Pot/Ceiling Lights - LED vs Halogen

Hey all,

I'm about to start work installing pot/ceiling lights in my living room, and I'm in a quandary as to which way to go. I love the idea of low-power, run-forever LEDs, but I'm just love the look of the few halogen pots that I already have in other areas of the house.

I did search for info on this sub-forum but can't find anything recent.... so, a few questions:

1) Can I get the same rich, warm look as halogens with LEDs? If so, any recommendations on brands or sources?
2) I did buy a few cheap retrofits from Amazon - they were advertised as 3K temp, but they look noticeably whiter than the existing halogens. Maybe they're just a whole lot brighter and would calm down with a dimmer?
3) I only want to do this once, so I'm putting a lot of thought and worry into it.

Comments? Suggestions?

Thanks,
Jason

One word: Soraa.

I'd recommend the Cree LED downlight replacements http://www.homedepot.com/p/Cree-TW-...wnlight-DRDL6-06227009-12DE26-1C100/205337184 They are really nice and i have them en my entire house

I also have Cree LED downlights that I'm happy with.

With a few exceptions LEDs won't become "warmer" when they are dimmed, but remain the same color temperature.

What about non-retrofit units? Or would I be better off installing a screw-in base in the ceiling and buying the Cree retrofits?

Thanks
Jason

Soraa if you are replacing a PAR bulb (only goes to 60°)

Hyperikon if you are replacing a BR40 or BR30.

Replacement fixtures: stay away. They tend to have lower lumens than the above mentioned bulbs. Also, if one breaks (and one will), an exact replacement may not be available in the future.

To clarify... I'm cutting round holes in a sheetrock ceiling and fishing wire through to put in 10 new pot/downlights in my living/dining room.

I was only referenced the retrofits on another floor to mention the colour.

Sorry for the confusion.

doctor__big said:

To clarify... I'm cutting round holes in a sheetrock ceiling and fishing wire through to put in 10 new pot/downlights in my living/dining room.

I was only referenced the retrofits on another floor to mention the colour.

Sorry for the confusion.

Click to expand...

I would put in a standard Cooper/Halo metal can and then you can put in bulbs, Cooper/Cree/Philips/etc. downlights, bulbs, etc.

What do you like most about halogen ... how it looks on full brightness, or the warmth when dimming? For the former, 90+CRI is what you need. The Soraa Vivid 2700K are nice, though they may make whites more "white" ... which can be good or bad depending on what you like. For the latter, you will need to get something that warms when it dims. Most don't go quite as low as Halogen (about 1800K), but 2200K looks much much warmer than 2700 and is a fairly nice light at very low light levels. Not up on what is current in the warm dims.

This Is all great info. Thanks. I like both aspects of halogen, but can live without the extra dimming warmth.

One question - is there any need to go with MR16 vs transformer-less GU10? This question relates to both halogen and LED.

Thanks again
Jason

doctor__big said:

I'm in a quandary as to which way to go. I love the idea of low-power, run-forever LEDs, but I'm just love the look of the few halogen pots that I already have in other areas of the house.

1) Can I get the same rich, warm look as halogens with LEDs? If so, any recommendations on brands or sources?
2) I did buy a few cheap retrofits from Amazon - they were advertised as 3K temp, but they look noticeably whiter than the existing halogens.

Comments? Suggestions?

Click to expand...

Well, maybe you really need to see the light for yourself, before you install them.

If you're trying to get the same feeling of warmth and fullness as halogen, you really need to go with 90+ CRI, and preferably up towards 95 CRI. Although those options can be harder to find in LED products.

I should also mention that even if you went with 95 CRI, it would still not have exactly the same light quality as halogen, though the difference is subtle (very likely to the point it wouldn't matter to you). Soraa, on the other hand, is using a slightly different technology from standard LEDs, so if you're willing to sacrifice a small efficiency tradeoff it feels almost exactly like halogen, virtually impossible to tell any difference in light quality.

Another issue, LEDs are often only available in either 2700K or 3000K options, whereas in reality the color temperature of halogen bulbs is often somewhere between this range. For picky people, this means that the light color might not be exactly where they want, you might find the color just a little too bright white, or on the other hand just a little bit too orange. 2850K is sometimes a possibility but can be hard to find in LED options.

Personally I think 3000K LED looks great in the kitchen and bathroom.

doctor__big said:

One question - is there any need to go with MR16 vs transformer-less GU10? This question relates to both halogen and LED.

Click to expand...

With halogen lamps, there is a definite performance advantage in terms of lamp life, color temperature, beam control and efficiency with the low-voltage MR16 lamps. That's why people go to the trouble of creating a 12V supply to run them.

Not so much with LEDs, although from what I see, there are more options in MR16 than GU10 based lamps.

brickbat said:

With halogen lamps, there is a definite performance advantage in terms of lamp life, color temperature, beam control and efficiency with the low-voltage MR16 lamps. That's why people go to the trouble of creating a 12V supply to run them.

Not so much with LEDs, although from what I see, there are more options in MR16 than GU10 based lamps.

Click to expand...

Interesting. So if I'm going to move ahead with an install, I guess it makes sense to use low voltage cans and decide on bulbs at my leisure. I'll probably just move ahead with halogens and then buy a sampling of LEDs to try out.

Thanks!
Jason.

One of our rooms is lighted exclusively by MR16s. Personally, I don't think they are a good choice for downlights. I would go for something larger, like a BR30 or BR40.

Honestly, halogens would be the 'right' choice for only a tiny fraction of applications. If you go that way, expect to pay over and over again, both in terms of energy costs, and the nuisance of re-lamping every 1000 hours or so.

Hop on eBay - Search 'Soraa'. Find a 2700K and 3000K 'VIVID' lamp and try them out... They make GU10, MR16, PAR20, and larger. Pay attention to the beam-width to get what you want, and as mentioned get a VIVID instead of BRILLIANT because they have better CRI.

If you can live with a larger lamp, my thought is they have more effective heatsinks, and ought to run at lower temperatures (for a given wattage). I have a few GU10 LED lamps in our house (beacuse I wanted tight beam control in a small size), and they're doing fine, but they do run amazingly hot.