Some advice please. I have recently moved into a bungalow and the previous owners must have got hold of a job lot of halogen ceiling lights, there are 52 of them and they're all cut into the loft space! I need to increase the loft insulation which is currently only about 100mm! What do I do about allowing air space around all these fittings? Thank you
Crikey that's some amount, you could upgrade them for fire rated but that would be costly, are they low voltage (with a transformer) or GU 10 (mains) ?
Thank midnightcowboy, but being an "old fogey" I'm unsure!!!! Can you give me an idea (there is a small box fitting to the side of each one.) Thanks
Crispin, any downlighter (230v or ELV) should not have insulation over it full stop. If you do it will over heat and ferk up. They should all have These over them and then the insulation can go over the top. 52 x £7.33 = £381.16! :'(
Ok then, they're low voltage, which actually makes little difference as regards the amount of airspace needed around them. Leave an absolute minimum of 75mm free space on each side and you'll be ok. You can make up some boxes from plasterboard off-cuts to keep the insulation at bay. Remember the hotter your lamps get while in use, the shorter their life expectancy. Lack of adequate ventilation is the main reason so many people complain about these lamps popping prematurely.
Just because there's a small box to the side of each one doesnt mean they are low voltage. Some downlighters have a small connector block thingy to the side for the mains wiring.
the side for the mains wiring. Yep, fair point. Either way though, it doesn;t affect the advice on leaving adequately ventilated area around the fitting
"Crispin, any downlighter (230v or ELV) should not have insulation over it full stop." Siney, the reason I asked the OP of the type, was in case there were trannies involved, to stop these getting covered also.
I saw somebody put terracotta flower pots over them once (?!) - doesn't give any reliable fire resistance, but then that's not an issue in the loft - you just need to give them an airflow space and keep them away from anything which might burst into flames. The pots did achieve this and were I guess much cheaper than the fire hoods and less work than making up plasterboard boxes. But as per the previous post, don't forget about the transformers if there are any.
My thanks to everybody for their input! It's great to have your interest and support. I'm now deciding which route to go down and although it would be "nice" to have the correct kit, the amount I'd need to fork out is prohibitiver, so i'm considering the other options. My thanks again
My thanks to everybody for their input! It's great to have your interest and support. I'm now deciding which route to go down and although it would be "nice" to have the correct kit, the amount I'd need to fork out is prohibitiver, so i'm considering the other options. My thanks again
I would either go for the plasterboard box route, or here's an idea. Remove all the insulation from the loft, board it out then relay with new rockwool insulation over the boarding out!