Exchanging ceiling lights - electrician required?

bd10

Hi all,

We're planning to exchange old ceiling lights with spot lights. We have been using a handyman for years for many other jobs who's been doing an excellent job to date and we were thinking of giving him the job as well. We would not be running any new wires, simply replace hanging lights with spot lights at the same spot. From what I read online, replacing simple light fittings can be done DIY without having to use a certified electrician. With the heta wave we had the other week and the fires got us thinking... Not wanting to breach regulation and or to cause any potential fire or other safety hazards, would we be required to use a certified electrician or could we get this done by a handyman?

Thanks in advance.

fenwick458

I would not class that as a like for like swap, it's not a simple job and can be quite complicated I'd advise you get an electrician.
is one spot light really going to be as bright as a single light fitting? 

redped

To avoid confusion, when you say "We would not be running any new wires, simply replace hanging lights with spot lights at the same spot" are you referring to:

(a) spotlights (technically downlights) which are recessed in the ceiling, e.g. https://www.screwfix.com/p/lap-cosmoseco-fixed-fire-rated-led-downlight-chrome-5-8w-450lm/675pp

(b) spotlights which are situated on a fitting beneath the ceiling, e.g. https://www.screwfix.com/p/sasha-round-3-light-spotlight-chrome/9028v

Depending on what you want will determine the complexity of the job.

grumbler

fenwick458 said:

is one spot light really going to be as bright as a single light fitting? 

That's exactly what I wanted to say. It definitely isn't going to be as good because other light fittings use ceiling to diffuse the light around. Even in a small room I'd expect to see at least 4 downlights.

However, I am no expert, but I disagree that this job "can be quite complicated". There are surface-mounted downlights that are essentially the same as traditional fittings, and for a recessed downlight the most complicated part is to cut a neat hole in the ceiling and clean some space from insulation if needed.

FaceHead

A three light spotlight assembly, like the one redped linked is a very simple swap, for any handyman or half competent DIYer.

One downlight would be a strange thing to do. One would just look weird. And if it's a "straight swap", and doesn't involve running "any new wires", then we can be talking about going to multiple downlights.

Even so, changing a pendant to a few downlights is well within the remit of a decent multi trade handyman.

plumb1_2

If it’s just one fitting with several spots attached to it, then handyman should sort it.