Hi ashik08,

Generally speaking, the larger the recessed can, the higher wattage bulb and therefore the more light output you'll have. We use all sizes in our projects, depending on what the lighting plan is, but the most important factor is that the lighting is adequate for the task.

The typical main goal of recessed cans is to provide consistent general illumination, but the spacing of the lights and the ceiling height affect that tremendously. Make sure you have a spacing of no more than 5ft apart (for an 8ft ceiling) in order to have good illumination.

Also, I strongly recommend you consider LED instead of CFL bulbs. The LED light bulb is very close to as efficient as the CFL, but the longevity and color temperature is far better for the LED. (Assuming warm white) They're available as screw-in (Edison) type bulbs so you can try one first to see how you like them.

Steve

is it true that the same bulb sizes, be they LED or CFL, fit in both the 5" and 6"?

Is it true that the bulb will fill out the can better in the 5" rather than the 6"?

Is it true that the smaller size is more popular these days? Basic decision I guess is am I correct to go with the 5" can rather than what our contractor is advising with the 6"?

At Ashik, what are the dimensions of your kitchen? 6'' LED is the standard these days, but that can also depend on the size of your house, the size of the room, and how many lights you are installing.

Thanks Melissa - I will try to take a picture today to post - want to take the before and after pics as well! - but do you know about the answers to the bulb questions? That the bulb doesn't fill the 6" can?

Depends on the things above?

things listed above - size of room etc (sorry about that). BR30 or Par30 bulbs are made to fit both 5'' cans and 6'' cans. They will fill out a 5'' can better than a 6'' can. In a 6'' can you'll likely have about a half an inch on each side. Some people are ok with this look and some aren't. Matter of taste. :) I personally prefer 5'' cans, although being less standard, they are a bit harder to come by! You may have to even order them if your local hardware store is out.

I would like to use LED bulbs in my high hats and I am working with the electrician on my renovation. My electrician wants the LED bulbs to be compatible with the housings. CREE states that they LED bulbs will work in my Halo H7T housings, but the electrician states that Cooper Industries/ Halo manufacturer will NOT stand by this installation. Is anyone else having issues like this? From your perspective would it be a large project to change the housings to one known to be compatible with the bulbs? We have about 30 cans.

We did a whole house in the CREE units and the first warning I would give you is that they don't really have remodel boxes - all of the boxes have to be modified. Not only is CREE very expensive, the modification takes time and just adds on top of that. We also had several that wouldn't work from the start and with CREE, the whole unit had to be changed out, not just a bulb. This was 2 years ago - maybe they have fixed some of these problems.

My contractor is using HALO housing - and he knows I want to put in LED bulbs to compare it with the CFL that he is suggesting - so I imagine that HALO will accept the LED bulb? I will let you know - we were supposed to have a few in today - butttttt - I guess we all know that game!

HALO housings accept LED bulbs in my experience. .. and yes, know that game. :)

Can it be possible that HALO 5" housings won't accept LED whereas the 6" will?

Hi ashik08,

I've found that LED bulbs vary slightly in width and height depending on the brand, that coupled with the size and type of trim you use could mean certain bulbs won't fit. I has this issue with 4" Halo cans recently, with which we used wet-rated glass-covered trims. I had to measure a few brands before I was able to find an LED bulb that would actually fit into the trim.

Steve

Is it possible to change current CFL to LED?
Thanks

Hi Grace, its possible but only if the light fixture is NOT made specifically for push-in/pin-type CFL. If its an Edison (screw-in type) then you just need to find the correct size bulb, and the light fixture usually has a sticker on the inside showing compatible bulb sizes.
- Steve

It depends on the fixture. But note that Home Depot now has a very attractive LED bulb that looks remarkably like "old-fashioned", screw-in type incandescent bulbs. Available in White/Day light, 60W only; or Warm/Soft light in 40W or 60W. The light is very different between White or Warm - so check and see what works best for your use.

They provide a much "steadier" light than the CFL's, and yes, they are dimmable. They also are expensive - so keep an eye out for sales. We have been slowly changing over, one room at a time. Love the difference in light.

Here's the link: http://www.homedepot.com/p/Cree-9-5-Watt-60W-A19-Warm-White-2700K-Dimmable-LED-Light-Bulb-1-Pack-BA19-08027OMF-12DE26-1U110/203991774#.UfVwCY2USTA

Hi Steve, it is the push-in/pin-type kind. Is this mean it's not possible to change it to LED? Or do I need some special wire or something?
Thanks
Grace

Hi Grace,

Its possible, but it can be tricky (which is why I usually say no :) Is your bulb socket a 2 pin or 4? You can retrofit either to make them work with an LED retrofit bulb thats made specifically for this, (G23 or G24 I seem to recall) but you have to also bypass the ballast from the fixture or it will not work. This is a job for a qualified electrician, imo.

He/she will first need to evaluate whether or not your fixture can be converted, and if so which bulb you'll need. Here's a link to a store that carries the type of bulb I've mentioned: http://www.ledlightbulb.net/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=3_74&products_id=1034&zenid=iu9496am493nqjup973scin0c1

- Steve

Hello,

We are building an outdoor living/kitchen area. It's 39' long by 13' wide wit. 10' high ceiling.. We are having 8 6-inch recessed lights installed. However, we are struggling with the lights over the BBQ/bar area. Our plans called for smaller recessed lights; however, our contractor felt that it would not provide sufficient lighting over the BBQ. I just don't want to the ceiling to look like it's overwhelmed with big canned lights. Any suggestions? Should we have stuck with our original smaller recessed lights over the BBQ island?

I failed to attaché picture showing 6-inch cans surrounding fan electrical and the 3 6-inch cans contractor installed over BBQ.

Close up picture over 3 6-inch over BBQ bar.

I just went through the whole 4", 5"or 6" canned light decision. We ended up with 6" in the kitchens, bathrooms, and outdoor patios, and used the 5" for accent lighting in the living room. When I bought bulbs for the 6" they didn't fit and I had to return for a specific brand and model, same with the 5". The new bulbs fill out the space fine - with no gaps. I actually don't even notice a real difference between the 5" and 6" lights, so I kind of wish I would have just stuck with all 6". We have 10 ft. ceilings, so that might make a difference?

@Pammy - I think the 3 larger cans are fine, especially since you have the 10 ft. ceilings.

It does look like the 3 lights are not evenly spaced? Not sure if that was the plan or not? I noticed a couple of my recessed lights were just a bit uneven AFTER the drywall was up, so I opted to live with it. In reality, I will probably be the only one who knows they're uneven. But, I do wish that I had noticed it prior to drywall as it would have been an easier fix.

@lynda I appreciate your response. I might just opt for the 6 inch. I think our contractor was also trying to save money for himself by divisting from the original plans and installing cheaper lights. I have noticed this trend throughout our building process. Yes, I also noticed the 3 lights are uneven. In fact, most of the lights are uneven. I'm glad your pointed that out as well, so my contractor doesn't think I am being pickey! Thank you for sharing your experience as well! By helpful.

*very helpful

In the middle of a lighting project and I was wondering if it is standard for recessed lighting to give off a very light buzzing sound.

These are 4 inch recessed lights with 45W Incandesent bulbs - at http://www.lowes.com/pd_176-75774-L45R206_0__?Ntt=utilitech+indoor+flood+lights+6+pack+45+watts&UserSearch=utilitech+indoor+flood+lights+6+pack+45+watts&productId=50109552&rpp=32

This question was answered elsewhere. The original post ended last year.

We went with 4" for the more designer look. 6" look bulky in comparison. Our neighbor went with 3", also very nice, but bulbs and trim were hard to find.

I for the life of me can not understand why some of the trade continues to stay in the past. Good lighting can be a great extra for a qualified electrician and a much needed service for the clients as they are leaning on the trade for advise. Support for great lighting begins with research and presentation so that clients truely understand the consequences of a unfortunate location for each task. I have been using 5" halogen for years now but have recently ben specifing 4" led pot lights. 50,000 hours with a great bright light and are also dim-able. Easy installation and less costly.

Rick Clarke design is there a specific 4" can you would recommend? Each will give about 65 watts of power correct?Are there any that do more than 65 watts? Does the light bulb sit flush with the housing so the light goes outward? Do you think okay for 9' ceilings? Do you need more of them? How far apart would you recommend?

Funny that Rick Clarke worries about people staying in the past while he comments on a thread that's almost four years old! It's ok to start a new discussion for this!

We have 7.5 ft ceilings--not overly high. I am having trouble deciding if I want pendants over the island or not. If we go with 4" cans in the kitchen then I don't have to decide and they can be easily swapped out for pendants. My designer is opting for 5" cans and said 95% of the time that's what they use. Has anyone ever seen 4" led cans in a kitchen with 7.5 ft ceilings?

We are going with 6" cans, we have 8' ceilings sloping to 10'. our architect put 6" everywhere (about 16 of them) we are happy.

It is so funny to hear people still talking about huge, ugly 6" can lights. This style and size of light fixture died out in Europe in the 60's and 70's. We are not in an era of incandescent lighting any more. LED lighting is powerful and highly directional. You do not need big ugly can lights. But in the USA it is still traditional with architects, electricians and contractors who don't think outside the box OR are still living in the past with their outdated mindsets, default to the fugly 6" can. Like that's all they know!!! We are having a new home built in Florida and the first thing we said to the builder is we want nothing bigger than 4" cans throughout. We will install our own LED PAR lamps and they will provide equal or better lighting than any 6" can or variant. Using your own LED bulb you get to choose the lumen output, the color temperature, brand etc. Should one go bad (which they do) you unscrew it and replace it just like any Edison bulb. Please... America, get up to date with your ideas. It is no wonder the USA is the last country on the planet to ban incandescent light bulbs. About 10 years behind on the rest of the world!

I couldn't agree more about the 4" LED lights looking the best. The bigger ones are an eyesore! But could you tell me, what is the highest watt bulb that the 4" can take? I was at Lowes last night and they say 50 watts is the highest unless you get bigger cans which I do not want. Thank you for your answer in advance!

I think it's lumens not wattage and you want 2700

The lumens for a 2700K LED bulb would be around 600-650 lumens depening upon brand (equivalent to around 60-65 watts of incandescent while only using 9-10watts of power and emitting little heat so you can certainly use this in a 4" light). The 2700K refers to the color in degrees Kelvin. The other thing to consider is the CRI (color rendering index) which is the quantitative measure of a lights ability to not distort the true color of an object when compared to natural light. The 2700K bulbs with 80CRI cast a yellower shadow than a 2700K 90 CRI LED. (apparently incandescent bulbs have a CRI of 100 so while warm, at around 2700K temperature as well, they do not distort color) This explains going to home depot and finding multiple 2700K LED bulbs that look different. I personally love the warmth of incandescent lights but after looking at a bunch of LED 4" retrofits I am liking the halo 3000K 90CRI better in my house, especially the kitchen. Still warm but more like a halogen bulb. I have other 2700K bulbs in my home that I like, but I suspect they have better CRI so they are not so very yellow and distorted. Anyhow, been researching this issue way too much as the whole thing can be really confusing....

Hi @safemommy - I have 7.5" ceilings throughout part of my home and we are going with 4" cans. The electrician said it'd make the room look bigger, which I'm not entirely sure about, but I like the look versus the bigger ones. For this ceiling height, we are spacing approx 4' apart and 3' from the wall.

Hi @laurasteiger- I want to do 4" cans in my house as well. There are so many on the market I can't choose. Could you tell me which ones you used in your home?

Thx

I ending up going with the Halo 4" LED 2700K 90CRI retrofits. If you are building new there are other housing/trim options from Halo which are more air tight, but a special order. The retrofits are available online from Home Depot for around $30. The ones in stores are usually 80CRI. My architect recommended 4" Halo housing and the trim on those are more recessed than many of the others on the market so the LED light is not as harsh. I found these to be most like the incandescent, the 3000K 90CRI would be nice in a closet or a space where you wanted a whiter light. I installed half dozen different lights before choosing, there are a wide variety of options and they all look very different.

Below is a photo of the family room, the sconces are incandescent bulbs and the recessed are the Halo 4" 2700K 90 CRI LED:

I also have a photo of the kitchen. Recessed are 2700K 90 CRI LED, Hood lighting is Halogen, Island lights are 60W Edison Bulbs and Sconce is incandescent:

Family Room

Kitchen

Thank you very much @sgcullen! You have a beautiful home. You are correct there are so many on the market it is so hard to choose. Thank you for getting back to me I definitely will look into these.

Hi @sgcullen, thank you for the detailed information for recess lights! I'm currently battling over which to use. May I know what is the height of your living and kitchen ceiling? Many thanks!

I have 8' to 10' ceilings and used 6", we have open concept kitchen/living/dining. I was very hesitant about using 6" but after seeing a family member w 4" on 9' ceilings it was way too many and looked too busy. The 6" you'll need less and if you put a BR38 in there they'll look like the retro fit with no gaps. Just my two cents but if I had to do it again, no way I would go with smaller recessed (only one or two to accent something).

Our ceilings are 10 feet. It really comes down to personal preference and how the scale looks to you. The 4" LED lights have the same lumens as the 5/6" lights and we did not have to use more 4" lights to achieve desired lighting. This may have been different with incandescent lights with 4" being less wattage, but the 4" LED give off the same brightness as 6" LED. I think in any space too many recessed lights of any size can look awkward. Good to have different sources and layers of light. Good luck!

Hi @sgcullen, thank you for getting back to me. If it's not too troublesome, I have a follow up question: Do you feel as though the 4" LED recess light give off a narrow cone lighting in any way? We have 10' ceiling also and this is one of our primary concern. Thank you for the tip regarding multiple layers of light source!

You should speak with your architect or electrician. Both have told me, and makes perfect sense, that when you decrease the size of the light housing/bulb you need to increase the number of lights and adjust spacing to get sufficient light spread. Makes logical sense. Yes there are different bulbs - PR / BR that will allow wide spread but you can only get so much spread from a smaller (4") bulb.

Remodeling and have used 6” can with soft white led light. 2700k
I found 4” recessed lights all inclusive (no separate can needed) warm white 2700k. Will these generate the same amount of light even though it is 4“ vs 6” ?

what are the sizes of recessed light