Downlight placement

marc81

Hi,

We're currently in the middle of an extension and part of this involved having to remove our lounge ceiling... we are at the point of the new ceiling being put in and we are considering having downlights put in. I'm a bit unsure as to how many will look right or will be enough for light. Is there are a general rule of thumb to calculate what is needed (I understand a lot will revolve around the wattage but i don't know 'the norm')?

The room is almost square, approx 5m x 4.5m with standrad ceiling height of around 2.4m I think. I initially thought 9 in total, 3 rows of 3 but I don't know if this is enough.

Thanks,

Doozergirl

Why do you want down lights in a lounge?
Do you always have your 'big light' on in the lounge?

I prefer a cosy feel and realised we don't even need a big light in the lounge. I have lamps in every corner, wall lights and even have pretty low lighting in the centre. Sophisticated lighting is aimed and concentrated on areas, not flooding a room. You can buy special plug sockets for lighting that run on the lighting circuit and switch on from the light switch. No more going round switching lamps on.

In terms of having things to look at in a room, I think light fittings are attractive and downlights non-descript. Whenever we put them in now, we choose white bevels so they don't draw attention.

I would only put downlights in a living with low headheight. And make sure they're dimmable. And not too many of them! 9 probably is enough for a lounge.

marc81

Doozergirl wrote: »

Why do you want down lights in a lounge?
Do you always have your 'big light' on in the lounge?

I prefer a cosy feel and realised we don't even need a big light in the lounge. I have lamps in every corner, wall lights and even have pretty low lighting in the centre. Sophisticated lighting is aimed and concentrated on areas, not flooding a room. You can buy special plug sockets for lighting that run on the lighting circuit and switch on from the light switch. No more going round switching lamps on.

In terms of having things to look at in a room, I think light fittings are attractive and downlights non-descript. Whenever we put them in now, we choose white bevels so they don't draw attention.

I would only put downlights in a living with low headheight. And make sure they're dimmable. And not too many of them! 9 probably is enough for a lounge.

I may have been generous with the ceiling height, it has been lowered slightly from before due to steels that have gone in above (I don't know the exact height as its not been boarded yet), so I was thinking that any other sort of celiling lights or pendants may be a little low. I don't think they would be on often, as we tend to use floor lamps plus in the day there is a lot of natural light as the room has 3 windows and a set of french doors.

Nick_C

3 * 3 sounds about right.

Building regs bizarrely require you to use an LED greater than 5W! I had a long argument with my electrician who wanted to put in fully contained units. I got the council involved and they agreed that replacable lamps over 5W are acceptable. We went for 7W dimmable lamps throughout the house.

I rarely use the downlighting in the lounge, but when I do need bright light for reading I find the downlights ideal. And I like the clean look of recessed lighting. I hate pendants.

brightontraveller

Beam angle, room color, type of lamp and light fitting (fixed adjustable etc), what you want to do in room (some like business the light levels are defined ) as well as size of room , if there are zones within room e.g. dinning area etc are all important as a very general rule 600mm from walls 1-1.2m apart.

There are plenty of calculators out there they are to an extent biased to the own lights so to speak try a few and you’ll get a general idea and remember you can always be brighter and dim lights or place table lamps around room.

https://www.google.co.uk/?gws_rd=ssl#q=downlight+placement+calculator

Something many forget beams, Joist , noggings, pipes obstructions etc will also define your layout


Gives variations
http://recessedlighting.com/recessed-lighting-calculator/

Risteard

Doozergirl wrote: »

You can buy special plug sockets

Do you insert socket plugs into your plug sockets?

jcb208

We have a 5*4 lounge and put 3 rows of 3 which was probably too many ,2 rows of 3 would of been ok. With the led's we bought it was very bright so got dimmable ones to change brightness as required..I would say 3*3 rows would be the most you will need in your size room

System

Wall lights/ceiling bulkheads/5amp socket for lamps - anything is better than downlights in a lounge imo

ComicGeek

the_r_sole wrote: »

Wall lights/ceiling bulkheads/5amp socket for lamps - anything is better than downlights in a lounge imo

Agreed - we have wall lights on one circuit, 5A lamp sockets on another, and then downlights on a third for when more light is needed. Dimmers on each. But 99% of the time we don't have the downlights on, so probably could have saved money and left them out.

5A lamp sockets controlled by a central light switch is still easier to use on a day-to-day basis than remote controlled plug sockets, so was definitely worth the extra aggro installing.

ComicGeek

marc81 wrote: »

The room is almost square, approx 5m x 4.5m with standrad ceiling height of around 2.4m I think. I initially thought 9 in total, 3 rows of 3 but I don't know if this is enough.

I also think that if you really want to use downlights in any other room than bathrooms and kitchens that it shouldn't just be in a simple grid. I think having light accents in rooms is a good thing, so we have them set off grid - they have to be sufficiently off grid to look deliberate, not just badly installed.