Let's talk interior recessed lighting

Jnbroadbent · January 13, 2014, 08:14:53 PM

So I've been on the search for months now for an economic, slim, attractive recessed lighting solution for my non-raised mc9.

I've seen the slim enclosures at home depot for ~$30 each but that's just too much for my budget.

What do you guys have for suggestions?

Seangie · January 13, 2014, 09:29:10 PM

Jon - Instead of recessed think differently -indirect lighting. This is our plan for our non roof raised Eagle. Where we need the direct lighting (eg: for reading) we are trying to find super kewlo flexible lamps. Our goal is to keep all lighting 12v. Indirect lighting can go behind any piece of trim if you leave a gap. We are using the cheapo led strips for the indirect lights.

-Sean

Fulltiming somewhere in the USA
1984 Eagle 10S
www.herdofturtles.org

robertglines1 · January 14, 2014, 03:04:00 AM

pic of led ceiling app these are cool white and there is almost 60ft in this string. it can be cut to as short as 6 inches... 12 volt.. available in all light brightness.I plan on $1 a foot cost and use USA shipper only because of bad out of country shipping experiences. Bob

robertglines1 · January 14, 2014, 03:13:10 AM

a variety of led and bases I used. The ribbon led are the ones used in ceiling above.

uncle ned · January 14, 2014, 08:12:42 AM

Robert

Give us a good supplier. The one I got were 12 v but 12 volt ac. worked good with a transformer but when i cut them to 12 volt battery only every other one worked.

TomC · January 14, 2014, 09:41:53 AM

I used surface mount puck lights. They came as 20 watt halogen. Then changed to 10 watt Xenon. Now is 3 watt LED. So with 8 puck lights went from 160 watts to 80 watts to 24 watts. Plus the LED's create little heat-both the halogen and xenon would burn you if touched. I would suggest staying away from recessed since that means getting down into the insulation. Good Luck, TomC

Jnbroadbent · January 14, 2014, 09:44:01 AM

Quote from: Seangie on January 13, 2014, 09:29:10 PM
Jon - Instead of recessed think differently -indirect lighting. This is our plan for our non roof raised Eagle. Where we need the direct lighting (eg: for reading) we are trying to find super kewlo flexible lamps. Our goal is to keep all lighting 12v. Indirect lighting can go behind any piece of trim if you leave a gap. We are using the cheapo led strips for the indirect lights.

-Sean

Fulltiming somewhere in the USA
1984 Eagle 10S
www.herdofturtles.org

Hey Sean,

I plan on having indirect as well but I hate a dimly lit living areas. A pet peeve of mine. I know there's a reasonable solution out there, I just have to find it. Thanks for the suggestions.

Jnbroadbent · January 14, 2014, 09:48:55 AM

Quote from: TomC on January 14, 2014, 09:41:53 AM
I used surface mount puck lights. They came as 20 watt halogen. Then changed to 10 watt Xenon. Now is 3 watt LED. So with 8 puck lights went from 160 watts to 80 watts to 24 watts. Plus the LED's create little heat-both the halogen and xenon would burn you if touched. I would suggest staying away from recessed since that means getting down into the insulation. Good Luck, TomC

That could also work... Where did you get them?

Oonrahnjay · January 14, 2014, 10:44:32 AM

Quote from: Jnbroadbent on January 14, 2014, 09:48:55 AMThat could also work... Where did you get them?

Jon - I did the same as Tom (except I skipped the Xenon bulbs). My fixtures are from a company called ITC in Holland MI. When I first put them in, they had halogen bulbs and were hot to sit under and they pulled a fair amount of power. I bought about 2 dozen LED's from http://www.rvledbulbs.com/ and now if the inverter/charger is floating the charge, the meter still does not show any "buying power" (the meter is calibrated in tenths of a kilowatt so I'm guessing it needs to see near to 100 watts to show .1 of a kilowatt). I haven't measured exact current draw but it's *very* low.
The lights are "puck lights" -- they're low profile, maybe a trim ring about 1/4" high and the lens itself which has a slight curvature. They ones I have are built to take G4 bulbs, these are bulbs with two wire contacts that are spaces 4mm apart. When I bought the LED's, I saw both the warm light and cool light bulbs on Gary Throneberry's (Garhawk) Eagle, I decided that I wanted the cool white (I have a lot of blue and bluish-grey color in my interior) and I'm glad that I did. These lights throw a LOT of light
HTH, BH NC USA

bansil · January 14, 2014, 12:27:14 PM

I get all my LEDS stuff from superbrightled dot com

I am not affiliated, just a happy customer

TomC · January 14, 2014, 03:14:32 PM

Halogen lights are 12v powered. I bought add on halogen puck lights from Home Depot-since the add ons do not have the power converter (to convert from 120vac to 12v).

Take a look at super bright leds. Good Luck, TomC

86102A3 · January 15, 2014, 03:56:10 AM

I have 12v LED puck lights from ikea. They come in a nice warm color so they do not even look like LEDs. I think it was a 4 pack for $39. Have not installed yet but will get some pictures of them.

treeplanter · January 15, 2014, 07:41:57 AM

Superbrightleds.com

Jnbroadbent · January 15, 2014, 08:01:10 AM

Quote from: treeplanter on January 15, 2014, 07:41:57 AM
Superbrightleds.com

Are those the mini 1 watts?

Oonrahnjay · January 15, 2014, 08:19:48 AM

Quote from: 86102A3 on January 15, 2014, 03:56:10 AMI have 12v LED puck lights from ikea. They come in a nice warm color so they do not even look like LEDs. I think it was a 4 pack for $39. Have not installed yet but will get some pictures of them.

As I mentioned, I have the cool-blue LED's and I like how the match my color scheme but if I had a lot of natural, varnished wood, I'd want to go with the warmer color, too. It's kind of a question of what matches.
I think that LED's @ $39/4 is a good price. I don't remember what I paid but I bought the puck lights with halogen light bulb (don't remember exactly from a couple of years ago but they struck me as pretty expensive). Then, when I realized the current draw and heat (although the light output was good), I spent about $6 for the LED bulbs. This was an expensive way to go but I'm super happy with the light fixtures I have (low-profile) and the low current draw and good light. Also, the LED's I have now are dimmable and I'm looking for a suitable 12V dimmer switch for my main downstairs (I'll leave the kitchen group full illumination - can't see needing to cook in dim light) group and also for the living room and bedroom groups upstairs (the main corridor light, and the stair light I'll leave full, too).
Gary Throneberry gave me contact info for http://www.rvledbulbs.com/ - either a representative (or maybe the owner) attended the Shelbyville rally in October and Gary had both the warm and cool lights on his bus (which has a lot of natural wood and also brown/tan/golden upholstery materials). I am very happy with the LED's I got from RVLeds, the price, and their service.

Jon, I hate dimly lit living areas, too, but it will be nice to be able to dim the bedroom and living room. One of my big factors is that The Management loves to read (usually 2-3 books a week) and that means that I have to have good reading lights in comfortable areas for her. (In addition to the corridor lights in the bedroom - which will be full illumination when on - there are two ceiling puck lights which I'll make dimable and two "candle-look" wall lights, one on either side of the head of the bed. The wall lights have screw-in bulbs but I'll replace them with LED's as soon as I can match the bases. So. she'll have a very comfortable reading nook with lots of light in the living room and plenty of light to read by in bed.)

BH NC USA