recessed lighting trim, efficiency [am I missing something?]

15 years ago

I've been reading up on recessed lighting trim. I fully understand that black shows up more than white when the light is off (assuming the ceiling is white and not black), but white shows up more (gives off more glare) than black when the light is on. There is an apparently magic material called Alzak that makes the lights less obtrusive whether off or on.

But I feel like I'm missing something. Who cares about glare from the lights? If you look up at the ceiling, you expect to see lights. It's just like if you look up at the sun, you'll go blind, which is why smart people don't do it.

Now high efficiency is a desirable goal. I want to get the most lighting out of the fixture for a given wattage, perhaps allowing me to use a lower wattage light bulb. To me, glare shows that some diffuse light is coming out of the fixture, which is less wasteful than absorbing that diffuse light. It may be "task lighting", but the kitchen is not a theater stage; I don't need one spot illuminated while the rest of the room is pitch dark!

So what am I missing---why shouldn't I use white trim? And what actual advantage does Alzak offer?

Please set me straight.

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Comments (7)

kathec
15 years ago
I admit to being confused about the same issue. Thank you for posting it. I eagerly await the answers.
pudgybaby
15 years ago
Here's an old thread about alzak lights (clear alzak, which I think is the shiny mirror type and wheat alzak which is less shiny and wheat colored). Click on the link that beekeeperswife provided. There are some great pics that chiefneil took as her cans were being swapped out with clear alzak ones.

I ended up using LEDs (Cree LR6) and love them. But I didn't like the glare that the halogen bulbs in the regular cans were giving. It's not like you stare up at the ceiling, you still see the glare. The LEDs are pricey, but I would definitely use them again and we are planning to swap out some more recessed lights in the house with those. I bought mine at polar-ray because they are local to me and got good reviews on the web (no affiliation).

Good luck!

Here is a link that might be useful: Thread about alzak recessed lights
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davidro1
15 years ago
in the GW lighting forum you can discuss this level of technical detail.

Know how to compare light output to power consumption.
Light is output in LUMEN, and power is in Watts.

For now, learn the difference between those lights that are in the incandescent family, and those that are not.

incandescent family
= produce heat which you have to pay to remove (with more A/C)
= produce light as a secondary output ( a minor fraction of their energy consumption )
= all xenons, halogens, and old fashioned bulbs.
= obviously, these will have a higher Watt-to-Lumen ratio than the next group of lights

and those that are not.
= produce light primarily ( a great portion of their energy consumption )
= therefore do not produce much heat ( so you save money twice, by not producing heat, and not paying to remove it (with more A/C) . )
= LED's, fluorescent slimline tubes, compact fluorescent bulbs.
= obviously, these will have a lower Watt-to-Lumen ratio than the previous group of lights

In terms of light quality, fluorescents can now produce beautiful white light.
tomalyse
15 years ago
I don't recall the brand of flourescent recessed lights that we used, but we chose a trim in a color called 'wheat' - which is an off-white not a bright white. We also have white ceilings and the cans appear white when the lights are off and so fade into teh ceiling and are not noticeable. The slight off-white, however, warms the light further when the lights are on. Really nice warm light. I thought I wouldn't like the flourescents after many things I'd read - but truly do not notice any difference to incandescent. Love the energy-efficiency and the fact that they will be so long lasting.
breezygirl
15 years ago
I've always hated black cans. All mine are white. Never had a glare problem.

Now I'm gonna check out the alzak.
sombreuil_mongrel
15 years ago
Glare is dissipated unfocused light. I want the light to all go toward its goal, not be wasted as distracting glare. I used black Alzak, and the cans look the same whether the lights are on or off. All the light spots down, not in all directions.
It's a matter of focus, you either have it or you don't.
Casey
blubird
15 years ago
Last year at this time I was driving myself nuts with trying to figure out the recessed lighting plan for my kitchen redo. I obsessed with having Alzak. I drove my husband and electrician crazy. So I ended up with ordinary Halo recessed fixtures....ask me when the last time I turned them on. I have undercab LED lighting I use pretty much any time I'm actually in the kitchen working. I keep the UC lights on until I shut them off before bed. I have 2 pendant lights over the island I turn on to use as task lighting. Plenty of light in my kitchen. Never turn on the recessed lights....

Helene