Some thoughts about lighting?

feesh

We're having our house re-wired soon and it's giving us the opportunity to think about the lighting.

I have been reading every home magazine and forum going for weeks now and still can't decide! We have even found a really good wholesalers where we can get practically ANY type of lighting at cheaper prices, but I still don't know what I want!

I have asked for a couple of ceiling-recessed spotlights to be put in the lounge to illuminate the alcoves either side of the fireplace. But I'm wondering whether to take the pendant light out altogether in there and light the room with, say, 5 recessed spotlights instead. It's so hard to judge how much light they will give out and how it will feel - this is the 1st house I've ever done up.

The same could, in theory, be done for every room, as all the rooms are similar - about 10' by 11' with feature fireplaces. There are 2 bedrooms, the lounge and a dining room all the same similar size and layout.

It's a 2-up, 2-down Victorian terrace.

Has anyone got any lighting tips? In an ideal world, being a greenie, I would LOVE to put LED spotlights in, as they're so energy efficient, but they are so expensive.

The cost of all this work is a lot to bare anyway and its putting us into debt (parents are lending us the money) - I just can't decide if its worth ripping all the central pendant lights out and getting spotlights put in while we're having all the floors taken up anyway for this re-wire. Pendant lights are never the best option for lighting a room IMHO.

What are the alternatives to LED spotlights, is it just halogen? Don't they use lots of energy? I would like the house to be as energy-efficient as possible.

Any thoughts or experiences shared would be very welcome!

Feesh

mech_2

feesh wrote: »

Has anyone got any lighting tips? In an ideal world, being a greenie, I would LOVE to put LED spotlights in, as they're so energy efficient, but they are so expensive.

You can actually get compact fluorescent spotlights. The most common ones look oversized, but I've seen all sorts advertised.

I still haven't found any LED lights that I thought outclassed compact fluorescents in terms of brightness, efficiency or cost. Most that I've looked at haven't listed their actual light output, but I've just assumed they were too dim to be useful like all the others.

The cost of all this work is a lot to bare anyway and its putting us into debt (parents are lending us the money) - I just can't decide if its worth ripping all the central pendant lights out and getting spotlights put in while we're having all the floors taken up anyway for this re-wire. Pendant lights are never the best option for lighting a room IMHO.

I think it's largely a question of fashion. Having lots of spots is always less efficient and more expensive than a single pendant. Personally spotlights annoy me.

What are the alternatives to LED spotlights, is it just halogen? Don't they use lots of energy? I would like the house to be as energy-efficient as possible.

Yes, halogens use barely any less energy than a normal incandescent bulb. Fluorescents still rule the roost IMO, but LEDs are advancing quickly and given a few years they'll start to replace all other lighting. They're just not quite there yet.

yorksguy11

Recessed lights are ok until you want a change, then you have the problem of all those 2" holes in the ceiling and the expense of plaster boarding the ceiling and skiming it.
The beauty of centre lights is you can change light fittings easilly or remove them just leaving the ceiling rose.
A few years ago i bought some Table lamps and Floor uplighters. That way you can plug them in where you want and change whenever you like. You can also fit them with energy efficient lamps. Have a look round youll be amazed at what there is
If your rewiring your house have double sockets fitted in each corner of your rooms or where your likley to want some light. I did it that way and it wasnt that much more expensive.
Hope this helps a little

martin_the_sparky

Hi, Firstly don't worry about running cost's of lights - not much in it to be honest over a full year. Down lights are available in mains voltage - gu10 ( rubbish lamp and output don't last 2 mins very voltage sensitive) they do a low energy gu10 lamps - very good and dimmable, Low voltage lamps and transformers make sure they are good ones though - price gives it away, and then theres LED getting better all the time - some new ones just became available ment to be equivalent to 30 watt gu10 lamps. On having centre lights or not - why not have them wired and get the sparky to give you the measurements for them - you will always have them just incase. A good light in a room if you have plain painted walls is a wall wash downlight, and use the wall to bounce the light off of it to provide the illumination - to be honest brilliant for bedrooms and living rooms. Why not try and see if there is a rexel senate wholesalers near you - they have an in house lighting design engineer service, they really do know there stuff as well. Which ever sparky you get to do the work - just ask them how much extra to provide centre light points to be left above ceiling - shouldnt be much.

Have a look at the JCC lighting website pretty good also.