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juliedrew

feedback on (title 24 constrained) kitchen lighting plan?

Julie Drew
9 years ago

Cross post on kitchens forum....

I would really appreciate any feedback on the attached lighting plan. We need to honor title 24 rules since we are in California, hence the LED everything.

Useful things to know:
- Additional lighting from under counter LED strips
- Ceiling is 8' 6"
- White cabinets
- leathered virginia mist granite (charcoal colored) counters
- walnut island top
- oak hardwood floor
- skylights are ~30x46
- The "35 lumens per square foot rule" indicates about 10,500 lumens for this room.

Thanks in advance!

Comments (8)

  • David
    9 years ago

    Are there 2 different sizes being used? Why not just use one size?

    The cans used must utilize the GU24 connector, not the E26, have to be rated for direct insulation contact and airtite.

    The number of cans can be reduced if you factor in lighting contribution from UCL.

  • Julie Drew
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Thanks for the response!

    We could do all the same size cans - in that case I would prefer the 4". Does that seem OK?

    I wasn't sure how many lumens to count from the UCL, nor from the pendants - any ballpark estimate on that? The pendants would be from rejuvenation, made with a GU24 socket. (We haven't decided on the UCL yet so I'd welcome suggestions.)

    If we were to remove some cans, which would you remove?

  • Julie Drew
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    I'd should clarify one thing.

    Our thought with this plan was that the red lights and green lights would be used in different modes:
    The common arrangements would be
    a) work - red lights, island pendants, under counter light
    b) dining/play - green, pendants, and maybe ucl for atmosphere

    Does that make sense?

  • David
    9 years ago

    I would eliminate the green colored cans.

    Having 2 sets of down lights will add to the cost and the difference between the red and green sets would probably be minimal.

    An electrician will gladly install both sets @ ~ $100 per can.

    The final position of the cans depends on the location and direction of the ceiling joists as well as other obstructions.

    As for the UCL, the light output depends on the type put in.

    The uniLume is probably the most elegant (and expensive) - extremely low profile, high output, no beads of light

    Then there are the maxLite and eW Profile for hardwired 120v AC UCL.

    There are also low voltage solutions which you could put together from environmentallights.com, noralighting.com and superbrightleds.com

    The DIY LED UCL thread and continuation have more details on UCL. There's also the LED lighting thread which also links in the DIY LED UCL thread

    Here is a link that might be useful: Recessed lighting discussion

  • Julie Drew
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Thank you so much, davidtay, for this info, and for all of your previous extremely helpful GW posts over the years (which constitute the entirety of my understanding of lighting). Really appreciate you taking the time to weigh in!

    This post was edited by thedinos on Fri, Nov 21, 14 at 14:06

  • mtvhike
    9 years ago

    Pardon my ignorance, but what are the constraints from title 24?

  • David
    9 years ago

    Some restrictions off the top of my mind
    1. E26 base devices will not be considered energy efficient devices.
    2. New recessed lighting cannot utilize the E26 base.
    3. The cans have to be rated airtight and installation inspected to ensure that the requisite insulation, ... exist.
    4. Incandescent lighting cannot exceed 50% the wattage of the total lighting in a room.

    You could download the title 24 specification from the link below.

    Here is a link that might be useful: title 24

  • Oaktown
    9 years ago

    The 50% rule is just for kitchens. Lighting in certain rooms must be HE and in certain other rooms can be incandescent with dimmers/vacancy sensors. I find the rule stuff difficult to read, so I've linked a more user-friendly guide to Title 24 lighting put together by UC Davis.

    Here is a link that might be useful: 2013 Title 24 lighting guide