We're going to take the plunge and have a manky ceiling replaced.
It's a small area, but I do need good light in there. At present there is just a central pendant light with a CFL, which is ok but pretty useless, as the ceiling is so low you hit your head on the light if you walk under it (over and over again I discover).
I like the idea, I think, of recessed downlighters, but know nothing about them. The builder suggests LED, not halogen but he's not an electrical boffin.
I have no idea about makes or types or anything else. Any experience on here with such things? I won't say money is no object but I'd rather get it right now than fanny about in two years doing it all again.
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>> builder suggests LED, not halogen but he's not an electrical boffin.
Downlighters are a good idea if height is an issue, but not LED if strong light is required.
Basically, its a matter of size of lights, all the way from minute single leds set in the ceiling to small GU10 size to large RO80 size. Best bet is to pop down your local DIY shed and see what size takes your fancy. The tell the builder ( who should be subbing the sparx)
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>> Downlighters are a good idea if height is an issue, but not LED if strong
>> light is required.
It does depend on teh area you're looking to illuminate, but don't automatically discard LED dowlighters on the basis tha the light's not strong enough. We've just had a couple of LED downlighters put in on a landing area that previously had a batten lamp holder with a 100w bulb in it as its only light source. Our electrican recomended these: www.halers.com/led_downlights/10765_0c.html and the light is far brighter than the 100w pendant that preceeded it
We've also had 4 of them put in an 'L' shaped bathroom - again the light is as bright if not brighter than from the 'traditional' halogen downlighters that are used in another bathroom in the house
If I was doing them again though I think I'd chose the 'warm' white rahther than 'neutral' light, which does look a bit too bright!!
Peter
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We have halogens here (not a pendant in the place) all I'll say is that the halogen light source is good but harsh - at least with the LED you can vary the harshness of the light. I may experiment as and when bulbs fail !
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I use 35 watt halogens*, less harsh, less heat, less power used, last longer.
(as opposed to the commonly found 50 watt)
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Our house has halogen downlighters in most rooms. GU10 bulbs fail for a pastime though and they're not cheap.
Edit - I might try those 35W ones then Z
Last edited by: Humph D'Bout on Mon 21 Nov 11 at 09:25
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Recessed ceiling lights make the room look like an office.
They also look garbage in an older building, which I believe Crankers Towers is.
I'd use a couple of standard lamps.
Maybe add a non-pendant central ceiling fitting so there's something to turn on at the wall switch.
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Thanks for the pointers, all. I think I'll look in the diy sheds then. Builder said halogens blow all the time and that seems to be what some of you are saying too, hence the LED, but then if they don't give a good light I can't see my music, so it has to be the right sort.
Sigh. I'm getting like Rattle - every little thing these days seems like a mountain.
Standard lamps wouldn't work, although it's an idea. Being, as you say, iffy, an older property, everything is a bit weird. So this is "the area that you walk into from the back door that has a ceiling height of six foot five but is actually part of the kitchen which just to the left has a ridged ceiling that goes up to about nineteen feet and so we don't know what to do with it or call it but it feels kitchenish or maybe breakfast roomish especially as it has a table and chairs in it and there's a kind of breakfast bar area next to it we've never used although I use it as my music "room" hence needing good light".
I suppose I could have just said "standard lamps won't really work, but thanks anyway", but where's the fun in that?
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Halogens are expensive to run, though!
We only have three non energy saving bulbs in the house - one in the bathroom and the two in our recently installed cooker hood. The latter are mains fed mushroom shaped bulbs as fitted to recessed lamps in ceilings.
Is there any alternative on the market for these as, at 35 watts each, they consume more power than the three bulb ceiling fitment in the kitchen, or all the table lamps in our lounge/diner? (SWMBO HATES central lights!)
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Any halogen replacement quoted as 5W or better is equivalent to a 35W lamp. Cold white is slightly brighter, best if you're replacing every lamp. Warm white if you're mixing with halogens.
BLT Direct is your friend. Bear in mind that it'll cost you, though the saving is recouped within a year.
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The Haler LED downlighters I refered to above are 7 or 8W I think - more than adequate lighting for a bathroom, never mind a landing IME. As above, I agree - we should have gone for warm white I think
Peter
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>>Halogens are expensive to run, though!<<
I've got 23 Halogens in the "Quintessential Cornish Country Cottage" which hardly cost me anything 'to run',
Simples - I don't run em :)
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Do you favour candles or oil lamps Dog?
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Candles in Baskerville Hall I seem to recall.
Last edited by: Zero on Mon 21 Nov 11 at 11:59
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It was quite an experience to stay with Laurie Smith in his isolated cottage up on Bodmin Moor,
He'd have 50mm sheets of polystyrene up every window and a 60w naked bulb overhead,
But the inglenook would be roaring away with the deadwood that we'd picked up from the moor,
Then we'd sit there on his old church pews drinking sweet tea, puffing our roll-ups and putting the world to rights!
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Our early 19th century gatehouse - added to in the next centuries- has 5 bulb chandaliers running 7kw bulbs.. (Mix of steel and olde age woodde pendants )..
Effective lighting , look in character and cheap to run...
A couple of standard lamps (woodde again) make it looks like the 1930s if we want :-)
Last edited by: madf on Mon 21 Nov 11 at 15:35
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madf >> 5 bulb chandaliers running 7kw bulbs
35kW per chandelier?? And you've more than one of them? Do you have 3-phase power at home?
The LED halogen-replacments are bright enough, but they're not very spot-like - casting a wide glow rather than a spot.
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Most of my shops had GU10 spotlights in the windows - an average of 8 per shop running 50W power and heat and they never seemed to last very long.
Bought a load of LED GU10s from Ebay, think they worked out at about £4 each or something and replaced them all. Power usage well down, heat well down and although they don't have the same "spot" light they are still more than adequate for lighting the window displays.
I subsequently bought more and replaced all the GU10s in the house as well.
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Must admit, I'd managed not to notice that there was such a thing as LED GU10s Bobby. Thanks for the tip, I'll get some next time I'm buying replacements.
We've got loads of them in our house and at 50W a time they must be fairly inefficient.
Six in the en-suite alone so that's 300W every time you take a sh...ave... !
:-)
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Similar here - 6 units in every room here apart from the bathrooms which have double d type bulbs - In practice only the ones in the kitchen get used regularly and only at food prep times, otherwise it's low wattage or lamps....
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GU10's Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
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Open plan kitchen diner with 50W recessed spots. Run of 8 along length of kitchen and and a sqare of 9 in the diner. I've staggered the kitchen with LEDs and run down the middle of the diner likewise.
The LEDs put out a rather bluish light which does not suit me but this is counteracted by the halogens.
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Might I recommend no ceiling lights.
Off white walls, darker contrasting cornice and brilliant white ceiling, from which you bounce the light from a couple of uplighters, with a dimmer capability. Works for me in both my lounge and large single storey extension.
No wall lights either at my place.
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And, how's about using Absolute White on the ceiling ~ www.dulux.co.uk/colour/absolute_white
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>>The LEDs put out a rather bluish light which does not suit me but this is counteracted by the halogens. <<
Most suppliers offer White and Warm White LEDs The White do have a distinctive Cold Tinge, but the others fit well with 50W halogens.
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Ceilings and lights - Zero
