I've gotten fed up with the recessed 4-pin GX24Q fixtures in my kitchen that were required by California Title 24, after removing a burned out (and relatively expensive) CFL, cracking it in the process, and potentially contaminating my eating area with mercury dust yet again.
I'm aware that ballast-compatible LED GX24Q bulbs exist, but I have not had good experience with them: the ones I've tried seem to get too hot and frequently burn out quickly in my fixtures.
I'd like to bypass the existing ballasts and replace the GX24Q sockets with E26 ones so that I can use cheap E26 LED bulbs. I have no intention of ever using incandescent or halogen bulbs in the fixtures, and since the LED bulbs should be of lower wattage than the CFLs intended for the fixtures, I don't think that this should be a fire hazard.
However, if I were to sell my house, would there be any California Title 24 implications to having E26 sockets? Would it matter if:
- Instead of replacing the GX24Q sockets entirely, I used ballast-less GX24Q to E26 adapters?
- I used LED retrofit kits that screw into an E26 socket?
Or would I need to hardwire the Molex-like connector that LED retrofit kits typically use?
Best Answer
From page 9-45 of the California Energy Commission 2019 Residential Compliance Manual (emphasis mine):
An E26 socket cannot be installed in recessed downlights in California and remain compliant with Title 24's Building Energy Efficiency Standards.