I want to add a couple of recessed lights in the kitchen and want to use florescents. I found cans that were $50 apiece that had the ballast mounted on the side. Is there a benefit to this opposed to using a regular (cheaper) can and use one of those screw in florescent bulbs with the ballast in the bulb? It seems like the load would be the same.
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bulbs
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming
WOW!!! What a Ride!
Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
use the cheaper and use daylight...
how are you or anyone else gonna tell....
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming
WOW!!! What a Ride!
Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
I have a ceiling full of cheap cans with expensive Panasonic screw in ballasted bulbs.
Work great.
Joe H
The bulbs make more sense because you can easily change the wattage and you never have to replace the ballast in the fixture. It does seem a little wasteful, since you replace the electronic ballast every time you change the bulb, but I think you'll find that replacement lamps (just the florescent lamp for fixtures) are getting harder to find, and actually cost more than the bulbs with the ballast built in. The bulbs are getting rediculously cheap at the big box stores ($1.50 each).
I've got 6 6" IC cans in my kitchen. I've already burned out about 4 or 5 of the 19w spiral bulbs in the last 2 years. It seems like the ballast can't tolerate the heat of being upside down, they all seemed to have gotten hot at the base before they stopped working. I love the light though - I prefer the warmer light rather than the daylight myself.
Rebuilding my home in Cypress, CA
Also a CRX fanatic!
I'm in CA as well, but unless there is a requirement (as in needing a florescent in the bath) that the bulbs are the way to go. Even with the possible burn out rate, the expense of the bulbs doesn't offset the expense of the cans and the trim kit (another $40).
Thanx all. Breaktime rocks!
In Ca. there is a code requirement for flourecent fixtures in kitchens and baths for new work or remodels, in case your dealing with permit and inspections. Bulbs won't cut it.
Mike
Trust in God, but row away from the rocks.
Edited 9/9/2006 8:18 pm by ruffmike
And it sure would be nice if the lighting manufacturers would come out with some decent trims for all the fluorescents us CA contractors have to install in upscale kitchens.
Bing
Yeah, not much to choose from. I've got five 14" round surface mount fixtures that came out right after our final. Funny thng is, I use compact flourecent bulbs through out other areas of the house. Mike
Trust in God, but row away from the rocks.
Spiral bulbs WILL heat up more in cans, particularly airtight cans. So will regular incandescent bulbs. Common sense.
Use reflector bulbs (PAR type). They are available in fluorescent.
A real problem is standard "bedroom ceiling" style fluorescent fixtures. (I forget the official term, but those that surface mount and have some sort of surrounding diffuser.) There's virtually nothing out there, aside from a few tired circline retreads. Wanted them especially for our family room, but ended up cramming CFLs into the existing globes.
If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy. --James Madison
I was wondering the same thing about 3 years ago. I went with the cheaper regular cans so that I could later decide how bright of a bulb and color that I wanted. I'm not disapointed with that decision. I have 6 in my kitchen and tried several types and wattages of compact florescent. I settled, I think, on the 100 watt equivalent spiral bulbs, which are about 22 watts. They definately don't last as long as they would in an open air or even better, upward facing fixture. I think that their life is still respectible though. I'm on my second set of bulbs in 3 years, and they are on probably 30% of the time. These days compact florescents are so cheap it doesn't make any sense to worry that they may not last more than a year or two. I used to buy them when they were close to $20 each. It took a year or two before you even recouped the cost in electricity savings.
As for the cans the flexibility and standardization of the common can is the way to go. Cheaper in the short run and long run too.
If you are in CA or another state with an energy code that requires flourscent lights they won't accept this.
Because they think that you plan on replacing the flourscents with incandensed bulbs.
Also if this is between floors then use the non-ic non-air tight cans that will allow a little air to circulate through them.
Now I have only used the 60-75 equivalent bulbs. One is an interior hall/stariwell and is on most of the day. It seems to last about 4 years.
I just put 8 ic air tight Juno cans in my family room.
I didn't know what kind of bulbs I wanted so bought several
kinds to try. I ended up putting in florescent floods as the color
rendition has seemed to improve since they first came out.
They will be way cheaper to run than incandescent as we use this room all the time.
Why not go with regular cans and then you can put in whatever you want
and looks best.