It's a Recession Up There

Don't see overalls much.

Image credit: diynetwork.com

It was decided long ago that lighting fixtures should no longer protrude from the surface of the ceiling to do their light-casting thing.  In the 1940s, recessed lights came into fashion - a fixture that is positioned above the ceiling plane in an aluminum housing, downlighting from up on high.  So in an effort to create a more evenly distributed and presumably more aesthetic shower of light, we cut myriad six inch holes in our ceilings - gaping pathways for precious cooled and heated air to escape.

And why did we do this?  Because it was the nineteen-doublefrontin'-forties, and energy conservation wasn't even a thing in the scientific community.

Note the absence of 'Energy Conservation'.  Also missing, the period after Truman's middle initial.  Why?

The energy lost through recessed lighting fixtures is significant enough that the Department of Energy's excitingly-titled Energy Savers Booklet (a comprehensive guide to home efficiency - worth a glance) calls them "a major source of heat loss".  My comprehensive reading skills tells me that it's something worth focusing on.

 Is that money escaping the house or being deposited in, piggy-bank-style?  I don't like this graphic.

Nice hat.

So what are our options?  Your home probably already has recessed lights; it would be too much of a production to remove them, patch the holes in the ceiling, sell your home and get a cottage in one of the Dakotas.  I thought I was the only one that appreciated this problem until a google search for "recessed light cover" turned up - you'll never guess - www.recessedlightcover.com.  This dude's got recessed lights covered!  [casual whistle...]

Tenmat, Inc. out of Newport, Delaware offers a fire-resistant enclosure that sits atop the fixture which is then sealed air-tight, putting a stop to the energy loss. Watch this vid where a guy proves he knows how to use a torch:

Anyone else hope he was going to write "FIRE SALE"? BTW, a better blogger would have sized the video properly.  I'm not a better blogger.

Amazon's got 'em for $20.40 including shipping.  I know you're not going to buy them, but I also know that you know you should buy them.  Which really leaves you with an ethical and moral internal debate with which I cannot help you.  I'm a recessed light cover salesman, not your psychologist.