Stefek Zaba wrote | > With regards to cable/circuit ratings, under the regulations *each* | > downlighter will be assumed to be 100W minimum (or actual loading | > if greater) and you should check that you will not be overloading | > the existing circuit. | I'm pretty sure this is not the case: the intent of the Regs would | surely be to say "anywhere a mumpty might put in an ordinary bulb, you | have to allow for mumpty favouring 100W bulbs", which is fair enough. | But if you have a lighting point whch takes non-ordinary-bulbs, you | surely assess the load based on - at very worst - the biggest-load | bulb available for that fitting; so, 20W for diddy-capsule halogens, | 50W for bigger-size reflector ones, 11W for PL11D flourescents, and | so on. No?
I think not (for mains fittings), because there is always the possibility that someone replaces the low-energy Part L compliant fitting with a standard bayonet battenholder and sticks in a 150W GLS lamp.
| Likewise if the transformer you fit limits the load (so | that even if mumpty replaces 20W bulbs with 50W ones there won't | be a sustained overload, as the transformer will shut down or have | its fuses blow), it's reasonable to rate the load according to the | maximum the transformer will draw, not some mythical 100W-per- | ligthing-point...
In a transformer case I agree and would regard the transformer as being the 'point' rather than the number of lamps it supplies, as the transformer signifies the end of the mains wiring. So a transformer feeding 6 x 50W lamps is considered to be a 300W point load rather than 600W across multiple points.
You can stop sucking your verucca now :-)
Owain