Recessed downlights in kitchen - where do I put them?

[hrs2004]

Hi all.
We are doing some work and will end up with a through kitchen / dining room / living room. We are thinking of recessed lights along the length of the room, on maybe three different, dimmable switches. Does anyone have any advice on what types might be best, where to position them and how many to have.

I was thinking about the three circuits overlapping slightly, so that a couple on the kitchen light circuit are in the dining bit and vice versa, and the same between the dining bit and living room. I was looking at the idea of the lights in the shape of fives (dice pattern) and saw a cheap set of 10 for £25. Any thoughts?
Thanks!

 

[ban-all-sheds]

In terms of where and how many, so much depends on personal preference for brightness and where you want the light to fall. Try looking at manufacturer's websites, you might find some planning tools.

If you go for ELV lighting, adopt a 1:1 transformer:light ratio.

My personal preference these days would be to avoid incandescent lighting all together, and go for recessed fittings that take, e.g TC-DEL lamps, with HF control gear if you want dimming, but that's not a cheap route.

Won't overlapping circuits drive you mad if you want all the lights in the kitchen on, and you have to use two switches?

Do not buy cheap lights, as they are more expensive than good ones, as they will be naff and unreliable, and you will have to throw them away and buy what you should have bought in the first place.

And you do know that this work is notifiable, don't you....

 

[Taylortwocities]

I echo B.A.S's post. When you design your lighting scheme (that you will obviously ask a registered sparky to install, certify and notify )
Remember to have a light over the washing up area.

There's nothing worse than criticising your mother-in-law for leaving the dishes all greasy if she can say "well its hard to work in the dark, dear"


TTC

 

[hrs2004]

Hi - yes, I was re-thinking last night and decided the overlapping idea was a stupid one! Thanks for the advice about price. Will have to see if we have enough money now to buy decent ones rather than rubbish ones that will go in the bin when we upgrade.
And yes, work will be done by someone qualified who knows what they are doing...

 

[ban-all-sheds]

All pictures clickable.







Other manufacturers are available.

 

[trevw]

Hi,

I'm very keen to have dimmable downlights but have been put off incandescent by the many comments on this forum so these look interesting. I've found them on the Thorn site and something similar on the site of a company called 'Glamox' - neither site seems to talk about actually selling them and they both seem to imply they are for commercial use - are there any issues using them domestically and does anyone know where you can buy them online?

also, can you explain what digital dimming means? do you know if they are used with a standard dimmer switch? (am actually thinking of the touch dimmers advertised on TLC..)

thanks for any help

Trev

 

[ban-all-sheds]

The issues are that you have to choose the model carefully, as many of them are large, and they will not be as small as ELV or GU10 typw downlighters. But I've got a number of RO80 downlighters in my house, and they are about the same size, and they don't look obtrusive.

Don't know about Glamox, but Thorn will send you a big glossy catalogue.

Other issues - dimmable fluorescent control gear is not cheap.

If you decide to make some of them emergency lights, you'll need to make sure you can access the battery pack without too much hassle (i.e. no laminate flooring etc).

Neither company sells direct, but they will give you a list of suppliers, e.g. major electrical wholesalers, some of whom may sell online.

Seek the manufacturers advice on dimmers.