We are going to build a new house in the spring, looking for lighting suggestions/ ideas, LED's/ recess I have not wired a house in about 12 years or so, not sure what the latest/greatest is-out there. I am going to try and go as energy efficient as I can afford, not a real big house-2000 sq ft ranch w/attached garage and basement
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New House Lighting
- Thread starter dw1
- Start date
PhysicsDude
Well-known member
I think cannless LED recessed lights are the best out there for regular lighting.
They fit under studs, you don't have to mount a huge can in the ceiling. You can put insulation directly on top of them. They give off a really evenly distributed light compared to most other LED options.
Something like this:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XW2C91H/?tag=atomicindus08-20
They fit under studs, you don't have to mount a huge can in the ceiling. You can put insulation directly on top of them. They give off a really evenly distributed light compared to most other LED options.
Something like this:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XW2C91H/?tag=atomicindus08-20
I think cannless LED recessed lights are the best out there for regular lighting.
They fit under studs, you don't have to mount a huge can in the ceiling. You can put insulation directly on top of them. They give off a really evenly distributed light compared to most other LED options.
Something like this:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XW2C91H/?tag=atomicindus08-20
One problem with something like this is that if one fails in two years, you will not be able to find one that matches, and will end up having to replace all of them in a room. The color temperature or response to the dimmer won't match, and the replacement sticks out. Also, watch out, many of these are not listed by anyone, and are of dubious safety. (The link products claim to listed by ETL.)
A fixture that takes bulbs can simply be relamped.
(I think a second problem is that they're going to scream 2019 in a few years.)
I agree with dscheidt ...
And will add. I'm all for energy efficiency .. and LED's are efficient -- but they are a moving target -- compatibility with dimmers should you need to change one is not assured.
IMO most of what are considered "recessed" LED's are really no better than surface. The whole point of a recessed light is for the bulb to be back and hidden ... The cheap "builder grade" recessed products that so many have been using for the past 20+ years ... typically from the big box stores are not really "recessed" ... good recessed is still available.
I'm installing quality conventional fixtures in my new build -- Trying to do a complex setup with LEDs and controls is beyond frustrating.
And will add. I'm all for energy efficiency .. and LED's are efficient -- but they are a moving target -- compatibility with dimmers should you need to change one is not assured.
IMO most of what are considered "recessed" LED's are really no better than surface. The whole point of a recessed light is for the bulb to be back and hidden ... The cheap "builder grade" recessed products that so many have been using for the past 20+ years ... typically from the big box stores are not really "recessed" ... good recessed is still available.
I'm installing quality conventional fixtures in my new build -- Trying to do a complex setup with LEDs and controls is beyond frustrating.
I agree with dscheidt ...
And will add. I'm all for energy efficiency .. and LED's are efficient -- but they are a moving target -- compatibility with dimmers should you need to change one is not assured.
IMO most of what are considered "recessed" LED's are really no better than surface. The whole point of a recessed light is for the bulb to be back and hidden ... The cheap "builder grade" recessed products that so many have been using for the past 20+ years ... typically from the big box stores are not really "recessed" ... good recessed is still available.
I'm installing quality conventional fixtures in my new build -- Trying to do a complex setup with LEDs and controls is beyond frustrating.
Post a few pics when you get time. I was also going to incorporate a Samsung Smart Hub in the new house to control few lights/functions ect.
Post a few pics when you get time. I was also going to incorporate a Samsung Smart Hub in the new house to control few lights/functions ect.
The electric work has not started. I have previously used Lightolier and Luton products for lighting control. Room - whole house control is nice .. but overrated IMO. We don't use most of the controls.
It's the actual lighting that I'm most interested in getting correct ... in my area it seems that people are using the Lutron radio product.
I agree with dscheidt ...
And will add. I'm all for energy efficiency .. and LED's are efficient -- but they are a moving target -- compatibility with dimmers should you need to change one is not assured.
IMO most of what are considered "recessed" LED's are really no better than surface. The whole point of a recessed light is for the bulb to be back and hidden ... The cheap "builder grade" recessed products that so many have been using for the past 20+ years ... typically from the big box stores are not really "recessed" ... good recessed is still available.
I'm installing quality conventional fixtures in my new build -- Trying to do a complex setup with LEDs and controls is beyond frustrating.
This is the route I usually go. A conventional can with an retrofit LED trim. The retrofit trims might change in a few years but they will always fit in the same can.
I have used the surface mount "puck lights" that are designed to look like a can. But they just aren't the same as a true recessed light.
rburke65
Well-known member
Three years ago it was all about CFLs....now it's LEDs. It's all changing quickly, but as said with a conventional fixture, you can change lamps or LEDs or what ever is next.
Platonic Solid
Well-known member
The sky is the limit. You need to define your lighting budget and style preferences. Just like you pay an architect, consider paying an architectural lighting designer to get it right.
CJ7VFR
Well-known member
Three years ago it was all about CFLs....now it's LEDs. It's all changing quickly, but as said with a conventional fixture, you can change lamps or LEDs or what ever is next.
That is what I did in our kitchen.
When we moved in here almost 8 years ago, I replaced the incandescent BR30 bulbs with CFL versions in the recessed cans to save a bit on the electricity. The CFL bulbs are the same color (soft white/2700 K) as the old incandescent bulbs, which was nice. The downside was the CFL's took about a minute to come on full bright.
Fast forward 7 and a half years and I found a great price on some BR30 LED bulbs that were the same color temperature and lumen output as the CFL bulbs, so I bought the LED's and put them in there.
Now I have instant on brightness and the LED's are using even less electricity than the CFL's. And the LED's even work with the dimmer switches that were in there just like the dimmable CFL's did.
And all I had to do was unscrew the old bulbs and screw in the new ones.
Jim
ripperd
Well-known member
Three years ago it was all about CFLs....now it's LEDs. It's all changing quickly, but as said with a conventional fixture, you can change lamps or LEDs or what ever is next.
3 years ago it was already well known that LEDs were the way of the future. The issue was just that they were still expensive and had a long payoff period vs CFL or incandescent. Prices have come down considerably since then to where they are decidedly the right thing to install in most situations now.
jeff_gates
Well-known member
The wife had bankrupted our account at https://www.ylighting.com/