I regret having MR16 low voltage lighting (recessed can fixtures) installed in our home remodel. It covers more than half of my house. I would like to convert to recessed fixtures that are 120V and standard size. Unfortunately, for almost all of the lights, they cannot be accessed from above (an attic space, that is). Does anyone know of any way to retrofit these cans to bypass the transformer and install a standard sized socket without having to remove the MR16 fixture, which would require tearing up the ceiling?
Additional Info: MR16 fixtures include a transformer to step the voltage down from 120V to 12V. I have attached some pictures of the fixtures before being covered up and what the ceiling looks like today. One worry I had was that the Romex coming into the transformer would not reach the position of the light if it was pulled off of the transformer and attached to a standard fixture in the original position of the MR16 light, but in the photos I took during construction it appears there is enough slack to do this (if all were wired in the ways shown in the attached photos).
Reasons for getting rid of the MR16 lights:
1. They are essentially spotlights and the widest beams will not flood the light like standard fixtures will,
2. My dimmable SATCO LED replacements for original Halogens (which were too hot) do not dim reliably and consistently and I don’t think I can find a workable solution,
3. In two cases the fixture has failed, I don’t know exactly why, but I think it has to do with incompatible dimmer switches, and I must expect failures will continue.
Best Answer
Unfortunately the lighting layout is pretty bad so getting a new light would not help.
Your best option here is to actually redo the entire lighting layout and use the type of light you're happy with. Have an electrician try to reuse the existing wires if possible and then get a professional painter to patch and paint.