Lighting in kitchen

[vicky whitworth]

Hello, I know there are various threads on this subject but we have a very specifc question. In our new kitchen extension we have had to have joists only 4" deep (but more of them) in order to deal with ceiling height issues. We are now trying to work out lighting for the kitchen and had planned to have downlighters installed flush with the ceiling but we're told that these need more joist depth than we have because of safety (from the heat they give out) issues. We can't have any form of lighting that dangles from the ceiling (not even tracking with spots) as we have too little ceiling height.
Has anyone else encountered this problem? And if so are there any suggestions for unobtrusive lighting (we are thinking that wall mounter spots are the only option at the moment)? If we have wall mounted spots how do we ensure we get a decent level of lighting in the centre of the kitchen - I can see that we can angle the spots down onto the work tops but I don't fancy them shining straight across the room like an interrogation lamp.
Many thanks, Vicky

 

[Edwardia]

It's not wonderfully aesthetic but could you have small fluorescent tubes ? And what about under cupboard lighting ? If you have old dressers and cupboards you can get stick on ones to save drilling holes in them. Suggest http://www.scottsofstow.co.uk might have them or Lakeland. Also going to a trade electrical store might be better than a dept store or DIY store for ideas especially as the staff will be more specialist.

 

[AMc]

I think you're going to need to have a proper conversation with an experienced electrician and your building control officer.

If you look for dedicated low energy fittings they are designed to only take low energy bulbs where heat it less of an issue (that's why they use less energy).

I've found these some of which have an 85mm clearance (3.5") but I have no basis to recommend the supplier they were just a google result.
http://shop.eurobatteries.com/lightbulbs-and-fittings-energy-saving-fittings-c-28_154.html

25% of lumieres must only be able to take low energy bulbs to comply with L1A and L1B building regulations. You may still come up with problems with fire retardance - as recessed spots are supposed to have fire shields to stop fire from spreading from the room below into the one above through the hole.

If you find anything please post again!

 

[vicky whitworth]

Think I may have solved the problem of finding slim kitchen downlighters to accommodate our low ceilings (can't have anything dangling below the ceiling) and narrow floor joists (only 100mm of depth for the downlighters to fit in). Amos Lighting in Exeter have suggested the Lanex series described as, 'incrediably slim recessed lighting, suitable for shallow ceiling areas.' They are low energy and only 30mm high. They look good on paper so a trip to Exeter on Saturday is called for to see if this is a good solution. Feeling quite chuffed about this - all my effort to find something in the face of electrician who said it couldn't be done. Thought you might like to know in case you have the same problem too.
Vicky

 

[Edwardia]

For anyone looking for under kitchen cabinet lighting, I noticed that Lidl will have the kind with the pivoting light bar, on sale at 8.99 each from 2 October http://www.lidl.co.uk

 

[vicky whitworth]

Yep, extra slim downlighters lived up to expectations. Fittings are £8.00 but the light bulbs are £9.00 but since they will actually do the job I'm not complaining. No more bumped heads.

 

[AMc]

Hi Vicky

Do you have any web links? Googling Lanex came up with lots of links but not to lights - I will need to get a lot of low energy fittings for our work and a recommendation is very helpful.

Cheers

 

[vicky whitworth]

Hi AMc, you'll have not found them because I have since discovered that it's not Lanex it's Planex! The photocopy of the brochure page the lighting shop sent me had had the P cut off!!! Try http://www.megamanuk.com/products/product.php?sid=12.
The only thing I'm a bit worried about is that low energy lighting gives off that strange low, yellowy coloured light and these lights are the same. I'm a bit worried about gettting enough light from them in a kitchen, but with the low ceilings and tall husband I don't think I have any other choices. We have decided to have 7 in a 4x4 metre kitchen plus one wall spot and a Victorian converted gas light by the table. Hope that's enough to be able to see my cereal in the morning! Vicky

 

[AMc]

Thanks for that. The yellow light is referred to as 'warm white' in that brochure link. Many Compact Fluroesent Lights (CLF) attempt to mimick the yellower light of a 'normal' bulb with varying degrees of success. This link suggests that you can also get a 'cool white' bulb which might be worth trying either instead or as a mix.
http://www.megamanuk.com/pdfs/2007-catalogue/gx53.pdf

In the current kitchen we have standard halogen downlights. I replaced a couple with very low energy LED bulbs as they tend to get left on a lot (2x2.5W compared with 2x50W). These are very, very blue white on their own (a bit like being in a fridge), but mixed with the standard lights you get a much better range.

Thanks for posting that link.

 

[MdB]

The only thing I'm a bit worried about is that low energy lighting gives off that strange low, yellowy coloured light and these lights are the same.

Normal filament bulbs produce a very yellow / orange light whilst florescent lights generally produce a light with a lot of blue in it. Due to the complaints that people made about the blue colour of the CFL lights (though most people called them cold light rather than blue as your eye does a large amount of compensation to changes in light colour) a lot of work was put into the phosphors used and you now can get parts with a lot more yellow and red in them. These are often called warm lights even though the colour temperature is actually lower.

These Megaman lights come in two colours, warm white and cool white so hopefully one version will be what you want.

edit - oh and the cold blue versions produce a light that is a lot closer to daylight than normal filament bulbs which surprises most people.

edit2 - Have you found out how expensive these lights are yet?

 

[vicky whitworth]

Hi, thanks for all the comments about the colour of the light. I hadn't noticed that you can get two choices. I think the idea of mixing the two sounds good. I've been quoted £8.00 for each fitting and £9.00 something for each bulb. Since I'm planning on having 7 it's starting to come in expensive what with the price of the electrician too but it's my dream kitchen, and hey, what credit crunch?!!!