So here is a quick project overview about the renovation of the lighting in my living room and integration into my Smart Things network via Z-Wave.
Project took me one day with the assistance of my mother and brother who was in town. I bought most all the parts at HomeDepot (online) and spent roughly $500 on the entire project (honestly, mostly on the LED dimmable lights - 5000k).
The ceiling is 1/2 drywall and opens to an attic space, large enough to crawl through. Joists are 16 inches apart and a stud finder helped get our bearings. Initially, I drilled a small pilot hole for each of the lights, to make sure, in the attic, that there was adequate clearance for a 6 3/8 hole to punch through. Some were too close, so I adjusted things accordingly (with the final look, you can’t really tell which are moved a few inches, left or right).
Once I got everything lined up from the floor and attic, I used a 6 3/8" drill bit (Milwakee) to punch through the ceiling. After that, the cans and lights went in easy - wiring as each one went in. Then I went back into the attic to make sure everything was correct, wire to the junction box and then to the switch.
These lights are Cree LED 65W eq. (12.5 each) with a H4 recessed can (air tight, insulated rated), running off a GE Z Wave Dimmer - Single Pole (Amazon) connected to my Smart Things hub.
Like I said, it took the total of about 7 hours with two people to install and wire 9 lights, along with about $500 in parts total.
The room looks SO much bigger than it did before. We had a single lighted (2500K) ceiling fan, which shortened the ceiling considerably because of the fan blades and gave poor lighting. Now we just use a box fan for our warmer days (we don’t have AC yet). Otherwise, the bright light makes the walls look nice and true to their colour.
Very happy with this outcome and I got to surprise my wife when she returned from a work trip. She likes them too.
Win.
