Recessed lighting in bathrooms

paws_3

Hi,
Anyone know much about recessed lighting?

I have fitted 4 recessed lights into my new bathroom. I bought the ones specifically for bathrooms ( 1 is over the bath although there is no shower).

The problem is that they don't give off much light even though they are 50w each. It appears that most of the light is lighting up the loft !!

The problem seems to be that the bulbs are set quite far back into the fitting and also the hole in the fitting through which the bulbs shine, is quite small.

But looking in other shops they all seem to be similar.

Anyone had a similar situation or gotta solution?

trafalgar_2

I have fitted these in mine but they don't give off much light , which is why I have 8
But hubby fitted little boxes over the fittings in the loft and that deflects more light downwards if you see what I mean and also protects the fittings from being damaged on loft expeditions

chrisscott_2

silly question but do you have the right bulbs in them, and even if tou do can you buy different ones?
i have 4 spot lights (not ressessed though) in my bathroom and its the same power 4 @ 50 watts, maybe you can fit 75watt bulds instead

SmartRRRR

Hi paws.

Can you expand on 'the ones specifically for bathrooms'?

Your description regarding the hole being small and the bulb set back could mean that they are a decorative light rather than functional, but from looking in the Screwfix catalogue I see that the bathroom fittings are available in IP44 and IP65. The lamps are much more visible in the IP44 version, and those are the ones I would get if I was buying from them.


Also you mention that most of the light is in the loft. If the lamps you bought are mains, then there is a GU and a GZ version available. The GZ are dichroic, which means that the reflector allows more heat to go through the back of the lamp, which keeps the light cooler but lets more through the back. If you put your hand close to a normal reflector lamp it can feel very hot. The manufacturer of the lamp also makes a big difference. The lamps included in a set I bought from BHS were terrible, but the Osram replacements I got from the same store were vastly superior.

Spot and flood versions of the 50w lamps are also very different in their performance, the flood beam is lower in brightness but spreads well. The spot is just what it says, my experience is that the whole room appearance can be affected by just changing from spot to flood.

Sorry it's a bit long but I've included the main points. If you can give any more information I will keep an eye on the thread.

paws_3

Thanks for the info.

Sorry I was a touch vague.

The lights are the transformer one - I was told these were recommended for bathrooms. Each light has its own transformer. The bulbs are 35w 20 degree 12v Halogen (not sure if they are dichroic or not) .

The lights are similar - if not the same as - Screwfix Page 201 IP65 (D14235-76). It is not that clear in the pics but there is actually a piece of glass in the opening in the metal housing (this is totally seperate to the bulb). The actual bulb is held off the back off this glass by about 25mm. The actual hole in the housing is 40mm.

So what happens - because the light from the bulb is spreading out and cos the hole in the housing is small, a good proportion of the light hits the inside of the housing and reflect back making my attic lovely and cosy!

I guess the glass in the housing is to seal it against moisture and I suspect the reason the bulb is mounted away from the glass is to allow airflow to stop overheating. But quite why they then put a small hole in the housing, I am not sure.

If I was to use bulbs with a wider angle I guess even more light would be reflected.

Sorry to go on.

Any further info would be very greatly received.

Malestrom

Bit of an old thread but if you're still looking, try Screwfix 60962 fixed cast downlights instead. The lamp (bulbs grow, lamps glow, as we were taught!) is closer to the front edge of the downlighter and the downlighter body angles away to prevent reflection of the beam edges. Also try going for 50w lamps too!

tricky_3

They may be designed for bathrooms but the IP rating divides the bathroom up into zones 1-3, with zone 3 being the zone furthest from any water. First you need to make sure your lights are the correct rating for their location.

Secondly.....**do not** box in over them to reflect the light down. Most lights of this type are designed to throw the light forward and the heat backwards.

I would also try a bulb with a wider beam angle. With a 20 degree beam you'll get a nice bright spot on the floor but very little ambient light.

Ive found them really cheap...try https://www.tlc-direct.co.uk