I have 10 recessed 12v 50 watt swivelling spotlights in the kitchen ceiling of my bungalow. The lights give onto the loft space above and since they have been fitted, I have noted a marked drop in temperature
- warm air escapes round the lamp-holder into the loft. Two things that are of concern are that:
1 The ceiling is now breached and there is a distinct updraught around each light - not too fire resistant and 2 Marked loss of heat in winter from kitchen to loft.In my view, the fitting of intumescent fire-caps above the lights in the loft would give a measure of fire-protection and reduce (but not totally eliminate heat loss from the kitchen). I'm too old to creep around in my loft now, so I've spoken to three electricians, who clearly don't want to, either, as they've suggested replacing the existing 12v 50 watt swivelling lamp-holders with fixed spots, each with a built-in fire-cap as part of the unit.(all do-able from the kitchen, not the loft). A problem is that the existing ceiling cut- outs are 90mm and there's a distinct lack of fixed spotlights on the market which would fit this diameter. However, there are a few 240v 50 watt spotlights which do. This would mean not only scrapping the existing swivelling lamps and their transformers, but also re-jigging the cabling in the loft (probably). All this makes the fire-cap route the most cost-effective way to go.
What do the pundits think, please?