Lighting Advice for New Build

windyboy

Hi,

I am currently building a 2 storey 2800 sq ft house 4 bed ICF house my architect who is a relation has advised me to go with low voltage halogens throughout as he has yet to see an equivalent LED.

When I count the number of spots (66 on GF & 65 on FF), I am thinking it would be great to put in low energy LED's but he says the light off them is not as warm as the LV Halogens plus they are not dimmable. RE cost - He also makes the point you don't have all your lights on in the house at the same time.

I am nearing the 1st fix stage and I would like to get prices from a few electricians, but I am unsure what to specify.

One member told me he used LED GU10 spots in his build. All bulbs are 64 and 78 led - depending on how much light he wants in each place. He feels they give off about 95% the light of Halogens, yet they are only 3 or 4 watt.

Just looked at National Lighting Showrooms webpage they have a 10W dimmable LED from Robus? see link below:

http://www.nationallighting.ie/led/nlweb/pdf/0903-ROBUS-ESR-Top_Savers_IE.pdf

How do they compare cost wise to purchase?

What is the general concensus out there, should we spec recessed Halogens and wait for LED technology to improve?

Which suppliers are the best value at the minute?

With the LV Halogen there will be a transformer at each light, will retrofitting in future be easy, or are the holder fittings completely different?

Your advice would be much appreciated!

Cheers,
Windyboy

davelerave

i would go all led and cfl.
less maintenance/replacing bulbs and low energy and low heat from start.
initial outlay is higher and you may need some extra spots,
i wouldn't use any incandescents/halogens at all except for halogen sensor outside

746watts

My own preference was to avoid recessed lights coz of transformer failure in time to come. Have ordinary ceiling rose dangly lights and visitors never notice the absence of recessed lights. If you decide to fit recessed lights then I would suggest the transformers are located somewhere accessable and have adequate ventilation to keep cool (thats what kills them....overheating).

ab20

If I can make a recommendation. I used Megaman Recessed lights in my house. They are a low energy light bulb and that was 4 years ago I used them and there are some even lower voltage versions out now. I know one of my nephews showed me one there not so long ago. Anyway they might take a couple of minutes to heat up when you switch them on. (Well my ones do as they are older, but nonetheless they are still quite bright). The good thing about them too is that they do not need transformers. PM me and I will give you a link to go if you are doing renovations or building which might be helpful. Best of Luck

eoghan.geraghty

Windyboy, if you're set on using recessed lights I would advise using low energy ones in hall,landing,secondary rooms.
For your main living room where you may want to dim lights you can use IR coated halogens, giving the exact same performance but with 30% less power.
If you have good quality transformers there is no issue with them constantly failing.
Kitchens can be lit with both types, I recently lit a large kitchen extension with 12 ecopal led recessed lights and it worked well, however I would have only needed 9 halogen lights.
A good idea in your living room is to use both low energy lights and conventional ones without a dimmer. For low level lighting position the low energy lights around the room edges but switch on the more centrally located halogens when you want full brightness, this does require good planning though.
I don't recommend megaman at all, they give a pinkish light, there are better cfl's out there.

Take a look at a job I did last year

http://www.energyefficiency.ie/virtual-tour.php

windyboy

Why have you taken the pictures during the day with the curtains open?

eoghan.geraghty

Why not?

The curtains weren't fitted yet when the photos were taken.