How many downlighters in a bathroom ?

[mikeyw]

Is there a general rule of thumb for deciding upon the number of downlighters fitted in a bathroom ?

I am hoping to fit 50W chrome downlighters into my smallish bathroom and can't decide on the number. The ceiling space is only 3.55m squared so I was thinking along the lines of 4 or 5 downlighters giving 200 or 250W in total.

Does this seem about right or will 5 be too many ?

The suite is plain white and I will position a very large mirror on one wall to try and make the bathroom feel larger.

Any recommendations or methods to adopt here ?

Do you really have to have the waterproof ones above the bath ? - I mean it would be one heck of a splash to get water right up to the ceiling !

TIA, Mike.

[RichardS]

You'll need sunglasses to walk in there with that lot on!

I fitted 6x20W downlighters to a previous bathroom, that was perhaps 3m x

1.8m, and that gave a very high level of light. 50W lamps would have been way too much. Go wide angle lamps rather than the spots, and for bathrooms they need to be the glass-fronted enclosed type. I assume we're talking 12v elv here?

[Tony Eva]

I'd second that, I fitted 4x50W 12V downlighters in my (approx)

2.5m x 2.5m bathroom and it's rather too bright. I'm planning to replace them with 35W, or maybe 20W, lamps at some point (probably as and when they expire naturally).

Remember that downlighters create quite distinct pools of light - even the 35 degree ones - and so e.g. 5x20W is better than 2x50W. I have heard of glass diffusers that clip over the downlighters, to produce a more even spread of light, but I haven't actually seen any to be able to judge how effective they are.

[Dorothy Bradbury]

Spiders wearing shades...

** T h e A r a c h n i d B l u e s B r o t h e r s **

Ok, that jokes going down the drain.

[John Rumm]

I did four 35W 12V downlights in a small shower room (about 1.6 by 2.2m) and that gives a nice even coverage of the room from the lower half down (i.e. the top of the walls are less well illuminated than the lower half and the floor). This is the effect I was trying to achieve, however you may find that wall washers will work better if you want more even top to bottom lighting.

Probably too many... If you use the 12V lights then the colour of the light tends to be whiter and closer to daylight.

Does the bath have a shower? Personally I would stick to the waterproof ones given the room is small.

[John Rumm]

It does depend on ceiling height a bit. I have been in a small loo where the only illumination was 2 50W mains halogen downlights, and the lighting was actuially quite pleasent and even due to the ceiling being

10' high.

[MJ]

My bathroom is small - 1.8m x 2.2m. I've got 6 x 50w. And contrary to the others who say it would be too bright, it's not. It's just right.

MJ

[Tony Eva]

That's true, though 10' high ceilings are hardly the norm :-)

Another consideration when planning the lighting is that (in my experience) it's better to angle the downlighters, perhaps onto the adjacent wall, so that the lighting is more indirect than directly from above. Again, in my bathroom, I placed one light above the basin and the downward light is not especially flattering when looking in the mirror.

[Tony Eva]

Wow. What colour are the floors, walls and fittings? I suppose a lot depends on personal taste as well - you would appear to prefer your bathroom well lit :-)

[David M]

Everyone has different preferences but I would find this way too bright, Our bathroom is approx 2.5x2.5m and I only used 4 x20W 12V halogens and find it perfectly adequate. But the relative position of the lights will play a part.

the positioning of the downlighters will make a big difference, as the light they give off is fairly directional. Try and locate one between where you might stand and wher etha mirror is to give good illumination when using it. (alternatively stick one on the wall above the mirror)

Again it depends on exactly where the light is positioned and how high your ceiling is. This site has a reasonable explantion of the various zones and the requirements.

David

[Bob Mannix]

Oooh, a new OT thread! "Who's got the smallest bathroom?"

Mine's 1.56m x 1.67m - which gives me an early lead. No, I don't have downlighters. They don't give out much light (300W for a room that size - eek!).

[adder]

If you look at the regs it will tell you what kind are needed in what zone. I seem to remember that as long as the light is 2m(?) or more above the floor then it doesn't need to be rated? That of course could be only in the areas outside of the bath, sink etc so you'd best check!

[Ian Middleton]

My house ensuite shower room was supplied with 4 x 50W downlighters. I changed the switch to a 2 gang one so that one down light was on one gang and other 3 on other gang. This is so you can turn the light on in the middle of night without blinding yourself, works fine. Just have to remember to just switch one switch is caught short in the middle of the night...

[Lurch]

On Tue, 09 Nov 2004 05:49:01 GMT, [e-mail] strung together this:

Good, not just me then! I've got a 3m x 2m ish bathroom with 4 x 50W GU10s, 1 x 50W 12V showerlight and 2 60W wall light spot affairs. Just about right I'd say.

[R Taylor]

could always use a pull-cord dimmer switch like this:

ish from for dimmers / page 9

hth

RT

[David M]

There must be a batch of _very_ low efficiency 50W bulbs going about, is all that I can think. :-)

cheers

David

[mikeyw]

Wow - as mine is slightly smaller i think i'll try 5 x 50W then. I can always fit a dimmer as a get out clause in case it is too bright.

Are you using angled DL's or fixed ?

[Andrew Gabriel]

Most lamps are _very_ low efficiency if you use the floor as a reflector to light the rest of the room.

I have a rather brightly lit bathroom with 42W of lighting (actually, probably ~45W with control gear losses). Since this is a DIY newsgroup, I'll add that I made a substatial part of the lights myself too ;-)

[David M]

Yes , this is the issue. They could easily use a 35W or even 20W bulb and they would probably not notice the difference as 90% of the light ends up on the floor.

cheers

David

[John Rumm]

The ceiling would need to be over 3m over a bath to be unzoned!