Advice on number of downlighters in a room

[mikeyw]

Hi,

Is there a general rule of thumb for number of downlighters per room size ?

Maybe a website has a calculator ?

I'm renovating a large basement and need to determine the correct number of led downlighters to light the area properly

Regards,
Mike.

 

[riveralt]

I work on the basis of 600mm from the edge of the ceiling for the first light and then 1m distance to the second and so on.
However, it does depend on what you intend to do with the space (man cave ) particularly if you intend to work with tools where you might want a more concentrated number to give you better lighting.
Remember that down lights give you spots or pools of light in specific areas and you may need a lot of them to evenly light up the whole of the basement.
The alternative is high frequency fluorescent lights which I would put around 4/5m apart - again depending on the purpose of the room.

http://www.dusklights.co.uk/technical-advice/fitting-downlights.html

 

[jj4091]

http://www.megaled.co.nz/lighting-facts/how-to-calculate-how-many-light-fittings-you-need-in-a-room/

 

[PrenticeBoyofDerry]

There are no hard set rules, I have always gone by no closer than 300mm, no further than 1200mm.
You will be dictated by room size and the location of joists, other obstructions in the ceiling and services within the void.
You must allow for a reasonable gap between joists and fitting, especially if timber.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

I'm renovating a large basement and need to determine the correct number of led downlighters to light the area properly

None.

[caveat]Assuming you mean small diameter ones[/caveat], downlighters are designed to not light up room spaces. Not just "not designed to do it", but actively "designed to not do it".

What height do you have available for lights?

What will the basement be used for?

 

[PrenticeBoyofDerry]

There are no hard set rules, I have always gone by no closer than 300mm, no further than 1200mm.
You will be dictated by room size and the location of joists, other obstructions in the ceiling and services within the void.
You must allow for a reasonable gap between joists and fitting, especially if timber.
http://www.esc.org.uk/industry/product-safety/product-testing-screening/downlighters/

http://www.esc.org.uk/fileadmin/use...s/Downlighter_trade-_web_ready-_July_2012.pdf

 

[mikeyw]

I'm renovating a large basement and need to determine the correct number of led downlighters to light the area properly

None.

[caveat]Assuming you mean small diameter ones[/caveat], downlighters are designed to not light up room spaces. Not just "not designed to do it", but actively "designed to not do it".

What height do you have available for lights?

What will the basement be used for?

Only roughly 2.1m available so no traditional ceiling lights - what other options are there ?

Space will be open plan kitchen / lounge area.

 

[mikeyw]

Likely to go LED as well to keep heat levels down.

 

[Taylortwocities]

Likely to go LED as well to keep heat levels down.

And lets not forget running costs.

In the "old" days a 60 watt lamp was more than enough for the average sized room. I now see people with 10 x 50 watt downlights just for one room.

Thats as much energy as it used to take to light up a whole house with all the lights on at the same time.

Madness

 

[mfarrow]

I have spaced downlights in a fairly random fashion in our kitchen, you don't need to have a grid system that makes your ceiling look like a game of Connect 4.

General rules will be 600mm from edge as discussed, but I put mine 500mm from edge to give good lighting for worktops. Then make sure you have one over the sink and that they're evenly distanced between the walls and other sources of lighting (i.e. hood lights above the cooker). A few in the middle to light the floor and you'll be well away. Get tilt ones so you can point them into dark spots and any important features (welsh dresser/fridge) or dark corners.

Use 20W or 35W max bulbs and get 12V versions to ensure you get good efficacy. Don't go for LED as you'll never pay it back and the light at the moment isn't as crisp.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Only roughly 2.1m available so no traditional ceiling lights - what other options are there ?

Likely to go LED as well to keep heat levels down.

Recessed lights per se have no intrinsic problems - it's the little 2" diameter ones, which is what 99.9% of people mean by "downlights", where as TTC said you end up needing an array of them to overcome the fact that they are carp at lighting up rooms.

Large diameter downlights don't have the same issue - what space do you have above the ceiling? You can get, for example, lights like these:

http://www.scldirect.co.uk/2-x-26-watt-plc-hf-downlight.html

May not be considered "lounge friendly" though.

That example uses fluorescent lamps, but you can also get large LED ones. There's the Thorn BaseLED, for example, which looks good on paper:

http://www.thornlighting.co.uk/download/Base_LED_Brochure.pdf

http://www.thornlighting.co.uk/PDB/Ressource/teaser/E2/TLG_BaseLED.pdf

http://www.thornlighting.co.uk/object/PDF/datasheet.aspx?CompanyID=7&GroupID=12650&CL=E2&CC=GB

For low ceiling height you might like to consider LED panel lights - they aren't all 600x600 and meant to fit into an office suspended ceiling.

Wall lights/uplights can be useful in the lounge part.

Cold cathode neons above a cornice, or a dropped ceiling section around the edge?: