Recessed Lighting

Whether one is doing a kitchen remodel or starting from scratch, the lighting design is frequently the last thing considered and often the first thing to get cut from the budget. Design and planning should be phase 1 of a kitchen project whether you are starting from scratch or remodeling. If you want your lighting to look like it was done by a pro, choosing the right light and the right placement of the light will make all the difference in the world. And, these decisions need to occur in the initial stage of the project and not as a 'hindsight is 20-20' kind of thing.

Lighting designers say that using three types of lighting functions is paramount to good lighting design-whether it is in your kitchen or elsewhere. It is a 'layering' technique:

1) general light source

2) task lighting

3) drama or accent lighting (also known as focal lighting)

Some designers like to incorporate dimming systems in their lighting design. Our designer recommends that dimming systems be avoided in most cases-with the exception of dining rooms and media rooms. Here are some reasons why a dimming system should be avoided: 1) color temperature shifts 2) bulb does not dim in the full range and will drop out around 15-20% 3) flickering. Halogen bulbs experience color temperature shifts when being dimmed-not to mention that they require more energy to run and create unwanted heat. Fluorescent bulbs do not have a filament-which translates to it not being conducive to being dimmed-they drop out at 15-20%-which in turn, does not give you the full range. Fluorescent bulbs will also flicker when being dimmed. LEDs do not have a filament either, and suffer from the same things that fluorescent bulbs do; dropping out at 15-20% and flickering. Flickering is a bigger deal than one would initially think: it can cause neurological disturbances, headaches, fatigue, eye strain, affects your perception of motion and is a distraction, to name a few of the problems. Hopefully, we've succeeded in talking you out of using a dimming system.

You can achieve a more pleasing effect by using the layering technique. You can also keep your lighting costs down by using fixtures that can perform multiple functions.

General Light Source

6" recessed cans are a great choice for the general lights-and will give you the most choice by way of lamps/bulbs that fit into the fixture. When I did a kitchen remodel in my own home in 2008, LED lights for 6" recessed had just been introduced to the market. Yes, initially, LED bulbs cost more than their counterparts. However, I have no regrets to making that choice. For one, it takes less energy to have it on and keep it on. The bulbs provides up to 60,000 of continuous light that is cool burning nor does it have to warm up first. No other bulb can do that! LED is also the most 'green' choice you can make in keeping your carbon footprint down. Initially, we tried out LED bulbs that had a color temperature of 27K. We found these to look too 'yellow' and ended up going with a brighter, slightly cooler color temperature of 30K. Much better!

Here is an example in my kitchen with just some of the recessed lights on-this is my 'everyday' lighting choice. The lights are LED bulbs in 6" recessed cans (my camera did yield some unwanted lens flare from pointing up in to the lights-those reflections are not really there on the ceiling).

In this example of my kitchen lighting, I have all of the recessed lights on. All decisions for the lighting source and placement were intentional. We looked for a light that had a broad, white, diffused, bright, even light-one that did not have 'edges' to the beam spread. This reduces the shadows on the work surfaces and the amount of glare. The LED lights we chose met that criteria. Track lighting was not a good choice because it is harsh, directional and creates lots of shadows. It wasn't appropriate for our application (you might have call for a directional light in your kitchen layout, however).

My lighting designer wanted all my work surfaces to be evenly lit. Notice the distance of the recessed lights in relation to the cabinets. They are place 18" out from the cabinets so that it would light the cabinets and allow the light to light the inside of the cabinet when opened. This distance also minimized shadows cast in the area of the work space when standing at the counter. The space between each recessed light is about 2 feet-allowing for a well lit room. Notice too, that one is placed over the doorway.

Look carefully at the bank of recessed lights above the table (far top right of image). These are 4" shower trims with a CFL bulb in each of them. "Why shower trims?", you ask. Shower trims were selected because of the glass insert is frosted (esthetics) and shower trims are offered in many attractive trims. Using the 4" trims also breaks things up and adds interest-we didn't need as much light over the table area.

With the 6"recessed cans, our lighting designer put them on two switches so that you could just have some on and at other times, have them all on when you want it to be brighter. That provided two levels of general lighting.

Task Lighting

The next layer of lighting in my kitchen is task lighting. Right above my kitchen sink is a light to provide me with an additional layer of light-by way of a fluorescent fixture.

Fluorescent light fixture over the kitchen sink for additional task lighting (I turned the general lighting off so that you can see this light source better).

My stove top area also has two MR-16 halogens (soon to be switched over to the SORAA LED MR-16).

Additional task lighting over the stove top achieved by way of two MR-16 halogen lights.

Accent Lighting (for added drama)

Accent lighting in my kitchen was achieved by way of additional fixtures under the cabinets (and how I wish the LED under cabinet fixtures were available then-instead I have fluorescent fixtures). The LED under the cabinet fixture is a great choice over a fluorescent since it lasts longer, is more energy efficient AND has a lower profile. Not to mention that the color rendering is much better. However, most LED under the cabinet fixtures require special wiring and hiding a transformer-not something that is easily done after the fact. Had this product been available when I did my kitchen remodel, I would have included it in the design. The LED under the cabinet is a specular light source-it gives an added dimension that a fluorescent bulb cannot. Think of it as adding more 'bling'.

Under cabinet lighting achieved here by way of  fluorescent fixtures.

Pictured here are the fluorescent under the cabinet lights and MR-16 halogen lights in the upper cabinets. We do experience a problem with the halogen MR-16's in the cabinet-even when using the lowest wattage of 20 watts, over time, heat builds up in the cabinet and the lights go out. On our list of things to do is to replace it with a  1-3 watt LED MR-16 which will easily remedy the situation.

Of course, it goes without saying, that if you have natural light to work with, by all means incorporate that in to your lighting design. Natural light always makes a home more appealing. When trying to achieve natural lighting with lighting fixtures, be sure to use bulbs that are described as 'daylight' instead of those described as warm-that way the color temperature is more closely matched.

Hopefully, by sharing what went in to the decision making process for lighting choices in my kitchen remodel, you will have at least a better starting point. Avoid using a dimming system and avoid trying to light the entire room with just one light source such as a ceiling mounted fixture.  Please feel free to contact us for solutions to your lighting challenges-we are here to help!

If you found this article to be helpful, please send us your before and after photos and a brief description of your experience-we'd love to share your success story!

We have all waited a long time for technology to catch up to our expectations of the perfect LED MR-16. The wait is over as the SORAA team took performances issues head on in their design and development of this bulb and conquered them all, we might add.

Here are the top ten reasons why the SORAA LED MR16 lamp is on the top of our list:

1) Perfect fit. SORAA conforms to the ANSI standard, so they do fit standard lighting fixtures (MR16) when used as specified.

2) No noise. Performance, performance, performance. These bulbs do not blink, they do not buzz. SORAA lamps turn on and operate properly with both magnetic and electronic transformers.

3) Fully UL listed. What does this mean to you? It means that you can trust them to work safely as a retrofit lamp in UL listed fixtures.

4) Dimmable-SORAA lamps work properly with many commonly installed leading-edge and trailing-edge dimmers.

5) Flexible. The SORAA LED MR16 works in both NEC Class 1 and Class 2 transformers. While most LED lamps are designed to work only with Class 2 systems, SORAA lamps are UL listed for both systems.

6) Single source light output. Why is this important? The SORAA design allows for a high lumen density which in turn gives you more light output from a single source. Which in turn, gives you more design flexibility and control. Isn't that what you want? A Halogen MR16 lamp have multifaceted reflectors which in turn, do not project crisp shadows as does the SORAA single source light.

(left) SORAA single source (right) other LED MR16 multi source

7) More natural light. SORAA lamps are designed to replicate halogen illumination with one color and one shadow.

8) Elegant (and smart) design. The thermally optimized heat sink (all LEDs are designed to have heat sinks) mimics the Halogen counterpart:

9) Lightweight. SORAA lamps are the same weight as standard halogen lamps.

10) Energy efficient. Are you thinking green here? Green as in energy efficient and green as in the money you will save on your utility bill-not just by way of this bulb requiring less energy, but lowering the cost of cooling your space. Here is a chance to make a difference on your carbon footprint.

Still not convinced? Check out our video here that does a side by side comparison of the SORAA MR16 lamp against the Halogen MR16 lamp:

Total Recessed Lighting currently carries the SORAA Premium and Vivid bulbs.You can find the selection of lamps under our "bulbs and accessories" section in recessed lighting.

The premium lamp line is the choice for when you want a quality, 'no compromise' LED solution for a 50W halogen MR16 lamp. If you need a high quality output for interior applications that is energy saving, choose the SORAA premium lamp.

When high color rendering is of utmost importance, the SORAA Vivid lamp line is the lamp of choice. With a CRI (color rendering index) of 95, it will yield rich, saturated colors along with color stability. These lamps are designed to replace standard 50W MR16 Halogen lamps with a savings of up to 75% of the energy that halogen lamps require. Now you not only can choose a superior light quality as well as save on your energy consumption.

At long last. The perfect LED MR16 lamps has arrived."

You can make your next recessed lighting project less frustrating and more efficient with the recessed lighting kits that Total Recessed Lighting has put together. We find that a lot of people aren't sure about which trim goes with which fixture and bulb, so we've put together recessed lighting kits in hopes of eliminating the frustration and guesswork.

These recessed lighting kits include a lighting trim, a housing and a light bulb. The kits are available for 2", 3", 4", 5" and 6" recessed lighting fixtures.

recessed lighting kit

If you are ready to make your recessed lighting projects easier, be sure to check out the recessed lighting kits that we offer.

Questions. We get lots of questions. When we get a lot of questions in one particular area, this always prompts us to address it in a more global manner. Such as, the questions we get about LED Par 38 versus Halogen PAR 38-and which one is the better bulb. People want to know if  the LED PAR 38 is brighter than the Halogen PAR 38. Is the LED a good option? Folks are taking a good, hard look at LED as an alternative to Halogen because they know they are energy efficient and last longer, but they are not sure if they will be happy switching over. Does this sound like you?

Our team here decided to take it to the test-what they think is a real test-not a fancy, scientific test. We'll just call it an empirical test since it is based on actual experience instead of an experiment. In plain language, it was a shootout:

In this video, our team did a side by side comparison of a 24 watt LED 5000K PAR 38 against a 90 watt 2800K Halogen PAR 38 which should will help you decide if the LED bulb is the one for you and if it will save you money.  We cover wattage issues, color temperature, which one puts out more foot candles (a measurement of light intensity),  and more!

We welcome your comments and hope that they are presented to us in a constructive manner so that we can incorporate it in future videos and blog postings. Send us your 'before' and 'after' project pictures! We'd love to be able to talk about your process so that others can benefit from it too.

Lighting Chocolate in a showcase

Now, you can get an energy efficient showcase lighting that will not melt chocolate. Really? Really. This LED light fixture is ideal for many applications-it is perfect for all around showcase lighting needs and better still for those glass display cases that are difficult and limited in space.

Remember that saying, 'dynamite comes in small packages"? This fixture has a slim, low profile (it is SMALL!) and has a high output.

LED showcase lighting: slim profile

Here are some of the product details provided by the manufacturer:

According to recent studies LED lighting consumes about 75% less energy than incandescent lighting and lasts much longer than incandescent and longer than fluorescent lighting.

The LEDs used in the LED under cabinet strip are rated to last an average of 50,000 hours. By comparison, incandescent lamps are rated for about 2,000 hours and fluorescent lamps are rated for around 20,000 hours. 24-hour operation for 6 years will require incandescent lamps to be replaced 13 times.

Fluorescent lamps will have been replaced once while the LED under cabinet strip will continue to operate for 5 additional years.

Applications:

LED applications and uses continue to grow. At first, LEDs were used in direct view applications, such as traffic lights and billboard signs. Today, LEDs are used to light coves and accent pathways.

Product Features:

• Maximized performance, specification grade, LED strip in custom anodized housing
• Available in pre-cut sections allowing field assembly to every 6 inches ½', 1', 2', 3' and 4'
• Standard Engineered to eliminate 'dark zones'
• 3,000 K warm white, standard CRI = 80
• VWF - Very Wide Flood. Distribution of 120°
• Chip spacing - 1" on center
• Uses 24v AC/DC input
• Dimmable on standard Lutron dimmers
• 48' max run length Life rated at 50,000 hours
• Built-in circuitry protects against short circuits.
• No UV, No IR, No mercury, No lead, No PCBs, No Asbestos

Jewelry lit by the LED showcase light fixture

The LED showcase light fixture produces a wonderful specular light which makes it ideal for lighting jewelry as you can see by the image above. That sparkle was produced by the light fixture alone-no gimmicky filters or post production things were done to the image (in fact, this image has not been edited at all-it is truly a what you see is what you get kind of thing).

Talk about a sweet spot, this fixture is energy efficient, comes in different lengths, color temperatures, produces virtually no heat and lights your display case in a way that you were never able to achieve before.

 

 

We've provided a video here so that you can see for yourself how simple and easy this is:

The fixture is attached to the glass with two small strips of double stick mounting tape.

The team here at Total Lighting Supply are on a mission to demystify lighting aspects one bulb, one fixture at a time. We hope that we also presented you with some appealing options by way of this exciting product. Be sure to visit our You Tube Channel to find out even more ways to demystify lighting.

This posting is in response to a very long thread on the Garden Web Lighting forum (Disappointed With My LED Recessed Lighting)-the original post was from 2008. Our lighting designer and guru was fascinated by all the comments an remarks and varying levels of input from the community at large. He thought it was time he should weigh in and we'd thought we'd share his insights and knowledge with you. To see the original thread that this post was based on, please be sure to use the link through for Garden Web.

"I know this post has been around for a while-please forgive me in responding to such an old post, but the technology has changed so much since then that I thought I'd weigh in. The improvements made in LED recessed lighting has addressed so many of these issues that I find it no longer disappointing. In addition, I get questions related to kitchen lighting all the time and thought I might be able to provide some quick insight from a lighting designer's point of view.
First of all, it seems that many lighting designers shy away from kitchen lighting, although I'm not sure exactly why. I have done hundreds of lighting designs for kitchens and I always take the approach that kitchen needs to have at least two different levels of lighting along with under-cabinet lighting. The quality of light is very important in any space-particularly the kitchen.
Kitchen  light needs to be bright, white and even.  In most cases, halogen lighting will not work. Halogen is a specular light source and tends to create harsh shadows. Not to mention the heat that it produces in addition to the heat that you get from the stove and the oven.This is something that an electrician or a contractor is not likely to take into consideration.
Fluorescent light can work well if done right, but you have to select your housing, trim and the color temperature of the lamp very carefully. As for the color temperature, we like to use lights that are 30K (or even higher) in color. The light output at this color temperature is closer to daylight.
LED fixtures now offer many choices of color temperature but most of my clients seem to like the 30K range the best. After years and years of looking at various samples we finally have found a LED module that seems to meet everyones needs.  First and foremost, it fits just about every recessed housing out there. It actually fits both 5" and 6" line voltage recessed
housings.  And even though I do not believe in dimming a kitchen light, the LED module can be dimmed with a number of common dimmers. Just know that a dimming system will add another level of complications to your lighting system.
I prefer splitting the kitchen lighting into at least two parts of lighting levels (and on two different on/off switches), if you will. One level is a 'support level'-providing light for ambiance and resembling having dimmed lights and the second level (along with the first) is the full on work mode that is needed for food preparation, cleanup, etc.
In addition, LED fixtures are at such a low wattage and are very energy efficient that they can be left on all day. In fact, the circuit in the LED lamps like to be left on and over time, can loose their efficiency by being turned on and off all the time. Turning LED lamps on and off frequently throughout the day will actually shorten the life of the LED driver in the fixture.  Another great addition to your kitchen lighting design is under cabinet lighting. Adding a quality LED under cabinet lighting fixture as a third lighting level option can also help to create an even distribution of light in your kitchen. From a design standpoint and from a user standpoint, offering at least two to three levels of lighting will make all the difference in the world and eliminate the 'need' for having to dim your lights."

Note: ALWAYS USE A LICENSED ELECTRICIAN (not your buddy) AND TO ALWAYS CHECK THAT YOUR PROJECT IS IN COMPLIANCE WITH LOCAL BUILDING CODES. WE WELCOME BLOG TOPIC SUGGESTIONS: SEND US YOUR 'Q'S' AND WELL GIVE YOU AN 'A'. AND, WE WELCOME YOUR COMMENTS AND WOULD LOVE TO SHARE YOUR 'BEFORE' AND 'AFTER' PICTURES (send them to us!).

We just introduced a LED Retrofit Module and Trim (aka: universal LED Retrofit ) to our line about a month ago and it is soon becoming one of most popular and most sought after items. Want to know why?

-First off, if you have an EXISTING 5" OR 6" recessed light fixture, this retrofit can be used to replace what is already in there. Its application is for remodel and for new construction.

-It fits shallow AND regular IC and Non-IC housings.

Are you impressed yet? Wait-there's more:

-It's energy efficient: it is 14W: to equate it to what you've been used to, which would be the 65W incandescent bulb. That translates to a 75% savings on energy consumption, so this is a very 'green' choice by way of lighting. It also has the Energy Star rating AND meets the California Title 24 requirements.

-It is bright: 620 lumens (remember that lumens is the measure of brightness and not wattage: see our article that explains how this works). Not to mention that has a color temperature of 3,000K-which is a very good approximation of daylight.

-Long lasting (because it is LED): it is rated for up to 50,000 life hours.

-If you so desire, it is dimmable. Although, our lighting designer frowns on installing dimmable lights-instead, he recommends that you create several 'layers' of lighting. For the sake of aesthetics and for the sake of longevity of the fixture (as dimmable switches come with their own set of issues).

This fixture is dimmable with these dimmers:

LUTRON: Ariadni, Diva, Skylark, AY/TG Series,DV Series, S Series Electroic Low Voltage: Diva- DVELV-300P, Maestro MAELV-600, Nova T-NTLV-1000, Nova T-NTELV-600

LUTRON System Homeworks HW-RPM-4A-120

LEVITON Dimmers IPIO6-1LX,6673-10W,6631-LW and IPE04-1LX, 6615

Note: Use of 600watt incandescent dimmers will limit maximum number of fixtures to 4 and 7 for 1000watt incandescent.

We recommend using electronic low voltage dimmers for better performance.

-This fixture is also rated for WET locations: such as, your shower or under eave lighting.

-This LED Retrofit Module and Trim can easily convert most 5" and 6" incandescent recessed lighting cans to an energy saving LED fixture. There is no other product out there that has this versatility.

You can see how easy it is to install and change out your fixtures here:

We don't know of any other product out there that can do all of these things: be used in remodel and new construction, fits shallow and regular IC and Non-IC housings, that can also be used in a wet location, that can fit an existing 5" or 6" recessed housing, that is energy efficient, that is rated for 50,000 life hours, meets California's Title 24 code, and is Energy Star rated. Do you? I mean, this fixture gives you a lot of bang for the buck and you will not find anything like this in the big box stores.

If you already have existing 5" or 6" recessed incandescent fixtures, you can now go green with the existing housing with this LED Retrofit Module and Trim.

So, if you are looking for ways to cut your energy cost and consumption of your existing 5" or 6" incandescent recessed lighting fixture, this is the way to go: with Total Recessed Lighting's  LED Retrofit Module and Trim.

And, what does this mean to you (WDTMTY)? Or, more accurately, WDTMTM (what does this mean to me)?

This article is an abbreviated version of the article called, "LED, Incandescents, CFL's, Oh No!! (Or, Watt's Up?).

But first, I have to share with you what started that article to begin with. In a phone conversation with my dad's wife (they live on Molokai), she was wondering why the CFL's in her ceiling fan didn't last very long. I went through the trouble shooting list with her-is the total wattage too much for the fixture? Are the lights turned on and off continually throughout the day? And, being on a small island, the likelihood of inconsistent delivery of energy  or variable voltage probably fluctuates enough to affect the longevity of the bulb. During the course of that conversation, it became clear to me that she was thinking of wattage in terms of the brightness of the bulb. Which then made me realize that this is what most people think when they look at the wattage of a bulb.

Wattage is a description of energy consumption. Lumens is a description of light output (or to be even clearer, the higher the lumen number, the brighter the light). A lot of light bulb packages even go so far as to give you the 'equivalent' or a translation of sorts:

So, how do you know what lumen range is good for you? As you might guess, it is a matter of preference. As we age, though (you know, when you can no longer read without those drug store reading glasses), we really need a brighter light to see with.  I would suggest just buying one bulb each of the lower range of lumens and the highest range that you can get your hands on and try them out at home. This will at least give you an idea of what YOU prefer and what works for you.

As for me, I like it bright-because it is better for ME to see with. And, as a studio artist, I will look for bulbs that are around 1200 lumens. I would recommend this as a good range for task lighting. Not so good for ambiance, though. Remember, it is a matter of personal preference.

Color temperature DOES affect how you perceive the light too. Kelvin is the description of color temperature. Light in the warmer range is about 2700K. Very yellow. If you took two bulbs with the same lumen output, but on either end of the color temperature range, then you could really see the difference.

(image from Wikipedia)

These three bulbs are pretty much the same light output (lumens), but you can see how the color temperature affects how YOU perceive the brightness of the bulb.

The point I want you to walk away with from this article is that if you want bright, go for the lumens, not the wattage.

If you need to contact us, at the bottom of every web page is a 'contact us' link. Or, you can do a live chat. If the live chat is off, you can still click on it and send us a message.

We here at Total Lighting Supply are on a mission to demystify lighting aspects one bulb, one fixture at a time.

Want to be demystified even more? Go to our You Tube Channel and check out the informational videos that we've made for you.

Yes, the quest continues here at Total Recessed Lighting. We want to demystify recessed lighting as much as possible and empower YOU the consumer, with knowledge. After all, life is too short to get frustrated with decisions on recessed lighting, isn't it? We know you have better things to occupy your time with.

We've created a series of videos in regards to 6" recessed lighting and fixtures. 6" recessed lighting fixtures are THE most popular category of recessed lighting-as well it should be as it is the most economical and flexible of fixtures in the recessed lighting world.

Here's a video that gives a general overview of what you should know about 6" recessed lighting fixtures:

You can learn how to install a 6" recessed lighting baffle trim into an existing 6" recessed housing using trim springs. It's easy and fast with this video tutorial.

Or, see how easy it is to install an air tight 6" recessed trim into your existing 6" recessed housing (did you know you could do that?).

If you'd like to keep track of all upcoming videos here at Total Recessed Lighting, you can subscribe to our You Tube Channel. Be sure to also check off the box that allows for email notifications. And, for your peace of mind, subscribing to our channel is spam free!

If you found this video helpful, we'd love to hear about it by leaving us a comment here at our blog. If you would like to see other videos made that would be helpful to you, again, leave us a comment here or contact us. We're here to help!

Under cabinet lighting. You want it. But, you really don't want to install a fluorescent fixture that fit under cabinets-because of esthetics-it often is visible unless you find a work around solution. I'll bet you  even thought of getting a bunch of those hockey puck style LED lights as a solution. But, your intuition tells you, "bad idea".

Total Recessed Lighting is excited to offer what we think is one of the best solutions to under cabinet lighting (perfect for under your kitchen cabinets). A super slim profile with high output, these LED under cabinet fixtures come in 5 different lengths and 4 color temperatures. Our LED fixtures are perfect for under kitchen cabinets, straight cove lighting or placed anywhere where super slim, rigid LED fixtures are required by the designer. It is energy efficient, easy to install, is rated to last up to 50,000 hours, and comes in several color temperatures. We recommend the 4100K as it is a nice, clean light. Most incandescent lights are in the 2700K color temperature range-which appears to be very yellow. So, if the space you are installing these lights in have other light sources that are int he 2700K range, the 4100K will seem odd next to what you have. Just something to take into consideration. You do need to know what the color temperature range that your other light sources are . If you need help in the things that need to be considered in your decision, feel free to contact us and our lead lighting designer will be happy to help you.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. I think a video is worth a million words. With that in mind, we've put together a short video for you that shows how simple and easy this under cabinet lighting system is to install. We also have many other helpful DIY tutorials and product overviews at our You Tube Channel.

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