Best recessed lighting housing & trim kits according to redditors
We found 79 Reddit comments discussing the best recessed lighting housing & trim kits. We ranked the 53 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.
Ask him for a cost breakdown. $200 a can seems high unless you live in a gated subdivision
Do you have attic access above your kitchen and living room?
You can order these.
TORCHSTAR 12W 6 Inch Ultra-Thin Recessed Ceiling Light with Junction Box, 5000K Daylight, Dimmable Can-Killer Downlight, 850lm 100W Eqv. ETL and Energy Star Certified, Pack of 12 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07FFPYWHJ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_H2UsDbGWZF79Z
Drwayll hole saw to cut the hole.
Adjustable Hole Saw Klein Tools 53731 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00529WW6O/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_A3UsDbCWYE5ZT
Then some 14/2 nomex to daisy chain them.
You can just try the kitchen or loving roo. Which ever one is easiest. What do you have to loose? And $2000 to gain.
I absolutely hate can lights, especially old work ones. You guys need to check out those LED wafer lights. They're so much better than recessed cans. With the wafer lights you also have a lot more flexibility with where you can put them. Here's some cheap ones on Amazon that I've used and they're pretty good. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07D8QWY7M/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_YE6lDbR3ERZEN
Lithonia makes some too that we use a lot but they're pretty expensive.
I'd highly suggest removing the current light fixtures and cans you have, keep the same zones in terms of switches but change out the switches to dimmers that support LED bulbs and put in this type of recessed lighting. The 4" makes them look updated and using LED bulbs makes them amazingly bright and super cheap and safe to run compared to halogen bulbs.
Here is the Amazon link, super inexpensive at less than 10$ per fixture. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008BG6ZUO/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_A7rHAb2N26AX2
I'd create a perimeter around the room(s) 2 feet away from the exterior walls and space them every 3 to 4 feet apart.
Here are a couple pictures of what they look like in our kitchen.
https://imgur.com/gallery/8yplP
https://www.amazon.com/Ultra-Thin-Recessed-Junction-Downlight-Certified/dp/B07JBQTVFM/ref=sr_1_6?keywords=3000k+led+1200lm+downlight&qid=1551026499&s=gateway&sr=8-6
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First, outstanding answer and the two of you clearly know your shit. This is the one I am looking at getting throughout the apartment. I have not thought about the beam angle in a sophisticated way. I vaguely know about lux but not how to organize what lighting where with any type of intention or specificity. In terms of specific positioning because it isn't marked on the link, I am just evenly spacing them. Is this appropriate?
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Also, any thoughts about my questions regarding size in the different areas? How would you do this?
Ohhh I gotcha. Can-less will definitely be easier. I just installed these in my den (which were the cheapest wafers I could find on amazon at the time) and they have been good so far. Such an easy installation too.
For your application, I think it might be worth the extra pain in the ass to put in cans so you can have gimballs. Having the lights shining straight off the ceiling like that may look odd. But I'm not 100% confident of that. Maybe it'll be fine.
[time passes]
BUY HEY I just found these 4" slim canless swivel integrated LED panels that could work for you. I didn't see the maximum swivel angle, but it looks like there could be enough in there to even out your ceiling.
sunco lighting makes great puck style recessed lights that fit in drywall, ceiling joists be damned
The current fixture is wired for 5 incandescent 60 watt bulbs, and I replace them with the wafer LEDs lighting that are ~10 watts each, so instead of 5 bulbs in one place, have 5 wafer lights in a line/series throughout the ceiling. Was thinking of something like this:
https://www.amazon.com/TORCHSTAR-Ultra-Thin-Recessed-Downlight-Certified/dp/B0756Y9M76?ref_=Oct_BSellerC_3736711_1&pf_rd_p=2d7e7d78-894f-5e71-b62a-36d9cdd5a7c0&pf_rd_s=merchandised-search-6&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_i=3736711&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=7H91JADGTEM69HXMC37N&pf_rd_r=7H91JADGTEM69HXMC37N&pf_rd_p=2d7e7d78-894f-5e71-b62a-36d9cdd5a7c0
We replaced all of our recessed lights like this with LEDs and it was the best upgrade we’ve down for ease / cost. They look better, are dimmable and use less energy.
Something like this
Sunco Lighting 12 Pack 5/6 Inch LED Recessed Downlight, Baffle Trim, Dimmable, 13W=75W, 3000K Warm White, 965 LM, Damp Rated, Simple Retrofit Installation - UL + Energy Star https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071G94M44/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_AEjyCb1BZ2GBY
if you are looking for a thin LED can style light... this is perfect for you:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07MN5N8H5/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Their specs say only 2" required... in my experience it was even less. I used this for a shower LED (bonus you can select which color temperature you want). It's dimmable, and very bright.
I went with the most appropriate/cheapest 6" cans (no trim kit), and used these:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01D3PGUTI/
They make LED conversion kits for recessed lighting:
http://www.amazon.com/TorchStar-UL-listed-Dimmable-Retrofit-Recessed/dp/B00JUNY2D4
You screw in the plug to the existing fixture and affix the clips. They're not cheap in the short-term, but definitely in the long term.
That's just one example, there are lots of others to check out.
I just replaced the old fixtures with these:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07L57MTYV/
They are airtight and are perfect replacement. There are other brands offering the same style on Amazon.
No, 4 prong bulbs; these:
https://www.1000bulbs.com/product/2807/FC26-GX24Q327OD.html
I was thinking of something like this:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07KLPFWNP/ref=sspa_dk_hqp_detail_aax_0?psc=1
But 1800 lumens for the CFL vs 650 lumens for the LED seems like a non-starter to me.
Finding lights that thin that are gimbaled will be super difficult. We have a vaulted ceiling and just installed can lights a couple months ago. We used these: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07FFPYWHJ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_t1_Tsn4DbRARSD5R
They are amazing. Since the screen is frosted the light is really diffuse and we don't have any shadow areas. (Which is why they say to use gimbal lights on vaulted ceilings. So the shadows don't make the room look weird.)
We used these gimbal lights in our kitchen to light up the counters: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07JMCFV3R/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_t1_Vwn4DbZT5GJE3
They have definite edges/shadows and they're about 3" thick. They're good lights, but I'm glad we used the other ones in our living room. The light is so even and they look great.
I recommend that you go with four or six ultra-thin LEDs per room, and install them on a dimmer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tD-XWSzPL8
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07PY2VGWD
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I believe you'll still need the Hue hub, but they should be. I don't have my SmartThings unboxed yet to be sure.
If not, look for one like this Halo on Amazon, this is the one I originally considered but I decided to stay with Hue to keep things simple for my setup.
Do you know which way your joists run? Also, try finding a 10-pack of pot lights on Amazon. You can get good quality for a decent price. Check this out.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00JUNY2D4?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s00
I’m not sure about the circle plastic thingy you’re talking about (photos would help)
IMO that’s excessively expensive. Depending on your wiring situation, the first light would be the most difficult to run. After that, they can do all the work from the interior and fish the wires from hole to hole.
When I bought my can lights I bought these lights with these housings
Have you looked into hiring a handyman? At least get another quote.
AFAIK it’s your home, go where you want.
I just installed these in my bathroom. They're reasonably priced, come in square & round, white\black, and different diameters and lighting temp.
I've only had them in for a few weeks and I'm quite impressed with them so far. I went with 4" square, and they have a nice clean, modern look to them. They're on dimmer so I'm able to dim down to candle light. The pigtail connection is convenient and made installation smooth.
As others have mentioned, the bulbs are not replaceable in this type of light, but are rated for 36,000 hours. That's 25 years @ 4 hours per day.
That’s why you get these... regular cans, but nice looking led lights. Get the 3000k
https://www.amazon.com/Sunco-Lighting-Recessed-Retrofit-Replacement/dp/B071G94M44?th=1&psc=1
HALO Recessed RL56 Zigbee Smart LED Downlight, White https://www.amazon.com/dp/B073P7HXHY/
I just installed 9 of these and can confirm they have adjustable color temperature.
These
Thank you! sorry if its a dumb question but considering i am good with neutral wire and line voltage:
Anything else?
These Torchstar and Sunco LED recessed lights do not require cans, are incredibly thin, are inexpensive, and can easily be daisy-chained as each light has a junction box. I've installed these myself just by cutting small holes in the ceiling. It's incredibly easy.