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C

cowsheds

Hi All,

I have been reading posts here and still have questions. I have a new house being built by a developer to be completed in March, we want spot lights in but am unsure to work out how many are required.

We have room sizes of:


  • Lounge - 4390mm x 6200mm / 14'5'' x 20'4''
  • Kitchen / Diner - 3480mm x 6200mm / 11'5'' x 20'4''
  • W.C - 1870mm x 1960mm / 6'2'' x 6'5''
  • Small Utility and Hallway
  • Bathroom - 2260mm x 2200mm x 7'5'' x 7'3''
Is there a calculation we can use to get an idea of how many spots at what power (LED bulbs) we would need?

Also the developer is asking for £50 a spot light fitted, is this a good price? I am still waiting to see what spot lights and bulbs are going in, its a very "efficient, energy saving" home so i presume they would be LED bulbs as the ones on the outside of the house are.

Any help or assistance is much appreciated, once i know how many spot lights i roughly need i can get quotes from others to see what is the most cost effective way.

Thanks.
 
Lounge - 12
Kitchen - 10
WC - 2
Bathroom - 4

Bit of a guess tbh, it's just experience really maybe have a go over the plans with an electrician. Calculations would vary greatly due to type of fitting, type of lamp, height of ceiling to name a few! Not really as necessary in a domestic environment. LED would definately be the way to go and probably necessary with minimum of 75% of light fittings needing to be low energy for new builds.

Not sure on price quoted, depends on your area and fitting/lamp combo. Bear in mind you could be paying around £25 for a fitting and lamp and there is a bit more labour involved in wiring downlights over a conventional pendant.
 
Last edited:
For £50 per point you are probably getting a cheap "led" solution.

I'd ask him to confirm the make and model before you proceed.

And if you end up with 12 in a room you should consider splitting the circuit as not all dimmers like dimming so many lights - best you enter into a direct dialogue with the sparky doing the work.
 
There's also two routes to go with the LEDs. A conventional gu10 fitting with a retro fitted LED bulb or a dedicated led fitting. There's some good led fittings out on the market, however they may be pricer than the latter but many of them offer 5+ year guarantees etc and in my opinion they are the better option to choose.
 
To answer your question, this website explains the calculation.

However I like to do things slightly differently:
I'd try to keep the pattern of lights on the ceiling similar to the shape of the room, eg for a small square room a block of 2x2, or for a larger room maybe a block of 3x3 or even 4x4.
Then there's the height of the ceiling vs beam angle - if the ceilings are low or the beam angle narrow, you'll end up with a dark room with little bright spots on the floor, which isn't much use unless that's the look you're going for.
Likewise since all the light will be very specifically directed downwards you'll get the 'beam me up' effect where only the topward facing surfaces of anything or anyone will be lit, with everything else in shadow. Again, fine if that's the effect you're looking for.

You might want to consider mixing up the lighting styles a bit, such as complimenting the downlighters with wall lights, table lights, picture lights, or accent lighting such as wall washers or LED tape, or you could just dismiss everything I've suggested and crack on.
 
Lounge - 12
Kitchen - 10
WC - 2
Bathroom - 4

Bit of a guess tbh, it's just experience really maybe have a go over the plans with an electrician. Calculations would vary greatly due to type of fitting, type of lamp, height of ceiling to name a few! Not really as necessary in a domestic environment. LED would definately be the way to go and probably necessary with minimum of 75% of light fittings needing to be low energy for new builds.

Not sure on price quoted, depends on your area and fitting/lamp combo. Bear in mind you could be paying around £25 for a fitting and lamp and there is a bit more labour involved in wiring downlights over a conventional pendant.
Hi How did you work this out please
 
Oh well, since this thread has been re-opened I'll just mention that the LED GU10s with 100 degree beam angle really do help to avoid darker areas in my living room. Much better than the narrower ones, but maybe not for every situation.
 
Oh well, since this thread has been re-opened I'll just mention that the LED GU10s with 100 degree beam angle really do help to avoid darker areas in my living room. Much better than the narrower ones, but maybe not for every situation.
Depends if you want to create arty effects, or just be able to see what you are doing.
For a rough calculation to see how many spots you need, calculate the diameter of the circle of light at about 1.3m from the source (if normal height ceilings), and arrange these circles so that they cover the entire floor plan of the room in question, without too many gaps.
 

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