I went with dimmable CFLs in my basement. I had approximately 15 cans on one switch (and one other smaller section with approximately 8 bulbs on its own switch) and although I bought a 1000 watt max dimmable switch, the wattage (60w x 15 = 900 watts) would result in the switch becoming very warm to the touch. Also, the heat generated by all those bulbs made the room too hot. There are GE 15w CFL dimmable bulbs that look exactly like regular 60w floods (the spiral light bulb is inside another glass bulb that is identical in shape to a regular flood bulb). They sell at Walmart for about $12. I think they come with a 5 year guarantee, but I never keep receipts. I think I have had one burn out in about 2 years. I never see these bulbs for sale at Home Depot or Menards, but Walmart has carried them for years. As another post above mentioned, it does take a minute or two for the bulbs to get to full brightness, but once they're lit you would never know you're using CFLs.

You should search this site. Most people agree that the integrated light can and trim gives much better quality light. It's one thing to use the bulbs if you already have the cans, but if you have the option and opportunity to use the newer technology, that's the way to go. I recently extended a room by adding a small addition, so I used the integrated units in the new area and replaced the bulbs in the older space which already had the cans and trim, with LED bulbs. The lights in the new area were so much more beautiful in every way, that I went ahead and replaced the old fixtures with with new integrated ones. One question, though. You mentioned that it's an apartment. Do you own or rent? I think I would hesitate before putting all that money into an apartment I might end up leaving.

Is there a separate trim or is it plastered in? The trim usually comes of in the latter case. It's in with screws or springs. If it's plastered in, you just have to push on the glass until it yields. Casey

First, about the can trim. The "clear" trim (silvery) and "haze" trim (dull golden) are designed to reflect the most light while not producing much glare. The black baffle trim reflects the least glare. Personally, I dislike the look of all three of these. I prefer white baffle trim. I would rather put up with a little glare when they are on and have them disappear better into the ceiling when they are off. Secondly, the size issue. I chose 5" cans for my 8' kitchen ceiling because I think that size is the best tradeoff. The 4" cans don't spread their light very wide, so you need more of them, getting the "swiss cheese" look. The 6" cans are less attractive to me due to their large size. If you want fluorescent, you can buy a special 5" can made to hold the pin-base type of fluorescent bulb. That's what I did because I live in California, and a certain percentage of fluorescent lighting is required here as an energy-saving measure. As rjr220 said, fluorescents can't be dimmed, although I did manage to find some bulbs with acceptably an acceptably warm color, so I don't hate them. I haven't seen fluorescent floodlights made to fit in a 5" can, but they might exist. What I did over the sink is the 5" can with a PAR 30 50 Watt bulb on a dimmer, which is what I really prefer. These put out plenty of light, much more than the fluorescents do. In older parts of my house I have 6" cans that I put fluorescent bulbs in. They put out decent light, but I think the 5" size looks MUCH better. Juno is considered a better brand than Halo. It is supposed to be a bit better constructed, and has many more trim options. I have 5" Juno in the kitchen, and 6" Halo in my office. What I dislike about the Halo is that when you look up at them, you can see around the lightbulb into the guts of the can light. The Junos are not like that. The newest option with is energy saving are the LED cans, which Juno makes in 5" and 6". I don't know much about them because they have only become available recently. I think they are more expensive. You might want to check the lighting forum, also. Good luck with your renovation.