Downlighter advice req. Mains or LV? How many?

[Dave]

Planning on fitting some downlighters in the kitchen and hallway ceilings. Kitchen is 3.25m x 2.20m (worktop in a U-shape, wallunits on two walls) and hallway is L-shaped - 2.45m x 1.85m with 0.90m x 0.95m taken off one corner. Not worried about the ability to dim them, just want to switch them on and off. Our ceilings are quite low (2.3m) so I have a feeling we would need need a number of downlights spaced out around the areas involved to ensure that the light produced is evenly spread out. Was thinking about having three downlights in the hallway and four/five downlights in the kitchen (all with wide beam bulbs).

Looking for recommendations on whether to use mains voltage (240v) lights or low voltage (12v) lights and also depending on the type used how many would be required to sufficiently light the areas without casting lots of shadows. At the minute I am swaying towards LV ones.

Plus point I have for the mains downlighters is that they are easier to wire up but on the down side they have a high wattage - 50W or 35W. I am also led to believe the bulbs don't last as long as LV ones.

Plus points I have for the low voltage downlighters is that the bulbs last longer and are more energy efficient. I am also told they give off a whiter light. On the downside these may be a 'little' harder to wire up, and a transformer needs to be used, but this shouldn't be too hard in my case as the floorboards are already up in the rooms above. The trouble I have with the LV lights is that I haven't got a clue how much light they produce!

Any advice welcomed.

Dave

[Richard Porter]

Get the Panasonic mains flourescent reflector bulbs in downlighters.

80mm size, 20w, protrude enough to give a spread of light rather than a small pool on the floor.

[Christian McArdle]

If you must install halogen downlighters, then install LV. Mains ones are an environmental catastrophe, whilst LV ones are only an environmental disaster.

Christian.

[N. Thornton]

same deal financially as well. Cost of fittings is generally very small compared to run cost with multibulb halogen setups.

And if you can, put them on 2 switches so you can select 3 different brightness levels. Much more comfortable, and costs less too.

Mains bulbs cost more, dont last as long, break more easily, and are less efficient.

NT

[Gayton]

[quote="Christian McArdle

If you must install halogen downlighters, then install LV. Mains ones are an environmental catastrophe, whilst LV ones are only an environmental disaster.

Christian.[/quote]

I though halogen lights used far less electricity compared to normal lights.

[Rob Morley]

They just produce a bit more light than conventional incandescents because they can run hotter without burning out.

[Andrew Gabriel]

They can be manufactured to either be _slightly_ more efficient, or to last longer.

The very low efficiency here comes from using the wrong light for the wrong application. They are useless for general lighting, which is what people commonly use them for, so you'll see people make comments like needing 300W to light up a small bathroom, which would probably be brighter with a conventional 100W lamp, except for the half a dozen floor tiles right under the downlighters which are being used as a reflector to light up the rest of the room.

So whilst halogen lamps are _slightly_ more efficient, using halogen downlighters for general lighting is extremely inefficient.

The correct use for such lamps would be for task lighting or accent lighting (lighting a flower display, or a varse, or similar). In such a case, the main general lighting would be provided by something more suitable. Another example where they might provide general lighting would be when deployed as wall-washers, with the wall being a bright colour to act as a soft reflector.

[Marcus Foreman]

(Snip)

Where is it possible to find these bulbs - the Panasonic site has no mention of lighting.