Incandescent & halogen downlights??

Still remember that spammer telling us $50 a downlight is a ripoff and trying to sell his $5 led's on eBay LOL...

Idiot.

Hi delatite, would you mind clarifying something for me - I'm very new at LED's but I know spending the extra money is the right thing to do.
When you say, less lights in a larger area, you mean by using the 15w 90mm, don't you? From what I understand I can place them 2 metres apart and still get good coverage? I understand that the cool white and natural white is brighter, but because we are keen on a softer more country look, we'd most likely prefer warm white. However with those we may need to go a shorter distance? I'd really appreciate yours, MissEm's or anyone else opinion who's more informed to comment please.

As far as I'm aware, the DL7's and the DL9's have the exact same output. The DL9's being the bigger light which are perfect for those who have existing halogen downlights with the equivalent cutout size 90mm and can easily replace with the wattsaver DL9.

The DL7's are only a 75mm cutout so are perfect for new builds where the roof has no holes cut in it. They are a bit more inconspicuous being smaller in size, but share the same light output.

We wanted our lights to blend and certainly not be a highlight of the rooms, which is why we went for the smaller size and white rims instead of silver.

BUT what I think delatite might be saying is that the DL9 being a much bigger diameter light, it would I assume, certainly throw its light out in a much broader area, meaning you can space them further apart. ???

Can't really comment on the warm lights as all ours are natural, BUT you can get the wattsavers with a diffuser cover instead of the clear glass cover, which may give the natural light more warmth and not so bright if you wanted to swing that way.

Thank you for your help missEm. Yes that makes sense that the 90mm would be suitable for existing homes. I'd much prefer to go with the smaller cutout in that case. I will give wattsavers a call next week and ask about the diffusers - they might do the trick and then it won't end up looking so yellow, because another worry i have is that my builder is using cool white or natural white in my kitchen cupboards and that the warm white will look awful alongside them. Unfortunately we couldn't tell them what type of light we preferred and even had to go with silver housing against our preference of white. A little annoying but I guess they have their preference of suppliers.
Thanks again.

No problems. I definitely think the diffusers will give you the much softer light that you're after.
Good luck let us know how you get on with Stephen.

Em is correct re spread of light, ie bigger diameter, bigger spread. Also will be softer of the given area ie not as intense. We have 4 x 90mm in a 7m x 8m room and if all turned up it is very bright. We also have 2 x 70mm over the dining area and their great for that area. i would choose the diameter that suits the area the best.

We went for natural over warm as we found them a bit yellow, but each to their own.

I think I'm more confident in ordering now and it sounds like I will only need half the lights for my living area than originally thought, which is a huge bonus. Thanks heaps.

Hi Delatite, do you mind if I ask how you have spaced the lights? I have been reading all the threads and am still very confused I have contacted Stephen from Wattsaver but all he said was to space them 1m from walls and 1.5 to 2m apart. This is the same spacing I have been given from lighting shops and I am worried that the room will end up far to bright (room is a little over 11x6m and lighting shops have suggested 12-15 downlights).

Just want to add

we rarely run all the 4 downlights at any one time in our large lounge area.
Mostly we run the 2 lights above our couches only - which at rear of pic- above the couch .



Normal times they are all dimmed slightly ...only if reading ..do we turn them up

Well they get installed this Saturday so I will post up the results shortly after that. Might wait until my floor boards are in before photos though, so give me a week or so.

Some photos of our wattsaver led's

Wow so little lights for such a big space Would you say that dimmers are essential for the lights?

I wouldn't say essential but in areas you watch tv or in theatre room I definitely would.

They look amazing. Tried to call them twice, phone just rings out. H1 must have made them real busy. Will keep trying ... I want them

Given the same reflector angle the diameter will play little part in beam spread. The lights are either the same beam angle or they are not.

More photos once my floors are in this week but I gotta say I'm very very very happy with these DL7's....

Great outcome from the downlights, I'm sure you'll be adding some pendants on the island, would you?

Nope, I put Downlights above the bench. Not a fan of pendants and I wanted a good strong amount of light projected into the bench as my wife cooks a lot.

I sleep a lot and I certainly don't want my husband to have good strong amount of light projected into my bed.

Great thread! For us since this will be our first home, money is a factor and we don't want to spend too much... Which LEDs would you go for?? Ive been advised i can get leds that are just fine for under $20 each?? We will be getting cool or natural

Thanks