Number and positioning of downlights in living room

[SPC]

Hi,

I'm having downlights fitted in my living room tomorrow, but am a bit worried about getting the number/positioning right. Want the room to be quite bright and well balanced. Details as follows:

-Room about 12x13

-Chimney breast and bay window to consider

-Painted white

-Option to add additional table lamps etc and my fireplace already has a downlight on it

As this is quite a small room I had initially planned to place

4x50watt eyeball downlights in a square. But having read some of the posts here I am concerned that this won't be enough. Problem I have is that the other half isnt keen on having loads of these all over the ceiling, but I know she won't be happy with dim light! Shape of the room makes positioning the lights tricky when I try to bring more than 4 into the equation. Looks something like this (Obviously not to scale. _____ ______ ! !__________! ! ! !___ ! x x ! ! ! (Bay Window) ! ___! ! x x ! !_______________________!

Any advice/suggestions would be appreciated before D Day 2moro! Really want to get this right!

Thanks all

SPC

[Set Square]

You don't have a lot of options if you want to maintain a symmetrical matrix pattern - 3 x 2 would look odd, and 3 x 3 would be a complete overkill. I suppose you could put one in the middle - like a 5 on a domino!

I have an L-shaped lounge with is about 23' long by 18' in the wide part and

11' in the narrow part. I have 12 50-watt LV downlighters, arranged in 3 (separately switchable) groups of 4 - plus a few wall lights. We very rarely have *all* of the downlighters on at the same time.

I think 4 will be fine for you, particularly if you supplement them with a few wall lights.

One thing you haven't mentioned - joist positions! The installation instructions which came with my downlighters specified that no part of the lamp must be less than 50mm away from the nearest joist. This might limit your options! [It presented me with a particular challenge, because the joists at one end of my lounge at at right angles to those at the other end!]

[m Ransley]

200 watts isnt much light

[SQLit]

I had a larger area and was faced with the same problem. I decided on wall washers 2 feet out from the walls. 2 on the fire place, 4 arranged along the wall with the window and the adjoining wall. and 2 down lights over the couch area. I used 100 CF's switched each set separately. I could turn on what I needed or all at once. I used the pair over the fireplace for watching TV and the 4 lighted up some of my movie posters. The pair over the couch was for reading and I rarely used them.

Trying for general lighting with cans is pretty hard. If your going to put up some art, pictures, etc I would light them and leave the center of the room alone. I like indirect lighting. So bouncing light off the walls into the room is attractive to me. good luck with your project

[nightjar]

If you don't like them once they are installed, it would not be too difficult to replace them with larger diameter downlighters, using low energy or PAR 38 lamps, which can give more light and which will almost certainly give a wider spread of light.

Colin Bignell

[Adam Aglionby]

But you missed units, guessing feet, and importantly height

Get your electrician to add a seperate lighting circuit round wall`s, dimmer, at light switch position, wired to 5A sockets is common.

As a picture light, guessing, so any additional arrangement has to include this

Here being? Im posting from sci.engr.lighting.

200W sounds good. Again personal taste but 5 or even 6 split over 2 circuits adds versatility, think pentangle and hexagonal with the lights on the points.

Use a dimmer and pull cable round walls for table lamp circuit also on dimmer. 2 or 3 circuits in one room,sounds excessive but is suprisingly useful, even to technophobes... Let us know how you get on

Adam

[Adam Aglionby]

Personally not fond of fluro downlighters in a realaxation area, your milegae may vary.

At the expense, literally, of more power and lowered effiency,PAR 38 even in econo flavour is 80W, a 50W 12V lamp will provide as much light at a slightly higher colour temperature.

PAR 38`s really are outdated nowadays.

Bigger lamp and filament will give a wider spread, but the mains voltage MR16`s also give a pleasingly wide spread due to the big filament, there tendency to pop like pop corn is not their most endearing feature.

Good quality LV lamps in flood format will have a diffusing lens sealed on the front.

Adam

[N. Thornton]

sounds about right. I dont recommend these things, but thats about the right amount. Table lamps fill in well.

I would suggest switching them separately, it makes for much more comfortable lighting.

Regards, NT

[Daniel J. Stern]

I've seen MRC16s (so-called "classified" lamps) with clear cover lenses sealed on, but never with optic lenses.

DS

[SPC]

Thanks for all the advice.

Went for the four, waiting for night to fall so I can see the results. Fingers crossed!

SPC