How can I get rid of fluorescent lighting ?

I am knew to home repair, and also a first time home buyer... we are in the works of getting an older home....

The previous owners have done alot of nice work and updates .. however one of them wasnt so nice - fluorescent lighting ! In EVERY ROOM in the entryway, living room, dining room, and kitchen -- they also used drop tile ceilings in these areas, but upstairs is "regular" ceilings. I can live with the ceilings, I actually think they have advantages and i have come up with some good ideas on how to make them more pretty ( they are currently grey with silver lining) , I assume the lighting in the rooms with the drop tiles will be easier to remove.... still kind of worried about the other rooms.

How easy is it to change out fluorescent lighting -- is it any different than other lighting ? Would you trust a home that has fluorescent lighting as the only source of light .. ( I am wondering if it is cheaper or easier and why the owners chose it) ....

Any ideas ?

 

Welcome to the forums!! Yes, the drop ceiling lighting can easily be transformed to can lighting if you wish, which will give a warmer light. What were they thinking??? Now as for the remainder in solid ceiling, you may have to post a couple of pictures (not close ups please) of the other rooms' lighting so we can see what type fixtures you have and what options may work. http://www.doityourself.com/forum/el...your-post.html

 

Flourescent lighting is generally more expensive to install than incandescent lighting, but it's more efficient and longer lasting. I've changed every incandescent fixture in my house to flourescent, except for the oven and refrigerator. I like flourescent lighting because it saves a considerable amount of electricity, is much cooler, and places less load on my wiring system. With the phase out of most common incandescent bulbs in the next couple of years, flourescent and/or LED will be the norm for household lighting. I'd guess the former owners of your house were frugal people who were trying to reduce their electric bill.

 

I agree with Beachboy. My previous house was all fluorescent except for a few low-wattage accent lights. I have a mix of fluorescent and incandescent in my present house and all the incandescents are on dimmers.

 

OK, guys, I'll concede to the energy savings, but you'll have to envision what I did when I read the post.....grid ceiling with 4, 2x4 trofflers with 4 bulbs each in a room about 8x10. It looks like an operating room on steroids. I've remodeled rooms like that and brought the lighting down to a manageable size, using cans and cfl's.
That is one reason I was waiting on pictures of the rooms to determine if reduced lighting would save even more money while being aesthetically pleasing at the same time.

 

Chandler, would be willing to go with 18 cell parabolic fixtures?

Some states have even gone as far at to require fixtures that can use only fluorescent, or other low watt, lamps. (California)
There are many choices out there for fixtures or lamps colors that are much pleasing to the eye rather then the "operating room on steroids" light. Look for a color of about 2700K. Last house that had a suspended ceiling we put can lights in which works well if you have the clearance. The homeowner also elected for the LED trims from Big Orange. Very nice lights!

 

Scott, $49 for trims, man that can get expensive How do they look, and do they give off sufficient light?

 

Yes, quite expensive. The light is very good and bright. I did not have an incandescent and LED side by side for comparison, but I would say they are the same for light output and color rendering with a "standard" 65 watt par 30 bulb. They are also 100% dimmable using standard dimmers through the entire range of dimming. IMO they are the future of lighting. They are also rated for 10,000 hrs.

 

One question/concern I have with LED "bulbs" is their lifetime. I know they are rated for extremely long service lives. But, my experience with LED flashlights and LED auto tail light/brake light systems is that failure of one or more of the segments of LED's is pretty common. When you have an LED "incandescent replacement" bulb with dozens of LED's, how many of them will still be working in a few years? Is the service life estimate based on ALL of the LED's still being in service, or just ONE LED still lit at the end of 10,000 hours or whatever the rated service life is?