Fixed Halogen Downlights Help Please.

Hello Everyone, and thanks in advance i hope.
I have just brought a set of 4 halogen downlights with the complete kit and i want to install them, however they are confusing me and thats why im here asking for abit of help. On the packaging it says 2 things that i don't understand fully.

No transformer required.

Connects directly to the mains supply without the need for a transformer.

Now i thought the instructions would help me out with this but they are complete bull....just pictures and things not to do.

I want to install these lights in my garage and my original thought when it said "Connects directly to the mains supply without the need for a transformer" was to connect them from the closest light in the house and wire them up that way.

But it confesses me when it says mains because ive always thought of the mains as the plug sockets and ring mains in the house, not a lighting circuit, which doesn't really matter because i have an existing ring main in the garage but i wouldn't know how to wire/connect them up this way.

Anyways thanks in advance guys, im going to talk to an electrician friend tomorrow about it and hope that he can clear it up for me but in the mean time you people could be my saviour =D

Your lighting circuit will be part of the main supply.

Apart from understanding how the wiring will go and before you start attacking the integrity of ceiling- you do realise that downlights are really just spotlights - they give an ambiance to the place - in otherwords if you want to do any work or see anything in the garage forget it. You would be better off with a good quality strip light. Rant over.... till next time

If you do decide to go ahead then you will need a switch and somewhere to access the live, neutral and possibly earth you will need to make these lights work.

You can take you power from a nearby ceiling rose.
You will need 1mm T&E cable.
At the ceiling rose connect the brown cable to the live loop, the blue cable to the neutral loop and the bare cable (sleeved) to the earth loop.
This cable then runs to your switch at the wall.
At the switch connect the brown cable to Common and put the earth cable to the back both earth terminal - the blue cable goes into a terminal block.
From the switch run another cable to the first of your downlights.
At the switch put the brown cable in the L1 terminal, the blue cable with the other blue cable in the terminal block and the earth in the back box.

At the first downlight the brown cable goes in the L, the blue in the N and the earth in the earth. Then loop another cable with the same colour/terminal combination from the first downlight to the second and so on.
Make sure that the circuit is dead before you do any work on it and ensure that the additional lights you are loading on this circuit do not exceed the maximum recommended for lighting circuits.
If none of this makes any sense to you then I would suggest that you pass over the responsibility for this installation to a professional.

You could also take a feed from the existing ring main in the garage by connecting and down fusing either FCU(fused connection unit) or A switched FCU, which could also be used as your functional switch.
But if it confesses you so much that it confuses you, I would let someone else do the job. an electrician might be a good idea!

Hey riveralt i infact got 12 lights to cover the area, i thought this was overkill abit but now you said that i will not be able to see anything got me a little scared do you think 12 lights will be ok? i only said 4 lights because thats how many you get in a set/box. sorry i should of said that

bigjeffrey said:

Hey riveralt i infact got 12 lights to cover the area, i thought this was overkill abit but now you said that i will not be able to see anything got me a little scared do you think 12 lights will be ok? i only said 4 lights because thats how many you get in a set/box. sorry i should of said that

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This website give you examples of how much light you will get from downlights given their wattage and beam angles.
http://www.lightbulbs-direct.com/article/spotlight-beam-angles/

12 is a lot of lights and a lot of wiring and could mean a lot of things could go wrong. Don't forget that the lights should wired in parallel and not series.

Are you sure you don't want one of these.
http://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Main_Index/Lighting_Menu_Index/Kitchen_Lighting/Twin_Flo_1/index.html
Better light and will save you a lot on energy bills.
Think 12 * 50w downlights = 600w & 12 holes in your ceiling
One fluroescent light = 58w & one hole in your ceiling
No contest really