But something of a PITA to do…
The light over the kitchen sink: we’ve been meaning to “get around to it” for, well, since forever (OK, only sixteen years now *heh*). It was a piece of contractor’s junk fixture complete with a pull chain. *yech* Worst single example of electrical junk wiring in the house.
Plain old inertia just kept me out of it. Well, that and KNOWING it was going to be wired stupidly, and with the wiring concealed behind a 1’x1′ chase at the top of the kitchen (IOW, just completely wasted space), it wasn’t going to be a fun reno. Oh, and where was I going to put the switch and how did I want to wire it and… yeh, I let laziness get in the way, too.
But a couple of weeks ago, we found a fixture at Lowe’s that my Wonder Woman seemed to like:
I had some reservations. For one thing, there was the 1′ drop from the ceiling and this thing descends another 10″ or so. Then there were the three 50-watt halogen bulbs. You know how much heat those things put out? Humongous. And, THREE of ’em! You know what’s happening to electricity costs, right?
We bought three LED bulbs that, combined, do not consume the electricity of one of the halogens that came with the unit, almost no heat, have more than 20 times the usable lifespan (LEDs tend to dim over time) and produce 80% of the lumens.
Of course, they cost $24 each. *sigh* But then, at $7/bulb for 50-watt replacements for the ones that were included with the fixture (yeh, we’re keeping them as spares, just in case), over the projected 18-to-23-year usable lifespan* of the LEDs (given normal usage patterns–we certainly don’t use the light over the sink 24x7x365!), between these LEDs and the halogens in the pantry, we’ll likely not have to buy any replacements before we die.
That’s a plus. Let the next owners of this house deal with it. *heh*
So, ended up even satisfied with the height of the light source above the sink and the amount and focus, etc. Works great.
Still, was a PITA to install. Plus side? I got to replace my 33++ year old jigsaw (used for part of installation–my old one was used when my brother gave it to us for a wedding present, his castoff, and has multiple intermittent failures.), so that’s a real win. *heh*
All told, since we got the fixture itself for a steal of a price, even including the electrical parts (switch, junction boxes, romex, wirenuts, etc.) the mini-reno-PITA-project only ran about $120. While that’s more than I really wanted to spend up front on any one light (cos I’m cheap), it’s a long term win, I think.
Now… building and installing a frame and cabinet door for access to the chase (where I put a junction box–always have an access panel to junction boxes!), plastering the chase and repainting it, etc.: all parts of finishing things up. Oh, will those micro-mini-renos add to the cost? Nah. I have all the materials on hand already. 🙂
*The manufacturer suggests a 28-year+ usable lifespan, but that assumes 4 hours/day use. Nah. I assumed 6 hours to be a bit more conservative. I also adjusted the total “usable hours” lifespan down a wee tad.