Recessed lights- $40 vs $200+ Edison or LED housing HALO Home ?

5 years ago

I have been struggling with this and can't seem to get this all straight.

I need a LOT of recessed lights in a transitional-modern style house. We will use 4 inch for sure. I understand that there are standard housings you can use to plug in an LED trim kit and call it a day around $40. Then there are housings which take different modules that run $200 and up. I need to maximize my budget as I have probably 100-130 recessed lights.

A) It is an open floor plan so want the general look and feel to be similar from one area to the next. For that reason I assume it is best to stay with one company so that the 3000K or 2700K within that brand match.

B) I will be having control4 in some areas where there are many lights to control.

C) In the 2 story foyer/great room, there is a very large skylight that may require some small downlights to illuminate the floor below. Probably trimless small and inconspicuous ones my builder suggested.

D) I know that warm dim, or dim-to-warm is highly desirable according to lighting professionals I have spoken to in the area. but these also seem quite pricey

My questions and search for advice

1. Should I be installing the old-school Edison screw housings or the newer LED housings which use the quick connect? The housings seem to be about the same price. I would lean toward the LED, but is there a reason i may want keep option of a screwed in bulb?

2. Is Halo a good brand to use or is there something better but in similar range?

3. I looked at Halo Home Connect, and using their 4 inch recessed I can change the color temp from 2700K
to 5000K and dim down to 10% or 15%.... about $25 for the trim kit, and I can make them dim warm with setting used on my phone and bluetooth. I thought this could be a great option. I am actually wondering why even bother with control4

4. What am I missing in the super-expensive lights out there?

5. If I use a couple of trimless from another company and mix with Halo in same room will that be a mistake?

6. Does anyone here understand the various trim types? cone, baffle or not, interior color etc? even the lighting stores can't seem to answer this for me.

7. for 10 foot ceiling, and 9 ft ceiling are there any recommendations? How about for a 2 story space?

You deserve a medal for reading this all the way....

Featured Answer

Seabornman

5 years ago

If you can get full thickness of spray foam above the cans, there is no issue with using them. Many people use fiberglass insulation and the cans create a real issue with air leakage and condensation.

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Comments (11)

JJ
5 years ago
Thanks for the medal. Wish I could help!
Pignolia thanked JJ
PRO
HALLETT & Co.
5 years ago
I only have 72 recessed lights in my house so maybe I’m not qualified to answer, I used 3000k Edison base leds everywhere with an open trim, the trim allows up to 30° angle adjustment so the same trim could work everywhere including my sloped ceilings

I don’t want more things attached to my phone, regular dimmers are enough control.
Pignolia thanked HALLETT & Co.
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Seabornman
5 years ago
If you have cathedral ceilings and you're in a cold climate, don't use can lights.
Pignolia
Original Author
5 years ago
Why do you say that you shouldn't use the recessed lights in the cathedral ceiling?

Curious.. we are using foam insulation in the ceiling if that changes things
ulisdone
5 years ago
Use floor and table lamps and pendant type lighting also. 100 can lights sounds like garage type lighting. Humans respond best to perimeter lighting, not all overhead.

Oh and then there is the whole problem with LED flickering, lack of proper infrared wave length for the human eye and macular degeneration. Stick with recessed fixtures with the medium screw-in socket so you have the flexibility to move away from LED if needed, especially if you have children.
Pignolia
Original Author
5 years ago
Wow I hadn’t heard about led and children...
This is a larger home hence the large number of lights. I have replaced my bulbs on my housing where I move now with Phillips led retrofit housings and I never noticed any flickering.

I am interested in learning about this. Sonos there a difference in health effects between lower and higher prices options?
BT
5 years ago
1. It is all depends on your location. There is a state that does NOT permit in any way use of LED fixtures that can use Edison "screw base" light bulbs.... Not sure if it starts from A, B, or C.
2. The normal issue with the flat LEDs that some flicker. So I would get one and test it. See if you like the color,
3. Another issue if you got sucked into buying specialty flat LED a vendor decided to stop selling them or redesign the trim, it may be hard to find a matching one or change 100-130 others when a light burned out...
4. I absolutely despise when one of my 2700k light appears a different color from others, or dims differently.
PRO
mabsy
5 months ago
Pignolia - It’s been 5 years since you posted your questions about recessed lighting. What did you end up doing? Did you get fixtures with warm dimming? I understand that the purpose of warm dimming is to try to mimic incandescent, but when I have seen it at a lighting store, the lower levels of the dimming range, at 1800-2200k, the light looks very orange. Maybe that’s because I’m looking too much at the light on a white wall and I’m not able to see how the warm dimming will actually light a room. I am looking at the low end of higher end fixtures - the Nora Iolite line and the Elco Koto - which are $125-$200 per fixture. Lighting a whole house will add up fast, so I just want to make sure they are worth it. Much better results can be achieved with fixtures in the $350-$1000/fixture price range, but I’ll already be stretching our remodel budget by going with the $125-$200 fixtures rather than the $25 options. I’m interested to know what you did in your own home and whether you are happy with the results.
PRO
BeverlyFLADeziner
5 months ago
last modified: 5 months ago
They are recessed downlights. It's a hole with a light bulb in the ceiling. They are available at all price levels and use LED light bulbs.

Make sure you select lights that are in the same price range as the structure you are building. Don't build a $500k home and put $$$$ upper end fixtures that might be used in a $22M home. But you're a Pro so you should know that.
pdxmom6
last month
Hi Mabsy - I am in the same boat as you having stretched our budget from $25 lights to the Nora Iolite (canned in high ceilings and can less in the 9 -10 foot rooms). If I add warm dimming its another $15-20 per can and I have around 130 recessed lights. May I ask what you went with and if you are happy with them? I wish Pignolia had responded because my house is similar to theirs with the number of cans and skylight in the foyer. Please to let me know how things went with you. It would be really appreciated.