You might do better in the lighting forum. In addition to that, the Lighting Research Center at RPI is a good place to read up: http://www.lrc.rpi.edu

Thx much. Will post in the Lightning form. Cheers

When you look at recessed lights you also need to verify that the housing, trim kit and bulbs you want to use all work together. I bought 4" Halo housings at Home Depot and installed them in the ceiling. When I tried later to install the trim kits and the bulbs I found that if I used the Halo brand trim kits, Home Depot does not carry a bulb that is small enough in diameter to fit inside the opening . HD carries a lot of LED bulbs, but all the recommended sizes (PAR20?) were too big to fit through the Halo trim and screw into the socket.

I had to take back the bulbs and trim kits and use a Halo retrofit kit that was both bulb and trim in one unit. The price was not much different, but I lost the option of selecting from several types of Halo trim kits.

Bruce

THX much. Martin

You might find trouble looking for white light LEDs, you usually find them in fluorescents and CFLs. Manufactuers have picked up on the fact that most people like soft white (yellow) for home, which is similar to incandescent. Make sure you check the kelvin before you buy.

Soft White (yellow) = 2700k to 3500k

Bright White (white) = 3500k to 4500k

Daylight (white with hint of blue) = 5000k to 6500k

Also remember that paint colors look different with different light temperature. So when choosing paint color, do it with the correct light that you plan to use.

I personally like lightolier recessed cans, but am unaware if they are compatible with led. Go with halo cans because i know they work, and are costs effective. There are dimmable and non dimmable leds. I would definitely just make sure that you get all the same brand leds to ensure you get the desired effect. Most give off a white light, but some do have a blueish type white light.

Good pointers guys. Thx. blueish is always better than yellowish IMHO. Yes, I have been looking at HELO cans - have them in my existing house and they do work quite well

so the input so far has been

standard but good quality cans.housings like Helo
dimmable LEDs that will fit into the above cans and that will allow to use a desired trim; proper color\temp
LED compatible dimmable switch rated for the number of LEDs connected to the switch

The most important part is that I do seem to need to but LED specific recessed housing which is about 4 X as much as a good quality Helo housing

Cheers