Retrofitting spotlights

This is much more simple if you live in a bungalow. If not upstairs floors will need to be lifted so that joists can be drilled, obviously this will be reflected in the price.

Be warned this look is a bit dated now for many.

Deleted User wrote: »

Electrician quoted "approx" €300 to do it, but has been told he can leave a messy job as I will be getting a plasterer in anyway after him (room needs plastering).

I assume that you are supplying the tack & light fittings? Still very cheap.

He won't be working 'from above' so will be, I presume, breaking lines in the ceiling.

Yup.

I get the impression (perhaps wrongly) that it's not really a difficult job, but a messy one.

Yes, I would expect so.

In relation to other lighting options, I love track lighting (like ikea's Skenninge which I have almost all over my house).

The advantage of track lighting is the ease at which the end use can change lights, add lights, move lights and remove lights after the installation is complete.

Problem with track lighting is that it can be a bit of a blindingly bright light at times

That is easy to solve. Install Philips Hue lamps into your existing light fittings. Then each can be dimmed independently to any level. In addition you will have 16 million colors to choose from. Have a look here for more people information:

https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057668794

Muahahaha wrote: »

When you say spotlights are dated what other lighting options have replaced them?

The quality of lighting design and the thought that goes into it can "make or break" a room. With lighting beauty is in the eye of the beholder, just like art. On that basis consider what I have written as an opinion, not something to argue about. Others can express their equally valid conflicting opinions.

In the seventies everyone had the lonely unimaginative pendant that just hung in the centre of the sitting room, back then we were just happy to have a light. Posh people had a large buzzing dimmer that only ever half worked. They also failed and overheated with alarming regularity.

During the eighties the wealthy elite tried to be sophisticated in their sitting rooms with a few lines of downlighters in a bland rectangle on the ceiling.

Skip forward to the Celtic Tiger years and no sitting room was complete until it had the "runway look". This is essentially a lines of halogen downlighters along the sitting room ceiling. This look was based on a number of incorrect the assumptions, such as:
1) Downlighters only "work" if the pattern was symmetrical.
2) A high level of illumination is required across the sitting room.
3) People want to watch TV while surrounded by rows of lights.
4) The illumination level would be perfect for reading.

Here are a few tips:

● The best light from a downlighter is the light that is reflected off a white (or light coloured) wall or ceiling. There is no glare, it is less harsh on the eye as the viewer can not stare into the lamp. To achieve this install downlighters close to a wall (20 cm or so) and angle them towards the wall.



● "Wash" a wall with light. This can be achieved with an LED strip light.



● Install lights where you want light, and not anywhere else. With lighting less is more so focus on quality, not quantity. And, no lighting does not have to be symmetrical.



● Table lamps can work very well in a sitting room.



● Consider installing Philips Hue lamps in light fittings that you like. Then you can set scenes, control from your phone / Google Home / Alexa, dim and select any of 16 million different colours.



.....because at an instant you can change the feel of a room just by changing the colour.



● Install lights that are 100% hidden until they are switched on. For example they could be installed along the top of a bookcase.




....or you could go for the runway :D:D

Tuco88 wrote: »

I think 2011 has shares in Phillips Hue

I'll buy the starter kit to play with, it does look cool.

Be warned they are highly addictive

Muahahaha wrote: »

I really like the strip lighting in your pics above, I had already earmarked the long shelves in the kitchen for the strip lighting treatment but now thinking that it would go well in the living room too.

You can get LED strip light on a roll like this for your shelves:



For convenience it is sticky back:

But wondering how to achieve this at the junction all along where ceiling meets wall?

You can get a thin shelf from Ikea for like this for small change. Stick the strip light to this. Warm white is my 2nd favourite. Naturally my no. 1 choice is the Philips Hue strip light:

Obviously I dont want to be looking directly at LED bulbs and need something to cover them and direct the light straight downwards onto the walls. What kind of solution is used here, is there some sort of special architraving that you get which sits a few inches out from the wall with the strip lighting in behind it? What kind of product am I looking for here?

Ikea shelf above. Or something similar.

Down with you on the Philips Hue for sure but ptice wise it isn't cheap for strip lighting. Are there any other good options which also allow automation and colour changes?

I tackled this by installing expensive Philips Hue in very areas where I really want all of the colours. For other areas I use the next best thing, Ikea's Trafri which are a fraction of the price. These use exactly the same zigbee technology so they work seamlessly with the very powerful open source Philips Hue app. As such they integrate with Google Home / Alexa. Although these lamps can't do all of the colours they can do many different shades of white including warm white, a sort of candlelight and cool white amongst many others.

For more information on smart lighting look here.

Muahahaha wrote: »

Cheers 2011. The Ikea Trafi range is pretty decent and I didn't know that it has integration with Home/Alexa which is a bonus as I reckon adjusting lights via a phone app could get tedious after a while.

Yes that would get tedious, but you are not limited to controlling lights from a phone.

These lights can be controlled by wireless lights switches, remote controls, timers, schedules, motion detectors and voice. At the press of a button multiple lights can change from one scene to another. If you wish a single button can switch off every light in the house.

Just wondering though if you used a Trafi smart wifi plug and generic strip lighting that can change colour can all functions be used via Alexa, i.e. dim, change colour, on/off, etc.

Yes.
Example with IKEA lamps in my house:
“Hey google, dim the kitchen lights to 73%”
“Hey google, turn the kitchen lights warm white”
“Hey google, lights off”

^^^ this all works. Obviously it works with Philips Hue too.

The Trafi range itself doesn't seem to have any strip lighting, Philips does but it is pricey when using several metres of it, around €35 a metre which would quickly add up.

There are ways around this. For example buy any strip lighting and connect it to a Sonoff device. It can now be switched via google home / Alexa, “manually” (by touch) or by phone app.

Also the Ikea picture ledges you linked are ideal for shading strip lighting. Would you have any ideas on the best way of securing them to the junction of the ceiling & wall?

They have fixing holes, just screw them in place.

Muahahaha wrote: »

So it is not possible to have it voice activated through Alexa?

It is possible with Alexa, I just don’t have Alexa.

When you say the lighting is adjusted by touch you mean you have to physically adjust dimming, colours on the actual Alexa device?

Sonoff switches can also be operated manually. They are on or off, that’s it. No color change, no dimming but they can switch pretty much anything for small money.

Super cheap Sonoff light switch, link.





Note: These devices require a neutral to work.

Deleted User wrote: »

I ask you, 2011, to take a quick look at this query I have?

The price and quality of light strips varies considerably. With the low quality stuff the individual LEDs fail after a short time so it gradually gets dimmer and dimmer. Someone here may be able to recommend a good brand. However,€180 sounds extortionate. How many meters are you talking about? Maybe this included a number of LED drivers + other bits & bobs?

I use Eurosales and simply ask them for high quality. From memory they charged me €3.80 per meter and it is excellent.

Deleted User wrote: »

I checked their site (eurosales.ie) and the prices there seem a bit mental.


I presume you're registered with them and get a discount or such on purchases? (I'm guessing you're an electrician?).

I am not registered, I get charged the same as anyone that isn’t bulk buying.
How mental??? More than €3.80 per m ??

Deleted User wrote: »

Roughly €24 ex vat per meter.. Unless I'm looking at two different things altogether..?

Without a doubt that is a typo. That may even be the price for 10m.
There is no way I paid anything like that, nobody would.
I suggest you ring them.