Downlights – 5 Reasons to Think Again

DownlightDownlights are very popular and can give dramatic light effects so you seem them a lot in show houses, and shops ……but I won’t  have them again.

A but harsh? . . . . here are my reasons why.

  1. The dramatic effect means that the light from each fitting is fairly limited in area so you need lots of them.
  2. The cost of each individual unit, including installation is high. With four – six in small rooms and ten or more in large rooms the cost really starts to add up.
  3. Because the light is directed down you don’t get much reflected light of the walls and none on the ceiling resulting in a very uneven light, not what you need for reading or general household tasks.
  4. Because the down lights run hot its dangerous to cover them in insulation which means that the effectiveness of your insulation is reduced. See what this ‘Building Expert‘ has found.
  5. Changing bulbs can be really fiddly and exasperating, especially with some of the cheaper fittings. Not good when you are working off a ladder.

Now LED downlights are common these are better than the old incandescent so if you love your existing downlights It could be worth upgrading to LEDs.

Here is a comparison of costs; A typical room will need at least 6 down lights at $100 each including installation, Total $600 and using around 50W. Compare this against a single $50 LED bulb on an oyster fitting costing $50 and using 15W.


For similar posts see Electrical

1 Comment

  1. Alan Weston

    And if the downlight is hard wired, when they fail (and they do) you will need an electrician to replace them.
    If they have a separate transformer for each light, when the transformer fails (and it will) you will need an electrician to change it.
    This can become real expensive needing an electrician each time a light fails.
    GU10s are self-contained 240volt led downlights and are easily changed.
    Even better are self contained ones with a 3 pin 240v plug, when it fails (…and it will) just unplug it and plug in a new one.

Comments are closed.