If there’s one major improvement you can make to your home, it’s the installation of downlights! Easy to do, and easy to do wrong, it’s important to engage with someone who understands what you want – perhaps even offer some ideas of their own.
Failure to do downlighting well, is sure to turn your home into Melbourne Airport at night!
BENEFITS OF DOWNLIGHTING:
Apart from the obvious benefit being a massive reduction in power usage (up to 80% reduce usage compared to Halogen lights) the modern LED downlight is far safer than it’s Halogen predecessor, running at a much lower temperature and posing none of the fire related hazards of Halogen lighting either…
Most Melbourne homes being built now, will feature downlighting in common areas and perhaps a few centrepieces such as designer pendants or the like.
Downlights allow you to light up the room efficiently, offer angled lighting onto walls or paintings, provide soft lighting in highlighted corners of your home, and even dim the lights to the point of being almost completely off. So to say downlights are versatile is an understatement!
PITFALLS:
Too many Melbourne based electricians think that “more is more!” when it comes to downlights. We’ve seen 12 downlights in a lounge where 6 would have been ample, or a hallway so brightly lit that nobody wanted to turn the lights on anyway as it was so glaringly bright. The process of deciding on lighting layout is a team effort between your desires and the electricians ideas, so feel free to speak up!
We always involve our lovely Melbourne clients, to find out what the space is going to be used for, where the lights will be controlled from and how it will affect lighting in nearby areas. One of the more important aspects of effective lighting is location, so we definitely want to get this right the first time round!
STYLES:
There are so many styles of downlights on the market so we’ll just summarise the basic types you’d be considering for your Melbourne home.
Pancake Downlights: Generally the more affordable style of downlight, and easy to source in the event of needing replacements. Although these lights can emit a little more glare than others, they are attractive given their pricepoint. Used throughout construction as the ‘base model’ in downlights, they are the same size as most other styles so it’s easy to swap them to something else if you already have these in your Melbourne home.
Recessed Downlights: Referring to the lens itself, recessed lens downlights emit less glare to the user, as the light source is slightly recessed into the body of the fitting. The rest of the benefits still apply, and this style may only cost a fraction more in some cases, but it may be worth considering.
Gimble Downlights: Some Melbourne homes have locations that are suited to gimble downlights, such as angled ceilings or walls requiring light directly on them for the sake of highlighting artwork or providing softened reflected light. A gimble downlight allows you to angle the lens within the body of the downlight, to face any given direction. These particular downlights tend to cost a little more but their benefits in specific circumstances are second to none.
From the above categories, you can then also choose which colour you’d like both in terms of light output (warm white, cool white or daylight) dimmability, and even the colour of the downlight body. Be it white, black, silver or even gold, there’s something for everyone.
LAYOUT CONSULTATION:
If you’re unsure of exactly where you want your new downlights, just give us a call! We can assist over the phone, or even arrange on onsite consultation for you, deductible if you proceed with our works! We service all of Eastern Suburbs, and most areas of Melbourne so reach out and ask as many questions as you want. We’re here to help you, from start to finish so email us via our website or just call 0428 862 963 today!