IMO the light should not be capped as it would lessen the life of the driver in the fixture.
I reckon the best covers would be fairly tall(just past the insulation) and have a few little holes to help cool the driver heatsink down.
Browse Forums Building A New House Re: LED Downlights and normal lights 41Jun 13, 2012 10:50 pm Building with Jandson Homes - Eclipse 18. http://adgnetworks.blogspot.com/ Re: LED Downlights and normal lights 45Jun 14, 2012 3:44 pm Building with Jandson Homes - Eclipse 18. http://adgnetworks.blogspot.com/ Re: LED Downlights and normal lights 49Jun 14, 2012 7:28 pm SunshineT's Build: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=34585 Designs start: 4/12/09 DA: 5/7/11 Demo: 22/12/11 Slab: 24/2/12 Keys: 31/8/12 Re: LED Downlights and normal lights 56Jun 17, 2012 8:50 am plucka <cut> Far fewer lights also means far fewer points of failure. Also factor in the seemingly large loss of insulation performance and increased heating and cooling costs the so called efficiency and green claims of LED downlights just don't add up. I went from 20 downlights to 9 batten points. And should get more light from the ceiling mounted lights Furthermore you *can* get LED globes into a ceiling light, its not that they only exist in downlights, that's just the current fashion trend. I also had a number of people with downlights advise that they regretted having them. Not to mention my team leader who ended up with low quality downlights/transfers which tend to blowup a bit too often, each time that means replacing it in the ceiling. Re: LED Downlights and normal lights 57Jun 17, 2012 9:29 am theanonyuser Furthermore you *can* get LED globes into a ceiling light, its not that they only exist in downlights, that's just the current fashion trend. They probably just don't offer much of an advantage when the globe can be as large as the traditional old incandescent; compact flourescents have been around in that size for years, and the light that comes out of a "full sized" compact flourescent is fine (my guess is that the problem with the downlight ones relates to the tube being too small). Re: LED Downlights and normal lights 58Jun 17, 2012 2:23 pm Hi everyone, I am following this discussion with interest. Through my research, I have almost come to the same conclusion as theanonyuser, that downlights just aren't worth it. The number that are required for general lighting, plus the cost of installation, plus the loss of insulation, just doesn't seem to make sense. At the moment, in my main living area I am planning pendants over the kitchen bench, and a matching 5-light pendant over the dining table. I'll need to find some attractive globes to put in those, as the globe is exposed. These should almost be enough light for the area, although I might need a little task lighting over the other bench - maybe some LED spotlights? I'm putting a ceiling fan over the lounge area (with a 2 x E27 light fitting - might swap out the included 25w CFLs for 13w LEDs like these). Really, these should be more than sufficient for general lighting in that area. Then, I need to find some kind of low-profile surface mount fitting to fill in some gaps. Or maybe just a couple of high powered LED downlights with a wide beam angle? I was looking at these. Any thoughts if this will be effective? Wandering off to see if theanonyuser has any more lighting info on the blog ... Re: LED Downlights and normal lights 59Nov 20, 2012 9:58 pm This thread has made for an interesting read, I've been doing some serious looking into LED, and honestly I can understand what folks are saying about there being no pay off.. if am I correct in thinking that on average you'd put in 4 x LED where you'd have a single CFL/Bayonet, the Bayonet CFL's that we've been using here (that don't seem that bright might I say) are 25w, so in theory your 4 x 12w (1400lm/90cri/12w) downlights are chewing up 48w but your getting brighter lighting...? IF you go with a single high power driver for your sets of lights you are dropping that 3-4w of efficiency your loosing for each light, and in theory if you want to reduce the amount of light you can throw in a dimmer right? So in theory with your dimmer, if you want, you should be able to reduce your power usage down to say a 30w level? anyone know if the dimmers actually reduce the amount of power the whole shibang uses in a linear fashion? from my perspective I'm inclined to install some LED's in the middle of insulation with some thermal probes and see just how hot they get... if they stay under 65 deg then consider it a win..., the other option is the insulation between floors can easily be glued to the floor above can it not? this would give you the performance without the loss? the last little trick I'm keen to try and pull off is to actually run somewhat thicker cable for each room's lights up into the first floor ceiling, this way I can have all the transformers upstairs, and even sneakier it'll make it easier to run a little PV array and a few batteries... not sure how to trigger the lights from the switch's.... using relays I guess but yeah, all light wiring into ceiling (yes I'm aware the longer the cable the larger the loss, but if it's 8 guage? Slooowwwwly getting a Manhatten 35 in Middleton Grange Re: LED Downlights and normal lights 60May 22, 2013 8:23 pm I thought I would revive this thread as all things led have moved on a bit. As the cold bites I am looking at the thermal efficiency of our house. We have a large open plan living space that was designed with Melbourne winter in mind. Lots of double glazed north glass, a very thick heated slab and tones of insulation. On the coldest sunny day the boiler (hydronic) never comes on, so by day the room is awesome. My only concern is the heat loss at night through our down lights. we have 16 gimbaled led downlights in the room. If I had my time over i would have only had 4 of them on gimbals, but they are in so now I pay the price of ignorance. I am looking at the tenmat covers mentioned earlier in this thread. The concerns raised earlier were around reducing the lifespan of the expensive led lights. I would like to know if A. anyone has these covers installed and if they help the heat loss they claim to B. if they have any reduction in led lifespan. Given Led lights are still coming down in price, the crossover in cost benefit (life vs cost of heating) is a factor now? Yes, get a builder, make sure he is experienced and a registered building practitioner 5 8998 |