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bagelhead
Posts: 183
Joined: Thu Mar 17, 2011 12:20 am

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Post by bagelhead »

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Last edited by bagelhead on Sat Sep 05, 2015 4:40 pm, edited 1 time in total.
livesoft
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Joined: Thu Mar 01, 2007 7:00 pm

Re: Recessed/Pendant Lights: Where to Place for this Kitchen

Post by livesoft »

We have under-cabinet fluorescent lights that light up countertops and are below adult-eyelevel.

We have a recessed spot right over the sink, a large window at the sink and six 4-ft fluorescent tubes over the island for the entire kitchen. During the day, the window provides sufficient lighting that we do not need to turn on the lights at all.

Clearly, I have not answered your questions. Sorry! I suggest you go into a kitchen with the kind of lighting you want and see what happens. Also note that color of the appliances, cabinets, and floor will make a kitchen brighter or darker. We have white appliances, white oak cabinets, and white oak floor, white ceiling, white countertops.
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daveatca
Posts: 627
Joined: Thu Feb 19, 2015 9:03 pm

Professional help

Post by daveatca »

Hire a lighting designer.
Pay by the hour.
Worth it.
earlyout
Posts: 1542
Joined: Tue Feb 20, 2007 4:24 pm

Re: Recessed/Pendant Lights: Where to Place for this Kitchen

Post by earlyout »

Placing recessed lights 3 ft. from the wall may not be a good idea. How high are your ceilings? If your ceilings are only 8 ft and you are 6 ft. tall your head and shoulders will be between the light fixture and the counter creating an unwanted shadow on the counter top in front of you. Good under cabinet lights will compensate for this a bit but it might be better to move the recessed fixtures closer to the upper cabinets. You also need to consider your ceiling height and the beam spread of the bulbs you plan to use when figuring out how many lights you need and the appropriate spacing for those fixtures. You should install enough recessed fixtures to provide about 50% overlap from one fixture to the next. As mentioned above, a lighting designer may be a good investment for you. At the very least, talk to a knowledgeable salesperson at the lighting store.
stan1
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Re: Recessed/Pendant Lights: Where to Place for this Kitchen

Post by stan1 »

In my house I'm replacing the incandescent can lights one room at a time with LED (cannibalizing from bathrooms first, then hallways, and finally will replace all in the kitchen to go 100% LED). We have close to 50 incandescent can lights in this house and most have lasted 16+ years so not in a big hurray to replace (we don't use them a lot due to good natural light in the house).
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Atgard
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Joined: Wed Apr 09, 2014 2:02 pm

Re: Recessed/Pendant Lights: Where to Place for this Kitchen

Post by Atgard »

I just bought a house and am remodeling the kitchen and am obsessed with replacing EVERY light inside and outside the house with LED. I mean the light bulbs, recessed lighting in the ceiling (including the kitchen), outside spotlights, garage, candelabras under the fans, and even the bulbs in the refrigerator and under the microwave!

LEDs are cheap enough now they're totally worth it, they will pay for themselves pretty quickly. They have so many advantages (less energy, cool to the touch, no mercury, etc.), and you won't have to worry about them for a long, long time. Those recessed lights can be found for $12-$16 each if you find a deal. Bulbs are $2.50 each at Lowe's or Home Depot on sale.
inbox788
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Re: Recessed/Pendant Lights: Where to Place for this Kitchen

Post by inbox788 »

I would use more lights or you might have to up the lamps to 100 watt equivalents. Also, I think LEDs are still on the steep depreciation curve, so in a few years, they'll be under $20, plus they'll probably be better than the ones today, so I'd put in some cheap bulbs in at first. Only savings might come from LEDs that don't need housing and are all in one units, in which you should look at the total installation cost and decide.
WhyNotUs
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Joined: Sun Apr 14, 2013 11:38 am

Re: Recessed/Pendant Lights: Where to Place for this Kitchen

Post by WhyNotUs »

A couple thoughts:
it sounds like this is a remodel. If so put a shop light on an extension cord and have a designated holder place it in selected locations while you and any other decision-maker look at the results. It can be a reasonable proxy for a recessed can if you do not want to pay for a professional design.

that will also let you play with distances from counter

I find pendants to be a disincentive to gathering. From you layout I could see gathering at the island or peninsula and you have pots over one and pendants over the other, neither of which encourage gathering in my experience.

Notice where you tend to do your prep work, if there is a counter above that location, then put under-counter fixture there. Don't expect people to change prep location.

if you are paying that much premium for LED bulbs, then you have not been shopping for deals. I picked up two 60w equivalents this week at Lowes for $5 for both. I won't even bother with the 50% rebate that my utility would give me. I got LEDs for my recessed lighting at Costco a while back at $10 per. I purchase 3000 or 2700 k depending on the use and deal. LEDs and dimmers are great in kitchen.

If you are running new wiring, think of three levels of lighting- kitchen prep time when just your family are prepping a meal, ambiance lighting a low level that allows you to navigate safely, entertaining fully lit. Switches to allow dimming for different activities and moods.
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Leemiller
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Re: Recessed/Pendant Lights: Where to Place for this Kitchen

Post by Leemiller »

Try the old gardenweb forums at Houzz for your question. Our kitchen designer planned our lighting and I was surprised at how much he suggested. I think we have more than we need, but I suppose that is better than less. My electrician says when your eyes get older more light is better. We used recessed cans, maybe 4 inches?, that are all on dimmers. Our pendants are also under dimmers and we have some pendant lights as well.
Valuethinker
Posts: 48951
Joined: Fri May 11, 2007 11:07 am

Re: Recessed/Pendant Lights: Where to Place for this Kitchen

Post by Valuethinker »

bagelhead wrote: Is it worth an additional $37.50 per bulb to put in LED now instead of BR230 incandescent? Or should we wait till the current bulbs die out, then replace with LED later (since the technology will be better/cheaper)?

We currently have 4 fluorescent tubes (which yields around 3000 lumens each). Isn't 8 bulbs of 800 lumens a big downgrade in total light, or does the focused location of the recessed lighting compensate that much for the reduced lumens?

Thanks!
The LED technology will undoubtedly be cheaper in the future. But depending on your electricity price, doing LEDs now has a payback of typically 1-2 years (depending on price/ kwhr, hours/ day you use them, how much you need to cool the kitchen). Note you can get 2700 degree K LEDs which give a "normal" (ie yellow incandescent) light rather than the 3000+ which give a cooler "daylight". Brands matter: I have used the Philips brand with success.

I would say get the LEDs now because 1). payback comes quickly 2). you are "future proofed" (you know your setup will be compatible with LEDs) 3). there's a gain in comfort in the kitchen from less hot lights.

An alternative is to get one LED, replace one bulb, and try it out.

We put in a string of under cupboard LED lights from IKEA. They work great-- nice effect.
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