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veer26

How Many Downlights Should I Put?

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the pink spots mark the place where i've been advised to put the downlights by the lightshop. they are 2X13W and come with frosted glass cover. the red spots on the plan above are what my ID has advised. i prefer the light shop's advise for the lbox area in the living room, but for the dining area, should I have 4 or 6 downlights. I'm already going to have a hanging light over the table that comes with 3 tungsten bulbs. TIA

 

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imo, you should stick to ur ID's suggestion. since the hanging lamp over the dining area may not be always on. and the distance being so big, the area around the dining table might be dark when the hanging lamp is off

you can prob install the 2 lamps near the dining area to a diff switch so that u have the option of off them

Edited by wolflet
 

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ID design looks more logical.

But the kitchen... err. try to avoid a centre light, cos will create bad shadow effect. Consider under cabinet lighting.

Same for bedroom, kinda irritating to lie on the bed and look up at a downlight.

 

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The one thing I kinda regretted about the lighting layout for my dining area is the 4 downlight. Somehow, it just does not serve a purpose but only an aesthetic thing.

When there is no dining, there is always enough light from the living/kitchen areas to brighten up the dining area. When dining, the hanging light [above the dining table] is more than sufficient. Having a dimmer for the dining hanging light can adjust for different ambience, which is far efficient than the 4 downlight for dining entertainment.

If you insist on having the 4 downlight, proportional layout is important and only your ID will be able to size it/fit up after considering the size of your dining table and the hanging light.

 

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ID design looks more logical.

But the kitchen... err. try to avoid a centre light, cos will create bad shadow effect. Consider under cabinet lighting.

Same for bedroom, kinda irritating to lie on the bed and look up at a downlight.

my personal representation of down-lights and other hanging lights are for setting the mood or ambiance - so you should go easy on the luminance, which should be fine for day to day activity, if you're gona be reading then you should get a good reading lamp instead of turning up the lum of the entire room like a football stadium!

 

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the pink spots mark the place where i've been advised to put the downlights by the lightshop. they are 2X13W and come with frosted glass cover. the red spots on the plan above are what my ID has advised. i prefer the light shop's advise for the lbox area in the living room, but for the dining area, should I have 4 or 6 downlights. I'm already going to have a hanging light over the table that comes with 3 tungsten bulbs. TIA

I have quite a similar layout as yours.... and the light shop also indicated the exact positions as in the pink locations.

For the living - I have a switch to control each side of the downlights, with the pair under the AV console - changed to normal bulbs on thermostat, so that I can control the brightnest

For my dining, I have a central light under the table and 4 downlights (all controlled by 1 switch) around the dining area.

For normal use, I switch on the single light at the dining area for about 80% of the time.. .enuf to provide lighting even for the living.... and if I want slightly more light at the living, I switch on the left and right cove lighting (yes, I have cove too all round the living)... one switch control the left and right, and another switch control the front and back. For the cove lighting, each side has a double 4 feet T5, which I switch off one of them to save energy.

Probably the only time I switch on all the lights at the living or dining is when I have visitors... which is very rare. It is just nice to have the cove and downlights there... just in case you need it.

 

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hi, thanks for the replies. another light shop i visited today told me 4 downlights in the dining area as well. now i'm pretty confused. :S btw, we decided not to hire my ID, but to go for a contractor instead, so I'm not sure if he'll be able to provide us with a professional opinion.

 

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hi, thanks for the replies. another light shop i visited today told me 4 downlights in the dining area as well. now i'm pretty confused. :S btw, we decided not to hire my ID, but to go for a contractor instead, so I'm not sure if he'll be able to provide us with a professional opinion.

Just for your info, they light people have a formula to calculate the required brightness, depending on the area... whether a 2x13W or 2x18W etc....

For ID.... most will try to accomodate their clients' whims and fancies... if possible... I have a colleague who has downlights every 3 feet in this living room

 

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btw should the tv and sofa area have 3 downlight instead of 2?

It boils down to personal preference and depending on the length of the wall

 

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