I am going through the same process, lighting a kitchen reno. Our kitchen is 10x12. We also got our lights at Lowes. We used the Sylvania Ultra LED 4" Recessed Lighting kits. Our lights are 3000K, this measurement tells you the warmth of the light. Most kitchens should be lit around 2700K to 3000K. The "K" reading tells warmth or "whiteness" of the light. 2700 will be warmer, more yellow, more comparable to an incandescent light bulb.

As far as the lumens go, the lights we bought are 550 lumens, on the package they say that this is comparable to a 50 watt incandescent light. We installed a total of 7 of these in our kitchen, one of the lights is over the sink. The amount of light seems just perfect.

The lights you are looking at will be brighter, so you may want to take that into consideration. I hope this helps.

Many people on this forum like the Cree CR6 LED downlight. It is also sold by HomeDepot as the EcoSmart 6 in. 9.5-Watt (65 W) Soft White (2700K) LED Downlight. The HomeDepot version is $30 each if you buy at least a 2 pack. The Cree version has a longer warranty and is more expensive. The quality of light is excellent and they fit in most all standard 6" cans, very easy to install. I have them in my master bedroom/bathroom addition and I am currently using 6 of them in a kitchen remodel.They can be easily dimmed but the color of the light does cool as you dim them.

This post was edited by redkev on Wed, Mar 6, 13 at 12:09

from what i read on lighting forum, to determine how many lights you need, you should calculate your kitchen's square footage, then figure out how many total lumens you need. From the lighting forum, a good rule of thumb was 35 lumens per square foot. After you get the total lumens, divide by the lumens per light you plan to use to see how many you need.

so for your 240 sq ft kitchen, you need 240x35= 8400 lumens. This is about 10 or 11 of those 800 lumen cree lights. But you should also factor in if you plan to use any pendants and UCL also, which would mean you actually need fewer cans than that..
HTH!

When I was going through this, I spent a lot of time on the Lighting Forum. I read there that a good guideline is 35 lumens/sq ft. Doing the calculation helped me determine how many I needed. The packages for the bulbs should show the lumens. There are pros over there, too, who will comment on your lighting plan. (At least, there used to be.)

I have ALWAYS known the lighting in our kitchen is horrific but I had NO idea until after reading this thread. My kitchen is approx. 288 sq ft with only FOUR recessed lights. No UCL, no nothing! We should have somewhere in the range of 10,080 lumens in our kitchen. We only have 2040 using Reveal 60w bulbs that are 510 lumens each!! No wonder our kitchen is pathetic at night. We hope to start our remodel soon but I'm still debating that lighting needs to upgraded with my husband. I showed him the actual # of lumens we have & where we should be but I don't think I've convinced him yet. I'm still trying & hopefully he'll come around.

I used Cooper 3000K LED as my DH likes whiter light - I really like it!
We also have decorative incandescent lights and UCL as well as lights in a glass cab and lights above cab in the sunroom
How did I ever see before the reno!
Love it!!

You can get really excellent advice in the lighting forum, in addition to the lighting calculations below. Just remember, you should add a low wattage dimmer -- you can always turn down a bright light, but you can't make up for the lack of one. The time to do it is when the ceiling is opened.

Check your cabinet colors and target paint colors. If you prefer the warmer glow of incandescents, and have yellow undertones in your paint/stains, then go for the 2700K. If you have cooler tones or want something closer to daylight, choose the 3000K. Visit a good lighting store and you should be able to see displays side by side, so you can see the difference yourself.

In some states like California, certain utilities are sponsoring light bulbs and high efficiency fixtures.

You are in an area that is evolving rapidly. I wouldn't be too quick to jump on the lights at Lowes. If you are going to use off brand fixtures, you can do better on the price elsewhere. If you read up on lighting design, you will find that most everyone will recommend over-lighting and using a dimmer. My own plan has a 5 fixture monorail for ambient room light; 10 four inch 9watt recessed led cans for task lighting; and finally led strips for in and under cabinet task/mood lighting. All on dimmers of course. My kitchen is just under 1600 square feet. If I turned them all on at once and had them up full, I suspect the place would be absolutely blinding. That's why they make dimmer switches. I have well over 100 hours of research about lighting design to arrive at what I have. Go look at David Tay's posts on the lighting forum. He has posted extensively in this area. He is very knowledgeable on the subject of lighting. You might look to find a way of comparing the various "temperatures" of the LEDs. 2700-3000 kelvin is considered incandescent "yellow". 4000-5000 kelvin is "cool white" and 6000 +\- is "daylight". Depending on a bunch of factors, you may prefer one over the others. My wife has issues with light deprivation syndrome so we have almost every light in the house in the daylight range. You can get CFLs in these ranges also. You could maybe try three of them to see how your counters, cabinets, etc. will look. Most people who use the daylight bulbs need less of them.

Picking LED bulbs can be very tricky and it's expensive. Each dimmer brand has an approved list of bulbs. The bulb design is significant in more ways than the color. Watch the lumens as the LEDs are super bright. I had a mixed experience with a retrofit.

You guys starting from scratch are lucky.

I asked about the Lowe's lights on the lighting forum and got a positive response. The only downside is that they seem to have a very slight delay in turning on, barely noticeable to some and really obvious to others. If you have recessed cans already you can always try insert some of the Lowe's lights and see if you like them, return them if you don't. I have the 2700k Cree's sold at HD for $35 and LOVE them, the 575 lumens is much brighter than the 75 watt bulbs that were originally in them. We have 8 of them in an 18 x 10 kitchen (20 lumen/sf) and usually have the dimmers on half strength, turning them up if we sit to read at the kitchen table. The Lowe's lights have 800 lumens so will be even brighter,

Thanks for all the response. I ended up going with the Cree CR6, bought 24 of them to run throughout. Hit a decent deal at only $30.00 per light, couldn't pass it up.