Need help on adding LEDs to a tray ceiling

[aka Larry]

In our house we have a former dinning room that is no longer used as such. Since it was designed as a dining room, it had a chandelier, which I removed and installed a ceiling fan w/light. The light on the fan, which is LED, doesn't provide near enough light so I'm looking to add lighting.

I'm looking at these "no-can" style LED units for ease of installation. Anyone have experience with these or have a recommendation?

 

[RocketScott]

I put similar lights in my kitchen. Different brand but they look almost identical. work great

Mine are 4K and I think they are too harsh. My wife loves how bright they are so I guess I'll have to be OK with it. If I were to buy them again I'd probably get more of a warm white color

To install them I bought a 6" hole saw. Our ceiling is lathe/plaster and that seemed like the easiest way to cut accurate holes. On the first hole I about ripped my wrists off using a regular drill with a side handle, I should have known better. A right angle drill was much easier to control and worked fine for the rest of them. Putting a box lid under the hole saw kept the mess down.

 

[cybrdyke]

I dont know why people still use cans. Larry, the ones that you linked to are 5000K which would look horrible inside a house. Most folks choose 3000K for interior use to provide a more comfortable atmosphere. But...to each his own.
I find these can-less lights to be boring. They look like shower lights. Plus...they're very glarey. Look for the kind that have a little recess to them to help cut down the glare. Or...you can go to this website to see the really fancy ones from the folks who developed this product several years ago... https://www.liteline.com/page/Luna%20Landing
Good luck,
CD

 

[rlitman]

I just installed something like 35 of them in my basement (2700K). They have their ups and downs.

They're crazy easy to install. I used a 6-1/8" hole saw that I ordered on Amazon. I think that a 6-1/4" hole saw usually used to install can lights might also work, but I think that a 6" might be too tight.

Being flat, they have a very wide beam angle. For my basement with low ceilings, that translates to more even light coverage. But it also produces a lot of glare.

There are recessed versions of these that make less glare, but their narrower beam needs a higher ceiling than I've got. But those have thicker cans that need to be placed between ceiling joists. With these flat units, I was able to place the lights exactly where I wanted, which included straddling joists in places, since the light is thinner than the sheetrock.

 

[aka Larry]

I know it's a all a personal preference, but I don't get the "warm light' because it's inside a house thing. Over the past couple of years I've converted almost all of my lighting (inside and out) to 5000K. I really prefer the 'daylight' color and it doesn't seem 'harsh' to me at all.

I'm kind of wondering how the lighting (using these) will work out if placed in the angled tray section of my tray ceiling vs. the upper horizontal portion. Thoughts?

 

[cybrdyke]

I know it's a all a personal preference, but I don't get the "warm light' because it's inside a house thing. Over the past couple of years I've converted almost all of my lighting (inside and out) to 5000K. I really prefer the 'daylight' color and it doesn't seem 'harsh' to me at all.

And that's why they offer it in various colors. You like what you like...no explanation necessary.

I'm kind of wondering how the lighting (using these) will work out if placed in the angled tray section of my tray ceiling vs. the upper horizontal portion. Thoughts?

They will be shining right into your eyes. Not recommended.
Good luck,
CD

 

[yeldogt]

I dont know why people still use cans. Larry, the ones that you linked to are 5000K which would look horrible inside a house. Most folks choose 3000K for interior use to provide a more comfortable atmosphere. But...to each his own.
I find these can-less lights to be boring. They look like shower lights. Plus...they're very glarey. Look for the kind that have a little recess to them to help cut down the glare. Or...you can go to this website to see the really fancy ones from the folks who developed this product several years ago... https://www.liteline.com/page/Luna%20Landing
Good luck,
CD

Cost: The old school high end "can" have dropped in price ... I was in a rehabbed apartment recently that used nice Juno cans/trim with high quality cree bulbs -- was nicer than I thought. The surface LED's are very harsh.

I used some Juno versions of Lightline 2" .. impressive Led fixtures.

 

[Git]

I have used several Luthonia brand - (they are also called "wafer led") They are so thin, you no longer have to worry about placement - they will actually fit under a joist or truss as long as there is room to jam the box up in there with it.

I have another room lined up where I am definitely going to use them again. Note, if your going to use them on a dimmer, you are probably going to need a ELV (Electronic Low Voltage) type dimmer, versus a MLV (Magnetic Low Voltage)

 

[wyb2]

I'm kind of wondering how the lighting (using these) will work out if placed in the angled tray section of my tray ceiling vs. the upper horizontal portion. Thoughts?

They will be shining right into your eyes. Not recommended.
Good luck,
CD

Depends. I've been in a house with these same style fixtures on a ceiling that was vaulted right up to the peak, no horizontal. It was fine, didn't feel like it was in your eyes. Ceiling wasn't crazy high, felt like a normal vaulted ceiling in maybe a 15'x20' living room. There were 8 total lights I believe.

 

[cybrdyke]

Depends. I've been in a house with these same style fixtures on a ceiling that was vaulted right up to the peak, no horizontal. It was fine, didn't feel like it was in your eyes. Ceiling wasn't crazy high, felt like a normal vaulted ceiling in maybe a 15'x20' living room. There were 8 total lights I believe.

Have another look at his picture. He has a flat ceiling with very short, steeply angled sides (at least it looks that way to me), and he wants to put the lights in the sides. That's no bueno.
CD

 

[aka Larry]

Thanks for all the input everyone. I've ordered the lights I linked to and will be tackling this project over the long weekend. I'll report back with pics when it's done.

 

[aka Larry]

Update!

While the boss was out of town (I didn't need a supervisor!) I got this done on Saturday. It was pain to get the old box out to install a new combination fan/light switch, but installing (not wiring!) the actual lights was a breeze. I bought a hole saw with dust shield to help with the mess, which it did with the drywall dust, but the blown-in insulation, not so much. Actually wiring the power supplies wasn't hard, but the attic space was really limited, which was no fun. At least I decided to tackle a project up there on a 50 degree day in November vs. 100 degree day in July.

The lights themselves are awesome and very bright at 3900 lumens total (advertised, not measured) so I'm happy with the result.