Quote for new recessed spot lighting

stu0x

We have just had to replace the flat roof and ceiling over our lounge following a serious leak. I'm looking to get 12 LED dimmable recessed spots put in, controlled as 2 separate 'zones' on a 2 gang dimmer. The ceiling has not yet been put up so there is easy access to the roofspace to run the necessary cabling.

I've been quoted £850 all in, and have no clue whether this is reasonable or not. Seems like a lot of money for what I assume is less than a day's work, but I don't really have any reference point.

The house is in Berkshire.

Thanks

elstimpo

stu0x wrote: »

We have just had to replace the flat roof and ceiling over our lounge following a serious leak. I'm looking to get 12 LED dimmable recessed spots put in, controlled as 2 separate 'zones' on a 2 gang dimmer. The ceiling has not yet been put up so there is easy access to the roofspace to run the necessary cabling.

I've been quoted £850 all in, and have no clue whether this is reasonable or not. Seems like a lot of money for what I assume is less than a day's work, but I don't really have any reference point.

The house is in Berkshire.

Thanks

For a quality, dimmable LED Spotlight that properly replaces a 50w halogen you need to be paying £12 - £15 per lamp. So the max the LED's should cost is £180.

If replacing 50w halogens, use the below as a guide to what the LED's need to have;

Lumens - More than 400 at 2700k (warm white)
Beam Angle - No narrower than 60 degrees unless high ceilings
Warranty - At least 3 years
Returns Period - At least 30 days so if you don't like them you can get your money back.
Make sure the dimming range is good and there is no flickering during the dimming process.

barrowvian

elstimpo wrote: »

For a quality, dimmable LED Spotlight that properly replaces a 50w halogen you need to be paying £12 - £15 per lamp. So the max the LED's should cost is £180.

If replacing 50w halogens, use the below as a guide to what the LED's need to have;

Lumens - More than 400 at 2700k (warm white)
Beam Angle - No narrower than 60 degrees unless high ceilings
Warranty - At least 3 years
Returns Period - At least 30 days so if you don't like them you can get your money back.
Make sure the dimming range is good and there is no flickering during the dimming process.

Gotta agree with this.

Nowadays you can pick up a decent 4w LED for roughly £7. Go to LEDHUT.co.uk and have a look.

We have 8 in our bedroom and they're 300 lumens. They're also at 3000k warm light so gives the room a nice, comfortable feeling. They provide more than enough lighting, our room is 4m by 4m. They're dimmable too.

LEDHUT.co.uk provide a 5 year warranty on pretty much everything. I'm in no way affiliated with this company by the way; just got some really good deals from them and found out about them through this website.

We found an electrician off Checkatrade and paid by the hour (approx £25 per hour). It took him 3 hours to fit so that gives you a pretty good idea of costs.

I hope that helps.

stu0x

Thanks for the replies. They're not replacing halogens - they're new lights in a new (previously unlit) ceiling. I assume the prices you are referring to are GU10 lamps only, so presumably adding the cans (or buying the all-in-one style integrated LED fixtures - I'm not sure which approach is best) will push the price up?

barrowvian

Yea you will need the fixings for the LED's.

These are the ones I bought; http://www.ledhut.co.uk/drivers-fittings-switches/led-spotlight-fittings/gu10-fire-rated-downlight.html

These are the LED's I bought also; http://www.ledhut.co.uk/spot-lights/gu10-led-bulbs/gu10-smd-led-220-lumens-45-watts-equiv-best-internet-price.html

The GU10's can be used directly from your 240v mains without any problems.

Johnandabby

stu0x wrote: »

We have just had to replace the flat roof and ceiling over our lounge following a serious leak. I'm looking to get 12 LED dimmable recessed spots put in, controlled as 2 separate 'zones' on a 2 gang dimmer. The ceiling has not yet been put up so there is easy access to the roofspace to run the necessary cabling.

I've been quoted £850 all in, and have no clue whether this is reasonable or not. Seems like a lot of money for what I assume is less than a day's work, but I don't really have any reference point.

The house is in Berkshire.

Thanks

So they will have one visit to run the cabling (1st fix), and a second to install the fittings once the ceiling is in. Cost for LED lamps & fittings will vary depending upon the product, from £10-£30 per fitting (higher price for a all-in-one integrated LED fitting like JCC) particularly with dimmable LEDs, so worth asking what they have spec'd for. Probably 3 hrs per visit.

All depends on the LED fittings being installed - if very good spec, then reasonable quote in my view.

stu0x

Thanks for everyone's advice so far.

I've now gotten further quotes which have generally been cheaper, and one guy in particular has come in way under the previous figure.

He's quoted me £504 for 12 all-in-ones (Aurora M10s)

Or £324 for 12 GU10 downlighters, without lamps

On the basis that as elstimpo said, the LED lamps to fit the GU10s will cost about £180, that's the same price for both.

So are there any advantages for going one way over the other? I'm assuming the one major drawback of the all-in-ones is the fact that when they go, you then have to replace the whole unit - which is both costlier and more difficult than just switching a lamp out - so presumably there are some upsides to going down that route? Are they more energy/cost effective, do they last longer, etc?