Recessed Downlights

sfrazi

I am really struggling to figure out how many spotlights I will need for my living room.

I will be installing 240v mains downlights (50w)

Room size is 3.37m x 4.50m.
Height is low at 2.40m.

Does anyone know how many will be best and in what configuration?

Hintza

Stop right there.

Why 50W? These things blow constantly and are very expensive to run. Spend a bit more now and get some Haler LED 7-9W (or similar lights).

My study which is 4mx 4m I have 4. If I really wanted a lot of light I would have 6. Our kitchen is 5m x 4m and we have 5 in it. I wish it had 7 or 8.

In a living room do you really want to use ceiling lights all the time? You will get a cosier feel with lamps.

rob7475

Hi,

Just doing exactly the same myself. From what I can work out, you should have 1 light per square metre. My kitchen is 3.2 x 3.8 and I am planning on putting 9 lights in there.

I agree with the last comment about putting leds in. I looked at the halers and they look good but are quite expensive, you also have to change the whole unit if the bulb goes - might be an issue in years to come if the design changes a bit.

I am looking at fitting these

http://www.alertelectrical.com/prod/59/aurora-240v-gu10-fixed-downlight-in-satin-nickel

with these led bulbs

http://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Products/LTGU9NW.html

Cheaper LED bulbs can be found but I have heard that these are good. The philips master led bulbs are also recommended.

Cheers

Rob

sfrazi

Can you get energy saving gu10 lights that light up immediately and not take ages to get to full brightness? I'm looking for ones that will power up to 50w

Myser

LED lighting will not take time to reach full brightness. You can find ones that use a fraction of a standard 50W halogen yet provide the same lumen output.

CFL energy saving lamps do take a while to reach full brightness however, the modern ones are much quicker.

Gloomendoom

One lamp per square metre isn't a bad rule of thumb. I had ten 20w halogen downlighters in a room about 3.5m x 4m and, with them all on, it was brighter than day. I've replaced them with LED bulbs. It took a bit of experimentation to get the same light output as the 20w halogen bulbs but I settled on 4w LEDs.

Hintza

sfrazi wrote: »

Can you get energy saving gu10 lights that light up immediately and not take ages to get to full brightness? I'm looking for ones that will power up to 50w

Please take heed of the advice given:- LED for downlights!