For those who’ve experienced this scenario, you might already know what recessed lighting kits are all about. Imagine this. You’ve seen pictures of those wonderfully lit living rooms or kitchens and you’re keen to replicate that with your own house. You may have even tried calling a contractor for some quotations. But that may have dampened your spirits a bit. After all, remodeling your space to incorporate recessed lighting isn’t really that cheap. Your research further points you to the option of buying and installing your own recessed lighting to save money. Enter the reasonably low-priced recessed lighting kits.
Well, as the saying goes “you get what you pay for” and it’s relatively true in this situation. Though recessed lighting kits aren’t really all that bad, getting to know what you’re getting into is important. Let’s drill into the pros and cons.
Recessed lighting retrofit kits are an off-the-shelf production by light manufacturers to cater to the DIY crowd. Such kit comes with its own set of compliant components such as the integral captive nails, transformers connectors, and several other goods to have features such as sturdy hanger bars. Because such kits tend to be mass produced, they’re able to transfer the economies of scale back to the consumer by lowering retail prices. For example, some recessed lighting kits can cost as little as $10. The downside of this however, is that the variety in the models they offer tends to the limited. Hence, if you’re planning for a major revamp of your living space, you may find your creativity hampered by the sheer lack of choices.
And if you’ve noticed, the cheaper kits are usually made of plastic. Such materials are often more vulnerable to heat and hence questionable when it comes to durability. Lower cost plastic kits may also include lower wattage bulbs to prevent damage to the housings. More often than not, this light may be considered too dim for certain accent and task lighting requirements.
Also, since such recessed lighting kits require a DIY installation, if you’re someone who’s not really a handyman or handywoman, you may find it a great challenge getting these lights up. The redeeming factor, however is its ease of installation. Most of such retrofit units come with specific instructions and even stenciling templates which help you outline and obtain an exact size of the opening for the installation. Even then, some wiring knowledge would still be required and if you are not sure how to handle that, paying a professional can give you a greater piece of mind but may add on to your bottom line costs.
That said, does it mean recessed lighting kits are not useful at all? Not really. More often than not, such kits are compiled together with the components that are perfectly compliant. And if you have a particular space that goes well with dimmer lighting, for example, the walkways or corridors for general lighting, such kits can come in handy. The plastic materials are also easily replaceable so in the event that your light gets damaged over time due to usage, you can always find a low cost parts replacement.
Manufacturers are also coming up with optional recessed lighting that covers trim selections that goes with a particular series of recessed lighting kits so that you can have an added variety. So, where can you get such recessed lighting kits?
Many brick-and-mortar retailers carry different brands and models of such kits. For a start, you can make a trip down to Home Depot and look at the variety of options available and make your selections carefully. Some major online retailers such as Amazon offers great discounts to entice customers to buy some of these products. These online retailers usually have real customer feedback that you can read through before considering buying the recessed lighting kits.
