Insulating halogen downlighters

Mugwuppet

Hi

I have a number of halogen downlighters in my bungalow and whoever fitted them removed the insulation around them. I am about to add an extra layer of insulation to the loft and wondered if anyone had used Loft caps.

Pages such as downlights.co.uk seem to say they are suitable for insulating over, is there any evidence to say this isn't the case?

Cheers

Hoof_Hearted

Halogen lamps do get very hot which is why the insulation has been pushed back. I have used old teracotta flower pots to keep the insulation away. Better still, replace the lamps with LEDs which give off little heat.

Smiley_Dan

The dreaded downlighter - my pet peeve. Punching holes in your ceiling is, in hindsight, a stupid idea, but lots of us have done it.

Leaving aside the fact that you should probably change to LEDs anyway, assuming you actually use the lights...

Generally speaking you should not lay insulation directly on any downlighters. LEDs throw out less heat (a lot less) but are more sensitive to heat, so can fail quickly. There are some downlighter housings that claim you can lay insulation over, but assume you haven't got those...

One simple way is fastening a board above the light over the top of the joists above, then insulate over the board.

However, that doesn't provide air tightness. For that you need either the loft caps of various types, which are costly, or terracotta pots are often used. Seal them at the base and the hole where the cable goes. If you are sticking with halogen you will need a larger pot.

Frankly the best solution is to change to surface mounted lights.