Remodel IdeaRecessed Lighting Part II

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dereckbc

dereckbc

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You might recall I posted this thread about a month ago looking for ideas regarding 6-inch recessed can lighting on my personal home remodel. I was wanting to go LED's but when searching for Remodel LED Cans the price was quite high starting at around the $80/unit.

Well after some searching and head scratching I cam eup with two economical solutions. One for non dimming and another for dimming.

For the non dimming cans I used a $10 IC rated can remodel can and this LED Trim Retrofit kit for $20. So for this option cost was $30 per can.

For the dimming cans I used the same $10 can and these LED retro kits from Home Depot. Brand name is EcoSmart, but it is actually Cree in a HD brand box for $27. This option is $37 per unit. A lot better than the $80/unit I started with.
 
James L

James L

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Kansas Cty, Mo, USA
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How satisfied are you with the light output?

Is the color pretty uniform from one can to the next?

How well do the dimmable ones react? Do they dim full range? What dimmers did you use?
 
dereckbc

dereckbc

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James L said:
How satisfied are you with the light output?
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Very satisfied, the 12 watt non-dimming is very bright, bu tin the kitchen so no problem. The 9 watt Cree is just about perfect IMO

James L said:
Is the color pretty uniform from one can to the next?
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Yes very much so. I was a little worried before hand. Only thing I might change is I prefer a cooler light in the kitchen vs warm white. With that said you can get the Cree units in 3 or 4 colors from 2700, 3000, and 5000, plus one meore I think that escapes me but 4200 or 4700 rings a bell

James L said:
How well do the dimmable ones react? Do they dim full range? What dimmers did you use?
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I am using Lutron Maestro MACL-153M dimmers. Dimming is very smooth and goes down to 10%. Not certain but I think the 10% lower limit is set by the Cree CR series LED, but don't hold me to it.

With all that said I have been very skeptical and a critic of LED lighting for the last 5 or more years when they first came out. Manufactures made outrageous claims and used specs that were not obtainable except in a lab environment. Early units had heavy Blue Light pollution and the CRI was just horrible unless you were a cast member of the Blue Man Group in Lost Wages. Cost we also ridiculous early on. With Cree leading the way with the CR series changed my mind and is winning me over. The new LED's CRI is excellent up to 93 or 95 range with 80 being typical, and price point is competitive when you consider product life and energy savings. Only thing I am not convinced about and time will tell if I live that long is the claims of 20,000 to 50,000 hours.

IMHO at the rate LED technology is moving and cost coming down I think LED's will antiquate even T5 once efficiency equals or passes T5. Right now T5 is king of efficiency of around 100 l/w, but Cree higher end product offerings is 95 l/w and CRI approaching 100.
 
dereckbc

dereckbc

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James L said:
I like the CRI. Wow, that good.
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Well if you look at the broad product offerings from all the manufactures CRI 80 seems to be the majority in Warm White or 2700K. You have to get up into the Cool Whites and Daylight to get to 90 or higher and a few extra bucks. I think the EcoSmart Daylight CR6 single cost $37 a unit or $139 for a 4 pack ($34.75/unit) vs $26 for Warm White.

James L said:
Looks like Home Depot has found a winner with those dimmable units
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I think negotiated a winner with Cree for an exclusive product line. The EcoSmart line up is Cree with HD Label EcoSmart. Anyway it is a quality product IMHO as Cree is top dog in the LED market.
 
dereckbc

dereckbc

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