LED Downlights and Low Energy Downlights available now

Welcome to the Low Energy, Recessed Downlights section. Here you can find our pick of the best downlights available today!

Our range includes bulbs for Low voltage downlights as well as GU10 downlights (energy saving compact flourescents and budget halogens) but most importantly, the very popular range of low energy, Part L compliant, T2 downlights . The new model of RioT2 downlights runs at 10w, and Alaska LED version at just 2.5 or 3w, but they have equivalent light output to a regular 50w halogen product.

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JCC Fireguard Low Energy Downlight (JC94015, Brushed Nickel)

JCC Fireguard Low Energy Downlight (JC94015, Brushed Nickel) £6.93

More about low energy down lights

Bulb logo for ip44 light bulbs Logo for ip65 light bulbs logo for dedicated low energy lighting

Down lights, mounted in the ceiling, are becoming increasingly popular for living areas, kitchens and bathrooms. A great advantage of recessed downlights is that they give even, gentle, low shadow lighting within a room, especially when used with compact flourescent bulbs.

The bulb in the fitting is contained within the downlight unit in the void space above the ceiling. In a good quality downlight the housing (or "can") is normally sealed to avoid the bulb acting as a chimney; if the can is not sealed, when the bulb gets warm, air is drawn up into the void above the ceiling. If you have downlight units that are not sealed then you should (and must in some cases) install a fire hood over the fitting.

Most modern fittings are held in place by simple spring clips that push against the 'back' of the ceiling when the fitting is pushed up into the ceiling from below. Removing the fitting is easy as can be firmly pulled out of the ceiling, to as far as the cable will allow.

Downlights can be mains powered or low voltage (typically 12 volts) - 'low voltage' does not mean 'low energy', typically the transformer will waste energy, so presuming that you are comparing standard halogen bulbs, overall a low voltage installation will use more electricity than a conventional mains installation. Installing compact flourescent low energy bulbs is the best option as this will make real savings on the amount of energy that you use to run the fittings.

About down light bulbs

Most recessed down lights used to use halogen bulbs, these give a fair bulb life. Typically mains bulbs used are 35 or 50 watt while low voltage systems use 20-50 watt - each giving similar levels of illumination.

Halogen bulb, mains and low voltage downlights can be dimmed using normal light dimmers, althought with low voltage you must make sure that your transformer is compatible with the dimmer switch.

For a number of years compact fluorescent (cfl) bulbs have been available which give better bulb life (5,000 - 8,000 hours) but often have at least a minute of 'warm-up' time (the time taken to get to their full potential).

LED bulbs are now becoming a popular choice for spot light / downlight options as they are extremely low powered (often 3w - 5w), have a manufacturers suggested average lifetime of 20,000 - 30,000+ hours and are at full brightness as soon as you flick the light switch.

Other downlights are available that use a screw in type bulb. These are available in various sizes including 50mm, 63mm and 80mm. There are low energy equivalents spot light bulbs for these lights too.

Positioning down lights

For general, ambient lighting, downlights should be positioned about 5 - 7 ft (1.5 - 2.1 m) apart in both directions (i.e. across the room as well as along the room). Before deciding on the spacing, check the position of the joists above the ceiling - you want to use a spacing which will position the downlights between joists.

Don't overload your existing electrical wiring! Most mains house lighting circuits can handle 400 watts per room, this allows for up to 8 x 50w halogen downlights, OR up to 40 x 10w cfl downlights OR over 130 x 3w LED downlights per room per circuit. If in doubt, consult a qualified electrician.

Downlights in Bathrooms

Be careful choosing downlights for bathrooms! They need to conform to the electrical regulations which depends upon their actual position - see bathroom electrical zoning page and the fire rated downlights information below.

Fire Rated Downlights

Now becoming more and more widely used as building regulations require these now in certain situations. Our entire range of 'Rio cfl' and 'Alaska LED' products is 90 minute fire rated, making them suitable for any installation.

More low energy downlights...

Some of our downlights

If you are looking for a specific model of recessed downlight that's not shown on this page please get in touch and we will see if we can get it for you!