How far do downlight cans affect lamp life?

[Alla Musica]

Looking through the fire-rated downlights out there on the market, Integral Evofire claims its canless design would let the heat off and hence optimize lamp performance and life. On the other hand, the JCC Fireguard, albeit also rated for LEDs only, ironically, still comes with a matt black steel can and barely any holes for heat to escape.

If we stick to quality light bulbs, in practice, how far would the metal can affect the lamp please? Or, does the can make a significant difference at all? Excuse me if I'm too picky...

 

[littlespark]

I think you may be looking at this the wrong way.

“Fire Rated” means that if a fire was to start in the room below, the fitting would survive for 30 minutes or whatever it is before the fire would spread to the floor above.

An open bezel, with only a lamp in place has no fitted rating at all… there’s a gap between lamp and housing that would allow smoke or fire through.

Fire Rated usually means they have a sealed bezel against the ceiling that stops that spread, with or without a can.


The holes in a can, or heat loss fins on a fitting are there to allow heat from the lamp to escape… which are no good if the fitting is covered in insulation.
Less needed now with LED than burning hot halogen.
These type are not always fire rated, but most are, and ip rated now.

It’s the build up of heat within a fitting that can reduce its lifespan… holes in the van will be designed in such a way as to release enough heat into the ceiling void… just as much as canless.

Again though…. It’s pointless if covered with insulation.

 

[Alla Musica]

It’s the build up of heat within a fitting that can reduce its lifespan… holes in the van will be designed in such a way as to release enough heat into the ceiling void… just as much as canless.

Thanks for this - so in practice it doesn't matter too much and I don't have to worry? (Take the JCC Fireguard - it has a can which has two holes on the side and opposite each other, rather than on the top)

 

[littlespark]

No… it doesn’t matter. As long as they are good quality, known branded fittings… they will be designed to expel excessive heat effectively.

 

[Alla Musica]

No… it doesn’t matter. As long as they are good quality, known branded fittings… they will be designed to expel excessive heat effectively.

Thanks... I'll go with the JCC then!

 

[davesparks]

The GU10 lamp shape was designed for halogen lamps which require a certain amount of heat to be retained to operate correctly.
LEDs and their associated electronics need to be kept as cool as possible to achieve the best performance and lifespan.

A good quality integrated LED fitting will be designed for good thermal management and will outperform anything which is squeezing LEDs into older technology fittings.

 

[Alla Musica]

The GU10 lamp shape was designed for halogen lamps which require a certain amount of heat to be retained to operate correctly.
LEDs and their associated electronics need to be kept as cool as possible to achieve the best performance and lifespan.

A good quality integrated LED fitting will be designed for good thermal management and will outperform anything which is squeezing LEDs into older technology fittings.

I really got your point here. Just however in the event of an integrated downlight failing and it has been discontinued, I would end up with an aesthetic mismatch!

 

[mhar]

The Evofire downlights you refer to don't have anything enclosing them so one would assume that they are good for heat dissipation. There is a version that is insulation coverable which has a skeletal metal frame over to lift rockwool type insulation off the lamp. Some GU10 downlights achieve their fire rating by intumescant naterial which expands with heat to seal gaps and stop the fire and smoke spreading, the Evofire are slightly different in that they achieve their fire rating by having the GU10 lamp sitting on glass so their are no gaps for fire or smoke to escape through and their intumescent strip is between the bezel and the ceiling.
I do like their very low profile and use them a lot especially now the supplied connector is easier to wire. However, if you need a lot of light you can't beat the output from an integrated fitting.
To avoid an 'aesthetic mismatch' with integrated fittings buy one or two extra and keep them in a drawer. However as technology improves you may wish to upgrade anyway, 10 years ago 100 lumens per circuit Watt was considered impressive, nowadays we are at 150 lumens

 

[Alla Musica]

I do like their very low profile and use them a lot especially now the supplied connector is easier to wire.

I personally have two Integral Evofire Recessed (low-glare) on trial at home outside the UK; just realized they were, however, made of steel. The JCC Fireguard, on the other hand, has no exposed steel/iron, but an aluminum bezel, so might stand longer against sea atmosphere.

as technology improves you may wish to upgrade anyway

Exactly - in China, non-integrated downlights have been almost entirely discontinued! Still available online but either as overstock or poor-quality make. That's why I'm sourcing them from the UK!