# LED Recessed Cans



## dspiffy (Nov 25, 2013)

I havent done a major installation job that involved recessed cans since before LEDs were commonplace. My preference was always for 6" cans and halogen PARs and LED PARs were just starting to become regularly available.

As a lighting designer, I much preferred direct light and rarely used type R lamps. Now I'm noticing that most of the LED trims, pucks, etc, are largely indirect. It seems like all of the LED options are equivalent to type R.

What do you use if you want PAR-like direct light? What are the commonly speced options?


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## 99cents (Aug 20, 2012)

All the usual bulb shapes are available in LED like PAR, R, BR, etc. if you’re still using cans.

I’m confused about what you mean by direct and indirect.


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## dspiffy (Nov 25, 2013)

99cents said:


> All the usual bulb shapes are available in LED like PAR, R, BR, etc. if you’re still using cans.
> 
> I’m confused about what you mean by direct and indirect.


Are people still specing cans with medium base sockets? I cant remember the last time I saw one.

PAR = direct = a circle of light on the floor. Available in beam angles from 15-90 degrees, or at least they used to be. Are there LED trims and/or pucks that are equivalent? Everything I've seen has been equivalent to type R lamps, which while technically are 120-180 degree beam angle, for the intents and purposes of recessed cans, they're arguably indirect.


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## RAD COM (Mar 3, 2019)

You can think of the difference between Par and R is that Par lamps have a clear glass( fresnel etc) lens and R lamps will have a frosted glass lens. Hence the beam spread difference. Soraa makes medium base PAR type lamps were you can choose your beam spread. I just tried to order some but they wouldn't ship to my state.

Here in California you will have to dig high and low to find a medium base socket can. I noticed around December of last year a lot of supply houses were dumping their inventory. They would have piles of incandescent lamps and housings with free signs. I am not sure but I think they are no longer allowed to sell them here due to something called Title 20. I hope Biden doesn't make this a National standard. I just went through hell to get a 4" low voltage housing.

If you want to create the directional effect of PAR with LED with a new fixture you will need to use something like the Nora Iolite series of recessed cans. These use a single LED not an array. The come with different reflectors that go from 15 to 60 degrees that you can interchange. There are many other high end brands that do this.


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## dspiffy (Nov 25, 2013)

RAD COM said:


> If you want to create the directional effect of PAR with LED with a new fixture you will need to use something like the Nora Iolite series of recessed cans. These use a single LED not an array. The come with different reflectors that go from 15 to 60 degrees that you can interchange. There are many other high end brands that do this.


This is what I was asking, along with:

Are you guys still specing old school cans?

Which sounds like the answer is no in California.


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## Camproadninja (Oct 14, 2020)

I haven't done old style cans in years and I don't know of any electricians in my area that do any more. 

You can get many LED fixtures that will give you the directional light you are looking for without dealing with cans.









LUMEINA Small aperture architectural Downlight - Stanpro


The Lumeina series is the perfect combination of state-of-the-art technology and aesthetic design. Indeed, the quality of light of this series may easily compare to the superior quality of the crisp white halogen light, at a fraction of the energy cost.




www.standardpro.com





These are higher end ones for example, many of the larger brands make similar or more cost effective downlights as well.


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## five.five-six (Apr 9, 2013)

Camproadninja said:


> I haven't done old style cans in years and I don't know of any electricians in my area that do any more.
> 
> You can get many LED fixtures that will give you the directional light you are looking for without dealing with cans.
> 
> ...



I still use cans on new construction because I haven’t figured out how to rough in a layout with those retrofit fixtures... and I haven’t done a residence since before COVID 

How do you rough in for those?


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## Viggmundir (Sep 13, 2019)




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