Does everybody who builds put them in? I'm currently working out a lighting budget/plan and I'm actually pondering if they are necessary? Currently I live in an old 1940's redbrick with one light fitting per room and although not really bright the light seems sufficient. So I'm assuming the same would then apply to todays modern pendants? So if I have pendants in the loung, dining, bedrooms and other living areas do I really need downlights? I'm sure I'll want them in the kitchen but everywhere else??
What have you done and why?
Speaking of downlights....
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I put them in throughout (except for bathrooms as i'm putting in the all in one thingy). I wanted them throughout, as well I like the look of down lights it also compliments the house style. Did it cost me an arm and a leg, sure. Do I regret it, no (other than having a lazy electrician who didn't do them spot on, thus me being unable to have them square).
Personally I think they're a waste of energy and money for use as the primary lighting source. They are too bright and uncomfortable for watching TV and you need too many on at a time.
They were never intended to be used as the main source of lighting.
I'm only using them in hallways and for task lighting, in the dining room for eating, (I have a thing about seeing food) but there will be another lighting option there and in the alfresco as I didn't want to have to worry about light fittings outdoors.
Plus I think a lot of rooms can sometimes look soulless with downlights everywhere.
There's so many fantastic fittings out there to take advantage of to add character to a room.
Jo
They were never intended to be used as the main source of lighting.
I'm only using them in hallways and for task lighting, in the dining room for eating, (I have a thing about seeing food) but there will be another lighting option there and in the alfresco as I didn't want to have to worry about light fittings outdoors.
Plus I think a lot of rooms can sometimes look soulless with downlights everywhere.
There's so many fantastic fittings out there to take advantage of to add character to a room.
Jo
My name is Helyn and I have a confession; - I'm not haveing any downlights.
No. not one.
I'm not anti downlights but they cost a lot of money and I'm not that fussed about them, just didn't seem worth it to me.
And I'm not sure what sort of house would be the right one to pull off the look, as Jo puts it, but pretty sure it wouldn't be a conventional country cottage look like ours
No. not one.
I'm not anti downlights but they cost a lot of money and I'm not that fussed about them, just didn't seem worth it to me.
And I'm not sure what sort of house would be the right one to pull off the look, as Jo puts it, but pretty sure it wouldn't be a conventional country cottage look like ours
My name is Helyn and I have a confession; - I'm not haveing any downlights.
No. not one.
No. not one.
My name is 'chelle and I have a confession, I'm building a modern, minimalistic house, and I'm not having downlights (...well we're not planning to, and if we do they won't be halogen lights.)
As joles said there are plenty of other options out there if you want them, and I'm sure we'll find something that suits our house that's not downlights.
I just don't think they are worth the money, and then there are the environmental considerations...but I won't go there
Same with Joles, we are only going to use it in some areas like HT, hallway and family.
So, many people are not using downlights. So what are you using?
We are just using 3 (or is it 4?) in kitchen only. We were going to get them throughout the living area but decided two normal lights would be enough there.
Cool thanks everyone! I'm glad I'm not the only one who doesn't want them everywhere. They are a bit lacking in personality - a bit sterile.
We're not having downlights either, except in the home theatre, and those are the new dimmable ones. I think they're fluoro based too.
I don't understand why downlights ever became popular... They are so inefficient (and I'm not talking about wattage) - Luminescence-wise, they are a bad design. If you think of an old standard filament globe (say 60W incandescent) in a lounge room, it is mounted below the ceiling height and this location allows the light from the globe to disperse and reflect off the white ceiling. Your downlights (whether LED, CF or halogen) all direct their light downwards to the floor - virtually no light reflects off the ceiling or walls, and the only reflected light would be from tiles (if you had them) - carpet isn't very reflective
Why hasn't someone designed a wall-mounted "up-light" that shines onto the ceiling, thus reflecting the light throughout the room? Instead of having a room with 6 or 8 downlights, probably 2 or 4 wall/up-lights would suffice! Even the same adjustable fitting could probably be used (although I imagine square-shaped fittings would be more popular than the traditional round ones, for some reason). Someone probably has designed it, but I haven't seen any (or bothered searching) and it'll be quite some time before (or if) they ever take off...
Why hasn't someone designed a wall-mounted "up-light" that shines onto the ceiling, thus reflecting the light throughout the room? Instead of having a room with 6 or 8 downlights, probably 2 or 4 wall/up-lights would suffice! Even the same adjustable fitting could probably be used (although I imagine square-shaped fittings would be more popular than the traditional round ones, for some reason). Someone probably has designed it, but I haven't seen any (or bothered searching) and it'll be quite some time before (or if) they ever take off...
I know this thread is a little old but hey, info is info.
Downlight globes were firstly used mainstream in art galleries where they wanted to light up paintings but not fade them. To achieve this they needed a globe that would produce the visible light spectrum only and minimal heat spectrum (infrared).
MR16 globes (halogen downlights) were developed for slide projectors originally.
As they were a Dichroic lamp, they reflect all visible light and filter out through the rear reflector, all the infrared spectrum. Perfect for paintings!
Good quality globes are still dichroic but since they cost more and the original use has long been forgotten, cheap lamps now reflect all the light spectrum.
M. Multifaceted
R. Reflector
16. the number of 1/8 of an inch the diameter of the globe is. i.e 16 x 1/8=2 therefore 2 inch or 50mm
They are available in more sizes and differing beam angles to suit different applications.
still they are basically a spot light as they are designed to be directional.
Downlight globes were firstly used mainstream in art galleries where they wanted to light up paintings but not fade them. To achieve this they needed a globe that would produce the visible light spectrum only and minimal heat spectrum (infrared).
MR16 globes (halogen downlights) were developed for slide projectors originally.
As they were a Dichroic lamp, they reflect all visible light and filter out through the rear reflector, all the infrared spectrum. Perfect for paintings!
Good quality globes are still dichroic but since they cost more and the original use has long been forgotten, cheap lamps now reflect all the light spectrum.
M. Multifaceted
R. Reflector
16. the number of 1/8 of an inch the diameter of the globe is. i.e 16 x 1/8=2 therefore 2 inch or 50mm
They are available in more sizes and differing beam angles to suit different applications.
still they are basically a spot light as they are designed to be directional.
Interestingly the new high effeciency halogens are IRC (infra-red coated) and designed to reflect infra-red. This is to improve effciency.
So, the original intention and the desire not to reflect infra-red works against us today.
So, the original intention and the desire not to reflect infra-red works against us today.
The display of our home is filled with downlights.....but our home won't be.
We'll only have downlights in the entry/gallery (so it won't detract the focus from my crystal pendant, lol), 3 or 4 over the kitchen floor area (am having pendants over the island bench and undercupboard lighting over on the other bench) and in the Lounge/HT room.
We'll only have downlights in the entry/gallery (so it won't detract the focus from my crystal pendant, lol), 3 or 4 over the kitchen floor area (am having pendants over the island bench and undercupboard lighting over on the other bench) and in the Lounge/HT room.
As much as i hate installing downlights (the customer doesn't care about the rules, they just want it to look good!), and the energy inefficiency, I do like the look and style.
I have used them as:
highlights at the entry (but only when the house is on show),
over the kitchen bench (2),
in my family room (6)
and alfresco which extends out from the family room (6).
In the bathrooms. (4 main bathroom, 6 ensuite)
In the eaves down the side passage ways.
as uplights in the driveway
I have used the GE longlife globes in the bathrooms and living areas for the last 5 years without replacement.
The outdoor fittings, i have installed LED MR16 globes.
I have used them as:
highlights at the entry (but only when the house is on show),
over the kitchen bench (2),
in my family room (6)
and alfresco which extends out from the family room (6).
In the bathrooms. (4 main bathroom, 6 ensuite)
In the eaves down the side passage ways.
as uplights in the driveway
I have used the GE longlife globes in the bathrooms and living areas for the last 5 years without replacement.
The outdoor fittings, i have installed LED MR16 globes.
I can't believe everyone is so against downlights! I have to admit I am a lover of them. I live in a Victorian style house in the outer Melbourne area and we have downlights throughout our house. They are stylish, provide ample light and add nicely to the ambience of the house. Halogen downlights are one of the major causes of household fires but if you use LED lights they eradicate that risk and LED's look very pretty
We were reluctant to switch over from halogen to LED because we were concerned about the cost but we eventually made the switch because of the skyrocketing power bills. We replaced 30 halogen downlights with LEDs just over a year ago and they have already payed for themselves purely in the decrease of our electricity bill and maintenance costs. I haven't had to change on light bulb!
We didn't use super expensive special LEDs, just the ones that our lighting consultant at ANL Lighting recommended. They just revamped their website too if you want to have a ** peak!
Plus someone mentioned previously that downlights are too harsh? That's probably because they are using the wrong colour temperature. Most LEDs will vary from Cool White (which is what you want to use for task lighting like in kitchens, bathrooms and reading areas) to Warm White (which is perfect for family rooms and bedrooms). Our downlights in the living room are dimmable too, which is perfect for mood lighting and watching movies.
We were reluctant to switch over from halogen to LED because we were concerned about the cost but we eventually made the switch because of the skyrocketing power bills. We replaced 30 halogen downlights with LEDs just over a year ago and they have already payed for themselves purely in the decrease of our electricity bill and maintenance costs. I haven't had to change on light bulb!
We didn't use super expensive special LEDs, just the ones that our lighting consultant at ANL Lighting recommended. They just revamped their website too if you want to have a ** peak!
Plus someone mentioned previously that downlights are too harsh? That's probably because they are using the wrong colour temperature. Most LEDs will vary from Cool White (which is what you want to use for task lighting like in kitchens, bathrooms and reading areas) to Warm White (which is perfect for family rooms and bedrooms). Our downlights in the living room are dimmable too, which is perfect for mood lighting and watching movies.
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