Down lights/Spot lights are becoming increasingly popular options and for good reason, especially in kitchens and bathrooms. When installed correctly, they look fantastic.
Types of Lamps/Bulbs
There are two main types of lamps used in older properties, MR16 and GU10.
The main difference between the two is, MR16 bulbs operate at 12V and GU10 requires 230V (The standard voltage in your home). This means the MR16 downlights require an additional part, a transformer, which changes the voltage from 230V to 12V. When an MR16 bulb stops working, it’s not immediately apparent whether it’s the transformer that’s failed or the light bulb needs replacing. Fortunately, MR16 downlights are outdated and no longer installed.
GU10 and MR16 down lights generally use either 35W or 50W halogen bulbs. These give off a lot of heat and are not very energy efficient. If you have either of these already installed in your home, I would recommend upgrading to new LED down lights.
Fire rated downlights
The Building Regulations state that any residential building with a top floor height of up to 18m above the ground should have ceilings that are resistant to fire for up to 60 minutes, while residential buildings that have a top floor up to 30m should have ceilings resistant to fire for up to 90 minutes. Because of these regulations, down-lighters installed today must be rated appropriately for the ceiling they are fitted to.
Fire rated down-lighters contain a material that expands when it reaches a certain temperature and seals off the hole to slow down the spread, giving people more time to escape the building. Most off the shelf fire rated down-lighters give you 90 minutes protection in the event of a fire.
The difference between down-lighters installed today and down-lighters installed before 2005? Safety. Most down-lights purchased today have built-in fire protection, be careful though, many large DIY stores still sell non-fire rated fittings, these fittings would then require a Fire/smoke hood to be fitted in order to make it compliant.
LED Downlights
As standard, I install LED Down Lights. These are much more energy efficient than the older spot lights discussed above, usually between 4.5W – 6W per light.
These are available in a range of finishes and light colour options as seen below:
