arch113
Senior member
- Mar 3, 2005
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Yes, the 6" can is pretty standardized. Different trims can make them seem completely different, but they are the same.
Thanks
Yes, the 6" can is pretty standardized. Different trims can make them seem completely different, but they are the same.
Since you're in canukistan, you should check out Canarm led pots, they don't need a potlight can, but actually fit in a standard electrical octagon box. I've installed about 50 of them in the last 6 months or so. Great light, slight convex lens so it gives area coverage instead of spot lighting, and really cheap.My parents are going through renovation, they put in LED ones that are basically like discs that go in the ceiling and the driver is in the attic, very low profile. It has a nice look and the light they produce is nice - leds have come a long way and are pretty good at producing white light now, at least as perceived. The spectrum wave is still going to look like a mess. The only thing that would worry me about those is if the driver goes faulty it will be very hard to access after the fact but chances are they'll be fine if they are designed to be installed that way.
Personally, I would probably go with the can lights, and then LED bulbs. That at least is future proof as you can just put different bulbs later down the line. Though can lights are a pain for attic space. To do the job properly you need to build an insulated box around it, and ensure vapour barrier is properly sealed etc... What is normally a simple electrical job turns into a framing job. Though a way around that is a bulk head which sometimes actually adds to the room depending on where the lights are actually going.
LED strips seem like an interesting lighting solution too, if you can install them in such a way that you don't see the actual strip.
Since you're in canukistan, you should check out Canarm led pots, they don't need a potlight can, but actually fit in a standard electrical octagon box. I've installed about 50 of them in the last 6 months or so. Great light, slight convex lens so it gives area coverage instead of spot lighting, and really cheap.
The non-Edison base versions will last "forever", so you don't need to worry about replacing them.
However, I do understand the idea of being able to switch to new LED bulbs in the future.
The fully enclosed LED versions you linked to have a nice clean look to them (you can't see an ugly LED bulb).
I have Lithonia LED recessed cans in my bathroom. They have been there a few years and still work as they are supposed to.
Since you seem to be raising the point of cost, HD has a case of the standard recessed cans, with the trim plates; I think it's about $50 total for 6 of them. Then go with the CFLs that are made for recessed lighting - they look just like regular recessed bulbs. I just put the same into my garage remodeling project - I'm hoping that in a few years, the LEDs will come down in price enough to justify the cost of replacing the CFL bulbs with LEDs. I purchased the CFLs on sale; they worked out to about $2 or $3 each.
Since you seem to be raising the point of cost, HD has a case of the standard recessed cans, with the trim plates; I think it's about $50 total for 6 of them. Then go with the CFLs that are made for recessed lighting - they look just like regular recessed bulbs. I just put the same into my garage remodeling project - I'm hoping that in a few years, the LEDs will come down in price enough to justify the cost of replacing the CFL bulbs with LEDs. I purchased the CFLs on sale; they worked out to about $2 or $3 each.
It's weird at HD - last time I was looking at the lights, there was a pretty strong sales pitch; they seemed to really be pushing those LEDs you linked to above. The guy kept telling me how much money I'd save in the long run until I asked him if he was making that claim based on the cost of incandescents or on the cost of CFLs. (He didn't know, but I knew that it was best case scenario vs incandescents.) I believe the CFLs run around 18 watts; the LEDs you linked to are 14.5 watts. Mathematically, at 10 cents per kilowatt hour, with 6 bulbs, you would have to have the lights on for 476 hours to save $1. Figuring the kitchen lights are on at the most about 3 hours a day, I'd save about $2.30 a year on electricity costs, meaning it would take about 100 years to recoup the initial expense. In other words, I don't think that the cost of LEDs is worth it (yet) compared to the cost of CFLs, unless there's some other reason you prefer LEDs over CFLs.
The LEDs, sure. Assuming the manufacturer did things correctly with respect to thermal design.
But the power to them is coming from a switching power supply that'll be exposed to the regular spikes and crap coming in on the 120V lines.
And of course, one place you can cut costs is in the power supply. Lower efficiency, less protection, lousy output regulation, cheap capacitors, poor placement with respect to proximity to heat sources...take your pick, there are lots of places to go wrong when designing with LEDs. Electrolytic capacitors are easy to kill. The ones I see are usually rated for up to 85°C - but they'll only last a few thousand hours at that elevated temperature before they start having problems.
I could take some high-end LEDs, give them inadequate heatsinking, and mate them up with a bare-bones piece-of-crap power supply that overdrives them so that they're really bright, and I'll end up with an LED light that'll look nice and mostly work as expected, except that it'll last only a few thousand hours, either because the overheating LEDs fail prematurely, or because the power supply dies.
Lots of places to cut corners and screw things up, unfortunately - especially if you're a company in China making no-name products with very little direct accountability.
Philips' Fortimo LED lighting line is something I'd say would have a very good chance of lasting beyond 50,000 hours. A 1300 lumen emitter + power supply + heatsink will cost somewhere around $150-$200. You'll note that it's not an Edison-style screw-in base either. It's got a flat base, for good heat transfer. The screw-in base sucks for heat transfer, which was fine for helping to contain an extremely hot tungsten filament. LED lighting, though, needs to get heat away from the emitters as effectively as possible.
I am glad you chose to put the term "forever" in quotation marks.
To me, there is nothing more dubious than the claim that some product lasts "forever".
The lifetime in the warranty refers to your lifespan. When the bulb fails they send a hitman to take you out.The forever or lifetime warrantee in homes is usually the time that you own it.
It's ok as long as there's a buffer-n00b between you and the necro. Unwritten rule, brah.Aw crap I was necroed
No hazardous waste disposal site?LED modules themselves practically do last forever especially if they are run below spec. Problem is with most bulbs/fixtures the drivers are what fails. The electrolytic caps are probably the first thing to go, so whatever hours they're rated for is probably going to be the actual life of the bulb. Some bulbs are easier to open than others though so you can replace them. Use the highest temp rating ones you can find.
That said I still have mostly CFLs throughout my house and only replaced a few of them since I lived here, been about 7 years. I hit one with a 2x4 by accident once while it was on. It still worked and was dangling on two wires, but then I broke it while trying to snap the base back into place. I need to figure out a proper place to dispose of these. I hate to throw them in the regular trash, even though that's what the city says to do.