Help?
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Help, please.
Right now I have this style of medicine cabinet:
Its innards are FUBAR'd and my contractor tells me I need a new unit. That's fine.
Shopping for a replacement so I can tell him what to order without a lot of fiddling around, I get the impression that what they're calling an "LED Mirror" Medicine Cabinet, and looks like this, is all the rage now, and my antique fluourescent unit is not very common anymore:
Apparently I am stuck in the 11th century, medicine cabinet wise, cuz I'm not getting how these work. The white lines I gather are lights? Cuz they look painted on.
I like them well enough, plus they are TONZZZ cheaper than my old kind.
My current unit is wired to a wall switch just inside the door, which I want to keep, so as not to fumble around in the dark looking for a switch on the new unit.
So my questions. Can the LED thing replace the old fluourescent unit (wiring, etc)? If not, would my guy be able to do whatever alterations are needed? Can it be wired to the door like my present one? The old unit is adequate to lighten the (small) bathroom; will a replacement LED unit light as well? Or is there a lumens number or something that I need to shoot for? Do you know of any disadvantages to these LED things that I should avoid or have my guy deal with?
Can you provide these answers? I'd appreciate it!
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Your wiring and switch certainly should work. Both 110V hookups. Yes, the white part is the light, but it does not have to be on all the time. How much of the total light in the room does the current one provide? The LED will probably not provide as much room lighting.
Not sure how much work you are having done, so not sure how to fully help.
In our bathrooms we have large mirrors behind the sink that go to the ceiling, with four light contemporary fixtures. It puts out quite a bit of light, then our fan has a light and there's a can light in the shower and the bathtub.
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Your wiring and switch certainly should work. Both 110V hookups. Yes, the white part is the light, but it does not have to be on all the time. How much of the total light in the room does the current one provide? The LED will probably not provide as much room lighting.
Not sure how much work you are having done, so not sure how to fully help.
In our bathrooms we have large mirrors behind the sink that go to the ceiling, with four light contemporary fixtures. It puts out quite a bit of light, then our fan has a light and there's a can light in the shower and the bathtub.
How much of the total light in the room does the current one provide? The LED will probably not provide as much room lighting.
Not sure how much work you are having done, so not sure how to fully help.Mik, thanks very much. This is very helpful.
The current unit provides all the electric light, but it's a tiny bathroom and it has a biggish window. (Not helpful, since I mostly want the shade down!) The light from the old unit provides adequate working light. I don't feel it's lacking, and also not overwhelming.
Installing the new cabinet is the only work I'm having done.
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I wouldn't worry about the electrical hookup for the lights.
As for the amount and color/warmth of the LED light, chances are the LED will put out less light with color closer to the bright white part of the spectrum. Best if you can see the light for yourself before deciding, because it is hard to tell using words whether it's not bright enough or if it is too white.
Does part of the cabinet goes into the wall, or does it just hang on the wall without going into the wall? I may worry about the hole in the wall of the cabinet goes into the wall when installed, if the old cabinet and the new cabinet are not me the size going into the wall, the contractor will have to do more work to make the new one fit and make the wall surrounding it look nice. Not something that will stop a contractor, just more work for him (which may or may not translate into higher cost to you).
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I wouldn't worry about the electrical hookup for the lights.
As for the amount and color/warmth of the LED light, chances are the LED will put out less light with color closer to the bright white part of the spectrum. Best if you can see the light for yourself before deciding, because it is hard to tell using words whether it's not bright enough or if it is too white.
Does part of the cabinet goes into the wall, or does it just hang on the wall without going into the wall? I may worry about the hole in the wall of the cabinet goes into the wall when installed, if the old cabinet and the new cabinet are not me the size going into the wall, the contractor will have to do more work to make the new one fit and make the wall surrounding it look nice. Not something that will stop a contractor, just more work for him (which may or may not translate into higher cost to you).
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As long as it fits the hole or maybe just a slight modification, you're golden. Those are surface LED's.
I'm guessing the light spectrum given will be around 5500K, which should be fine (read up on LED light spectrum differences), so the question is how many lumens does the fixture provide?
As a comparison, a 60-watt equivalent LED bulb (looks like an old incandescent) puts out about 850 lumens (give or take). That out to give you kind of an idea.
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As long as it fits the hole or maybe just a slight modification, you're golden. Those are surface LED's.
I'm guessing the light spectrum given will be around 5500K, which should be fine (read up on LED light spectrum differences), so the question is how many lumens does the fixture provide?
As a comparison, a 60-watt equivalent LED bulb (looks like an old incandescent) puts out about 850 lumens (give or take). That out to give you kind of an idea.
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I'm kind of jealous. I think it would be fun to get a mirror like that, which can display info like weather, time, etc...while looking sleek. Or maybe in this case "just" the time.
I have nothing to add (@Mik is always so helpful with house projects), other than when I tried to switch from fluorescent to LED for some under-cabinet lights the LED lights flickered/buzzed because their 1.5w was way lower than the expected 7 or 12w that the previous bulbs (wiring!) or something like that. Shouldn't be an issue for you since your whole unit is powered (not just the light strip) and I was just dealing with some bulb swaps.
Based on your picture, looks like it is a model that has a defogger, a mirror on both sides of the door, interior lighting, etc. The light is probably adjustable from like 2500K-6000K based on your preferences. Will it light the whole bathroom? Not sure, the lights seem meant for using the mirror (e.g., make-up) so it might end up being a super night light, but may not be sufficient if its the single light source in the bathroom, especially if you use the bathroom to shower.
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I'm kind of jealous. I think it would be fun to get a mirror like that, which can display info like weather, time, etc...while looking sleek. Or maybe in this case "just" the time.
I have nothing to add (@Mik is always so helpful with house projects), other than when I tried to switch from fluorescent to LED for some under-cabinet lights the LED lights flickered/buzzed because their 1.5w was way lower than the expected 7 or 12w that the previous bulbs (wiring!) or something like that. Shouldn't be an issue for you since your whole unit is powered (not just the light strip) and I was just dealing with some bulb swaps.
Based on your picture, looks like it is a model that has a defogger, a mirror on both sides of the door, interior lighting, etc. The light is probably adjustable from like 2500K-6000K based on your preferences. Will it light the whole bathroom? Not sure, the lights seem meant for using the mirror (e.g., make-up) so it might end up being a super night light, but may not be sufficient if its the single light source in the bathroom, especially if you use the bathroom to shower.
I'm kind of jealous. I think it would be fun to get a mirror like that, which can display info like weather, time, etc...while looking sleek. Or maybe in this case "just" the time.
I have nothing to add (@Mik is always so helpful with house projects), other than when I tried to switch from fluorescent to LED for some under-cabinet lights the LED lights flickered/buzzed because their 1.5w was way lower than the expected 7 or 12w that the previous bulbs (wiring!) or something like that. Shouldn't be an issue for you since your whole unit is powered (not just the light strip) and I was just dealing with some bulb swaps.
Based on your picture, looks like it is a model that has a defogger, a mirror on both sides of the door, interior lighting, etc. The light is probably adjustable from like 2500K-6000K based on your preferences. Will it light the whole bathroom? Not sure, the lights seem meant for using the mirror (e.g., make-up) so it might end up being a super night light, but may not be sufficient if its the single light source in the bathroom, especially if you use the bathroom to shower.Thanks, 89th. I should say the unit you see here I only snagged as a clear picture to illustrate what I was talking about. I haven't yet made my selection. When you bragged on it I went back and looked at it again. That is one mighty fine medicine cabinet. Got all the bells.
Did you see the USB charger? In a medicine cabinet? Why you need a charger in a medicine cabinet? A computerized razor??? Then I caught sight of the price: $680. [Strangling sound.] So no need to be jealous!
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Late to the party but, are the LEDs or their ballast/electronics replaceable?
They do not last forever.
We have the old two vertical fluorescent bulb type from the 1950s versions like you pictured. I like them because the bulbs and ballasts are cheap and they last about 10 years or more before needing replacing.
But you can replace them.
