Fire rated spots

[Cj24]

I install fire rated downlighters in every room in houses now but are they mainly for certain places such as in where there is a smaller void such as downstairs due to the smaller gap between obv the ceiling and the floor above, rather then upstairs where u have much bigger area being the loft

 

[stuart569]

They are to maintain the integrity of a fire rated ceiling. Like in between flats

 

[Cj24]

Do u not fit them as standard everywhere then

 

[sparky692]

I put them in all the time. .

 

[stuart569]

No they are far more expensive and whats the point?

 

[GaryM]

We only fit fire-rated fittings too - £6 + VAT for a JCC fitting isn't bad at all.

 

[SirKit Breaker]

No they are far more expensive and whats the point?

They are very cheap these days. I used to fit them as a matter of course. They only cost £2 more than a crappy flimsy non fire rated one, and it takes away the doubt about whether they should be fire rated or not.

The fire rating is to maintain the integrity of the 30 minute, 60 minute or 90 minute fire rating of the ceiling you are cutting into, and they must also meet the requirement for acoustic rating as well, its a building reg thing.

Fit a non fire rated into a HMO and watch the stih hit the fan when the 3 yearly check comes around!

Cheers..........Howard

 

[stuart569]

I thought they were allot dearer than that.Must of came down in price. Whats an HMO?

 

[GaryM]

Whats an HMO?

Houses in Multiple Occupation?

 

[needasparks]

Same here, always fit fire rated. IMO its the difference between a diy job and a professional job. its only a few quid more which goes on the job. but its not only about fire rating its also the soundproofing. TBH i never touch the jcc ones (sorry)after going back to them cooking up all the time as you can only use heat reflectered lamps in them and joe public cant tell the differenc e so i always use aurora which come with lamps and take any type of lamp.

 

[Richard Burns]

Fire rated downlighters DO NOT stop fires at downlights they stop fires in one area from progressing into other areas; you are maintaining the fire resistance of the existing partition.
Theoretically they are only required if you are installing them in a fire compartment as Stuart says, they will then stop a fire in one area from spreading to another.

If you fit a downlighter in the lounge and the lounge door, stairs and bedroom door are open then preventing a fire going through the plasterboard ceiling would be irrelevant.

The recommendation is to fit Fire rated downlighters in all situations, however it is not required.

 

[GaryM]

Downlighters and fire safety : Electrical Safety Council

 

[needasparks]

Did i miss a post ? where did the fire IN a fitting come from.

 

[Richard Burns]

smaller void such as downstairs due to the smaller gap between obv the ceiling and the floor above

Sorry, just going by the above it was indicating that the space available around a downlight was the problem. I did not mean fires in downlighters I meant fires caused by the heat of downlights which fire rated do nothing to help.

 

[GaryM]

I've not come across a ground floor ceiling with an upstairs that couldn't take a fire-rated downlight due to limitations on available height.

 

[stuart569]

Just as a matter of interest are the areas of clearance around the fire rated down-lights the same as non fire rated?

 

[dingledong]

its the difference between a diy job and a professional job hmmm rather snooty i must say 'i follow the regs am in nicy and i dont fit them very often at all and i'm not breaking any regs at all and i'm a professional
sir

also changing lamps in them can be very hard

 

[GaryM]

What difficulties have you experienced when changing lamps?
We always fit twist lock (apart from bathrooms of course) and they're a doodle for lamp changes.

 

[telectrix]

providing you can get the lamp out far enough to get hold of it to twist it out/in. and those suckers they provide with some fittings. what a bloody joke. water sticks to a cliff face better.

 

[GaryM]

The fittings we use don't have fixed lampholders so I see how that can be a problem.

 

[dingledong]

the wires of the lamp holder go through the fitting and so the lamps wont fall out when you release the ring and when you put them back they can sit wrong cos the cable does not go out of the fitting

 

[telectrix]

and the heat dissipation is far worse than on non fire rated. i had to replace 6 in a house last week as the lampholder connectors had all suffered from overheating and had broken down.

 

[Mr.Ian]

Ok, i've got a ceiling full of these in a bungalow (no room above just loft) they are non fire rated as they were fitted a while ago, what do you people recon - add fire shrouds or not ? I did make a plasterboard box as a trial to use as a cover to sit over the lamp in the loft to keep the fire barrier intact but when I tried it to me it got too warm. So buy new fire rated fittings ? buy fire shrouds (do they not trap heat too? or just leave open obviously with loft insulation held back (although in doing that you' get dust n dirt through the fitting) . I really wish these hadn't been fitted !!!!! give me a pendant drop and a bulb anyday - LOL

 

[dingledong]

you dont have to fit shrouds if you dont want to . though i have seen a failed certificate and one of the reasons it failed was no fire hoods ???????????????