Browse Forums Lighting + Lighting Design Re: Ask a lighting design engineer - general Q&A 101Nov 12, 2015 12:38 pm They do look very cheap, particularly being a known brand. They also look quite compact, and don't seem to have separate driver module. I wonder if would affect installation that they use a push-in terminal block rather than a standard plug? Re: Ask a lighting design engineer - general Q&A 102Nov 12, 2015 2:06 pm The driver is built in to the fitting, so essentially they are a complete throwaway item. If the downlight fails, you throw the whole thing in the bin and get a new one. Whereas with a downlight that has a separate driver, you can replace the driver. And to be honest, the driver is what fails 95% of the time. But for $23 who cares... you'd probably pay that much for a replacement driver anyway. Part of the reason why they are cheap is because they are from an electrical wholesaler and they probably buy and sell them by the pallet load. If you were to buy something like this from a retail lighting store like the one that starts with "B", you'd probably pay 50% more - they need to pay for their TV show sponsorships, showroom, rent and their TV, radio, and newspaper advertising somehow. Wholesalers don't have those overheads so can offer lower prices. Australian electricians are notoriously bad at using push-in terminals. If you take 5 seconds to work out they are actually quite good to use. Personally though I would fit a flex and plug to the lights, and a 3 pin socket to the circuit wiring, and plug them in. Makes it so much quicker to install and if you ever need to remove them for maintenance or any other reason, you can do so safely, and perhaps without the need for an electrician. Building Services Engineer Renovating our 1960's modernist home in Brisbane https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=53&t=82091 Re: Ask a lighting design engineer - general Q&A 103Nov 12, 2015 3:29 pm I was thinking the 3 pin socket idea but then remembered when I tried to change a downlight with the same config in our last house. Being 2 story couldn't get to the cavity and my hand didnt fit in the hole in the gyprock to plug in the new driver. Let me tell you it got messy and many angry words were spoken. Using my LG-G4 to bring you this update. Re: Ask a lighting design engineer - general Q&A 104Nov 12, 2015 6:14 pm Yeah I hear you. Luckily I have fairly skinny arms... Building Services Engineer Renovating our 1960's modernist home in Brisbane https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=53&t=82091 Re: Ask a lighting design engineer - general Q&A 105Dec 05, 2015 12:05 pm I have been following this thread with great interest as I wil be doing my lighting plan shortly for a house I am building. I am going to try to limit my use of downlights as I find them a little boring but I may use them in some rooms. I need some advice on spacing as I am wary of how downlights produce a cone of light. Assuming 13W LED's with a 60 degree beam angle, what spacing should I use to provide good coverage? My ceilings are 2550mm high. What are your thoughts on surface mounted (i.e. oyster) LED lights? I am also having difficulty on deciding on what lighting is appropriate for a media room which will predominately be used to watch TV. Finally, how far should downlights be from fans to stop the strobe effect? Any help would be appreciated. Re: Ask a lighting design engineer - general Q&A 106Dec 06, 2015 8:07 am Spacing: for a lounge area or similat you could get away with around 2-3 metre spacings. In a kitchen you want more light so I would go more like 1.5m. Do you mean oysters, or surface mount downlights? Two quite different things... oysters are an economical way of lighting a room as you just put one in the middle of the room and it sprays light around. A surface mounted downlight is the same as a regular downlight except it has a surface mounting "can". As for distance from fans for downlights, I'd say you'd want the downlights to be at least 600mm outside the diameter of the fan. Building Services Engineer Renovating our 1960's modernist home in Brisbane https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=53&t=82091 Re: Ask a lighting design engineer - general Q&A 107Dec 06, 2015 11:30 am 1960sModernistHome Spacing: for a lounge area or similat you could get away with around 2-3 metre spacings. In a kitchen you want more light so I would go more like 1.5m. Do you mean oysters, or surface mount downlights? Two quite different things... oysters are an economical way of lighting a room as you just put one in the middle of the room and it sprays light around. A surface mounted downlight is the same as a regular downlight except it has a surface mounting "can". As for distance from fans for downlights, I'd say you'd want the downlights to be at least 600mm outside the diameter of the fan. I was referring to Oysters....sorry for not being clear. Thanks for your advice...I have learnt more from this thread than any other source. Re: Ask a lighting design engineer - general Q&A 108Dec 07, 2015 1:37 pm No worries, glad to be of some assistance Building Services Engineer Renovating our 1960's modernist home in Brisbane https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=53&t=82091 Re: Ask a lighting design engineer - general Q&A 109Dec 09, 2015 3:28 pm Hi, This is my first post here, and I have found this topic to be very helpful. We are in the planning process of our build and have just received a quote from the builder. House is 4 bedrooms + study, 20sqs. We don't have a lighting plan as yet, and the builder has quoted 27 downlights (not sure of brand, lumins etc, though I am sure they are halogen) and 3 ceiling fans. I hope to add 3 more ceiling fans to that. I just have a couple of questions. 1. Are down lights the most cost effective method of lighting? I am aware of the issues downlight may pose regarding allowing heat escape through the ceiling due to reduced insulation, so would like to keep them to a minimum, but am also aware that the budget is looking tight. 2. If I were to replace down lights with fan lights is this likely to be more cost effective and provide sufficient lighting for the lounge/dining area? Particularly considering the ceiling is raked towards the north 3. I was wondering about under cupboard strip lighting plus pendants in the kitchen, is this likely to be sufficient for the area? 4. How much lighting do bedrooms tend to need? Is there and ideal way to light them? I have a floor plan here, but am not sure how to upload it Re: Ask a lighting design engineer - general Q&A 110Dec 11, 2015 8:15 am Hi, Please see below... Red Smarties 1. Are down lights the most cost effective method of lighting? I am aware of the issues downlight may pose regarding allowing heat escape through the ceiling due to reduced insulation, so would like to keep them to a minimum, but am also aware that the budget is looking tight. Not the most cost effective, no. The lowest cost way of lighting a room in a house would be to use one light in the centre of the room, perhaps an oyster or a fan-light. Red Smarties 2. If I were to replace down lights with fan lights is this likely to be more cost effective and provide sufficient lighting for the lounge/dining area? Particularly considering the ceiling is raked towards the north It will be cost effective, yes. Personally I am not a huge fan of the fan-lights (no pun intended), but they do their job I guess. Most of the lights that come on ceiling fans are not great, but if you look you can probably find one that has a half-decent light. Personally, I could live with fan lights in bedrooms, but in living area I would go with downlights and separate fans as I think it looks much better. But it comes down to your budget I suppose. Red Smarties 3. I was wondering about under cupboard strip lighting plus pendants in the kitchen, is this likely to be sufficient for the area? Good idea, but I would also put in some downlights in the ceiling near your cupboards so you get light into the cupboards. Pendant and strip lighting will provide great lighting for the bench top but not general lighting for the rest of the kitchen. Red Smarties 4. How much lighting do bedrooms tend to need? Is there and ideal way to light them? If you're on a real tight budget, go with fan lights. If you can stretch a bit further, go a fan in the middle and 2, 3, or 4 downlights around the outside (depending on downlight output and room size). If you don't want fans in the bedroom and you're on a tight budget, go with an oyster light in the middle of the room. What you need to consider in your budget is not only the purchase cost of the light fittings as this is probably only about $25 each for a cheap downlight, $30-80 for an LED oyster light, $80 for a ceiling fan, or $120 for a fan light. The electrician's cost to wire and install them is probably going to be in the region of $60-100 per point. So you could have a bedroom with a fan light, you're looking at say $120 for the fanlight and $100 to wire & install it = $220 per bedroom. If you went with a fan in the middle and four downlights, it would be more in the region of $600-$700 per bedroom. Personally I think it's worth it, but again it comes back to your budget. If you have a decent accessible roof space there's no reason why you couldn't get the builder to install fan-lights everywhere, and then later on when you have some more money get your own electrician to come and take the light off the fan and install downlights around instead. Building Services Engineer Renovating our 1960's modernist home in Brisbane https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=53&t=82091 Re: Ask a lighting design engineer - general Q&A 111Dec 14, 2015 6:44 pm Wow, thats a great help, thanks so much. Re: Ask a lighting design engineer - general Q&A 112Dec 14, 2015 7:34 pm Hi, I'm designing a house, double storey owner build. How much would you charge to design the lighting plan for the complete house? Would like to use downlights, wall/up lights, led strips, a couple of large feature pendants and external spot lights for trees. The plan doesn't have to be too detailed, just draw/mark it on my plans. I'll be pushing the friend ship to ask it to be done for free Re: Ask a lighting design engineer - general Q&A 113Dec 15, 2015 5:59 am Hi there JB. Any design work I do has to go through the company for professional indemnity issues. Hence I would need to charge normal rates, which would be prohibitive for a house. Probably more than your lighting budget... What I can do, and have done for others, is if you have a good try at your own design I am quite happy to give feedback and recommendations on here. Building Services Engineer Renovating our 1960's modernist home in Brisbane https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=53&t=82091 Re: Ask a lighting design engineer - general Q&A 114Dec 15, 2015 9:48 pm I understand, but thanks for the help. I'll no doubt be asking for it. I'm a financial adviser, due to indemnity issues, I also can't give out any personal advice no matter how simple without providing a detailed and comprehensive plan. Re: Ask a lighting design engineer - general Q&A 115Dec 16, 2015 6:23 am Ok, I think I have got a plan for most of the house, but my kitchen/living/dining has a raked ceiling. Will I need to use tilt adjustable lights here?
Re: Ask a lighting design engineer - general Q&A 116Dec 16, 2015 6:58 am Red Smarties Ok, I think I have got a plan for most of the house, but my kitchen/living/dining has a raked ceiling. Will I need to use tilt adjustable lights here? Yeah I think that would be a good idea Re: Ask a lighting design engineer - general Q&A 117Dec 16, 2015 7:00 am Cool, ta. Is anyone able to tell me how to upload a picture so I can get you to take a look at my plan? Re: Ask a lighting design engineer - general Q&A 118Dec 16, 2015 7:55 am 1) Upload your photos to an image hosting site like Photobucket. 2) Click on your photo that you want to post here. 3) Locate the IMG tag under "Share Links" on the right hand side of the photo. 4) Click on that IMG code line and copy it. 5) Paste that into your post here then hit the submit button. If you have a smart phone then using Tapatalk etc for a direct upload here is probably easier... Stewie Re: Ask a lighting design engineer - general Q&A 120Dec 16, 2015 10:41 am Looks pretty good to me. I don't have much to add really. What are you thinking of for exterior lighting? Building Services Engineer Renovating our 1960's modernist home in Brisbane https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=53&t=82091 You should check your detail drawings, it may show downpipe within brick pier. 14 14021 I work with owner, he/she is my man on the ground and I instruct them when to visit the site and take photos and I have other tools in the bag. 4 15020 Ardo That is so funny! I wonder how many people know who Larry Haun is these days. I have a couple of young guys we call Mo 1 & Mo 2 who run a crew of 6 boys and… 9 15433 |