Bulb wattage in light fitting

Hello folks,

Hope some electrically-minded people can come up with an answer to my problem.

I want to get a new chandelier light fitting for my sitting room. The room measures 12 ft. x 12 ft. with a fairly high ceiling of 9 and a half ft. Up to now I have only always had a single bulb 200w light with shade hanging from the ceiling. Since a chandelier will have several bulbs I am wondering how many bulbs would do to light my room at least as well as the 200W. there are options to have 3 bulbs minimum but I dont know whether to pick the 3 bulb one or go for say a five bulb. And if I go for the five bulb one and its too bright then would it be ok to put one lower wattage bulb in one of the holders? I know a dimmer switch would probably solve the problem of excess birghtness but I dont think Ill go for that yet. Also I would like the fitting to fit in well with the size of the room.
Thanks in advance for any comments, I have often got good help on this forum.

It is a small room, 3 with 60w bulbs = 180w. If there is no longer a lamp shade this will be (much) brighter that the single 200w bulb. If you go for 5, there is no problem in butting in lower wattage bulbs.

thanks for that Towger. I'm just about to buy a lovely chandelier from the website lightmyhome.co.uk and its a five bulb one.

As your ceiling is fairly high I would suggest you consider lamps which are hanging downwards rather than pointing upwards.

Make sure to check the maximum wattage advised on the fitting, some can be a max of 40w.

kbie said:

... I would suggest you consider lamps which are hanging downwards ...

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By definition a chandelier cannot have bulbs that hang down, they must point upwards, because originally the candles had to. If the bulbs / lights hang down it's not a chandelier, just a more humble "light-fitting".

mathepac said:

By definition a chandelier cannot have bulbs that hang down, they must point upwards, because originally the candles had to. If the bulbs / lights hang down it's not a chandelier, just a more humble "light-fitting".

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kbie said:

As your ceiling is fairly high I would suggest you consider lamps which are hanging downwards rather than pointing upwards.

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Its interesting what you say there; I would prefer a fitting with the bulbs pointing downwards but could not find one I liked, the majority have the lights pointing upwards. So what I really want is a "chandelier" but with the bulbs pointing downwards. There is also the matter of the ceiling probably getting discoloured from the bulbs pointing upwards.

Noilheart said:

There is also the matter of the ceiling probably getting discoloured from the bulbs pointing upwards.

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The direction the bulbs point won't matter unless you are using bulbs with built in reflectors. The discolouration will be a byproduct of the heat which will rise regardless of the direction the bulbs are facing.

We have chandeliers in both our sitting room and dining room. Each has 3 X 40 watt bulbs and these provide ample light for our needs. Each room is approx 15ft x 17ft.

Leo said:

... The discolouration will be a byproduct of the heat which will rise regardless of the direction the bulbs are facing.

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Which won't be there now that Gormley has us all using low-energy CFLs and has outlawed incandescent bulbs.

Noilheart my suggestion would be to go with the 5 lamp fitting. The maximum wattage of the lamps will be clearly stated on the fitting. I would go with the maximum wattage. I would also recommend in the interest of energy saving that you install a simple dimmer switch for this fitting. Get advise from your electrician or an electrical wholesaler so that you can match dimmer that is suitable for some of the new low energy CFL / LED Candle lamps that will look good in the light fitting.

Large central lamps were an invention yonks ago when the only way to provide lighting was to use candles, millions of them stuck on a central holder. Later, these holders used to hold a collection of gas mantles, and then primitive electric lamps. These have evolved into the familiar chandelier. Note that these things were used in large, open halls such as you will find in the homes of the great, and of the not so good hoping this made them look a bit greater. Because of this connection, I feel chandeliers can look a bit pretentious in our relatively smaller modern homes.

Bright light from a central location can make a room look harsh and cast strong shadows, and is not altered easily without dimmer switches. Unless you are competent as an electrician, you also will need to employ a qualified electrician to fit these switches. Changing individual lamps on the chandelier can also be difficult unless you have a step ladder handy. I believe a more suitable solution is to use free-standing lighting. Together with table lamps, they can look good in a room. You can use as many floor lamps as you want, and, if you choose carefully, they can enhance the decor of the room. They provide flexible lighting, and can be used with in-line dimmer switches so that you can adjust the level of lighting to suit the mood.

Edit: One other thing... If this chandelier is heavy, it may be impossible safely to suspend it from the connection which held the original ceiling light: you may need to attach it to the rafters of the floor above before making the electrical connection to the ceiling light circuit. And, obviously, a selection of floor lamps, combined with table lamps, will cost considerably more than a single chandelier.

Block off light switch

I wonder if anybody could help me with advice on removing a disused light switch. The switch is a two way switch and I do not use it. I would like to put a blank there instead.

I would like to put a picture on the wall but it is blocking the space. I have requested an electrician to come and deal with it for me but have waited many months now.
Could I do it myself and do I need to block off any wires.
Many thanks Browtal

We have a chandelier with 8 bulbs. We went for 40 wattage. Anymore and you have a ring of lights reflected on to the ceiling, mirror like. Our ceiling is not white but matches the wall paint.

Block off light switch: bowtal - To remove the light switch from use, you can screw a 'blanking plate' to the wall box in the place of the switch plate. This plate has a slimmer profile on the wall. This is not difficult for a non-electrician to do, provided a goodly-sized portion of common sense and attention to detail is used.

To do this safely, turn of the electric supply to the lighting circuit by removing the fuse for this circuit, or, if you cannot do this, turn of the electric supply to your home (after first turning off important equipment).

Then simply remove the switch, connect the wires to a terminal block, making sure you connect like wires together (live to live and so on). You can get the 'blanking plate' and a terminal block for a few Euros at any good DIY shop.

If you find the 'blanking plate' causing obstruction to your pictures, you could ask an electrician to completely disconnect the lighting wires to that room, but this may be inconvenient should you wish to use this lighting circuit in the future.

Many thanks Tepid air.
I will follow your detailed instructions. much appreciate and hope to hang the picture for Christmas. Browtal

Hello there again folks, just to update you on my chandelier dreams. I did purchase that chandelier, not from the lightmyhome.co.uk,but from Hicken Lighting in Bridge Street, Dublin, as I went there to look at chandeliers "in person" and found their price very good compared to that on the website. Well my five x 40w fitting is just adequate to light the room but I think because the bulbs point upwards they create faint shadows on the walls. Luckily I took iWill's advice on board too and bought an accompanying standard lamp uplighter/downlighter and this has an inbuilt dimmer and creates a nice atmosphere. The chandelier does look good though, and with my outrageously expensive couch from Arnotts and the projector showing huge tv/film screen on the wall I have become acquainted with luxury. Happy Christmas one and all!

Noilheart said:

, and with my outrageously expensive couch from Arnotts

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Yes, I was in there last week sussing out similar before the sales but I have to say that they were very expensive indeed. Even when discounted in the sales they will still be too expensive, for me anyhow.
Couch or holiday, couch or holiday.................