I found a pic of your builder
Browse Forums Building A New House Re: $250 per LED downlight - am I mad? 21Apr 01, 2012 3:59 pm I found a pic of your builder I went outside once. The graphics were alright, but the gameplay sucked! Settlement:22nd June Slab:27th August Frame:16th Sept Bricked:21st Oct Roof:24th Nov Linings HANDOVER23rd March! Re: $250 per LED downlight - am I mad? 22Apr 02, 2012 10:19 pm WOW... that is all i can say... If we were to charge this amount then every electrician would be living on coastal waterfront homes!!... UTTERLY ridiculous.. The funny things is that these volume builders DICTATE to the tradespeople what they are willing to pay.. and in this case is somewhere between 40-60 per downlight ( not including the light fitting ) so if you do the math on a worst case scenario... 60 ( downlight point )+ 15 ( halogen downlight ) is 75.00!! where does the rest come into it? ( and thats absolute worst case.. its more likely to be around 50 dollars for point and light! ) i can easily say that the builders buy things in HUGE amounts.. so they will be getting the lights at around ten dollars or less. This is the best advice, ask the electricians that are completing the job if they will chuck in some extra wires for some cash and mark them on a small plan for you later on, or ask the builders if you can get your own electrician on site to throw some wires in during frame stage that are clearly marked ' not to be connected ' hope this helped Electrical - Automation - Smart wiring - New homes - Commercial - Data cabling] 1300 050 315 www.cenemelectrical.com.au www.facebook.com/cenemelectrical Re: $250 per LED downlight - am I mad? 23Apr 02, 2012 10:40 pm PaulMac b0son those of you who are getting LED downlights ... 12V or 240V? does it matter? All LED lights are low voltage (12v) It all depends on what you need, new build or new install you will need 240v LED which is basicaly a 240v transformer with the 12v light just the same as most halogen set ups. If you just want to replace your exsisting halogens with LED, then you will only need the 12v LED replacement. No, there are many LEDs now that are 240volt - no transformer needed. I have seen them and they work fine. Re: $250 per LED downlight - am I mad? 24Apr 02, 2012 11:40 pm What do you do if you have raking ceiling and there is no way to install them later on? I guess you just have to pay this amount, right? $250 per LED downlight - am I mad? 25Apr 02, 2012 11:49 pm LOL mecha & rojak. You're both mean. The poor OP was just looking for a little sound advice.... Possibly a little too late? Ha! I just had a look at my builder's list of charges for electrical changes, to see what they would've charged me for downlights.... Apparently, they don't do downlights! They'll install owner-supplied downlights, but don't give you the option of having them supply! Interesting. Glad I didn't even consider it! Just to install the "low voltage" downlights that I supply, would've cost me $101 per light! Standard downlights? $91. They supply the fire retardant barriers, but still!!! That's ridiculous! Re: $250 per LED downlight - am I mad? 27Apr 03, 2012 8:53 am 12v will always put our more heat than a 240v due to the transformer. A 12v LED would not put out much heat anyway though, so comparing to a 240v LED wouldn't be a huge difference. Re: $250 per LED downlight - am I mad? 28Apr 03, 2012 3:20 pm sohnaeo Hi guys, I am building double story with Edenbrae and we have an appointment with Electrician next week. I am scared of these downlights quotes, Builder said I cant do down lights later on ground floor of double story. Is it true? What is the purpose of junction boxes? How much does it cost? and how would it work? Sorry I have no idea about this one before I have read that it is harder to do dowlights in a 2 storey post handover so most recommend doing the downlights in the first floor during the build and add any to the 2nd floor after handover and will be cheaper. As most of the other posts note i would have them do halogen and then add LED after handover. Forrestdale 27 Land Titled:4/11/11 Building Permit:4/11/11 Site Start Date: 16/11/11 Slab Date: 01/12/11 Frame Date:05/12/11 http://hordefamilyhome.blogspot.com/ $250 per LED downlight - am I mad? 29Apr 03, 2012 4:48 pm squashedrex 12v will always put our more heat than a 240v due to the transformer. A 12v LED would not put out much heat anyway though, so comparing to a 240v LED wouldn't be a huge difference. The total heat output will be the same. A "240v" LED just has the transformer/power supply built in, as all LEDs are low voltage devices. You will probably find that a 240v LED will get slightly hotter than a 12V one because it has to dissipate the heat from the power supply as well as the LEDs, while in a 12v fitting these two heat sources are separate. Having said that however the heat from the power supply will be negligible in both cases. Paul Re: $250 per LED downlight - am I mad? 30Apr 03, 2012 6:07 pm paulw11 The total heat output will be the same. A "240v" LED just has the transformer/power supply built in, as all LEDs are low voltage devices. You will probably find that a 240v LED will get slightly hotter than a 12V one because it has to dissipate the heat from the power supply as well as the LEDs, while in a 12v fitting these two heat sources are separate. Having said that however the heat from the power supply will be negligible in both cases. Paul I'm pretty sure true 240v LEDs exist? If not then what you say is true obviously. Also all the 12v LEDS I have seen have an inbuilt transformer as well. $250 per LED downlight - am I mad? 31Apr 03, 2012 6:30 pm Individual LEDs operate from 2-3 volts. 12V LEDs can either have a small voltage regulator chip to drop the voltage or can divide the voltage by wiring the multiple LED chips in series. 240v LED fittings need to drop the voltage using a circuit that is the same as that in the external power supply that is connected to a 12V fitting, although this circuit can drop the voltage directly to the 3V. Paul Re: $250 per LED downlight - am I mad? 32Apr 03, 2012 8:12 pm A quick check of Beacon Lighting revels that LED downlights retail for $34.95 to $119, it has been a while since I checked pricing at the wholesalers, but I know that the 'better' quality lights cost more, and the dimmable LED lights also cost a lot more than non dimmable lights! Even if the builder some how paid $119 a light, I think $250 is a bit much, even if they are putting them inside the $4 cardboard fire rated box's designed for downlights! As for Halogen downlights, in a new house forget them, they are not allowed (mostly)! The building code of Australia has been changed so you can only have 5w/M2, so for example in a 4x4m room it would be 16m2, using just two 50 halogen downlights gives you 6.25w/m2. For this reason you will find most 'standard' downlights in a new home are now compact fluro's! Personally I prefer the LED's as they are instant on, and although they do generate heat the one I have over the kitchen sink can easily be touched even after running for hours and hours, less power, less heat, and no 'warm up' of the bulb to full brightness, I will be installing LED downlights. Also be careful replacing halogen downlights with LED downlights, some electronic transformers will not work with a LED bulb as they where designed to supply 50w to a halogen some have trouble with the 9w for a LED, usually you have to change the transformer to a LED driver, same thing but with a lower output rating to work with LED's!! As for installing downlights in a double story house on the ground floor, it is nearly impossible, if you only have the little downlight cutouts to try and fish from light to light can be hard / impossible with all the timber work in the ceiling! Of course nothing is impossible, you can also carve up the brand new ceiling, put in the wires, patch and re-paint the ceiling! Re: $250 per LED downlight - am I mad? 33Apr 03, 2012 8:54 pm paulw11 Individual LEDs operate from 2-3 volts. 12V LEDs can either have a small voltage regulator chip to drop the voltage or can divide the voltage by wiring the multiple LED chips in series. 240v LED fittings need to drop the voltage using a circuit that is the same as that in the external power supply that is connected to a 12V fitting, although this circuit can drop the voltage directly to the 3V. Paul Good to know, cheers. Re: $250 per LED downlight - am I mad? 34Apr 03, 2012 9:04 pm stormjr As for Halogen downlights, in a new house forget them, they are not allowed (mostly)! The building code of Australia has been changed so you can only have 5w/M2, so for example in a 4x4m room it would be 16m2, using just two 50 halogen downlights gives you 6.25w/m2. For this reason you will find most 'standard' downlights in a new home are now compact fluro's! our 60m^2 lounge has 16 halogens. got through council (06/11) without issue ... is this a recent requirement? Quote: Also be careful replacing halogen downlights with LED downlights, some electronic transformers will not work with a LED bulb as they where designed to supply 50w to a halogen some have trouble with the 9w for a LED, usually you have to change the transformer to a LED driver, same thing but with a lower output rating to work with LED's!! would the same apply replacing halogens with CFL? $250 per LED downlight - am I mad? 35Apr 03, 2012 10:05 pm The 5w/m2 is worked out across your whole house, not per room, so maybe you had less than 5w/m2 in the other rooms? Or maybe your council didn't bother working it out. The other problem you will face with halogen downlights in the near future is that it won't be possible to buy replacement bulbs as they will be banned (I believe that the 35w bulbs will be available for longer). CFL downlights need 240v so you will have to remove any transformers if you want to use them. If you want the best flexibility I suggest getting 413 sockets installed, that way you can change your lights simply by unplugging the old ones and plugging in new ones. Paul Re: $250 per LED downlight - am I mad? 36Apr 03, 2012 10:39 pm AubinGroveFan What do you do if you have raking ceiling and there is no way to install them later on? I guess you just have to pay this amount, right? I would also be interested in the answer, we will be having raking ceilings and not sure on lighting options, our builder quoted non dimmable white Led $366.00 each !! Re: $250 per LED downlight - am I mad? 37Apr 03, 2012 11:35 pm Smarty pants AubinGroveFan What do you do if you have raking ceiling and there is no way to install them later on? I guess you just have to pay this amount, right? I would also be interested in the answer, we will be having raking ceilings and not sure on lighting options, our builder quoted non dimmable white Led $366.00 each !! Tell him he dreaming! I went outside once. The graphics were alright, but the gameplay sucked! Settlement:22nd June Slab:27th August Frame:16th Sept Bricked:21st Oct Roof:24th Nov Linings HANDOVER23rd March! Re: $250 per LED downlight - am I mad? 38Apr 04, 2012 1:30 am i did the numbers on spending $60 on each LED downlight, and the costs just didnt stack up. The initial costs (and long term savings) didnt go well against the lower inisial cost of a CFL. It would take almost 15 years for LED to break even (and thats in a high use area). Sorry, but at $250 a light you have been taken for a ride. Re: $250 per LED downlight - am I mad? 39Apr 04, 2012 10:46 am bignewadventure We've just completed our lighting plan and signed off on 26 x $250 LED downlights. Having just done a quick search on this forum.... am I mad to have paid this much? Looks like lots of people are doing this much cheaper.... what am I missing? or have I just been ripped off? Do you know which brand of lights you are having installed? Is that for just the lights themselves or are there labour/installation costs on top of that? Have you properly checked out the specs of the lights as well? You would hope they are seriously good LEDs... Re: $250 per LED downlight - am I mad? 40Apr 11, 2012 12:04 am Hello Everyone! I'm not sure if this is the right thread or not..but I'm jumpin in as I need some ideas/suggestions/answers... We are building a 270sqm house (living space excluding Alresco and Garage). Needing approximately 30-40 downlights in the living/dinning/games/kitchen area...maybe even Alfresco. We are getting the following LED lights http://www.e3lighting.com.au/downlight_e3-rd-5x3w.htm ....we are getting part E018. Beam angle of max 60. Games Room -5.4 by 3.8 Living/Dining -5.4 by 8.4 ( in total) * Games/Living/Dining and Kitchen is open plan, all flows together. -First questions, does anyone know anything about this brand of LED lights? what do you think of the Watts and Beam angle, considering the space we are putting it in. We are getting it for $65 per down light -We are thinking of having 6 downlights in games. 6 in the living area and 6 in the Dining. Altogether 18 downlights...what do you think, is it going to be too much light or should be stick to 4 in each area instead of 6?? - Would you go for warm white or cool white..considering the area we want to cover and the brightness. ( I love my brightness, less light makes me feel depressed) -I'm looking for the right amount of brightness..and not too much 2 Electricians suggested 6 lights considering the amount of space. However, when we went to see a consultant in one of the light shops she suggested to go for 4 lights as 6 would be too much...tooo confusing for me!!!! Please advise. Any help would be much appreciated. Regards Mocha 1) I had requested R6 ceiling insualtion batts, however I noticed that on some areas there are huge gaps which will allow hot air to sweep in, and also noticed black/grey… 0 3585 |