Afternoon ive Moved into a new bungalow and led downlights have been installed with insulation put over them , do these need to have some sort of hood over them ? Is there a cheaper alternative to the expensive hoods ?
I believe the led 240 volt lights don’t have to have insulation kept away from them, but I am not an electrician and will be interesting to hear what the Pro sparks say
Some led fittings can be covered with insulation, others can't. Trouble is,if fitting is a GU10, then someone might remove led lamp & a fit halogen GU10 instead.
Makes you wonder why downlights that cannot be covered with insulation are allowed to be installed in bungalows or on other ceiling directly into attics. Silly that insulation depth has to be to regs, but at each downlight no insulation
Good point. And often a job many clueless homeowners will tackle, oblivious to bulb type. If the OP knows the type of downlights, then that will give the answer to insulation query
I always thought downlights were stupid, unless on ceilings that were very low, or lower floor ceilings. There is a gap in the downlights that allows hot air to escape, so not exactly energy saving. And at as much as 50 watt each, the halogen bulbs power consumption is crazy, just for a torch like restricted beam
Was in house last week & in kitchen they had about nine downlights, huge things about 125mm diameter, with the R80 100w reflector lamps in a kitchen! They were done by previous owner, & the young couple had just bought house & these downlights were the first job on list to replace, but what surprised me was how dark my reactolite glasses went.
R80s had a narrow beam too, there was at one time an RO80 which had a much wider beam that meant less were needed to get a decent light level at head height. There are now LED versions of the R80 to which can be a quick and easy replacement.
That's how I done it with Halogens but now with led's I don't think it matters, just go over the whole lot?
If fitting is GU10, then I leave hole exposed in case,someone decides to fit halogen lamp, but something like a Halers H2 fitting, then covering completely shouldn't be a problem.