Recessed Lighting - Incandescent?CFL?LED?

HandyFrank

Doing some recessed lighting in 3 bedrooms and wanted to see what the options are for CFL and LED. I want to be able to dim them since they will be in bedrooms. Anyone use them successfully and happily at the higher price?

In my research it seems like CFL's do have the dimming option with a special dimmer switch, but the reviews seem to be crappy. LED's seem to be out there, but the cost is through the roof and they are still working out the color kinks.

Sort of leaning on installing regular Incandescent style cans and then will either go old school bulbs, or, CFL's and try out the dimmer switches and bulbs.

Anyone go through this recently? What did you decide on?

Scuba_Dave

I tried 4 dimmable CFL bulbs since they were marked down to 99 cents
Not really impressed with the dimming, reg dimmer
I have not tried another dimmer
And I'm not ready to pay the $$ for LED
So my 2 rooms with dimmers still have incandescents

oberkc

My experience is similar to ScubaDave with CFL. I have tried one dimmable LED and liked it fine. For most of my house, dimming fixtures are still using incandescent. Will retrofit with LED as funding and life priorities allow.

Phillysun

With CFL and any lamps controlled by a transformer/ballast the best dimmers I have found are from Lutron. Inexpensive and they hold up very well.

LED lighting is still in its infancy. Should be lot better units available in a couple more years. A number of companies make DIY inserts to convert regular high hats from tungsten to LED but the cost is still very high. They do make sense in locations that are difficult to reach for lamp replacement.

HandyFrank

Thanks for the info. Looks like i'll stick with the plain incandescent and if the CFL's get any better or the LED's come down in price i'll upgrade later, thanks.

pcampbell

I am not 1000% opposed to "regular old" bulbs anymore. Sometimes they just look and feel better and if you dim them you might not be using a ton of watts. Sometimes that tiny bit of radiant heat you get from them is nice also.

sk8888

I'm in California where the incandescents are virtually being whisked off of the shelves and replaced with CFL lighting options. On LED's being expensive, I know many people who kept their receipts and successfully claimed a portion of the $1500 tax credit for energy reduction efforts this past year, including myself. I prefer a particular LED manufacturer, but any sizable investment in LED lighting, with documentation is deductible for now. And you'll do a double-take on your electric bills the first few months after the LED's have been in use. l