Good info. Thanks for the links Cam.

Cam. Is this going to be a DIY project or are you buying a commercial product with Cree LEDs? Cree seems to produce, by far the, best LEDs in the market. Expensive up front, but they will last forever.

I switched to cfl lighting a few years ago. I much prefer daylight bulbs over the incandescent look. I'm thinking of moving to LEDs as my cfl bulbs start to fail.

LEDs do use rare earth metals, but are much more environmentally friendly than cfls.

Yup, my coworker also recommended the Cree bulbs from his personal usage.

Sorry, Fred; I don't know if I understand your query.

I'm going to have an electrician install the Halo housings (as it's NOT a recommended DIY venture), and I'm going to purchase and install the Cree LED's separately. Is that what you meant?

I use all CFL's in the house. We use the "warm" bulbs throughout most of the house but use a "cool" or "daylight" bulb or something in the office which really helps. No plans to switch to LED yet. try this:
http://www.easywebcalculators.com/cf.htm

One thing to consider when selecting a LED bulb if you're using a dimmer is that a dimmer decreases the maximum output of said bulb. I've read that it'll take 15 watts of electricity off the top; so a 65 watt bulb will have a maximum output of 50 watts.

Here's a website I have bookmarked that has detailed information comparing LED, CFL and incandescent bulbs.

I should have searched first. To me, DIY is assembly from raw components. If you are Uber DIY, you also make your own ballasts.

I've looked into LEDs for aquarium lighting should I get the urge to set up my salt water tank again.

I hate CFL. The house we bought a few months ago was full of CFLs everywhere. I hate, hate, hate them. I can turn on the can lights in the kitchen at night, and it is so dim until they warm up. I know, someone is going to say that they are cheap ones or this or that. I went out and returned some "cheap" ones I bought about a year ago for our old house and bought more expensive CFLs and they didn't do much for me either. The "this 15 watt CFL is the same light output as a 75 watt incandescent" statements are crap. Maybe the light coming out right at the glass itself, but in real world situations, they aren't as bright.

So I don't care for them (hate hate hate).

They aren't the massive energy saving awesomeness that they are bragged up as being either. On the other hand, LEDs are super energy efficient, but they are way more costly and have the issues mentioned above by people.

Will CFLs save some money for some people? sure, for some, but I don't like the trade-offs. I want instant, full power light now, not once they warm up... Don't mention the fact that they are super toxic. I was reading somewhere about 6 months ago that if a CFL falls on your (the example was) carpeted floor and breaks, you are supposed to evacuate the room of people and pets, to let the fumes dissipate, and then you are supposed to cut out the carpet and pad from the area around the broken bulb and put that and the broken bulb into a thick plastic bag and take it to a recycling center that handles toxins... Not for me... I still hate them.

I think that LEDs will get there someday. Heck, CFLs weren't very cheap when they first came out either. I guess I better stock up on my energy hogging 100 watt incandescent before the end of the year... (No, I don't really use 100 watt bulbs anywhere.)

Hmmm. I'm going to be the first to say that almost all of the bulbs in my house are CFL's. The ones I first bought are in the bedroom ceilings and they are dim when first turned on and take a while to brighten up. But the ones in my dining room chandleer and living room pole lamp are instantly bright. I couldn't tell you what the difference is, except for how old and new they are.

I agree about the brightness. If I want a 75 watt brightness, I get a bulb rated at 100 watt equivalent.