Am i overloading the circuit

[greenwood]

I have just bought 16 halogen dimmable downlighters without the need for transformers from B&Q and i am planning to install all of them in my lounge, i have noticed that they are GU10 50w each which would equal 800w just for the lounge and i still plan to install the same spots in the rest of the downstairs kitchen, hallway, downstairs toilet, conservatory.

Please could someone tell me if this is ideal and am i overloading the circuit for downstairs, what is the maximum wattage i can have on that circuit.

Can i also use 20amp 4 terminal j boxes and 1.5mm 2 core cabling.

 

[Mick Leek]

Dont quote me on this and im sure someone will correct me but, i seem to recall 1200w max per radial ?

Thats 1200 downstairs and 1200 up

Ban will confirm. he is a god on all subjects

 

[breezer]

right idea, wrong reason

its the supply protection (mcb / fuse) that only allows this much, since lighting circuits are usually protected by a 6A mcb or 5A fuse

1200w is just over 5A @ 230v

so 800 w in one room only allows for 400w for ALL other rooms on this circuit

either you have a massive lounge or a supply of dark glasses and sun tan lotion

800w is far too bright IMO

how ever if the whole circuit is wired in 1.5 t & e it is permissable to use a 10A mcb, but as i said it must be ALL wired in 1.5

also you can use bigger rated anything not smaller than required, so 20A jbs are fine, but they must be accesable, and if done correctly they will not be required at all

 

[Steve]

I have just bought 16 halogen dimmable downlighters without the need for transformers from B&Q and i am planning to install all of them in my lounge

You WILL need the dimmer with all that light! I would use 5 at most in any average sized lounge! And for that amount of light, you would need 1600w of dimming capacity - or about 3 no. 500w dimmers controlling 3 sets of lights.

Take 10 of those lights back. You will regret installing them, unless you are studying the structure of the atom in your lounge. If this is the case, forgive my oversight!

 

[breezer]

Take 10 of those lights back. You will regret installing them, unless you are studying the structure of the atom in your lounge. If this is the case, forgive my oversight!

oh, i dont know, it may be a walk in solarium

 

[greenwood]

Come on guys i like light (only joking).

My lounge is 19ft long x 14ft wide narrowing to 9ft wide, i have a beam in the ceiling about 13ft down the lounge running left to right which kind of splits the lounge, i wanted to fit 11 spots in the large part of the lounge and 5 in the small part.

My consumer unit has 6amp fuse for up and downstairs lights.

I am wanting to use a 3 switch dimmer 1st switch for 11 spots, 2nd switch for 5 spots and 3rd for 2 wall lights.

 

[breezer]

obviously with out actually seeing it it is hard to say, but it still seems a lot of lights, and as you only have 6A mcbs you only have 400w left for the other rooms, i also take it uoi mean 6a for down and 6a for up (2 in total) and also for GU10 lamps you must have a suitably rated dimmer

 

[Steve]

Take a spur from the ring main in the louge, up to the lightswitch.

 

[greenwood]

I have drawn a picture of my lounge in (.bmp) can you tell me how to upload to this thread.

 

[breezer]

see forum information

 

[Steve]

see how to upload an image

 

[greenwood]

This is my lounge:

 

[Steve]

thx for the picture. Think about this. What was the total wattage in the room to start with? 360? (2 x fittings with 3 x 60w bulbs)

Was this bright enough?

I think maybe you could use 20 or 35w lamps and space them out a bit more, or the rooms will feel dark towards the middle.

For power, I would take a feed off the ring main, through a 5A fused spur, uspecially if you carry on with 50w bulbs.

for 11 x 50w halogen bulbs, you will need over 1000w of dimming (unless you have dimmers which specifically say rated for halogen loads) - very expensive, best to split this if you can.

 

[breezer]

the picture does make it clearer.

thing is you will light your room by reflection so giving a hint of colour of the walls, the lamps are IMO too close to the walls, and as has been said you will get a dark area in the middle, around the central light.

what you must remeber is the light you probably had lit the whole room, spot lights do just that, light a spot

 

[greenwood]

Ok i have added the total wattage for the lounge, kitchen, consevatory, hallway and downstairs toilet, this is if i wanted these spots 16 x 50w total = 1520w.

So this is not going to work, i think i will have to use lv halogen downlighters with dimmable transformers.

Could you tell me what the total wattage would now be in the lounge if i was to use 16 x Lv downlighters in the lounge instead of the 50w ones and what make or model dimmable transformers could i use, because B&Q dont seem to sell LV dimmable downlighters with dimmable transformers.

Thank you ever so much for all your help so far, your info is priceless on this forum.