Experts on downlights! plz help! we have 2 story house. =/

[kiMMii]

Hey guys i was wondering if you guys could help me, we have a 2 story house. And i dont think we can access the roof in the bottom floor. This is the living room/kitchen area. I bought some track lighting that goes straight to mains, but on the downlights. Should i just get the ones without the transformers? is there anything wrong with getting ones without transformers? 240v ones? can someone tell me what the transformers are used for? thanks alot

[ozwinner]

Hey guys i was wondering if you guys could help me, we have a 2 story house. And i dont think we can access the roof in the bottom floor. This is the living room/kitchen area. I bought some track lighting that goes straight to mains, but on the downlights. Should i just get the ones without the transformers? is there anything wrong with getting ones without transformers? 240v ones? can someone tell me what the transformers are used for? thanks alot

Hi
There is no problem with getting the 240v ones, we have them in the kitchen.
The low voltage lights are less efficient in power usage as the transformer uses power which isnt turned into lighting.

Al

[kiMMii]

Hi
There is no problem with getting the 240v ones, we have them in the kitchen.
The low voltage lights are less efficient in power usage as the transformer uses power which isnt turned into lighting.

Al

Hey Al thanks so much for your help. I was also wondering do you know if there is a difference in the lighting? someone told me the ones with transformers look better. More crisp they say.

[ozwinner]

Hey Al thanks so much for your help. I was also wondering do you know if there is a difference in the lighting? someone told me the ones with transformers look better. More crisp they say.

Not really sure on that one, I thought a Watt of power was a Watt.

Al

[thatirwinfella]

if you go to a lighting display store you will see the lights doing what they do best and you will be able to compare different types quickly and easily. you may even be able to compare different globe types in the same light.

then, buy the lights you want and give these to your electrician.

[null & void]

is there anything wrong with getting ones without transformers?

The 240V lamps have thinner wire inside them. Vibrations from people walking above them may cause them to fail prematurely. Use electronic transformers as they don't run hot. Make sure you can remove them for serving if you need to - the lamp holders and cabling can fail.

Wire the transformers on flexible leads and plug them into the mains off Clipsal 413 outlets. If a tranny fails you just have to disconnect it and plug in a new one.

[thatirwinfella]

The 240V lamps have thinner wire inside them. Vibrations from people walking above them may cause them to fail prematurely.

the wire size is smaller because a 240v downlight generally carries less current [and also produces less heat] and if installed properly than vibrations from the floor above will be highly unlikely to affect the lights.

[spartan]

I've been installing a lot of 240V low energy downlights of late. They are typically, 7 -11Watts, last a long time and provide good lighting. They are cheep to run and are good for the environment.

On the negative side they are more expensive about $19 - but they pay for themselves with lower power costs and longer bulb life. Dimming is also problematic.

The low energy options in 12V downlights are LED, which are not really an option at this stage.

[SilentButDeadly]

.....They are cheep to run and are good for the environment.

No wonder they aren't more popular

I've got a house full of them and it staggers me that people are still using those stupid 12v transformer things.

We went from 240 watts of light to just 24 watts in just one bedroom let alone the rest of the place.

[pawnhead]

On the negative side they are more expensive about $19 - but they pay for themselves with lower power costs and longer bulb life. Dimming is also problematic.

Mine cost less than $8 each at Bunnies. It's the same as they were asking for low voltage with trannies.
Glad to hear that you guys reckon they're better. My sparky mate reckons they're not as good, though I didn't ask him why. I'll have to see what he says when he finally gets here to hook them up for me. I've been tempted to do it myself since I've been waiting a couple of months now, but I've known him since we were kids and he's doing it for a slab of beer so I can't really complain.

[SilentButDeadly]

Careful.....they are good but they are not the same as quartz halogen lights (whether 12V or 240V). They perform differently (they still have to warm up so the light starts dim and intensifies) and they have very wide light fields (so they aren't as 'spotlighty' as QH).

As a result, you may find that if you are retrofitting from QH then the lighting arrangement may not be as suitable....especially if you are using them in an open sided area. In a closed in room (like a bedroom) they are marvellous but in a kitchen with high spotlights over work areas then a single light or two won't light the whole room nore will they light up the work area as strongly as with QH. Despite this....you don't generally need more - you just have to use them smartly. Design is the key.

[kiMMii]

Thanks alot for your help guys, have been very helpful and got some good advice. We went with the tracklighting instead, it looks really good we are happy with it. I dont think we are going with downlights anymore. Seems to be alot of work just to take the bulb out of the ceiling. I think only for the bedrooms will we use some downlights.

My dad wants the energy saver bulbs later on because our bill has been so high lately. Im just afraid it wont have the same ambient as the halogen bulbs.

Anyways the lights make our house so much more modern, i think tracklighting works great. Very easy to install no hassles