Recessed Lighting (New VS Traditional - Pros and Cons)

Hello Lumen Brothers Family!

Today’s video tutorial is all about recessed lighting. For years, recessed lights have consisted of 3 parts, the can (or the unit that fits into the ceiling between the joists), the trim and the bulb. These recessed lighting fixtures are tried and true and work great but there are some drawbacks to this model of recessed fixture. The main drawback being their height. Each traditional recessed can varies in height from 5-6 inches for shorter models to 8-9 inches for standard models. This often times poses a problem when it comes to lighting layout. If the recessed housing itself needs 8-9 inches of height in order to be installed, these models of recessed lighting obviously can’t be installed everywhere. You will definitely run into limitations on your lighting layout with older models, unless you get lucky.

The newer recessed lighting fixtures solve this problem by doing away with the recessed housing altogether. These new models are comprised of a small junction box and a 1/2’ thin LED recessed light. These slim fixtures can go anywhere! Even if you’re cutting in your lights and you realize that your hole is directly below the joist above, these fixtures will snap right in as if the joist weren’t there. They’re wonderful for that reason alone but that’s not the only reason we choose to install these models over the traditional fixtures.

These slim-line models of recessed lights also come equipped with a color temperature selector. This allows you to change the color output of your lights along a color spectrum from 2700 Kelvin (warm, antique yellow) to 5000 Kelvin (Cool, daytime blue). This allows you to dial the lights in to whatever purpose they may serve. For example, when installing recessed lights in a kitchen or laundry room, you may want to select a color temperature that is closer to the 5000K setting, such as 3500K. This gives a cleaner, blue-daytime light that makes it easier for you to see dirt on laundry or on kitchen surfaces. Inversely, when installing recessed lights in a bedroom or living space, it may make sense to dial the color temperature in to a warmer, antique-style lighting color such as 2700K.

We install these lights very frequently so if you live in the Frederick, Maryland area and would like a free consultation, please fill out the form on our “Contact” page today. Hopefully you found this post helpful. If so, please like and subscribe to our YouTube Channel.