Kitchen light suggestions

[SUNRAY]

the ideal lighting for a kitchen (hence what there is to discuss, and what advice will be given) surely does not differ according to whether the occupier of the property is an owner, tenant or 'customer', does it?

certainly does. It's certainly probable that I put different lighting into my rental properties than in my own home.

 

[securespark]

You may think my garage lighting is way OTT.

But I find it just great, and to be fair, the rest of the family haven't gone, "Cor blimey, me retinas!", after going out there...

 

[SUNRAY]

I have no idea, which is why I'm asking for advice. However you are talking about more than 3 times the light (lumens or lux) that I'm currently experiencing, and that is very far from being 'unusable'

for a kitchen of that size I believe the light levels FP is talking about sound eminently appropriate

Of course it is - and what level of lighting one likes in a room must be high up on the lists of 'the most subjective things'!

Fair enough - I was merely echoing the product descriptions in what you linked to. However, as I keep saying "just60W" sounds/feels like an awful lot of LED lighting for one room.

Well as I keep saying my kitchen is 3 * 6m and lit by three 5ft fluo's (originally 255W, now 180W) above prismatic ceiling tiles and nobody has ever commented it's too bright, in fact the opposite is true as any comments have always been positive.

As you keep saying 20W or so is equivalent to a 5ft fluo and 3 of them... bingo 60W

 

[JohnW2]

for a kitchen of that size I believe the light levels FP is talking about sound eminently appropriate

I obviously cannot ignore the fact that you are all saying much the same.

It does seem to make sense to have two 5' fittings (in-line, down the middle of the fairly long room), rather than just one in the middle - so, rather than go with just one of flameport's 60W ('twin') one, it would probably make sense to have two of the 30W ('single') versions. What do you think? The only downside of that is that having two (but same total Watts and lumens) would cost twice as much, since the 60W and 30W versions are the identical price (which presumably implies that the cost of the actual 'LED elements' is pretty 'negligible'!).

Mind you, moving to aesthetics, I don't think I would necessarily want ('nostalgic'?!) ones which looked as if they contained tubes (although they don't), and might prefer 'electrically similar' 'panel' ones.

As you keep saying 20W or so is equivalent to a 5ft fluo and 3 of them... bingo 60W

I haven't said anything about 'equivalent' - 'equivalent' in relation to what? In terms of light output my 17W LED tube (not far from 20W) produces 2,300 lumens whereas I think most 58W 5' fluoros are said to produce about 5,200 lumens. That doesn't sound very 'equivalent' to me

 

[JohnW2]

You may think my garage lighting is way OTT. ... But I find it just great, and to be fair, the rest of the family haven't gone, "Cor blimey, me retinas!", after going out there...

Fair enough. As I've just written to Sunray, I can't ignore the fact that you are alkl saying much the same. Thanks for your input!

 

[JohnW2]

certainly does. It's certainly probable that I put different lighting into my rental properties than in my own home.

Are you just talking about cost?

I was talking explicitly about the ideal lighting for the kitchen concerned, and I still don't believe that would be different depending whether the occupant was the owner, a tenant or 'a customer'

As for cost, I might well be prepared to pay more to get closer to the ideal than I would pay for a tenant, and if it were a customer, they would make the ultimate decision after being appraised of the options and respective prices - but none of that is anything to do with the 'ideal' lighting.

 

[SUNRAY]

Are you just talking about cost?

Not particularly, To me rental properties need to be easy to keep in good working order so simple lighting, easy to open and repair, no tracks, nothing thats easily broken etc. Value for money rather than actual cost.

I was talking explicitly about the ideal lighting for the kitchen concerned, and I still don't believe that would be different depending whether the occupant was the owner, a tenant or 'a customer'

There is always more than one ideal option. In one property (now sold) I fitted 2 15W LED bathroom lights in the kitchen, very much like these

I had to replace one in a bathroom and a nearby wholesaler were clearing their stock reduced from something like £15 - £20 to £5. there were 6 in the pile and I got them at £20. I sorted the bathroom and very shortly after they were still in the car when the kitchen problem in another property with one of the two batten holders occurred.

As for cost, I might well be prepared to pay more to get closer to the ideal than I would pay for a tenant, and if it were a customer, they would make the ultimate decision after being appraised of the options and respective prices - but none of that is anything to do with the 'ideal' lighting.

 

[JohnW2]

Not particularly, To me rental properties need to be easy to keep in good working order so simple lighting, easy to open and repair, no tracks, nothing thats easily broken etc. Value for money rather than actual cost.

Fair enough, but as an owner-occupier, and certainly if I were someone's 'customer', I might also want "...simple lighting, easy to open and repair, no tracks, nothing thats easily broken etc." - so that's not necessarily unique to rental properties.

 

[mikehammer69]

If you want something simple and easy to repair it's pendants

And yes choice varies

There is no best solution

 

[JohnW2]

If you want something simple and easy to repair it's pendants

Indeed so. That's precisely what I have in the majority of rooms in the house we're talking about (and also my 'proper home'), in most cases just one pendant of (as I've said) with a LED lamp/bulb of about 12W, supplemented where necessary (according to nature of room) by table/ standard/ wall/ work/ whatever lights - and I have no thought/plans about changing any of that.

I certainly don't have (and don't think I've ever seen) any room with anything remotely like 60W worth of pendant LEDs! Even the kitchen + breakfast room in my house (about 3m x 8m), which has the somewhat 'unusual' arrangement of 5 x 3-lamp/bulb 'chandelier-like fittings is only 30 W (the LEDs are all 2W)

There is no best solution

Of course not, not the least because one cannot really even define 'best' - since an awful lot of the equation is to do with 'personal opinion' ('subjective'), not only in terms of aesthetics but also the brightness, arrangement and colour etc. of the light.

 

[SUNRAY]

Fair enough, but as an owner-occupier, and certainly if I were someone's 'customer', I might also want "...simple lighting, easy to open and repair, no tracks, nothing thats easily broken etc." - so that's not necessarily unique to rental properties.

Indeed so but I'd be paying more consideration to that as a rental preperty

 

[JohnW2]

Indeed so but I'd be paying more consideration to that as a rental preperty

Fair enough. As mikehammer has implied, that way of thinking would presumably result in one concluding that rental properties should only have pendant lights - since I can't believe there is any alternative which is more simple, easier to maintain, less likely to get broken etc. etc. than that?

 

[ebee]

Can you still get those light fittings of sizeable circular size that will readily plug into a BC or ES lampholder - I`ve never been keen on them meeself but some might consider it I suppose!

 

[securespark]

They and the linear versions used to appear in the Argos catalogue as a DIY upgrade: take out your lamp from a batten holder and insert this bad boy - instant upgrade!

In those days they were fluorescent, but haven't seen them for ages.

Just had a quick look on Amazon and i haven't found anything like that in LED, but there are some higher wattage LED lamps.

 

[mikehammer69]

Probably a high failure rate with some of that higher wattage stuff