(I shall ignore all of those who tell me that downlights are a fleeting fashion).
I finally got around to testing some lamps as part of my grand design for my lighting system. The design uses a combination of 'more efficient' MR16 halogens and 11W CFL downlighters.
First I tried the CFLs (Megaman in Scolmore fittings) and am impressed with both. The light is bright and soft, and the spread seems good too.
Then I tried the halogens. I had also bought some regular 50W halogens in different spreads (10 deg, 24 deg and 36 deg) to compare with the Osram IRC 60 deg lamps. Indeed the lower the spread the brighter they are, but useless for my needs (general lighting). So that confirmed that I am right to use the 60 deg lamps.
I also compared brightness (just shining the lamps against the far wall in my dark garage). I actutally found that the 35W 60 deg IRCs were brighter that the 50W 36 deg normal halogens which surprised me. I also have some 20W IRCs which although not as bright as the 50W normal lamps, still produce very good light. There is no doubt in my mind that these Osram IRCs, although quite expensive, are definitely a breakthrough in halogen technology.
I also have a 50W IRC lamp which I may use for task lighting (bedroom dressing table for example), however it might be too bright!
I then set up these lights in my lounge which is about 3.5m by 5m. I had designed to have three 11W CFL downlighters along the middle, and 6 35W IRC lamps around them in adjustable fixings as wall-washers. There will be 3 circuits for this room connected to my lighting control system to give me various scenes.
Considering that I have no lighting design experience, the effect seems quite good. On full brightness it is possibly too bright (and this is without any ceiling so when they are back up and painted white, it would be brighter). However for the wall-washing I felt like I could have maybe 2 more lights for better effect, so maybe I will drop it from 6 x 35W to 8 x 20W. I also don't like the shallow angle that the adjustable fittings give, so I might need to buy some proper wall-washer fittings.
Interestingly, the current fixed lights are 2 x 60W ceiling plus 2 x 40W wall incandescent lights, making a total of 200W. My new design might be 33W for the CFLs plus 160W for the IRC halogens. But this is a LOT brighter, so I will use less power for the same brightness.
Just don't ask how much its going to cost me
I finally got around to testing some lamps as part of my grand design for my lighting system. The design uses a combination of 'more efficient' MR16 halogens and 11W CFL downlighters.
First I tried the CFLs (Megaman in Scolmore fittings) and am impressed with both. The light is bright and soft, and the spread seems good too.
Then I tried the halogens. I had also bought some regular 50W halogens in different spreads (10 deg, 24 deg and 36 deg) to compare with the Osram IRC 60 deg lamps. Indeed the lower the spread the brighter they are, but useless for my needs (general lighting). So that confirmed that I am right to use the 60 deg lamps.
I also compared brightness (just shining the lamps against the far wall in my dark garage). I actutally found that the 35W 60 deg IRCs were brighter that the 50W 36 deg normal halogens which surprised me. I also have some 20W IRCs which although not as bright as the 50W normal lamps, still produce very good light. There is no doubt in my mind that these Osram IRCs, although quite expensive, are definitely a breakthrough in halogen technology.
I also have a 50W IRC lamp which I may use for task lighting (bedroom dressing table for example), however it might be too bright!
I then set up these lights in my lounge which is about 3.5m by 5m. I had designed to have three 11W CFL downlighters along the middle, and 6 35W IRC lamps around them in adjustable fixings as wall-washers. There will be 3 circuits for this room connected to my lighting control system to give me various scenes.
Considering that I have no lighting design experience, the effect seems quite good. On full brightness it is possibly too bright (and this is without any ceiling so when they are back up and painted white, it would be brighter). However for the wall-washing I felt like I could have maybe 2 more lights for better effect, so maybe I will drop it from 6 x 35W to 8 x 20W. I also don't like the shallow angle that the adjustable fittings give, so I might need to buy some proper wall-washer fittings.
Interestingly, the current fixed lights are 2 x 60W ceiling plus 2 x 40W wall incandescent lights, making a total of 200W. My new design might be 33W for the CFLs plus 160W for the IRC halogens. But this is a LOT brighter, so I will use less power for the same brightness.
Just don't ask how much its going to cost me
