Can light to led retrofit

[Lakenut]

Looking to retrofit about a dozen 6” can lights throughout the house to LEDs. Yes the LEDs are more energy efficient but our current cans are not sealed and I know we lose cooled/heated air to the attic.

What do I need to know about the retro LEDs? Good brands? Anyone been down this road with advice?

 

[TerryMiller]

I can't speak to brands, but you "might" want to look at the Kelvin temperature of the LED's. We did a refit for a cousin's wife up in Idaho some years back, and because it was in a room where she would be doing sewing and embroidery work, in order to help her see the colors of threads properly, we chose Kelvin temps close to daylight settings. The number in thousands is what one would want to look for.

 

[dlbleak]

Lowes has the ‘contractor packs’ with a dozen in the box. They are literally plug and play. Terry I’d right about the kelvin rating. To white starts looking like a doctors office.

 

[Firpo]

Forgive my ignorance but I’m curious about your “not sealed” description. I would think they shouldn’t be to allow for airflow which in the case of your switching to LEDs that’s a good thing. Again, I don’t know much about LED can light retros but what I do know is that for every 10°F over any piece of electronics rated operating temperature you can cut its life by 50%.

 

[BearSitsInTheWoods]

^^^ This is good information a lot of people overlook and when purchasing the knew lamps pay close attention that your getting all of the same or you will be headed back returning them.
LED lamps don’t put off much heat at all and as far as attic air getting in you could probably run a bead of silicone around the fixture to help seal it as long as you make sure the trim piece will cover it. As far as replacing with LED if your can lights are older it should be as easy as replacing the light bulb. The only time you would be retrofitting is if you were replacing old fluorescent tubes for LED and bypassing the ballasts.

 

[Letfreedomring]

We replaced our 6 can lights in the kitchen to LED a few years ago and couldn't be happier. We chose daylight ~6500k and dimmable since they are about double the brightness of the incandescent ones they replaced. The dimmer must be able to be used with LEDs which most are these days. Our retrofits use an adapter that screws into the standard bulb base then use spring clips to slide into can housing. Plus they have a built-in trim ring that seals over the transition between can and sheetrock. If you have a can light in the shower just make sure the LED retrofit is rated for use in damp areas.
While the big box stores have a good selection of LED retrofits you'll more than likely pay double for the same ones that you can find online. The only advice I would give is stick to known name brands like GE, Sylvania, etc. and pay attention to warranty terms since electronics are hit or miss these days.