Recessed lighting issues

4 years ago

Hi there… I’m struggling with a recessed lighting project and looking for some ideas. In our living room we have six recessed/can lights, currently on a dimmer switch. The lights buzzed very loudly so we changed the switch and it seems to have helped. But, ideally, I would like to have three of the lights as regular down lights, and the other three as swivel/gimbal lights pointed at a large wall. And, I’d like them all to be dimmable… and then the kicker… I’d also like to sometimes only have the three wall spotlights on (and the other three regular down lights off). I bought some ”smart” lights on Amazon, that are pretty terrible… just couldnt get them to work with bluetooth.

Thoughts on the best approach here? Best products? Switch setup, etc? Currently they are all on a single dimmer switch.

Thank you!

Featured Answer

User

4 years ago

Rewiring everything on separate circuits and installing actually compatible components is in your future.

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Comments (6)

PRO
Debbi Washburn
4 years ago
There is a lot to unpack here. The dimming buzzing could be from bad bulbs or bulbs that are not dimmable or the wrong type of switch for the the bulb ( the dimmer is different for a regular bulb than a fluorescent bulb or an LED. As far as controlling them separately - not sure how well the bluetooth bulbs are but you really are better off getting an electrician in there and have him split the line up for the lights and change the one set to eyeball trims at the same time.

Good luck!
Snow Hudgins thanked Debbi Washburn
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mtvhike
4 years ago
Replace the switch with a regular one, not a dimmer. Do they still buzz? If not, then your problem was that the bulbs and dimmer were incompatible. Replace both with compatible ones.
Snow Hudgins thanked mtvhike
PRO
Patricia Colwell Consulting
4 years ago
IMO the dimmer needs to work with the proper bulbs As for 2 different switches that needs an electrician BTW we have almost all outr bedroom and LR lights on Alexa so nice and easy to do. IMO all the bulbs should be LED 4000K and you do not share with us what type of bulbs you have now .You need layers of lighting BTW so floor lamps table lamps too not just ceiling ones.
Snow Hudgins thanked Patricia Colwell Consulting
Helen
4 years ago
An electrician will provide exactly the system you want. My den originally had six cans when I remodeled with each "row" on separate switches. I decided to add a few and was asked which switch I wanted them on.

As for a smart lighting system, I have the Lutron Caseta system and it is great. Works seamlessly through my iphone. I just had the elecrician back to hang a chandelier and add more lights to the Lutron Caseta hub and he asked me specifically which ones I wanted to have dimmer capacity. Love the ability to turn lights on and off through Siri especially when I am snug in bed and realize that I have forgotten to turn off the hall lights.
Snow Hudgins thanked Helen
wdccruise
4 years ago
last modified: 4 years ago
"In our living room we have six recessed/can lights...I would like to have three of the lights as regular down lights, and the other three as swivel/gimbal lights..."

What do you have installed right now? Do the existing lights have replaceable bulbs? If so, what type? Are there housings (aka "cans)? What size? Are you willing to rewire three of the lights as described above or are you trying to avoid that?