LED Downlights

barrowvian

Hi,

Just after a little advice.

We're looking to have between 6 and 8 LED downlights installed in our bedroom. Above our bedroom is the attic, which is insulated. Does this make any difference when it comes to buying fire resistant downlights or not? Or is the fire resistance to do with sustaining the integrity of where the light is mounted?

I've found a few posts on here that have taken me to LED Hut.

I've found these fittings that I like; http://www.ledhut.co.uk/spot-light-fittings/gu10-fittings/gu10-fire-rated-downlight.html

And I've found these bulbs that seem very well reviewed; http://www.ledhut.co.uk/spot-lights/gu10-led-bulbs/gu10-smd-led-220-lumens-45-watts-equiv-best-internet-price.html

Aside from the fire resistance question; should these bulbs be bright enough to light a bedroom that is 4m by 4m?

Any advice and guidance is appreciated, thank you.

zax47

As you suspected, fire resistance is about maintaining the fire integrity of the barrier you just made a load of holes in :-) "FR" fittings are sealed at the rear and have an intumescent strip sealing them to the ceiling, thus preventing heat and smoke from propagating into the space/rooms above. They can get hotter than more open, vented, fittings when used with normal GU10/MR16 bulbs but LED bulbs don't get quite so hot and/or have heatsinks fitted anyway.

The regs don't currently require them unless it is a separate dwelling above (say another flat). NB: never cover any downlight with insulation, FR rated or not - they all need free space above them.

I only use LEDHut for LED bulbs and fittings now (I'm an electrician) and find them very competitive and good quality. Not had any failures yet - unlike some stuff I've had from wholesalers like City Electrical which lasted mere days....

barrowvian

Excellent, thank you for the information.

With regards to the insulation; I've seen hoods mentioned to provide the clear space around the light. However, the insulation would still go over the hood so I'm guessing that wouldn't really be a great idea as there'd still be no ventilation around the unit.

Could I simply cut a square hole in the insulation around the light? Would that be enough do you think?

Gloomendoom

We have fire rated downlights in our bedroom ceiling. Flower pots were an option.

They are fitted with LED bulbs and the casing stays cool to the touch so I doubt covering them with insulation would cause problems... unless somebody replaced the LEDs with 40w halogens some time in the future.

By the way, they leak air through vent holes so not good for keeping warm air in the bedroom.

sparkiedave

if your bedroom is in the attic, does this mean you have kingspan type insulation and then the felt and slates of the roof? if so, check the amount of clearance the lights need behind (above) and the depth of your joists, there might not be enough room

mymedi

Could I ask a sideway but related question?
What do you consider better or more efficient - fitting generic downlighter casings and then inserting LED bulbs into them or fitting integrated fire-rated fittings (e.g. Aurora i9)? Seems to be similar in terms of cost, but I'm wondering of how these two setups wear over time...
Thanks!

zax47

sparkiedave wrote: »

if your bedroom is in the attic, does this mean you have kingspan type insulation and then the felt and slates of the roof? if so, check the amount of clearance the lights need behind (above) and the depth of your joists, there might not be enough room

It's not in the attic - "above our bedroom is the attic..."