) disposal site (and do this myself). Now, a coal fired powerplant will emit about 3.5mg of mercury powering a 20W CF for its lifetime, taking that as 7500h (a rough average). If you chuck the CF in the trash, you've just released 8.5mg of mercury into the environment. If you take it to the HHW center and they recycle the mercury, you've released only 3.5mg. Now let's say you use a 75W incandescent bulb instead. Since it lasts an average of 750h you'll need 10 of them to the one CF. This uses more landfill space and more raw materials, but we'll neglect that for now. The salient point here is that although those 10 bulbs contain no mercury, the powerplant emits 13mg of mercury powering them. And there's not a thing you can do about it. You can't haul any of that mercury to your local HHW center. So, here's the bottom line. Using an incandescent bulb releases at least 53% more mercury into the environment than using a CF, and that's if you junk the CF in a landfill. If you use a CF and dispose of it properly at a HHW disposal center, the mercury released is only 3.5mg. In that case, using the incandescent bulb releases 270% more mercury, or 3.7 times as much. "Again, this boils down to personal preference." Absolutely. Choice is good. Informed choice is better. That's why I take the time to write this stuff. :)

I will choose LED recessed lights. LED lighting is the most energy-saving way of illumination in the present day, saving up to 90% energy compared to other lighting. This means that about 80-90% of the electrical energy is converted to light, while around 20% energy is lost. On the contrary, traditional lighting such as incandescent light bulbs only operate at 20% energy efficiency. LED light bulbs have extremely long lifespan. They are expected to operate up to 100,000 hours. This means that an LED light bulb could operate continuously for about 11years, which is 3 to 10 times longer than compact fluorescent lamps and 60 times as long as incandescent bulbs. LED lights do not contain any toxic substances. Most fluorescent lights contain a multitude of toxic chemicals like mercury that are dangerous for our health and the environment. LED light bulbs emit less CO2 than traditional incandescent bulbs, and they are 100% recycle, offering you a greener life. LEDs produce little heat or UV rays, while traditional incandescent lights emit a large amount of waste heat. And compact fluorescent lamps are reported to generate a multitude of UV rays, which is a potential risk of getting skin cancer. Because of this benefit of LEDs, LED lights are suitable for objects or materials that are sensitive to heat or UV rays. LED lights operate well under colder and lower outdoor temperature than fluorescent lamps. Therefore, LED lights are extremely suitable for outdoor winter settings. LED lights brighten up instantly as soon as you turn the power on without any seconds. In contrast, fluorescent lights may take several seconds to brighten up. Here is a link that might be useful: My LED recessed lights source here

Just like other types of light bulbs, LED lights have their ups and downs. The good part is their lifetime and their energy efficiency, as they last the longest and cost the least; however they are much more expensive to purchase and, honestly, they do not do real well as a flood light compared to others, their best job is as a spot light, just like in a flashlight, however this is just my opinion. I use LED lights for my trouble light and my work bench light, but halogen floods elsewhere. But this is in a shop.

The LED fixtures don't have to be replaced per say. For instance, LED recessed light fixtures actually have a separate light mechanism. My understanding is that these can be replaced at any time. I have 6year old LED fixtures that are still going strong. They will only be replaced because I want a new fixture. That would be true for any incandescent fixture if I wanted a new look. Also, LED fixtures are engineered to handle the cooling needs of LED lighting, retrofits don't have that flexibility. In my home, I am starting to use Contrast Lighting LED recessed fixtures. I have seen the WAC LED fixtures in commercial settings and they are really nice. The dimming on LED fixtures is also better to my eye than the fixtures that I used with retrofit dimmable LED lightbulbs n them. There has been some discussion about this on the Lighting forum too. I am in no way an expert but this has been my experience. Good Dimmable LED light bulbs are very expensive. Good luck!