change single pendant to halogen down lights.

[richjamesw]

i have read a lot of topics relating to my above question and can understand that to change from a single pendant to say 4/5 downlighters they need to be in parrallel.
I have bought my spotlights from b and q and understanding the concept of downlighters, i was intending to take one cable from one light to another starting with the first one which would be a replacement for the original single pendant. This would also avoid me having to alter any junction boxes which have the feed and switch cable in.
Also i was intending to return the wire back to the original junction box??
i cannot see any problem with this, i did the same thing in my living room when replacing the single pendant then and have had no problems, i have also used the same type of lights.
any advice / commenst would be appreciated

 

[Steve]

oh no, the D word. You wont find many friends on here.

You wire them as a "radial" - you dont need to have a ring. Lighting circuits are radials, not rings. A ring would serve no purpose, other than complicate matters.

As a side note, your original light was . . . say 3x40w lamps. 120w.

Your new lights will be 5x50w. 250w.

I recommend you research LED lamps or CFL (compact fluorescent, traditional energy savers).

 

[richjamesw]

why the dreaded d word are they not very popular or the opposite.
it would be 4 x 50w

 

[Steve]

why the dreaded d word are they not very popular

Nope. If ban-all-sheds comes along, please dont take offence at anything he says. He hates them with a passion. They look nice, but arent a very good way of lighting a room unfortunately. Hotspots and darkspots (unless you have 10 foot ceilings in which case it evens out)

 

[Taylortwocities]

That is why they are known as DOWNlights. They light DOWN but not AROUND.

 

[EdwardCurrent]

Hello RichJamesW.

Out of curiosity, is the lighting circuit RCD protected ?

Thanks
Ed

 

[richjamesw]

yes it is rcd protected, surely the most simple way of doing this is to daisy chain from light to another and then to the first one again.

 

[Taylortwocities]

You wire them as a "radial" - you dont need to have a ring. Lighting circuits are radials, not rings. A ring would serve no purpose, other than complicate matters.

And use more expensive copper.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

If ban-all-sheds comes along, please dont take offence at anything he says. He hates them with a passion.

If you want to use the word "hate", I don't hate them, per se, I hate the use of them when it is inappropriate, and I hate the idiots who install them.

They are not designed to light rooms, and to try and use them for that shows such a staggering lack of understanding of the importance of good design, and the importance of engineering elegance as to beggar belief.

The OP knows that they don't work well because he knows he'll need several to replace the single light he currently has, and yet he still wants to go ahead.

I doubt that there's anything I can say about his ignorance and stupidity which will offend him more than his ignorance and stupidity offend me.

 

[LiamPope]

yes it is rcd protected, surely the most simple way of doing this is to daisy chain from light to another and then to the first one again.

No, the most simple way is to daisy chain from one light to another and... stop there.

Liam

 

[richjamesw]

wouldnt the lights fade the further away they are

 

[bloxy]

yes it is rcd protected, surely the most simple way of doing this is to daisy chain from light to another and then to the first one again.

That sounds like you are connecting them in series

If you daisy chain them do it in parallel. Live loop in, live loop out: neutral loop in, neutral loop out at each light until you get to the last one when you stop.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

wouldnt the lights fade the further away they are

Only if the cable is too small.

 

[Taylortwocities]

If the downlight is a ready made CE marked set from B&Q you should not have to worry as they will have taken volt drop into account when designing the product.

If you are buying separate components and putting them together yourself then you take on the design and safety responsibility.

Also, please note, that the installation of downlights, anywhere in the home, is notifiable under building regulations Part P unless you are using unmodified CE marked sets.

 

[LiamPope]

Also, please note, that the installation of downlights, anywhere in the home, is notifiable under building regulations Part P unless you are using unmodified CE marked sets.

Huh? Wouldn't that only be ELV ones, being a 'special installation'? If they're 230V downlights then you're under 2.(c)(ii) - adding light fittings and switches to an existing circuit, aren't you??

Liam