do LED lamps get hot

[brett71]

Hi there

do 7W LED downlights get hot?

will i need to cover them with a fire hood if they are to be covered in insulation

whats a good fire hood

Thanks

Brett

 

[DaftPunk]

They don't get hot as such but they do get warm, and if this warmth is not allowed to escape it will very quickly destroy the fitting.

Why do you think your installation requires fire hoods? Have a read of our wiki about them.

 

[bernardgreen]

Almost all LED elements, the bit of semiconductor that creates the light, start to degrade if their temperature exceeds 70 ° C

In poorly design fittings the LED element will be a lot hotter than the casing due to the thermal resistance between element and case being too high to allow the heat to escape from the element.

 

[JohnW2]

They don't get hot as such but they do get warm, and if this warmth is not allowed to escape it will very quickly destroy the fitting.

Is it not a somewhat surprising view of the meanings of 'warm' and 'hot' if it is being said that the former can "very quickly destroy a fitting"? If 'warm' can do that, what on earth would 'hot' do?

Kind Regards, John

 

[Taylortwocities]

FIRE HOODS ARE THERE TO PREVENT THE PASSAGE OF FIRE FROM THE ROOM BELOW THROUGH THE DOWNLIGHT HOLES IN THE CEILING.

They do not stop anything getting hot or some such nonsense.
If you need fire-rated downlights, buy fire-rated downlights. They are usually cheaper than downlight + a fire hood.

All lights need space to breathe. The LED lamp itslf does not get too hot but they usually have heat disspation fins that do need ventilation.

If you MUST have downlights, and wat to retain your loft insulation, then use a LOFT CAP or a LOFT BRACE

 

[brett71]

My Mistake I say fire hood but it looks like i meant loft cap or brace, i just wanted something to keep the loft insulation away from the fixture to give it some breathing room but didn't know if there is a certain distance, i guess this will depend on the lamp manufacturer

Brett

 

[Taylortwocities]

My Mistake I say fire hood but it looks like i meant loft cap or brace, i just wanted something to keep the loft insulation away from the fixture to give it some breathing room but didn't know if there is a certain distance, i guess this will depend on the lamp manufacturer

Brett

Yes, and some makers will specify their own
Some downlights are DESIGNED to be covered by insulation.
eg http://www.downlights.co.uk/downlights/aurora-insulation-covered-downlights.html