Bathroom Downlights – Ever So Stylish
Far from being the province of the style gurus, bathroom downlights are the lynchpin of most of today’s bathroom lighting schemes. Whether you go for wide or narrow beam, downlights are perfect for the task lighting so necessary in the bathroom – and they cast lovely ambient light too.
If you’ve ever wondered how they work, they are really quite simple, comprising of lamps housed in a sealed containers. The important aspect is the seal – without it, the heat from the lamp would enter into the ceiling space, creating something of a fire risk.
In most modern downlights, installation is a simple matter of pushing the can up into a suitable sized hole in the ceiling, where it is secured by clips. The added advantage of this is that if any work needs to be done, the can may be pulled clear of the ceiling – well to the length of the cable anyway. When choosing bathroom downlights, be sure that they conform to electrical regulations, which limit the fittings that may be used in certain bathroom areas. The regulations are based on IP ratings.
You can get halogen and LED downlights, and both of these light sources are excellent for bathrooms, where accurate colour rendition of skin tones is important. Modern LED lamps also give enough brightness for ambient lighting.
If you want to have the facility to dim your bathroom lighting, mains powered halogen lights are the easiest option, although low voltage downlights can be dimmed by way of an add-on kit that is widely available. Don’t forget that dimmer switches will need to be placed outside of the bathroom.
The recommended spacing between downlights is between 6 and 7 feet and you will also need to place the lights in between joists. For this reason it is terribly easy to fall into the trap of ‘runway lighting.’ If that’s the look you’re after, all well and good, but not many people want an airport runway across their bathroom ceiling, so it’s something to be aware of. Likewise, try to place your lamps about 3 feet in from the edges of the ceiling if you don’t want to cast ugly shadows and have the lumps and bumps of your walls highlighted in all their glory.
As well as providing flexibility in your bathroom lighting, low voltage downlights will also help you keep your power bills under control. In fact, in bathroom zone 0, you are restricted to a maximum of 12 volts anyway, and, to be honest, the lower the voltage of your bathroom lighting the better. Far better, after all, to receive a 12 volt electrical shock than a 240 volt one.
As long as you take safety into consideration, it pays to be creative with your bathroom lighting schemes; bathroom downlights will allow you to play with lighting effects to your heart’s content.
Tags: bathroom down lighting, bathroom downlight, bathroom downlighters, downlights
