Electrician expertise needed: LED down-lights

[Matt Feifarek]

Hi gang.

I'm adding some in-ceiling lighting in my new place. I'm committed to using all LED stuff.

I'm noticing that all of the lights/fixtures that I can find seem to assume retro-fitting into an existing can light, which I don't have, since I have naked ceiling.

I'm finding stuff like this:

https://www.1000bulbs.com/product/137240/CM-CM4DL7201927.html

The springs seem designed to hold the unit inside of a can, NOT clipped onto the inside of the sheet-rock ceiling. (I've seen the latter before, though only for/with a separate 12V transformer)

They'd go (with the supplied fake screw-in connector) into a fixture like this:

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Commercial-Electric-4-in-White-Recessed-Non-IC-Remodel-Housing-HBR2000R/100114406

I did find this:

http://www.homedepot.com/p/EnviroLite-Easy-Up-4-in-Soft-White-93-CRI-LED-Recessed-Light-3000K-with-J-Box-with-Bronze-Trim-No-Can-Needed-EV407941BZ30/300019601

(But it's pretty expensive!)

Does anyone with a bit of journeyman electrical experience know of a system that is modern and not designed for retrofit? I thought that removing all the adapters/hacks would save some money, but so far, it seems that this idea is "custom"...

A little more info: no insulation in the ceiling; lots of clearance in the ceiling (old historic loft building; several FEET of clearance in some places); I'm interested in low-profile simple white baffes, 4"; line level AC.

Thanks!

P.S. I would be interested in brand recommendations, too; I'm interested in hi-CRI lights of various color temperatures, and will pay a little extra for higher quality (dimmable, non-buzzing, nice light)

[Wiley, John]

A good dim-able switch is the Lutron DVCL-154P-WH.  It is good for 600W on a 110vAC line, and is designed for LED, CFL, halogen, or incandescent lights.  No buzzing.  Ace Hdwr carries it I think. 

Sent from my iPhone

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Sector67 Public" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to sector67+u...@googlegroups.com.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.

[Wiley, John]

I will keep an eye out for the right fixturing.  To eliminate buzzing, you will need to either keep one or two normal incandescents in the circuit or (better) change the switches to ones designed for LED lighting.

Sent from my iPhone

On Sep 10, 2016, at 11:35 AM, Matt Feifarek <matt.f...@gmail.com> wrote:

[M Scott Statz]

Good luck, Matt. I'd like to follow this thread.

The Madison Masonic Center on Wisconsin Ave had 1920s style lighting throughout the building that has been replaced over the years with junk plastic stuff.  Recently, I began digging up the original fixtures out of storage and retro-fitting them with LED technology then reinstalling them in their original locations.  The project has been going well.  I found that purchasing off the shelf fixtures from Home Depot and hacking the parts was cheaper than buying new components.  I have had to do some fabricating but usually a glue gun is all it takes (watch potential heat issues). 

Go to Home Depot and see what they have then get creative and artistic.

This light was one I used quite frequently - Model HB1022-35.  It's ~$29.00 and the specs are online.  I'm still looking for a dimmer that will work with more than one LED in parallel.  The second photo is one of the finished lights.

​
On another note.  I am building a 54' x 50' airplane hangar this fall and will be investigating LED lighting options.  Commercial fixtures are ridiculously expensive so I'll be looking at fabricating custom stuff or hacking?  Suggestions would be appreciated.

Scott Statz

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Sector67 Public" group.

To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to sector67+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.

For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.

--

M Scott Statz
608-358-8921 c.
scott...@gmail.com

[Matt Feifarek]

On Sat, Sep 10, 2016 at 1:03 PM, M Scott Statz <scott...@gmail.com> wrote:

Recently, I began digging up the original fixtures out of storage and retro-fitting them with LED technology then reinstalling them in their original locations.  The project has been going well.  I found that purchasing off the shelf fixtures from Home Depot and hacking the parts was cheaper than buying new components.  I have had to do some fabricating but usually a glue gun is all it takes (watch potential heat issues). 

Go to Home Depot and see what they have then get creative and artistic.

That's a really good idea. I'm soaking it in.

I bought a couple of nice CREE units yesterday, and am checking them out. I'm sure it'd be possible to hack some sort of bracket for them to fit into a ceiling safely... on the other hand, if it costs more than a few bucks or few minutes per (I will have around 30 lamps) it's not that much better than just buying cans. :-(

Dammit stable industries/technologies, why don't you evolve faster!?! Oh wait...

(says the web programmer, who is familiar with about 974 "standards")

[Matt Feifarek]

Thanks, John. I hadn't even gotten to dimmers yet!

To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to sector67+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.

For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.

--

You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Sector67 Public" group.

To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to sector67+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.

[M Scott Statz]

So I also bought a dimer from Home Depot.  Don't recall the make/model because I returned it.

The circuit had 5 of these LED lights down a hallway and switches on each end of the hall.

The dimmer was specifically designed for LEDs and was a three-way switch.

After installing the switch, I got a fantastic light show.

The lights would flicker on and off individually/randomly and the hall way was an arched corridor with eerie shadows.

Great effect but not practical and it didn't dim at all - just on and off from both ends.

[Chris Meyer]

About the only place I've seen inexpensive LED lighting is directly from the manufacturers:

https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/18w-ultra-thin-recessed-LED-light_60118685145.html?spm=a2700.7724838.0.0.nbV2OO

The challenge is determining if it's actually UL/CE certified, whether the LEDs will burn out prematurely/power supply dies, and making sure they'll actually run on ~120V or if you'd have to rerun 220V everywhere.

Chris

[Matt Feifarek]

Ok, I ordered a couple of these to test 'em out:

https://www.aliexpress.com/snapshot/8134526611.html?orderId=78504970996319

If they work out, I'll need somewhere around 30 of them, if anyone else wants to go in on a lot, let me know.

Thanks, Chris!