Advice On Kitchen Lighting Please

nicenswift

Hi,

Wanting to replace lights in kitchen with downlighters (LED or Halogen).

In B & Q at the weekend you could not seem to get ones that angle that where suitable for Kitchens.

On the board above the lights it said IP20 rated lights where not suitable for Kitchens and bathrooms and all the angle ones where IP20.

So the question is are IP20 rated lights ok for a Kitchen ?

and also is it best to get LED over Halogen.

If the answer to both above are YES I am thinking of getting these.

http://www.screwfix.com/p/lap-fire-rated-adjustable-led-downlight-ip20-brushed-chrome-2-5w/6998f#product_additional_details_container

Many thanks for your advice.

dominoman

IP20 are perfectly fine for a kitchen unless you think you may splash water on them. I have never even considered using special kitchen lights.

Personally I use halogen lights because I prefer the light they give off and the bulbs are much cheaper.

LED are much more efficient and over time you will recoup the higher initial cost, but you will need special dimmers if you use those.

Chrishazle

Look for ones where the bulb is held in by a circlip and, when you remove the circlip, the bulb and holder come out - makes changing a bulb easy compared to ones where you have to remove the bulb on its own (I have both types!).

Avoid CFL bulbs, OK they use less electricity than halogen but take a couple of minutes to warm up, whereas halogen or LED come on immediately.

I have replaced all the halogen bulbs in our downlighters with LED's. Do not believe the bumf that says a 6W LED is equivalent to a 50W halogen - I've put 9W and 12W in ours! Also LED Warm White is whiter than halogen, wife has taken a while to get used to Natural White in her dressing room, and Cool White is cold! OK, I bought on price from Ebay and have suffered some failures, but I reckon I'm still money ahead compared to buying LED's from B&Q, Wickes etc.

EssexExile

I would say my 3w LEDs are as bright as a 50w halogen. It's best to experiment because they're all so different, colour & brightness.

ic

I had LED downlights fitted in the summer and they look great. They seem to be a mid-white colour - they're whiter/cooler than the other LED bulbs I have around the house, but nothing like the very cool daylight white LED floodlights outside. The colour is spot on for the kitchen.

Kiran

LED over halogen as if you have a small kitchen or a lot of fittings you will also get a lot of heat gain not to mention running costs.