recessed lighting for soffit (inside)

[shannonw]

Hey folks question, awhile back i built a soffit shelf around the entire permitter inside my garage (like many others on here)....actually it was one of the first things i read about on GJ years ago. Anyways eventually I drywalled enclosed it with the intention of next doing sliding doors like XcyZ here

http://garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=45022

I didn't originally plan for lighting but now think i want to do something there, It's framed up with 2x4's then there's a sleeper so the space/gap is 4 1/4 between the plywood shelf deck and underside drywall. I did at the last minute run wire though.

I looked at cans but only ones that will fit in that air gap are halogen and would be hot, i'm considering these, there would be a 3/4 to 1" space above the fixture in the enclosed space:

http://www.lithonia.com/commercial/sp8.html#.UUptu6VW5J0

No insulation is in the soffit space of course. I'm just not sure if those lights can be enclosed like this, they seem usually made for drop ceilings which of course are unenclosed above. There's no indication in the docs on if an air gap is needed (like you see with can lights).

Thanks for any advice, if i have to i can go surface mount but like the idea of somewhat recessed.

 

[Lippyp]

How about LED's I have GU10 mains volatge LED's in my kitchen and they run pretty cold.

 

[Big-Foot]

Frankly with the heat involved with the halogens, I am surprized that a lot more houses haven't burned down from improper installation and ventilation.

In my last house I used Patriot Lighting's new Line Voltage LED puck lights inside the glass door cabinets and found them to be intense enough to use as task lighting...
I will see if I can find some pics I took and upload them, but here are some of their puck lights. You can also buy task lighting panels that are superbright and use Cree type surface mount LEDs.

http://www.menards.com/main/lightin...uck-accent-lights-5-pack/p-1739001-c-7239.htm

 

[Big-Foot]

Here are some pics I took after I first installed the cabinets (kitchen was not yet completed). The lights take only 2w each and would barely get warm to the touch. The lack of a transformer means less wasted energy.

 

[shannonw]

i'll look at the led can lights i was hoping something that put out bit more than accent lighting like the florescent fixture but that may be a bit overkill for the area it would be (right over side walls)

 

[shannonw]

i found they have some 6 inch recessed lcd's which can mount to j box, thus avoiding all the height of the recessed fixture. This seems like a bit more expensive but easy option

http://www.homedepot.com/p/t/203596...&productId=203596700&R=203596700#BVRRWidgetID

 

[Big-Foot]

Nice! I think you will find that the easier installation, lack of heat and energy consumption will more than make up for the initial cost of the units..

 

[shannonw]

i went with the lowes sylvania 70732 as they were 900 lumens 3000k vs home depot's commercial electric ones which were 600 lumens and 2700k.

Yeah these are nice,time will tell if they last and are worth the price, they make me a bit nervous at 39 bucks a pop as I need 8-9 of them...but if they last yeah it will make up the diff over something else.

The only downside to these i see is that since they are all in one's, on down the road if 1 goes bad or they stop making the same looking you can't just flip out a bulb...but if they last as long as they're rated for that's a long ways off.

dang they sell fast, i was at lowes 1 morning they had 3, went back later those were gone, went to another store that had 8 earlier and only 2 were on the shelf . I was still comparing the home depot ones to the lowes sylvanias...will have to order the rest i need.

i got 2 wired up so far easily 75w equivalent so spacing is about the same 5-6 feet at 9-10 foot or so...with these soffit lights looks like i'll only need 2-3 strip lights in the center depending on t5/t8 output. Hardly any heat, couple hours on and they're just warm.

I'll post some pics when i get everything up..may be a week or so.