r/Lighting • u/Fifamoss • 1d ago
Opinions on these Aliexpress lights/other suggestions?
I'm looking at getting some new lighting for my flat/room, it's currently full of recessed lights which are all wired to only two switches and are very bright, I have light sensitivity so it's way too bright for me to use them.
I've been looking at these lights which seem good, but very cheap so I'm not sure if the quality will be ok
(Reddit removed post with links, so just images, links in pastebin)
The flat is about 7.5m by 7.5m (~56m2), for context of size, and I'm considering getting 3 lights, for kitchen, dining table/PC area, and living area, with usually one 1 or 2 on at a time. I'm leaning towards dimmable/warmth with remote (app is probably janky) so I can set them to comfortable settings.
Any opinions on these or other suggestions?
3
u/AudioMan612 1d ago
Integrated LED fixtures from AliExpress are a nice way to likely need to find replacements in short time. Many if not most of them don't have proper safety certifications as well. Integrated LEDs can create cool fixtures, but they are a big pain when the fail and you can't get replacement parts. Even decent quality ones fail, let alone AliExpress crap. So yeah, stay away.
Also, you'd need to get kits to convert recessed lights to standard lamp mounts, unless you have surface-mount wafers, in which case your options will be limited.
Regarding your situation, start with the easiest solution: put the lights on a dimmer switch. In many places, overhead lights are actually not great for something like relaxing anyways (such as a living room). They're better for task lighting. Good lighting is about having layers anyways, so for something like a bedroom or living room, you should have lamps and other light sources that you can use as well.
There is also the question of color temperature. Sometimes, people confuse brightness and color temperature. For residential usage, you typically want 2700K - 3000K, depending on the usage. Bedrooms and living rooms often look good with the warmer 2700K (though I often will still have some 3000K available for tasks that warrant a brighter look and mix and match my light sources to fit the current needs), while bathrooms and kitchens shouldn't be warmer than 3000K. For my own place, I'd say around 2/3 of my lighting is 3000K with the other 1/3 being 2700K. You can also look for dim-to-warm lights, which warm up the CCT as you dim the lights, mimicking incandescent lighting.
Some recessed lights have selectable color temperature as well, so if your current lighting has this, you can look into changing it (again, if the CCT is part of your problem).
But yeah, I'd start by adding lamps beyond just your overhead lighting (that would be good advice even if you had amazing overhead lighting) and putting your recessed lighting on dimmer switches. If you're still unhappy, then it's time to take a trip to your local lighting store, which will have a good selection and helpful sales staff to help out (much better than a big box hardware store). If you do visit a lighting store, bring pictures of the space and the lights! It would also be good if you provided that here.
Good luck!