Ceiling Spotlights and Downlights: A Beginner's Guide
Ceiling spotlights and downlights are a practical and modern solution to home lighting. They create a sleek, contemporary look and can provide focused illumination. Used together with other sources of light, spotlights and downlights are an integral part of creating a successful lighting scheme.
Spotlight bars and spotlight plates
Good for: Adjustable lighting, task lighting
Ceiling spotlights produce a beam of light that can be directed around the room or focused on certain areas thanks to their adjustable arms. Spotlights can illuminate dark areas or forgotten corners to create a brighter space. They are often used in kitchens to illuminate work spaces and surfaces, or they can be used to highlight a key are of a bathroom such as the bathtub or mirror. Spotlight bars and plates can also be used in living rooms or bedrooms to light up your favourite area or a special feature.
Litecraft have a wide range of bar and plate mounted spotlights so there is something to suit every room no matter what shape and size.
Recessed downlights
Good for: Low ceilings, shadow free light
Recessed downlights sit flush in the ceiling and cast light downwards. They create a clean, contemporary look, with an even and shadow free light. Recessed downlights are perfect for kitchens and bathrooms because they provide a practical light source that is safe and unobtrusive.
Litecraft also have a range of adjustable downlights than can be swivelled and directed to focus lighting exactly where you need it.
How many downlights do I need?
Recessed downlights come in multi packs or as individual lights, but how many do you need to illuminate your room?
The amount of downlights required depends on the size of the room and your own personal preference. To start, measure your room and think about which areas you want to illuminate and how much light you need. As a general guide, downlights should be placed around 0.8m-1m away from the wall and around 1.5-2m apart, but this can vary depending on the type of light and the room.
How to install downlights?
To install recessed downlights, a hole first needs to be drilled into the ceiling for the light fitting to sit in. Once the lights have been wired correctly, they are held in place using either spring clips or compression clips. It is also possible to install collections of downlights on different switches, creating a variable lighting scheme.
For the best results and safety reasons, we strongly recommend that a professional electrician fits your recessed downlights and spotlights.
Fire rated downlights
Fire rated downlights are designed to minimise the spread of fire between floors. Creating a hole in a ceiling for a downlight allows fire to spread quicker. A fire rated downlight has a special strip attaching to it which expands in very high temperatures, creating a seal and preventing the fire from spreading for up to 90 minutes. For your safety, we recommend using fire rated downlights for all rooms with living spaces above.
Ceiling Spotlights and downlights in bathrooms
When choosing ceiling spotlights and downlights for bathrooms, you should ensure that they are IP rated to protect against water ingress.
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