Browse Forums Eco Living 1 May 11, 2017 4:40 pm Just curious of the pro's and con's of going with incandescent recessed lights and installing the LED bulbs instead. Price per watt for those that have installed them in a new build? Would you install the same amount of recessed lights if you went with the LED bulb? Most builders I talk to dont include LED as a standard and charge a hefty upgrade. Phillips and Cree seem to be improving technology and getting better output. Plus I like the option to put in a smart bulb at a later date that has smart features. We have all new LED lights in the office and some are starting to fail (maybe 2%). A bulb would be easier to swap instead of trying to find a matching recessed light. Re: New Build: LED Recessed Lights or Incandescent with LED 2May 11, 2017 6:08 pm What do you mean by incandescent with an LED bulb? An incandescent light is a type of bulb, so your question is confusing me. And when you say recessed, do you mean downlights or actual recessed (canister) housings with traditional-looking LED bulbs in them. Some pictures might explain what I need: Downlight: Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ There are many different styles of downlights. Recessed light: Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ There is seperate bulb in that housing. Incandescent bulb: Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ LED bulb: Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Re: New Build: LED Recessed Lights or Incandescent with LED 3May 11, 2017 6:15 pm Sorry let me clarify For downlights am I better off to install LED down lights or standard recessed lights made for an incandescent bulb. I can install an LED bulb of my liking (colour and wattage). New Build: LED Recessed Lights or Incandescent with LED bulb 4May 11, 2017 8:19 pm The recessed canister (my second picture above) is not just made for an incandescent bulb, so I'm not entirely sure why you are describing it that way; however, be that as it may, you have figured out that you can use LED lightbulbs in the canister, so that is fine...and yes, those bulbs could be smart bulbs like Hue or LIFX. Some LED down lights (my first picture above) are an integrated unit with both the housing (fixed or gimbal type) and bulb as one, but many are seperate so the bulbs can be changed over, including for smart light bulbs - Philips Hue GU10 comes to mind. IMHO the main issue with these is the size of the hole in your ceiling and the affect it has on your insulation - the bigger the hole the more heat escapes out and in. In terms of cost, it pretty much depends on what you want to pay. You can get downlights as cheap as a few dollars and also costing hundreds. Maybe the expensive ones are more efficient and so there is a trade off. In the end, if they are all LEDs the running costs should be roughly the same, so whether you go for a downlight or a canister with an LED bulb fitted is a matter of choice. Re: New Build: LED Recessed Lights or Incandescent with LED 5Aug 01, 2017 6:31 am A well designed LED downlight with a constant current LED driver will outlast and outperform an LED globe in a traditional fitting in every metric by a substantial margin. That being said, most of the LED downlights at the cheaper end of the market are so woeful in terms of beam and glare control that a traditional downlight with an LED globe may not be a bad solution. The downlight that arcadelt has shared is a pretty good one. Also the Trend Lighting Econoled is great for the price. Downlights aren't the be-all end-all of lighting though. The flexibility of LED has opened up so many possibilities for creative lighting, such as the use of concealed LED strip and so on. Building Services Engineer Renovating our 1960's modernist home in Brisbane https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=53&t=82091 So I'm just reading up on this ecosystem of lights. I'm planning on putting deck lights along the outside edge of a large deck. Will need about 3 packs (18 lights) plus… 0 23022 Thank you so much everyone. This all makes a lot of sense. I guess when you talk to a builder who butters up everything to look very polished, you get to start believing… 7 17609 |