Downlights for your own home

[jackhammerJIM]

Lads I'm approaching second fix stage on my own home but can't for the life of me decide which down lights to fit .

I got carried away and first fixed for every room in the house including the landing .

I would love to fit photonstar throughout but have been Quoted £40 for eco 600 and £80 for eco 900 . Cannot afford this .

I usually fit integral low profile
If it was your house what would you fit ???

 

[Andy78]

I have fitted KSR QR10 in my house. Same product I use for my customers.

 

[Lip.82]

Ansell do a wide range at affordable prices

 

[Octopus]

JCC in our house, and my favourite for customers ...

 

[Deleted member 9648]

Collingwood H2 pro's.

 

[Leesparkykent]

Collingwood H2 lite.

 

[Rpa07]

Going to start converting mine from 1990s downlights with R50 SES to Amitex Centurians as the cutout is the same and the centurions are colour (white) adjusting and dimming by remote - they look a whole lot more up to date than those golfball downlights there now. Seemed a good idea at the time!
Wholesaler has had no returns from multiple hundreds sold and I’ve fitted on a customers house and was taken by them.
On the other hand if I had a brand new ceiling I would fit Ansell.

 

[Sparkie30]

SOLO All In One 10w LED Dimmable Downlight
Fitted these in my house so far so good.

 

[mydigitalhome]

Suggest having a look at Orluna.com suggest Curve range at reasonable price yet still looks premium. Remember don't guess quantities for a room. Check it via Relux or similar or seek help as you often can save on number of fittings, by buying better quality. Design it right and enjoy a better install.

 

[Resu]

Ansell Orbios

 

[Rocboni]

First time I've heard Photonstar being mentioned on here, I use to deal a lot with them, not with downlights but other led products, I've been down to there base in Southampton where they do most of the development, think they have a factory in wales where production takes place. The very early stuff was awful and has not aged well, they have discoloured to either a very yellow or green light output, but this was just when LED's were new. I'm surprised they are still going as the products are very pricey for what they are.

 

[charlie76]

I fit Aurora's fire rated and insulation coverable for my own home and customers. Good solid can and can roll your insulation over the top in your loft. Bezels are separate in various colours. I find them nice and easy to fit and they pull up nice and tight to the ceiling. They also do an IP65 fire rated insulation coverable in the same range...

Aurora Universal Compact Fix Fire Rated Downlight Can AU-UNIF861 | RS Electrical Supplies - https://www.rselectricalsupplies.co.uk/aurora-universal-compact-fix-fire-rated-downlight-can-auunif861_5312?gclid=CjwKCAjw-NXPBRB4EiwAVNRLKv02CHlslf2yrnIQdkarw-EDvotIwTIdSZtZO8Pq0MlMChce9yYtuBoCRGoQAvD_BwE

 

[jackhammerJIM]

Suggest having a look at Orluna.com suggest Curve range at reasonable price yet still looks premium. Remember don't guess quantities for a room. Check it via Relux or similar or seek help as you often can save on number of fittings, by buying better quality. Design it right and enjoy a better install.

£55 a fitting ouch !

 

[1Justin]

I wouldn't want downlights in my house! The British have a love affair with them though. I fit plenty for customers.
I've found Aurora to be nice, didn't much like Ansell (Orbio), was underwhelmed by JCC Hybrid 9. Numerous cheapo brands, have been sometimes OK, sometimes not nice, but suits low budgets.
I have fitted quite a few Photonstars (yes, ££) and they all perfomed very well.
I'd seriously consider going back to open backed (allowing cooling for the bulbs - which is critical) GU10 fittings. eg Integral Evofire or Ansell icage. Not quite as bright, but very good 500 Lumen broad beamwidth bulbs are available for £7-10 each, and you could then swap to others as stuff improves (high CRI, different colour temp or home automation options).
I've also had early-life failures in several top-branded integrated lamps, a pain to return, but OK only if it happens when the matching lamp style is still on sale.

 

[jackhammerJIM]

What lighting would go in your kitchen then ?

completely agree on the jcc hybrid . I installed some last month and thought they were awful . all the hype for an oversized gu10 lamp in a £5 can .

Not had many gu10 leds fail in 5 years of installation . All in fire rated cans

Its the CRI part that gets me nothing on the market in the £20 range with a CRI over 80

 

[1Justin]

What lighting would go in your kitchen then ?

completely agree on the jcc hybrid . I installed some last month and thought they were awful . all the hype for an oversized gu10 lamp in a £5 can .

Not had many gu10 leds fail in 5 years of installation . All in fire rated cans

Its the CRI part that gets me nothing on the market in the £20 range with a CRI over 80

In my kitchen we have a number of porcelain shade pendants over work surfaces, and a few similar style onset spots (Original BTC, too expensive to buy new, so sourced variously on ebay) .
Another huge benefit (for kitchen extensions) is no break of the vapor barrier or insulation in the ceiling.
High CRI are expensive. Soraa seem to do them. My last recent round or research I spotted these (Google Crompton LED GU10 7W CRI PLUS >95 3000K or Integral High CRI 95 GU10 LED) which potentially both look good, only ~350Lm , but haven't ever tried either

 

[telectrix]

tried all of them fancy makes. not one of them will work. could it be that the gas supply to the fittings is microbore and needs larger pipes?

 

[jackhammerJIM]

Ive just finished a restaurant utilising soraa Gu10s for their 10 degree beam angle . Decent stuff but too expensive for my home

 

[Briggs69]

En lite e8 all the way.fitted hundreds and never been let down yet.great fitting.