Browse Forums Lighting + Lighting Design 1 May 17, 2012 8:59 am Hey guys, I'm building a new home and want LED lighting. It looks like there are various types (MR16 + transformer, or GU10) - I'm wondering what type is suitable for putting into a new home, without having to worry about halogen lighting or anything like that. Re: LED Lighting for New Home (Not a retrofit) 2May 17, 2012 10:31 pm It's a renovation, but as we replaced everything except the external walls. We have a combination of LED strip lights (high lux, with integrated Al heatsink), and LED downlights, both on transformers (not MR16 for the downlights, as there are special fittings and connections for those). We are also using CFL uplights, and some halogen MR16 downlight (and 3 uplights). The halogens were used due to CRI requirement, but can be changed in future to LEDs when the CRI improves. Re: LED Lighting for New Home (Not a retrofit) 3May 18, 2012 11:20 pm The strip lights we used can be recessed into the ceiling using a metal profile, so there is no penetration of the thermal barrier. The transformer does live in the ceiling space. And as the Al heatsink is built in, brightness is rated at 2000+ lux per meter. Also cost close to $300 per meter... Re: LED Lighting for New Home (Not a retrofit) 4May 19, 2012 11:39 pm I'm in a similar situation, we are renovating and looking to redo all our existing lighting to energy efficient LED Has LED technology matured yet? What brightness am i looking at to match Halogen downlights? Has anyone here fully converted to LED? are you happy with them? Cheers Re: LED Lighting for New Home (Not a retrofit) 5May 23, 2012 3:54 pm LEDs have greatly matured and the technology is finally here. LEDs now match the brightness of halogens but also have high colour rendering (CRI) of 90 and decent colour temperatures, regardless of cool white or warm white. They still use barely any electricity when compared to halogens. Firstly, you can easily get LED replacements for halogens that match them for brightness. There are 10w LED bulbs available that have a lumen output of 720, which is an equal match for halogens. They come in MR16 form and work with all existing transformers and dimmers. Easy as. With that being said however, if you are building a new house I would go for a fully integrated LED, with it's own transformer, mentioned above they have larger heatsinks and can handle a larger light output. You can get integrated LEDs with a lumen output of over 900 that still use only 16 watts. LED downlights are a good choice. Re: LED Lighting for New Home (Not a retrofit) 6May 28, 2012 10:56 pm Due to the difference and directionality of LEDs, especially if packaged as an SMD, the design of the fixture needs to be especially made for LEDs. The problem with retrofitting style fixtures in general is the setup is a compromise, and not really showing the LEDs at their best. Re: LED Lighting for New Home (Not a retrofit) 7May 31, 2012 4:07 pm Not sure if that's right PHL. LEDs that come as an integrated fitting have their own fixture and just need a 90mm ceiling cutout to be installed. As they are installed into new builds usually there is no problem with this. No extra fixture is necessary needs to be made. Retrofit LEDs fit into existing & pre-installed halogen fittings - that is the point of them. They are made to work with old setups as they are compatible all transformers and with most dimmers straight out of the box. LED technology has arrived, it's time to start the uptake. Re: LED Lighting for New Home (Not a retrofit) 8Jun 02, 2012 12:03 am Not saying that they don't work, but they are not as efficient as specially designed fixture. As an example, if we want to light a space, why concentrate the light into a small circular space, where beam spread is not ideal, cast shadows and concentrate heat. If the LEDs were to be set up as a panel or strip, you can used SMDs, have less heat concentration, and no shadows as there is no point lighting. The reason for downlights was being a filament light, it has to be a point light, which is useful for highlighting, but not for general lighting as they a often misused for. Re: LED Lighting for New Home (Not a retrofit) 9Jun 08, 2012 3:09 pm I discovered the other day an iPhone app that could be beneficial for you in your new build from brightgreen. You can input all your info a room and it gives you a lighting plan. Very handy as not many builders do lighting designs and it is left to the owners. You may not need as many lights as you think, so a proper plan can stop you from forking out for more lights when you dont need them. Check it out. Re: LED Lighting for New Home (Not a retrofit) 10Jun 12, 2012 11:04 am Aeon Lighting have some good MR16 GU10s, by the way MR16s are divided into two types 5.3 and GU10, which refer to the spacing of the pins. Their lumens output is great 730 at 2700K. They have some awesome heat sinks with lots of open space to dissipate heat. I've seen these installed for over a year now, with now problems at all. Building Standards; Getting It Right! 1. optional, you can but normally just use the earth from the main switch board 2. should be enough but the distance determines voltage drop - sparky should work it… 1 28804 I have a really long hallway which is 1100mm W x 11500mm L I would appreciate if anyone can give suggestions to light it up with Linear LED lights that goes from wall to… 0 8810 |