New halogen downlighter installation - light is very dim....

[buddman]

I have a suspected problem with the halogen downlighters that are being installed by my electrician. I have a kitchen that is 4m and 3.5 m and I have had 10 x 50W halogen GU10 dowlighters installed. The entire house is being rewired and currently there are no switches installed so everything is directly on the mains.

With 10 x 50w, you would expect the light to be very bright – blinding in fact – but overall the lighting is quite dim (remember it’s on mains power with no switches). My electrician agrees and has checked the voltage to the kitchen and it reads at 228. We are at a loss to explain the problem Could it by dodgy bulbs??

All advice appreciated

 

[DESL]

Do you mean the lights are on a temporary cct or have been partly wired in?

Where was the 228V measured in the kitchen or at the supply?

 

[securespark]

Wired in series?

 

[breezer]

thats part of the fun of down lights, they point down creating a "cone" of light.

thing is, what colour is the light?

i mean not what colour is the lamp, i figure its "white" but waht colour is the light, is it brilliant white, white, orange, yellow?

 

[buddman]

Thanks for the prompt reply. The lights are partly wired in, not on a temporary circuit. The voltage has been measured at the consumer unit and also in the wire leading directly to the lighting circuit. There are no junction boxes etc between the main and the lights. They are wired in series.

The lights themselves are not white as expected, but more of a dim yellow. I would add that we are still doing decorating so the bulbs are hanging from their wires from the ceiling. The light they give off seems more about 15 to 25W than 50.

 

[Al-Glasgow]

500w in a small 4x3 kitchen, I would expect massive light and heat.

as Breezer says, what colour is the light ?.

what difference does it make when you remove 5xgu10 lamps ?..

Al

 

[buddman]

Al - what could I be expecting if I removed 5 bulbs?

 

[breezer]

are you sure its an electrician? since you said

They are wired in series.

which would account for

The lights themselves are not white as expected, but more of a dim yellow.

 

[buddman]

breezer

sorry - don't understand. I belive they are in series. Whats the problem with what I said? All the bulbs have an even intensity, below what I would expect.

 

[breezer]

nothing, but if you are right the lights are wired wrong. (hence my question)

lights should be in parlel not series

take one out, if they all go out they are in series

 

[securespark]

Wired in series?

 

[breezer]

ok securespark yes, you pointed it out first

 

[buddman]

So no, they are wired in parallel. If I take one out they all remain on.

 

[breezer]

something is very wrong.

get your electrian to check the voltage at the first lamp.

tell you what take them all but one out, see if the remaining one gets brighter as you take the others out

 

[Lectrician]

It would be incredibly difficult to wire them in series! DIY'ers often refer to looping in/out as series.

I have seen lights working dimmly when in series with an earth fault.

I was called to a site where a spark had changed the CU. The supply was TT, and he had fitted a split load CU. Lighting was therefore not protected by an RCD. The home owner changed a light fitting in the hall and managed to muddle the cables to an extent that they lost the neutral to the ground floor lights. Due to a neutral to earth fault also on the lighting circuit (and in fact behind the same light), the entire ground floor lighting was running in series with the TT impedance, causing dim lights. Shocking thing was, the home owner only called someone out when the plumber complained of recieving tingles when trying to hang radiators!