Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Oct 27, 2009 12:21 pm We're putting downlights in our living area. The area is approximately 5.5 x 4 metres. Just wondering the best position to place the downlights. Should they be a certain distance away from the walls or is it better to have them closer to them? Cheers Re: Where to place downlights 4Oct 27, 2009 7:56 pm I believe the general rule with halogen downlights is to have them one metre from walls and then have them spaced every two metres. Therefore one light will cover 4m2. Following this a 4 x 4 metre room would require 4 downlights, 6 x 6 metres would require 9. For your 5.5 x 4 metre room, I would say either four or six would do the job depending on how bright you want the room, your colours and any other light sources. I am no lighting expert though. Re: Where to place downlights 5Nov 15, 2009 10:33 pm an interesting fact is that halogen downlights where never designed to be a general illuminator, they where designed to highlight features in a space and for direct task lighting. when the consumer thought it was a good idea to flood a room full of light, downlight manufacturers smiled ... your question on the distance to place the downlights in your living room comes down to how you will be using the space. there is no point having a high lighting level in the corner of the room that has no use, rather plan your space and position the downlights over key areas. if you still want to have general lighting level in your living room then my rule of thumb is 0.5m away from the walls (this allows provisions to still direct the light onto art on the walls and between 1.5m and 2m apart. if its an option then start off with less and add more if you feel that it's not enough. you can also PM me and send through a layout or image of the room and i can propose a layout for you. Re: Where to place downlights 6Nov 15, 2009 10:41 pm Lighting Designer if you still want to have general lighting level in your living room then my rule of thumb is 0.5m away from the walls (this allows provisions to still direct the light onto art on the walls) I have never heard that before (always read 1m from that wall), its a really good idea. I will have to see where ours are going in... Re: Where to place downlights 7Nov 16, 2009 7:32 am I like 1 m from the wall and 2 m spacing. In your case, for the 5.5 m wall I would go 0.75, 2, 2, 0.75 m spacing and for the 4 m wall 1, 2, 1 m spacing. Demolition August 2009, Construction Started September 2009, Completed December 2010 Re: Where to place downlights 8Nov 16, 2009 11:45 am I'd think it would be very strange to have downlights 500mm from a wall. If you put a cabinet against the wall the light would be along the edge of the cabinet and show imperfections in the front of the cabinet. A metre from walls is what I'd normally see. I have downlights, but always an interesting centre light fitting. In fact the last house I sold (a month ago) did that, and I got lots of very positive comments about the interesting light fittings. Halogen downlights are not energy efficient, and would make it more difficult to get a good energy rating for the house under new regulations here in Queensland. Re: Where to place downlights 9Nov 16, 2009 4:25 pm I have down lights as general lighting in our rental, I don't like them I find its too much light esp with the cfl bulbs, you feel like your sitting in a shopping centre its so bright, we use lamps instead at the moment. I would work out what sort of light you need for the room before putting in downlights and if you use down lights split the circuit so you don't have to have them on all at once or if possible put them on a dimmer switch which I think you can do with some halogen or led bulbs. Cheers Lou http://take2-customdesigndownslope.blogspot.com 07-10-09 omg they have cut the block 14-05-10 we finally have the keys Re: Where to place downlights 10Nov 16, 2009 11:12 pm Hi Cyberman, i guess the beauty of designing down lights for your own home is that you would probably have an idea where cabinets and other large furniture will be going. when placing DL's 0.5m from the wall you have a great opportunity to place some art on the the wall and the DL will do a great job, 1m away unless you adjust the light will miss the wall decor. good work with installing interesting center fittings, even with out knowing what was installed i'm sure you would have achieved a much better mood and effect from this ! Re: Where to place downlights 11Nov 17, 2009 8:00 am Lighting Designer when placing DL's 0.5m from the wall you have a great opportunity to place some art on the the wall and the DL will do a great job, 1m away unless you adjust the light will miss the wall decor. 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