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Posted to alt.home.repair
Mr_bill
 
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Default Recessed Lighting Questions

I second Rick's advice of going with fluorescent cans if you
want fluorescent. Be advised that they are not cheap.
A Lightolier flourescent IC can w/ electronic ballast and associated
trim is well over $100. The corresponding can for incandescent
(with trim) is about $45.

I find that a 26w FL can gives about the same light output as
75W incandescent or around 60W halogen. A halogen bulb is
about $9 and they claim it has a 2500hr life. The FL bulb is
about $25 and they claim 10,000hr life. My experience has been
that they don't last nearly that long. FL will generate 1/3 the heat,
if that is an issue.

You will save about $0.01 (one cent) per hour using FL rather
than incandescent. You can figure out the payback. If you
run the light 500 hrs per year, it'll take you 15 years to recover
the added cost of the bulb and the can.

Because of these reasons, when I just redid my kitchen, I went
halogen all the way. I like the look better, it is dimmable, and the
payback for FL is not there unless you burn the lamp *a lot*.

Just my opinion.