Spot light
- Thread starter joshea
- Start date
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jagrace
Guest
Hi,
There are many different types of finishes. eg round or square shaped. chrome, white, brass etc in finishes. Some have transformers which means that they change the voltage from 220 volts (normal domestic voltage in a house) down to 12 volts. The 220v cables connect to a small transformer beside the light in the ceiling and the 12v output from this connects to the spot light. Then you have GU10 spots which work with 220v connected to them (they have no transformer) These usually run very hot as they normally use a halogen bulb. But you can now get led lamps for these which run with very little heat given off and are very energy efficent (LED 3W halogen 50W) watts is the amount of power they use up. so you can see you could run 16 led bulbs for the price of 1 halogen bulb. Also if you have a lot of halogen bulbs on one switch especially a dimmer switch you would have to make sure the switch can handle the load on it. The led lights are more expensive to buy and the light can be a little hard to get used to, also not all are dimable. Call in and chat with your local wholesaler they will have examples of the lights and show you the differences etc hope this helped a bit
I am in the middle of a self build myself there will always be questions !!!!!!!!
There are many different types of finishes. eg round or square shaped. chrome, white, brass etc in finishes. Some have transformers which means that they change the voltage from 220 volts (normal domestic voltage in a house) down to 12 volts. The 220v cables connect to a small transformer beside the light in the ceiling and the 12v output from this connects to the spot light. Then you have GU10 spots which work with 220v connected to them (they have no transformer) These usually run very hot as they normally use a halogen bulb. But you can now get led lamps for these which run with very little heat given off and are very energy efficent (LED 3W halogen 50W) watts is the amount of power they use up. so you can see you could run 16 led bulbs for the price of 1 halogen bulb. Also if you have a lot of halogen bulbs on one switch especially a dimmer switch you would have to make sure the switch can handle the load on it. The led lights are more expensive to buy and the light can be a little hard to get used to, also not all are dimable. Call in and chat with your local wholesaler they will have examples of the lights and show you the differences etc hope this helped a bit
I am in the middle of a self build myself there will always be questions !!!!!!!!I can help you a bit, based on my experience.
All low voltage lights (12v), require a transformer. At the very least, this makes initial cost higher than others. They do generate a lot of heat, and as such bulb life, I've found, is quite short. They are not a fire risk, fitted correctly, but they must be fitted correctly. I've had transformers fail, as well, so that's more money........
Mains voltage (240v) lights are in several types: Halogen, CFL, and LED.
My experience is that the halogen lights in 240v suffer the same issues as the low-voltage halogen: heat & short life. I have found CFL to be only so-so, light quality wise, and I haven't found them to last particularly long, either. At least nothing like I expected.
Which brings us to 240v LED's. I am currently retro-fitting my house with these. They have no heat issues at all, they are 1/10th the energy requirement, and they are inherently long-life. They aren't cheap, but there again I won't have to chuck the bulbs every few months, either, so it should more than balance out. If you've a lot of them, there'd be a noticeable reduction in energy use. But, and there's always a 'but' - you need to buy at the very least, 2W, and preferably 3W units to get good light, and you need to see them on, for colour. Some are noticeably 'artificial' in light colour, and others spot-on, colourwise, and look natural.
All low voltage lights (12v), require a transformer. At the very least, this makes initial cost higher than others. They do generate a lot of heat, and as such bulb life, I've found, is quite short. They are not a fire risk, fitted correctly, but they must be fitted correctly. I've had transformers fail, as well, so that's more money........
Mains voltage (240v) lights are in several types: Halogen, CFL, and LED.
My experience is that the halogen lights in 240v suffer the same issues as the low-voltage halogen: heat & short life. I have found CFL to be only so-so, light quality wise, and I haven't found them to last particularly long, either. At least nothing like I expected.
Which brings us to 240v LED's. I am currently retro-fitting my house with these. They have no heat issues at all, they are 1/10th the energy requirement, and they are inherently long-life. They aren't cheap, but there again I won't have to chuck the bulbs every few months, either, so it should more than balance out. If you've a lot of them, there'd be a noticeable reduction in energy use. But, and there's always a 'but' - you need to buy at the very least, 2W, and preferably 3W units to get good light, and you need to see them on, for colour. Some are noticeably 'artificial' in light colour, and others spot-on, colourwise, and look natural.
Thanks for that
the electrician i have is very keen to put in as many spot as he can
he is recommending the halogen ones with a transformer
I mentioned the LED ones that you are retro fitting and he said there are cases where they can cause fire
I dont know if there is any tuth in this or not
On another note, what is the story with the comprimise of insulation
I have a bungalow and do not want to comprimise on insulation in the ceiling
How good are these "hats" that go over the spots
the electrician i have is very keen to put in as many spot as he can
he is recommending the halogen ones with a transformer
I mentioned the LED ones that you are retro fitting and he said there are cases where they can cause fire
I dont know if there is any tuth in this or not
On another note, what is the story with the comprimise of insulation
I have a bungalow and do not want to comprimise on insulation in the ceiling
How good are these "hats" that go over the spots
He's charging per spot, right?
There's much more of a fire hazard with the halogen bulbs.