Canned lights in cathedral ceiling ? LED?

[fastfredracing]

I know it is a no no. But, they look fabulous , and really help to light the room.
This is in a cold climate .
Im doing a traditional vented cathedral ceiling at my home right now. Im at the point where I have to decide to run wiring for lights, or just use track lighting on the surface
Curious if anyone has used the surface mount LED fixtures ? or even the recessed led fixtures, which are much narrower .
I have plenty of room to still get good r values with the thickness of the LED lights .
I've searched, and all that does is confuse me even more .
I know, my main goal , is to keep it airtight.
I'll take any advice you have to offer

[masraum]

In our old house, I changed from CFL can lights to these retrofit lights. They were fantastic, instant on (no delay), instant bright, no discernable flicker to either of us, great light quality, color and output.

Because it's not a bulb and separate bezel/trim ring, it was much more aesthetically attractive too.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/EcoSmart-6-in-White-Integrated-LED-Recessed-Trim-4-Pack-5000K-Daylight-NB01aA10FR1-509/303780872

something like this


They were much better than the CFLs.

[wdfifteen]

We had the sealed, insulated can lights in our cathedral ceiling. No problem.

[BeyGon]

can you buy anything BUT LED anymore. I need to replace a couple and it looks like I HAVE to use LED anyway. The guy told me just go ahead and change them all out. Yeah,

[fastfredracing]

Originally Posted by wdfifteen

We had the sealed, insulated can lights in our cathedral ceiling. No problem.

Thats good to know, same basic climate .

[ben parrish]

Wafer LED's are the answer...thin profile and you can seal them up.

https://www.1000bulbs.com/product/201629/LITH-0347.html?gclid=Cj0KCQiAhKviBRCNARIsAAGZ7Cf8XeCeqL qLPWztDN4fx1BgLcrpj6olWZr4-chI0g_yIygFwiwwLtAaArz5EALw_wcB

[red-beard]

I jus installed LED bulbs in the can. I think Steve's idea looks pretty good, if the lights have a diffuser. Most of mine do not.

[rockfan4]

I hate the look of lights that stick out of the ceiling. I also hate it when they don't point straight down. So after arguing with my builder and electrician, they got these:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Halo-H47-6-in-Aluminum-Recessed-Lighting-Housing-for-New-Construction-Sloped-Ceiling-Insulation-Contact-Air-Tite-H47ICAT/100599762

I started with cfl bulbs in them but they're running leds now. The first ones died early, so the leds are on one inch spacers to set them a little lower, but they don't stick out below the ceiling. I think they're par 20s or par 30s.

In the basement there's a lot of ducting, so I am using the surface mount leds that look like recessed lights but they do stick out below the ceiling. There's just a regular round box.

[porsche tech]

Originally Posted by masraum

In our old house, I changed from CFL can lights to these retrofit lights. They were fantastic, instant on (no delay), instant bright, no discernable flicker to either of us, great light quality, color and output.

Because it's not a bulb and separate bezel/trim ring, it was much more aesthetically attractive too.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/EcoSmart-6-in-White-Integrated-LED-Recessed-Trim-4-Pack-5000K-Daylight-NB01aA10FR1-509/303780872

something like this


They were much better than the CFLs.

Our kitchen had 6 recessed lights that put out so much heat I could feel it on my bald head! I swapped them with these type replacement LEDs. No heat and my wife (who is very particular about light) loves the light. We have since changed all the rest in our house. Love 'em.--Dave

[carambola]

What do you need these lights to do?

[porsche4life]

LED won’t have any trouble in the cold.... we used to run them frozen solid in salt water for years on end....


https://youtu.be/HylRqTCkRPI

[wdfifteen]

Originally Posted by fastfredracing

Thats good to know, same basic climate .

For those in warmer climes, the problem with can lights is that they let a lot of heat pass through. They also generate heat. So when in use the lights have stay cool enough not to set the roof on fire or roast the bulb and still not leak expensive heat out the ceiling when they aren’t being used. They make sealed and insulated units, they may be hard on incandescent bulbs, I don’t know. We went through a couple of bulbs a year but didn’t keep the lights on a lot.

[Noah930]

Originally Posted by wdfifteen

We went through a couple of bulbs a year but didn’t keep the lights on a lot.

Also an important factor in a cathedral ceiling, where it may be a PITA to change light bulbs. Nice to have LEDs in those applications.

[look 171]

Cheap LEDs can be had through large home centers, but the better ones can be bought with various beam width or directional and they swivel for wall wash. Also, they have cooling fins and are usually alum. Cheap 12 dollar lights have no cooling fins and they basically just put out light like a regular light bulb. I stick to 2700 or no more then 3000 Kevin bulbs. Hate the white or 5-6000 Kelvin lights. Did a complete job for someone and he wanted to use his BIL because he's electrician. Fine, hands off for me is better, at the end, he came in with 5000 Kalvin LEDs through out house. Looks horrible like you just walked into a Target.

Another thing is that some mfg, will have their own property plugs from their cans to their LED modules . Most are pretty common, but there are few out there that are a PITA

[Noah930]

Install 5000 Kelvin, and you might have to wear sunglasses indoors.

[dad911]

Originally Posted by ben parrish

Wafer LED's are the answer...thin profile and you can seal them up.

https://www.1000bulbs.com/product/201629/LITH-0347.html?gclid=Cj0KCQiAhKviBRCNARIsAAGZ7Cf8XeCeqL qLPWztDN4fx1BgLcrpj6olWZr4-chI0g_yIygFwiwwLtAaArz5EALw_wcB

I've used a lot of these, but the cheaper ones from Amazon. Retrofit, 1/2" thick, just need enough room above the sheetrock for a transformer. Worked great when we had a concrete floor/ceiling, I built an 1-1/2" drop with metal studs and there was enough room for these.

But for the OP, I'd likely use IC airtight cans and caulk them to the sheetrock.

[stomachmonkey]

I’ve replaced almost all my traditional floods with those.

Awesome product.

Installing takes less than 1 minute longer than screwing in a new bulb.

I’ve got 4 left to do only because it’s a 30 foot ceiling and I’m a pussy with ladders that tall.

Originally Posted by masraum

In our old house, I changed from CFL can lights to these retrofit lights. They were fantastic, instant on (no delay), instant bright, no discernable flicker to either of us, great light quality, color and output.

Because it's not a bulb and separate bezel/trim ring, it was much more aesthetically attractive too.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/EcoSmart-6-in-White-Integrated-LED-Recessed-Trim-4-Pack-5000K-Daylight-NB01aA10FR1-509/303780872

something like this


They were much better than the CFLs.

[Jeff Hail]

I installed cans in every room I my house 10 years ago. Some 40 Halo cans ranging from 4 inch in the bedrooms, 6 inch in the kitchen, hall, bathrooms, 3 inches above the bath and showers. A year after that I went from incandescent and cfl to all LED retrofit bulbs in the cans. (the retrofit saucer type). My outdoor lights I changed 4 years ago to LED and they are bright as hell with less fixtures (spot and flood)

I found Phillips and GE LEDs were the best quality. 2200-2600k is great for down lighting, not overly bright. Most newer LEDS will work with dimmers.

Feit LEDs are better priced but do not last nearly as long.

In 9 years I have only replaced 3 units that hit service life expectancy. All were in the kitchen and those get used more than any other. The initial cost was greater but these days a single retrofit LED in Phillips or GE are going for cheap. Less if you order by the case. My monthly electric bill went down significantly. The LED retrofits are in the 7-15 watt range each. Output is greater than incandescent.

5000 Kelvins? Yes you will see stars and dark spots for 15 seconds after you look away. I have those in the yard and over the driveway.

[macssc911]

Originally Posted by look 171

Cheap LEDs can be had through large home centers, but the better ones can be bought with various beam width or directional and they swivel for wall wash. Also, they have cooling fins and are usually alum. Cheap 12 dollar lights have no cooling fins and they basically just put out light like a regular light bulb. I stick to 2700 or no more then 3000 Kevin bulbs. Hate the white or 5-6000 Kelvin lights. Did a complete job for someone and he wanted to use his BIL because he's electrician. Fine, hands off for me is better, at the end, he came in with 5000 Kalvin LEDs through out house. Looks horrible like you just walked into a Target.

Another thing is that some mfg, will have their own property plugs from their cans to their LED modules . Most are pretty common, but there are few out there that are a PITA

Just replace the light switches with dimmer switches, LEDs don’t care. Have what ever light level you desire. The main thing you should look into for your house is the color, LEDs come in different colors which is nice for whatever application you want them to work. Big plus is energy consumption a faction of conventional lighting and bulb life is around 50,000 hours in other words forever unless the the driver fails
Good luck

[cabmandone]

Hope you don't mind if I toss something else out there. Use indirect lighting that shines up the Cathedral ceiling and keep the wholes out of the ceiling altogether. With the dimmable daylight LED's out today, you could go from a well lit space to a soft light that highlights the cathedral ceiling in the evening.