The Shed – September-October 2019

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ED lighting has been touted as the

solution to energy consumption and

is something that the homeowner

can change. I’m not 100 per cent

convinced about LEDs, but I’ve seen

some poor lighting installations that

would suit changing to make it more

economical for the homeowner.

You’d think it’d be a simple matter of

swapping the lamp, but there are some

traps for the unwary, and hopefully

this article will help make those

choices easier.

History of lights

Back in the ’60s the rooms in most

houses had a single lamp hanging

from the ceiling. There was some form

of shade that screwed on just above

the lamp which threw some of the

light downwards. If you wanted more

light you stuck a larger lamp in the

holder, which worked until the shade

turned various shades of burnt, and

the fastening ring became brittle and

then broke.

There was often a standing lamp next

to the lounge chair for when Dad wanted

to read, but generally we seemed to

enjoy poor lighting and working in our

own shadow.

At some point people discovered

better lighting (along with more than

one power outlet in a room), and by the

’90s lounges had grown in size and had

four, six, or eight downlights.

Downlights

Downlights are essentially a metal can

with an opening at one end. The better

A GUIDE FOR THOSE

CONSIDERING

MAKING THE MOVE

TO LED LIGHTING

There was often a

standing lamp next

to the lounge chair

for when Dad wanted

to read

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to bounce light back to the opening.

These were marvellous inventions,

as they didn’t spill any lights along

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on the Gib, and the electricians could

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(including cutting the insulation

around them). Unfortunately, most

downlights required a 100W lamp and

leaked air like an open window.

Start multiplying 100W by eight

and you get close to a one-bar heater

running just to provide light. Add the

heat loss into the ceiling from each of

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the insulation) and you can see that the

electricity for the lamp is only part of

the problem.

There are semi-sealed downlight

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during the build, cost will eliminate

them. They reduce the air leak, but

still have the same insulation clearance

requirements. f

LED lamps and transformer to

replace the tungsten dichroic

LED v. tungsten dichroic — rear LED v. tungsten dichroic — bright side