Downlighters in bathroom - esp. Low energy flourescent

[fathertobe]

I'm trying to source three poss four downlighters for use in a bathroom. I'm strongly considering Flameguard due to their recommendations here.

a) Two will be above a shower bath and hence safest for IPX5 here.
b) One will be above sink and hence safest for IPX4
c) Other will be in zone 3 so no requirements but may as well make it at least IPX4 for the sake of simplicity.

I'd like them to be dimmable. My order of pref is:
1) Fluorescene 2) LV 3) 240V

Here's what I'm struggling with:
1) Is there a dimmable fluorescent and what kind of light quality does it give?
2) If I get a mixture of say, flameguard IP65s and IP54s, they presumably look different? So shall I just get 4xIP65s?
3) Any other advice - essentially I just want a safe, white finish, downlighter ...

Sorry for dumba$$ questions. Many thanks.

 

[Dippy]

1) Yes, Megaman do dimmable CFLs. However they don't dim in the traditional way. Instead they have a mode which slowly changes the brightness until you decide it is what you want. You need to consider that it takes around 1 minute for CFLs to warm up properly, so there's no point dimming them before then.

2) Yes they do look different (at least the GU10 fittings do). The IP54 housing is smaller and the bezels are different. I much prefer the IP65 bezels.

3) I suggest you consider why you want dimming. Your decision may affect your choice of lamp. It might be a good idea to use non-dimmed CFLs for some fittings and then halogens for the others which you want dimmed. If you go for ELV (12V) halogens, the infra-red coated ones are more efficient (35W or even 20W will usually give enough light).

 

[ban-all-sheds]

As of October last year, Megaman, Osram and Varilight were all offering genuinely dimmable CFLs.

 

[fathertobe]

As a follow up, I went with Flameguard IP65 (12V) as I wanted to dim and I wanted them flush.

Horror of horrors, however, the model I bought (86mm cut out) requires a huge rubber seal to sit proud of the ceiling - fortunately white. It really doesn't look that great - or rather I don't particularly like it.

Just a warning to anyone searching on the same thread. Get in touch if you need a picture.

ps Rang flameguard about this and they confirmed the rubber ring sits proud. The also said their smaller light - labelled (wrongly) as IP54 rated - is in fact IP65 rated and the ring that sits proud of the hole is less deep.

pps Many thanks for all your help everyone.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Horror of horrors, however, the model I bought (86mm cut out) requires a huge rubber seal to sit proud of the ceiling.

Will that be the same seal that is clearly shown in the product documentation:

or a different one, that you might therefore not be expecting?

 

[fathertobe]

Haha - rereading my own posts thinking 'That chap had a similar problemt to mine ...'

ANyway, well, yes, that's the one BAS - but I still don't think it was quite clear enough that these huge neoprene seals sit proud of the ceiling. They're ugly as hell.

Live and learn.