Light bulbs for 5 inch vs 6 inch recessed cans

14 years ago

I've read the recent threads about the housings and trims for recessed cans. I am still confused about the light bulbs themselves.

My electrician said he likes to use 6" cans because they can take any type of light bulb: regular incandescent, halogen, or florescent (I was kind of overwhelmed when he was over - I think those are the types of light bulbs he listed). He said 5" cans can't take all 3 types, but I don't know which he thought wouldn't work. However, I think 5" cans are better for my small kitchen with an 8' ceiling. Anyone know if what he said about the bulbs is true?

Also, after reading the threads about clear and wheat alzak trims, I went over to a lighting store to check them out. They had bulbs in their recessed cans with the small reflector type circles on them, which look like outdoor bulbs to me. I forgot to ask about them. Are these typical - I think they are ugly for inside the house. Is there another choice? Do the reflector circles help spread the light or something?

I don't think that I can put in the taller housings because the joists are 8", if that matters.

TIA!

Featured Answer

astridh

14 years ago

First, about the can trim. The "clear" trim (silvery) and "haze" trim (dull golden) are designed to reflect the most light while not producing much glare. The black baffle trim reflects the least glare. Personally, I dislike the look of all three of these. I prefer white baffle trim. I would rather put up with a little glare when they are on and have them disappear better into the ceiling when they are off.

Secondly, the size issue. I chose 5" cans for my 8' kitchen ceiling because I think that size is the best tradeoff. The 4" cans don't spread their light very wide, so you need more of them, getting the "swiss cheese" look. The 6" cans are less attractive to me due to their large size.

If you want fluorescent, you can buy a special 5" can made to hold the pin-base type of fluorescent bulb. That's what I did because I live in California, and a certain percentage of fluorescent lighting is required here as an energy-saving measure. As rjr220 said, fluorescents can't be dimmed, although I did manage to find some bulbs with acceptably an acceptably warm color, so I don't hate them. I haven't seen fluorescent floodlights made to fit in a 5" can, but they might exist.

What I did over the sink is the 5" can with a PAR 30 50 Watt bulb on a dimmer, which is what I really prefer. These put out plenty of light, much more than the fluorescents do. In older parts of my house I have 6" cans that I put fluorescent bulbs in. They put out decent light, but I think the 5" size looks MUCH better.

Juno is considered a better brand than Halo. It is supposed to be a bit better constructed, and has many more trim options. I have 5" Juno in the kitchen, and 6" Halo in my office. What I dislike about the Halo is that when you look up at them, you can see around the lightbulb into the guts of the can light. The Junos are not like that.

The newest option with is energy saving are the LED cans, which Juno makes in 5" and 6". I don't know much about them because they have only become available recently. I think they are more expensive. You might want to check the lighting forum, also. Good luck with your renovation.

Comments (6)

rjr220
14 years ago
I'm am also learning about the lightbulbs themselves. With the help of this forum and my electrician, this is my decision so far: I have 8 ft ceilings as well. Also, I've found in pricing out cans and trims that 6" are less $$ than 5". Someone else has mentioned that as well.

Halo 6 inch cans: H7RICT and either the clear or haze trim: Halo #30CAT (clear) or #30HAT (haze). The best price I have found for these is at western wholesale (link below) -- free shipping. Although the can itself is not air-tight, the trims are, so you can save a buck on each can with the RICT instead of the RICAT (every buck saved helps . . . .) If you want Juno cans/trims, the best price I have found is at www.galesburgelectric.com

These cans and trims can take a number of bulbs (on the trim page look at the "specs" for listing of bulbs they take). Remember that flourescent can't be dimmed. My electrician recommends going with 75 watt incandescent on dimmers, because if they're too bright, you dim them . . . . you can't make a lower watt brighter. Someone here recommended Ushio bulbs as they seem to have a long life -- also that 130 volt bulbs last longer than 120's. Here's a link for those bulbs. Good luck. I hope this is helpful. I'm not an expert, but this is what I've learned over the past week or so! And please, if I'm in error, perhaps someone can correct me as well! http://www.bulbconnection.com/ViewSIMItem/bcrw/simid/2052/brand/Ushio/source/googlebase/Ushio_1001534_75PAR30_H_FL40_130V_bulb_item.html

Here is a link that might be useful: halo 6
padola07
14 years ago
rjr220,
Why did your electrician recommend incandescent vs. a flood halogen?

Also I believe you need to buy a special flourescent cans to use flourescents. No?
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chris45ny
14 years ago
We decided early on to go with Juno and also have 8' ceilings. This is a remodel, not a new build.

After much advice from this forum and over at the lighting forum plus conversations/e-mails with Juno tech, laner.com, etc. we drove 2 hours to a electric supply company that had all the Juno on display and a very knowledgeable manager who helped with our decision.

We ended up with 5" Juno model IC20R airloc housings, Juno model 206 WHZ-WH (wheat haze with white trim ring) and 50PAR30LN/H/FL bulbs-to be honest, I don't know if bulbs are incandescent or halogen-I just let the store manager choose.

Since these will be on a dimmer, we were told can't use fluorescent bulbs-they won't work with a dimmer.

The best thing for me was being able to actually see the Halo and Juno choices and then pick what I liked best!!
rjr220
14 years ago
"What I dislike about the Halo is that when you look up at them, you can see around the lightbulb into the guts of the can light. The Junos are not like that"

Is that with the flourescent bulbs? I've been looking up -- alot - into recessed cans, and the only time I can see anything is when flourescents are used. The bulb of the incandescent floods pretty much obscure any other view than that of the bulb. So, if incandescent floods are used with Halos (which I'm planning on doing, as I want dimmable lights), is this really an issue?
fleur222
14 years ago
My electrician (who was very professional, efficient, (works on residential and leads commercial projects too) recommended 5 inch cans. He said that they look better than the 6 inch. We have an 8 ft ceiling. And he did mention that they are more expensive than the 6 inch cans.