DIYbanter - View Single Post - Putting LED bulb in incandescent fixture?

BenignBodger

On 3/14/2014 3:04 AM, wrote:
I am about to have recessed lighting installed in several bedrooms (standard size) of my house. 4 lights in each room should do the trick. Here comes the hard part-- incandescent or LED? 4 inch, 5 inch or 6 inch cans? I just think 6 inch is too big and ugly (though it seems more standard than 5 inch). I am afraid that 4 inch cans won't supply enough light. LED installation is much more expansive than incandescent and I don't think the LED cans look that good.

Here is my question. Could I get 5 inch incandescent installed, then switch the bulbs itself to LED bulbs? Is there any electrical problem with doing it that way? Are there LED bulbs equivelant for a incandescent bulb that would fit a 5 inch can?

Thanks

I am re-doing an en-suite and installed three 3-inch LED IC can lights for
ambient light. They put out a good bit of light despite only being rated at
8W and, while not cheap, they cost less than I had expected. These
particular ones are sold by Lowes as part number 0403098. If there is a
real downside, there is no going back -- they are sealed for damp location
use and there appears to be no way to replace a bulb.

As for your original question, the answer is sure, you could swap out
incandescents for LEDs -- if the fixtures can handle hot bulbs they should
be able to handle ones that don't get hot. I've been experimenting with
Philips 'SlimStyle' 10.5W 60W replacement bulbs. The light is beautiful --
as good as anything I've seen. The bulbs have been called 'lollipop' shaped
and that is pretty apt since they are flattish rather than spherical but
they put out even light in all directions. Home Depot sold them online in
four-packs but they should have shown up in the stores by now.