LED Luminaire Advantages

[tom baker]

When I started as a electrican some 40+ years ago, we had drum lights with incandescent lamps.These fixtures (back then they were fixtures) would be overlamped, and overheat the branch circuit NM. In 1984 NN-B was required as it had 90 C insulation.
I recently installed a LED luminare from Commerical Electric, which is Home Depots house brand. 2 for $62, has 3 different color temp settings, light weight and easy to install, has a bar the luminare hangs from, wire it up and swing it into place. Dims really well.
I only saw one or two non LED luminares at the big box.
All in all the LED market has been an advantage to the industry. The CFLs were just a bump in the road....

 

[MAC702]

If Edison was so smart, he should have just done these first. :ashamed:

 

[retirede]

LED Luminaire Advantages

When I started as a electrican some 40+ years ago, we had drum lights with incandescent lamps.These fixtures (back then they were fixtures) would be overlamped, and overheat the branch circuit NM. In 1984 NN-B was required as it had 90 C insulation.
I recently installed a LED luminare from Commerical Electric, which is Home Depots house brand. 2 for $62, has 3 different color temp settings, light weight and easy to install, has a bar the luminare hangs from, wire it up and swing it into place. Dims really well.
I only saw one or two non LED luminares at the big box.
All in all the LED market has been an advantage to the industry. The CFLs were just a bump in the road....

How can the NM overheat if it has proper overcurrent protection?

Edit: After I posted, you probably mean it overheats from the heat given off by the lamp, not electrical overload. duh!

 

[electrofelon]

LED's are great. certainly not perfect yet but great in so many ways. Now if the NEC would just ketchup and lower the VA for calculations :rant:

 

[brantmacga]

LED's are great. certainly not perfect yet but great in so many ways. Now if the NEC would just ketchup and lower the VA for calculations :rant:

I just wish engineers would stop specifying #12 on lighting circuits. And stop dividing circuits up like we’re still using fluorescents and incandescents. Heck I’ve done several projects lately that require FMC whips with #12 to a 60w fixture. Total waste of resources.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[MNSparky]

I'm with you on the VA requirements and conductor sizing. Super annoying. I recently bid a dentist office that called out for #10 homeruns and #12s after that. The place is like 75' square so voltage drop isn't a consideration. Waste of material.

These remod LED lights are awesome, we use them all the time. They work great for soffit lighting outside where framing is always in the way. The one thing I noticed about them is (at least with the Lithonia version) they have very small outer edge lips so you almost need to cut the hole for it just a bit smaller than it calls for. There's very little room for error, unlike a regular can trim, which are a little more forgiving with the larger lip.

 

[Fulthrotl]

LED's are great. certainly not perfect yet but great in so many ways. Now if the NEC would just ketchup and lower the VA for calculations :rant:

the lighting load T24 calcs for california are pretty severe.
and they limit what you can do. a lot.

be careful what you ask for. y'all can codify LEED platinum lighting if you want to.
complying with it is another thing.

 

[Dennis Alwon]

My friend called me up and asked me if he could put 150 --10 watt led's on a 15 amp circuit. Imagine that.... unfortunately the code needs to catch up with the influx of LED's. A recessed can needs to be calculated as to the largest possible bulb for the fixture so if the fixture is rated for 75 watts then you cannot install 150 of them on a circuit....

 

[al hildenbrand]

All in all the LED market has been an advantage to the industry. The CFLs were just a bump in the road....

I agree. The set of features keep getting stronger.

A recessed can needs to be calculated as to the largest possible bulb for the fixture so if the fixture is rated for 75 watts then you cannot install 150 of them on a circuit....

Dennis, this bears the need for a bit of scrutiny, in my opinion. A porcelain lampholder has a rating of 660 Watts. When I put porcelain lampholders inside a garage for the general area illumination, am I really going to be limited by that 660 Watts?