Bathroom downlights: where to buy and how much....

W.B. Yeats

Folks

Am getting the bathrooms renovated and am going with down lights in 2 of them.
Looking at 4 or 5 in the main and 3 in the ensuite (including a downlight extractor fan unit.... never knew such a thing existed)

Looking for some recommendations of where I might source them in Dublin and likely costs-
I have already looked in B&Q - they seemed only to have their own range and I thought they were expensive..... €15 per unit which didn't include an individual transformer €18 which I believe I need for each downlight

So where else should I look and how much should they be costing me?

Thanks

indie armada

you could buy an ip rated low voltage downlighter kit. most common finishes are white, brass, polished chrome and brushed chrome. kit includes fitting, traffo and lamp. depending on brand should cost between 10-14 euro in most good electrical wholesalers.

W.B. Yeats

Presuming some of the electrical suppliers listed in the sticky at the top should be able to help?

indie armada

gimme a rough location of where you are and ill try point you in the right direction.

paddy147

indie armada wrote: »

you could buy an ip rated low voltage downlighter kit. most common finishes are white, brass, polished chrome and brushed chrome. kit includes fitting, traffo and lamp. depending on brand should cost between 10-14 euro in most good electrical wholesalers.

Are these kits a GU10 bulb fitment?

Thanks.:)

indie armada

paddy147 wrote: »

Are these kits a GU10 bulb fitment?

Thanks.:)

no they are low voltage. the term kit applies to the traffo, lamp, lamp holder and the chassis pre wired, as opposed to buying the lamp, traffo and chassis seperate and having to wire the fitting to the traffo.
it only takes a minute or two to wire up the traffo but if you have 20 to do in one room then its handier. also its usually cheaper to buy the kits.

with gu-10(mains) there is no traffo so they dont usually come in kit form.
however they do come in an ip rated form for use in bathrooms.

spectrum do an ip rated fitting that comes with both low voltage and gu-10 lamp holders. most wholesalers keep their gear and the box would have litetron on it

W.B. Yeats

Not sure if I got the right stuff but went to Eurosales in Sandyford and got the downlight, the traffo and a coffin box for each one.
they were decent to deal with
Thanks all for the help

indie armada

the lads in eurosales are dead on. did you tell them that the fittings are for a bathroom? the box should say ip55 or ip65.

M cebee

i think gu-1o 'led' would have been better option

indie armada

M cebee wrote: »

i think gu-1o 'led' would have been better option

eurosales are a phillips agent so shouldnt have a problem getting a 12v led retro fit lamp to suit the fitting the op has bought.

paddy147

indie armada wrote: »

eurosales are a phillips agent so shouldnt have a problem getting a 12v led retro fit lamp to suit the fitting the op has bought.

11 euro plus vat from Eurosales.

Warm White and Fully dimmable too.:D

W.B. Yeats

indie armada wrote: »

the lads in eurosales are dead on. did you tell them that the fittings are for a bathroom? the box should say ip55 or ip65.

Spoke to a chap in Eurosales on the phone before I went over and he was sound enough, seemed to give me a decent steer. The downlights are all IP65-think they are Robus- (I'm downstairs and the boxes are upstairs) its amazing what you learn from having two or three quick telephone conversations!

M cebee

indie armada wrote: »

eurosales are a phillips agent so shouldnt have a problem getting a 12v led retro fit lamp to suit the fitting the op has bought.

haven't used any 12v led


the electronic trafos will have a minimum load anyhow(about 20w)

indie armada

M cebee wrote: »

haven't used any 12v led


the electronic trafos will have a minimum load anyhow(about 20w)

this seems to be the case with these, the minimum load on the traffo causes problems if you only have one lamp per traffo.

arse..biscuits

I put downlights in my bathroom and regretted it. I dont think the downward flow of light works well when you're looking in the mirror. I'd recommend adding a wall light near the mirror.

M cebee

indie armada wrote: »

this seems to be the case with these, the minimum load on the traffo causes problems if you only have one lamp per traffo.

you can parallel a few leds on an electronic trafo i suppose

but then at a later stage if they swop out a few leds for halogen there's a problem

wouldn't matter for DIY