Replacing Recess Lighting

[finoblad]

I've a hall and landing that has 9 recessed lights which I would like to replace with low energy and low heat lights.

Naturally the insulation in my attic is affected by these lights. Their construction allows the light to be adjusted and swiveled around and this mechanism has a considerable gap through which a strong wind (no kidding) can sometimes blow.

I've tried a few lighting shops but they did not have anything thats lower in energy and can seal up the gap.

Has anyone any suggestions?

 

[Hoagy]

Two separate issues, really.

The draught can be dealt with by fitting [broken link removed] to the landing lights, you can then safely cover them with insulation. Available from most electrical wholesalers.

You have various options to save energy - simplest would be to exchange 50w lamps for 20w, if that's what you have.
You could change to 9w lamps like [broken link removed], or go the whole hog and fit [broken link removed]s, but they probably won't be bright enough if you're used to 50w halogens.

The examples above are for low voltage downlights, but there are equivalents if you have mains GU10 type.

 

[Buddyboy]

I am investigating this at the moment because, like you, I have number of recessed lights in the hall, living room and kitchen of a bungalow.

The issues I have had so far are

1. CFL bulbs - take a second to come on, and a minute to reach full brightness, so no good in the hall as we only turn on the lignts for a few seconds to walk down to the rooms. Good colour light (2700k) so a good replacement when you have a wife who wants the light to "look right". If you are replacing 50W halogen bulbs then they will be longer than original, so you will have to ensure that the fixtures can be adjusted. I have replaced some of the kitchen spots with 7W cfls (equivalent to 35W halogen.) Fine for general light, but not bright enough over the worksurfaces, so I have retained the halogen 50w there.

Source is www.yourwelcome.co.uk They have a large selection of cfl and led bulbs and are very helpful. Also have a sample pack of led bulbs.

2. LED bulbs. Good for the hall as they come on instantly, and also are the same length as the halogen. Of all the ones wev'e tried, only one came close to having a "nice" light colour. All the rest were too blue or white (3000k light). The nice ones were €16 each, which is pretty pricey. I've tried ones from yourwelcome.co.uk, Dwyers electrical (Cork), B&Q, and Galaxy Lighting (Cork). The ones in Galaxy Lighting were the only ones I'd consider.

3. Living room. Unfortunately all these are on dimmers, so LEDs are out. You can get dimmable CFLs (Megaman), but I haven't looked at these yet. That's on my "todo" list.

4. Front Hall. I have four spots on a switch just inside the front door. What i have done there is retained the halogen just inside the door, and replaced the other three with CFLs. So when the light is switched on, you get instant light as you step in the door, and if you leave the lights on for a while, it is still efficient.

Hope this helps.

So to summarise

LED - expensive, hard to get nice light colour, instant on, max replacement for 35w halogen, and even then, only for small areas. Not dimmable

CFL - better light colour, takes a while for light to come on/full brightness. Same length for 35w replacement, longer for 50w. Can get dimmable models.

This will be a long journey to get it right. The only way is to keep buying and swapping out bulbs until you get it right.

Hope this helps.

 

[Towger]

Have a look at GX53 Bulbs:
http://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Main_In...ving_Lamps_Index/Lamps_Energy_GX53/index.html

http://www.megamanuk.com/products/product.php?sid=7

They are 75mm, so 25mm wider (but far less depth) than your standard 50mm MR16/GX10 and designed as a CFL's standard, rather than a later attempt of fitting a pint into a quart pot. If you search for GX53 on eBay, taking the Europe option you will find stylish fittings from Germany and Italy.

They also are available in up to 13 watts, so should more than match a 50W MR16.

 

[Buddyboy]

Two separate issues, really.

The draught can be dealt with by fitting [broken link removed] to the landing lights, you can then safely cover them with insulation. Available from most electrical wholesalers.

Thanks Hoagy, I've been looking for these (for the dimmable living room lights.

Just ordered 16 of them (for remaining halogen gu10 spots in the house) and we'll be cosy for winter. They are chaeper on this site than my local retailer, I saved about €50 on the order.