# LED trims or bulbs



## BIGRED (Jan 22, 2007)

I am renovating my house and purchased Halo 4" and 6" cans. What should I put in them Halo LED trims od get LED bulbs. What should I look for in the way of K's. I heard that the 3700K make you look blue, 2700K is better? I don't know someone tell me. :blink:


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## ElectricJoeNJ (Feb 24, 2011)

Definitely get the lower k rating. They will be the closest match to an incadescent lamp.


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## electricmanscott (Feb 11, 2010)

If you haven't installed them yet I'd use all 4" with the Eco smart LED trim from home depot. It's much nicer looking than the Halo. Definitely stick with 2700k.


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## BIGRED (Jan 22, 2007)

electricmanscott said:


> If you haven't installed them yet I'd use all 4" with the Eco smart LED trim from home depot. It's much nicer looking than the Halo. Definitely stick with 2700k.


I haven't installed the trims yet, I like the Halo because of the step baffle. I will take a look at the Eco Smart though.


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## xlink (Mar 12, 2012)

3700k is the better match with incandescent lights.

4100k is cool white and if mixed with incandescent makes the incandescent lights look yellow. I think it looks better next to a window in the daytime.

5000k is considered daylight. It does look a little blue but so does the sunlight on a cloudy day.

I find anything above 5000k looks unnatural but in fact is closer to sunlight.

It is a question of taste. My favourite is 4100k.


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## the-apprentice (Jun 11, 2012)

sylvania make for a 4" a trim with the led built in, they are a very tight fit.but look nicer when an led bulb and a trim


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## Shockdoc (Mar 4, 2010)

Trims are cheaper than buying a trim and bulb set up.


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## 10492 (Jan 4, 2010)

Trims are better than bulbs.

4100k 


FWIW.


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## electricmanscott (Feb 11, 2010)

Anything over 3000k is going to look like fluorescent. Really any of the LED stuff is going to look like fluorescent to some degree but the higher you go the close it gets. I have samples in my truck so I can show people rather than waste my, and their time even discussing LED.


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## xlink (Mar 12, 2012)

electricmanscott said:


> Anything over 3000k is going to look like fluorescent. Really any of the LED stuff is going to look like fluorescent to some degree but the higher you go the close it gets. I have samples in my truck so I can show people rather than waste my, and their time even discussing LED.


I don't disagree that LED isn't always a solution but I think the incandescent light is actually not a good standard. We complain about the blue tinge of LED and fluorescent. Really the yellow incandescent is ugly, too.


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## electricmanscott (Feb 11, 2010)

xlink said:


> I don't disagree that LED isn't always a solution but I think the incandescent light is actually not a good standard. We complain about the blue tinge of LED and fluorescent. Really the yellow incandescent is ugly, too.


Agreed. It's familiar though and what people know. To me it's more comfortable too. I prefer halogen above all. It's just a cleaner light. 

I don't have any LED in my own house. I don't like the appearance of the light but I do install tons now for customers. But as I said, I ALWAYS show the customer first.


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## duque00 (Sep 11, 2008)

Big Red - I have a post about LED trims on the General board.

Ecosmart has two K points.

2700 K - closest to Incandescent
5000 K - bright white.

You're going to bring a lot of factors into your selection process. What is going to be in the room? 

Floors - hardwood, carpet, tile, slate, etc?
Counter tops or Mantles?
Electronics?

Also are these standard cans or shallow cans? - some trims don't work with the shallow cans.

My advice if you are going to use the Ecosmarts buy 2 of each and try them out and let the family give feedback as well.

If you need any more advice I am here to help.....

P.S. You are going to need specialty dimmers if you go that route


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## sbrn33 (Mar 15, 2007)

I would go with trims and LED lamps. I don't trust LED's in general at this point. The lamps you can just change out if one goes bad. The race to bring out the cheapest trim is a huge downfall in my book. Say you have 6 trims in your kitchen and one goes bad in five years. Do you really think they will still make that trim? So now you are stuck buying all six.
I also think the regular trim and lamp look a hell of a lot better than the ugly, commercial looking LED trims.
I went with all 2700 Eiko lamps in my own home. Less than $30 a lamp and full light output.


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## duque00 (Sep 11, 2008)

Valid point but prices are coming down. But the same can be same about LED Lamps and trims. A lamp might die out - will it too be available in the future - will it fit the trim you bought years ago.

I think you're screwed either way.

Plus the Ecosmarts are made by Cree.

The HD stuff Commercial Electric - well I don't think I have to explain that here.


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## electricmanscott (Feb 11, 2010)

sbrn33 said:


> I would go with trims and LED lamps. I don't trust LED's in general at this point. The lamps you can just change out if one goes bad. The race to bring out the cheapest trim is a huge downfall in my book. Say you have 6 trims in your kitchen and one goes bad in five years. Do you really think they will still make that trim? So now you are stuck buying all six.
> I also think the regular trim and lamp look a hell of a lot better than the ugly, commercial looking LED trims.
> I went with all 2700 Eiko lamps in my own home. Less than $30 a lamp and full light output.


Good points. The trims at Home Depot are already changing every couple of months it seems. 

I'm buying LED lamps for $11 at the supply house right now. They look exactly like a BR65 flood. In a 5" can with white trim and that lamp it looks the same as a regular 65watt incandescent flood.

I've used a couple hundred of these over the last few months with success.


http://www.1000bulbs.com/product/69866/TCP-LED14E26BR3041K.html


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## sbrn33 (Mar 15, 2007)

$11 bucks, Wow that is cheap. The cheapest I have seen is $20 but they are good lamps with full light output.


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## electricmanscott (Feb 11, 2010)

sbrn33 said:


> $11 bucks, Wow that is cheap. The cheapest I have seen is $20 but they are good lamps with full light output.


The supplier/manufacturer has a rebate program with some of the power companies. Not sure how they work it on their end but my invoice shows it as $38.00 each on one line with -$27.00 rebate on another line for a final price of $11.00


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## kbsparky (Sep 20, 2007)

electricmanscott said:


> ...I'm buying LED lamps for $11 at the supply house right now. They look exactly like a BR65 flood. In a 5" can with white trim and that lamp it looks the same as a regular 65watt incandescent flood.
> 
> I've used a couple hundred of these over the last few months with success.
> 
> ...


The link you provided says those bulbs are $35.53 each, NOT $11.00

Not all power companies are subsidizing these bulbs, BTW


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## duque00 (Sep 11, 2008)

In LI, NY the ecosmarts trims are 24/26 respectivly. This is with the $11 rebate built in from LIPA.

Check with you local utility - some give you the savings at the register some give you after forms/rebates etc.

Halo has a trim for 6" - $50 at HD
Lithonia has a trim for 6" - $30 at HD as well.

I guess you got to shop locally and get the best price. I've used the Ecosmarts and have had no problems unless shallow cans.

NOTE: The Trims are rated for wet locations - so bathrooms, outdoors, etc. I can't say that for separate trims and lamps.


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## electricmanscott (Feb 11, 2010)

kbsparky said:


> The link you provided says those bulbs are $35.53 each, NOT $11.00
> 
> Not all power companies are subsidizing these bulbs, BTW


I was just saying what _I pay for them at my suppliers_ and showing what lamp I was talking about. Any of the rebates are going to be regional.

If your suppliers aren't getting you rebates tell them to get on board. I buy primarily from one supplier but these lamps were at another. Every time I bought a bunch I mentioned it to my main sales guy at y regular supplier. It took a few months for them to get a program in place but he called me two days ago and said they were loading the rebate pacing into their system and they wanted to make sure it matched the other guys. In addition they are going to get the rebates Home Depot is using to sell their eco smart trims for cheap money as well.


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## kbsparky (Sep 20, 2007)

Not all power companies are in the business of subsidizing the rich at the expense of the poor.


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## electricmanscott (Feb 11, 2010)

kbsparky said:


> Not all power companies are in the business of subsidizing the rich at the expense of the poor.


Thank you for your input. We'll put that on file.


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## volleyball (Sep 14, 2011)

I put 10 LED trims in my living room and 2 in another room in case I need spares. They have worked great over a year now.
My kitchen has separate trim bulbs because I run different bulbs. Every bulb is different , even some florescent but nobody ever notices. 
I have videos that I show people that both can work. And let them decide. I don't worry about trim/bulb mismatches in the future, That is a money vs. appearance issue for the owner to deal with. They go cheap with 1 bulb replacement or buy a whole room upgrade and I get more $$


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## duque00 (Sep 11, 2008)

Volleyball - can you post those videos here or link them to Youtube so we can check them out! Thanks.


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