Hi All,

we presently have 5 x 40 R50 recessed spots in the kitchen and this
is

a, dim and
b, expensive (both in electricity, and in bulbs (which seem to blow
contantly).

Ideally I would like to replace them with something which is

a, At least as bright if not brighter
b, Has atleast as good a spread of light as the spots
c' is cheaper to run,
d, Has a longer lamp life
oh, and e, is easily retrofitted into the existing 90mm holes (or else
has a visually pleasing fitting which would cover the holes if it's
surface mounted rather than recessed).

A tall order I know, but any suggestions (other than put in a couple
of 6' flourescents) gratefully accepted.

On 9 May, 14:09, wrote:
Hi All,

we presently have 5 x 40 R50 recessed spots in the kitchen and this
is

a, dim and
b, expensive (both in electricity, and in bulbs (which seem to blow
contantly).

Ideally I would like to replace them with something which is

a, At least as bright if not brighter
b, Has atleast as good a spread of light as the spots
c' is cheaper to run,
d, Has a longer lamp life
oh, and e, is easily retrofitted into the existing 90mm holes (or else
has a visually pleasing fitting which would cover the holes if it's
surface mounted rather than recessed).

A tall order I know, but any suggestions (other than put in a couple
of 6' flourescents) gratefully accepted.

seems 12v downlighters would fit the bill except for the hole sizes
probably...

could you tart up (with a router maybe) the edges of some plywood
squares cut to cover the old holes with a new hole cut in the middle
of them for the new downlighters? opps to paint ply to match or
contrast with current decor etc too?

or

investigate the "suspension wire" type sets i.e. a transformer at one
end (or in middle) and two wires suspended between two points, with
lights suspended along the wires, spaced to your preference...

e.g. http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/60135685

Cheers
JimK

wrote in message
...
Hi All,

we presently have 5 x 40 R50 recessed spots in the kitchen and this
is

a, dim and
b, expensive (both in electricity, and in bulbs (which seem to blow
contantly).

Ideally I would like to replace them with something which is

a, At least as bright if not brighter
b, Has atleast as good a spread of light as the spots
c' is cheaper to run,
d, Has a longer lamp life
oh, and e, is easily retrofitted into the existing 90mm holes (or else
has a visually pleasing fitting which would cover the holes if it's
surface mounted rather than recessed).

A tall order I know, but any suggestions (other than put in a couple
of 6' flourescents) gratefully accepted.



Surprised you find 5 spots in the kitchen ceiling anywhere near enough
light!
For effective food preparation we have 6 x 20w 12v spots in the ceiling and
6x10w T4 strip link lights:
http://www.screwfix.com/prods/79922/...Striplight-10W

over the worktops, and another 20w strip light in the window recess for
working on the window side at night. For most purposes it is only necessary
to use the strip lights, as they give a much more useful light than the
spots. If you do buy the link lights, buy plenty at once (they are cheap)
as they have an irritating habit of changing the linking plug and socket
design every year! (Actually these strip lights are very useful as portable
lamps too, and I have a 20w one on a long lead handy for DIY and even as a
low energy reading light. They even light up when you touch them when they
are not even plugged in, which is fun.)

S

In article
,
wrote:

we presently have 5 x 40 R50 recessed spots in the kitchen and this
is
a, dim and
b, expensive (both in electricity, and in bulbs (which seem to blow
contantly).
.....
A tall order I know, but any suggestions (other than put in a couple
of 6' flourescents) gratefully accepted.

(We had this discussion last year sometime if you wanna google it.)

My contribution to the discussion (with a bow to your condition, above)
was that faced with the same problem I bought a double 4' fluorescent
fitting from Homebase: it was cheap, running it is cheap, and it floods
our modest kitchen with glorious daylight: which is fantastic.

John

On 10 May, 21:43, Another John wrote:
In article
,



wrote:
we presently have 5 x 40 R50 recessed spots in the kitchen and this
is
a, dim and
b, expensive (both in electricity, and in bulbs (which seem to blow
contantly).
....
A tall order I know, but any suggestions (other than put in a couple
of 6' flourescents) *gratefully accepted.

(We had this discussion last year sometime if you wanna google it.)

My contribution to the discussion (with a bow to your condition, above)
was that faced with the same problem I bought a double 4' fluorescent
fitting from Homebase: it was cheap, running it is cheap, and it floods
our modest kitchen with glorious daylight: *which is fantastic. *

John

Thanks for that John,

I did try googling, but even trying to find my own thread is tricky
enough :=((

Af for flourescents, the memsahib is agin em :=((

wrote:
On 10 May, 21:43, Another John wrote:
In article
,



wrote:
we presently have 5 x 40 R50 recessed spots in the kitchen and this
is
a, dim and
b, expensive (both in electricity, and in bulbs (which seem to blow
contantly).
....
A tall order I know, but any suggestions (other than put in a couple
of 6' flourescents) gratefully accepted.
(We had this discussion last year sometime if you wanna google it.)

My contribution to the discussion (with a bow to your condition, above)
was that faced with the same problem I bought a double 4' fluorescent
fitting from Homebase: it was cheap, running it is cheap, and it floods
our modest kitchen with glorious daylight: which is fantastic.

John

Thanks for that John,

I did try googling, but even trying to find my own thread is tricky
enough :=((

Af for flourescents, the memsahib is agin em :=((

I fitted a 5 foot electronic ballast job on top of the wall units in a
3m x 2m kitchen. Unobtrusive, and a little too much light if anything

On May 9, 8:09*am, wrote:
Hi All,

we presently have 5 x 40 R50 recessed spots in the kitchen and this
is

a, dim and
b, expensive (both in electricity, and in bulbs (which seem to blow
contantly).

Ideally I would like to replace them with something which is

a, At least as bright if not brighter
b, Has atleast as good a spread of light as the spots
c' is cheaper to run,
d, Has a longer lamp life
oh, and e, is easily retrofitted into the existing 90mm holes (or else
has a visually pleasing fitting which would cover the holes if it's
surface mounted rather than recessed).

A tall order I know, but any suggestions (other than put in a couple
of 6' flourescents) *gratefully accepted.

200w is not much for a kitchen T8 warm white tube under cabinet and a
ceiling fixture would be what I do for a total including ceiling
lights of 2400 incandesant equivilant, it can be like daylight when I
want to turn all on full. T8 are 75-85% more efficent than incandesant
and my ceiling T8s are on a dimmer hidden in wood beams make of 1"x6"
wood. If you have spaces over cabinets that is a great area to put
double tube of T8 Warm Whites on electronic balasts, some take dimmers
or a second row of lights can be on a second switch. Undercabinet T8
get light where you need it to cook and cut, but overall you need to
think by Lumen output rating now watts, and just ceiling cans wont
do, so Id say its adding flourescent fixtures and use warm white 2700k
bulbs, no higher in Kelvin rating. You need alot more output to see.

On May 12, 11:42*am, wrote:
On 10 May, 21:43, Another John wrote:



In article
,

wrote:

A tall order I know, but any suggestions (other than put in a couple
of 6' flourescents) *gratefully accepted.


Af for flourescents, the memsahib is agin em :=((


Disguise them. Start with electronic ballasts on dimmers so they ramp
up over a second or 2 like something from movies, and put the tubes
out of direct view. When describing the system, no need to mention
that they're fluorescent. Do take care over choice of tube though,
there are plenty of horrors on the market. It'll cost, but will also
save you on energy costs year after year, plus give a quality of
lighting that's hard to match with anything else. Last time I put in
concealed 3500K fluorescent lighting it got lots of thumbs up from
people that didnt know it was fluorescent.


NT