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LED downlights are an increasingly popular way to light various rooms in homes and businesses. With their customisation options and unique benefits, LED downlights offer many uses and applications. Below, we will explore ceiling downlights for various rooms as well as their benefits.
What are downlights?
Downlight fittings are lights that shine illumination downward. They offer pleasant, general lighting for any room in the house and often bring with them a modern flair. Downlights can be used for everything from ambient to accent to task lighting depending on their placement, making them quite versatile.
What are the benefits of LED Downlights?
LED bulbs in particular are commonly used in downlighter fixtures. While traditional halogen bulbs still remain an option in some shops, the benefits of LED lights clearly outshine their competition.
- ENERGY EFFICIENCY – One of the largest draws of LED lights remains the fact that they are remarkably energy efficient. LED lights use substantially less energy to output light, whereas traditional bulbs output most of that light as heat. This also means you won’t have to worry about touching an LED bulb and accidentally burning yourself the way you have to worry with halogen bulbs.
- ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY – The energy efficiency on its own is enough to better benefit the environment, but that is not where the eco-friendliness stops. LED light bulbs have no hazardous materials, including tungsten or mercury. This also makes them safer for use inside the home.
- DIRECTIONAL LIGHT – Because LED downlights shine at an angle in a certain direction, you can remain in greater control of where the light will fall.
- LUMEN COUNT – Lumens measure the brightness of any given bulb. With LEDs, you can purchase one with the brightness you desire instead of settling for whatever halogen bulbs have to offer.
- COLOUR TEMPERATURE – Another way to customise your light fixtures with LED bulbs is their colour temperature. Colour temperature refers to the coolness or warmth of a light. This is measured in degrees Kelvin. At the higher end of the spectrum sits the warmer colours. At the bottom sits the warmer ones. They range between 1,000 and 10,000 Kelvin, giving you plenty of options to choose the right ones for your needs.
Where can you use LED downlights in the home?
The versatility of these lights allows you to get creative with their placement and applications.
- Living room downlights are common in rooms with low and high ceilings alike, offering non-obtrusive lighting. In a living room, 400 to 500 lumens are recommended.
- Kitchen downlights are often incorporated over countertops and islands to serve as task lighting during food prep and cooking. In a kitchen, 300 to 500 lumens are recommended.
- Hallway downlights can leave cramped hallways feeling better lit without fixtures hanging down and making the narrow space seem smaller. In hallways, 300 lumens is recommended.
- Bathroom downlights add a sleekness to the room and create a more modern look and feel. In bathrooms, 500 to 700 lumens are recommended.
Why are black downlights a popular choice?Â
With all of the many customisation options of an LED recessed downlighter, you also have the benefit of choosing its appearance. There are usually several finish options available, but black downlights remain among the most commonly chosen.
Black LED downlights offer a clean and smooth modern colour choice that can make any space look more minimalistic and sleek. When you place black square downlights on a boring white ceiling, for instance, you can draw the eye to them and create some nice contrast in colour and shape.
Perhaps the most popular reason for using black down lights is their neutral colour scheme. Black recessed downlights are able to work well with most colour pallets in a room. This ensures that you won’t have to worry about any unsightly clashing when you incorporate your new kitchen downlights, lounge downlights, or anything in between.
Can you use black LED downlights in a bathroom?
Bathroom downlights are popular fixtures in many bathrooms. Since they have a smaller and unobtrusive size, they are particularly well suited for smaller bathrooms.
Black bathroom downlights stay out of the way and provide ample light in any contemporary bathroom, but they do have their restraints. That is to say, you will need to pay attention to the IP rating.
IP ratings, or Ingress Protection ratings, are what shows you a light’s resistance to moisture and debris. They are as follows:
First Digit – Solids
0 Â – Â No protection against solid objects
1 Â – Â Offers protection against items that are bigger than 50 millimeters
2 Â – Â Offers protection against items that are bigger than 12.5 millimeters
3 Â – Â Offers protection against items that are bigger than 2.5 millimeters
4 Â – Â Offers protection against items that are bigger than 1 millimeter
5 Â – Â Offers protection against most dust entry
6 Â – Â Offers protection against all dust
Second Digit – Liquids
0 Â – Â No protection against liquids
1 Â – Â Offers protection against water that drips vertically
2 Â – Â Offers protection against water that drips at an angle of up to 15 degrees
3Â – Â Offers protection against water that is sprayed up to 60 degrees
4 Â – Â Offers protection against water that splashes from any direction
5Â – Â Offers protection against water from water jets
6 Â – Â Offers protection against powerful water jets
7 Â – Â Offers protection against water immersion as deep as one meter
8 Â – Â Offers protection against prolonged periods of immersion deeper than one meter
Black IP65 downlights are therefore typically recommended when you are installing lighting in a bathroom.
You must also consider the zones in a bathroom when choosing the placement of your recessed spotlights for the sake of safety:
- ZONE 0 – This area is inside the shower or the bath itself and requires an IP rating of IP67 to be used safely.
- ZONE 1 – In this zone are lights above the bath or shower as high as 2.25 meters from the floor. This location requires lights that are IP65 rated or better.
- ZONE 2 – This area is found 0.6 meters from the perimeter of the bath as high as 2.25 meters from the floor. Here, an IP44 rating or better is required.
- ZONE 3 – This area falls outside of any of the aforementioned places. While there is technically no lighting requirement for this zone, it is recommended that you have IP20 rated lights at the very least.
Can you install recessed downlights outside?
Recessed downlight fixtures can indeed be installed outside the home. Most commonly, you will find them:
- In porch ceilings
- Beneath canopies
- Under soffits
The only catch is that they need to have a rating of IP65. This will protect them from exposure to the elements, such as rain, snow, dirt, sand and other such debris.
Ideas for Incorporating Modern Downlights
The CSL022 5 Watt Round Recessed LED Downlight Fitting is a sleek recessed downlight that is available in several elegant finishes on the reflectors: chrome, rose gold, white or black. Its white rim fits well in any room with any design scheme. The light outputs 430 lumens of 3000k warm white LED light that shines from its high quality aluminium body. It comes protected by an IP20 rating.
Add some modern charm to your home with the CSL024 5 Watt Square Recessed LED Downlight Fitting. Boasting an IP20 rating, the recessed light features a contemporary square shape crafted out of high quality aluminium. The reflector inside comes in polished rose gold, chrome, black or white for you to choose from. The bulb shines 430 lumens of 3000k warm white light, making the fixture ideal for any application.
With the LDC734 5 Watt Anti Glare Recessed LED Downlight, you can enjoy the benefits of downlights without the glare that they sometimes pose. The bulb is recessed deeply enough into the fixture to avoid glare altogether. The bulb outputs 430 lumens of warm white light from its high quality aluminium body construction. The fixture is protected by an IP20 rating.
Sleek and low profile, the LDC201 12 Watt 173mm Diameter Ultra Slim LED Downlight Fitting is an excellent choice for those who value minimalism above all. It features an ultra slim profile with just the rim visible, which is available in either black or white. You can also choose to get warm or cool lights to suit the needs of your space. It outputs 1200 lumens, making it exceptionally bright and ideal for ambient lighting. The fixture comes with an IP20 rating.
Bring style and practicality to your home with the inclusion of the Onyx 6 Watt Black IP65 LED Downlight Fitting. This black light fitting features an LED bulb nestled inside of a moveable head, so you can control where its 38-degree beam angle shines. It outputs 430 lumens of 3000k warm white light, making it gentle on the eyes. This fixture is fashioned out of high quality aluminium and is further made durable by its IP65 rating. With its black finish, it can easily blend into any colour pallet of any room in the house.
Sleek and modern with its square shape, the LDC726 18 Watt 1800 Lumen Recessed Anti Glare LED Downlight is a beautiful addition to any contemporary space. The bulb sits deeply enough within the black internal reflector so as not to cause a glare when you gaze up at it. With its white frame finish, you can be sure it will be incorporated into any room without fear of it clashing. This fixture is crafted out of premium aluminium and is rated IP20.
