At my age, DIY is not an attractive option, especially if I do underfloor as the crawl space is around 0.5M. Have been down there before to help the plumber and it's no fun! The foil is in good nick and the ground is dry so I may just go for the ceiling insulation first and reassess later. I'm replacing the carpet next and specifying a thick underlay so that may be sufficient.
Replacement Philips SmartBright LED downlights are booked in for installation next week. Not sure what is meant by F rated; according to the brochure, they comply with CA 135, closed, abutted, recessed.
Thanks for the heads-up re the IC Halcyon downlights. Unfortunately I've already booked the Philips ones. Oh well, never mind.
Cheers
Murray
They should be fine, but do they have replaceable light bulbs, or is it an all in one integrated fitting & bulb, it is difficult to tell from their leaflet? My only issue with integrated lights, is what do you do in 7.5 years when the bulbs need replacing or you get one that fails, and they no longer make a fitting. You end up with a mismatch of lights and fittings on the ceiling, and they have to be wired in by an electrician. I have found that philips do phase out bulbs and fittings over time, which is a pain if you can't get a particular bulb. Also only CA, rather than IC, but probably not that much heat loss difference. There are only a very few that are IC at the moment.
muzzal: Replacement Philips SmartBright LED downlights are booked in for installation next week. Not sure what is meant by F rated; according to the brochure, they comply with CA 135, closed, abutted, recessed.
Closed Abutted means insulation can go up to the lights, but not over. Closed doesn't mean closed, it means no more than 5% open according to regulations (or something like that). Four of these types of lights in an insulated room increases your heat loss by 100%, meaning you need to put twice as much heat in (ie twice as expensive) as if there were no holes in your insulation. I'm told that in the industry downlights are known as "chimneys", as all your heat goes up them. There's a report in consumer magazine from a year or so ago.
Strongly suggest you switch to F rated, which is sealed and you can insulate over. Lighting direct have some good LED options, some dimmable. Better to do it now even if it costs you a little extra to change, while you can return them in new condition, rather than decide to do it later and pay double.
If you are able to I would do it yourself. My partner & I installed expol ourselves, Cost about $600-700 for 100m2 I'm pretty sure. Yes it took 3-4 weekends to get the whole house done wokring at 2-3 hours a time as to give the body a rest.
We are very happy with the results and noticed a huge difference in house temp overnight. If you can't afford to do the whole house I would start with bedrooms and lounge areas first as they are most likely where you will spend the most time.
I did this a couple of months ago and used Go2 Insulation in Tawa, quick and did a great job as well as best price I found. The guys mobile is 0272261777
muzzal: Replacement Philips SmartBright LED downlights are booked in for installation next week. Not sure what is meant by F rated; according to the brochure, they comply with CA 135, closed, abutted, recessed.
Closed Abutted means insulation can go up to the lights, but not over. Closed doesn't mean closed, it means no more than 5% open according to regulations (or something like that). Four of these types of lights in an insulated room increases your heat loss by 100%, meaning you need to put twice as much heat in (ie twice as expensive) as if there were no holes in your insulation. I'm told that in the industry downlights are known as "chimneys", as all your heat goes up them. There's a report in consumer magazine from a year or so ago.
Strongly suggest you switch to F rated, which is sealed and you can insulate over. Lighting direct have some good LED options, some dimmable. Better to do it now even if it costs you a little extra to change, while you can return them in new condition, rather than decide to do it later and pay double.
Pretty sure those lights are now referred to as 'IC' , but there is limited lights avaliable for them. You maybe referring to IC-F was the old term no longer used, and I beleive the only difference was that you could use any insulation with them. You can also only use certain insulation types with IC lights. Wool is basically out. Fibreglass is often the only option.
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True I may have the terms wrong, insulation cover rating is what's important. Standard downlights are one of the worst things around for energy efficiency, and they don't create a nice quality of light either. In my office I use floor standing lights, which take up more room but give a much nicer light.
timmmay: True I may have the terms wrong, insulation cover rating is what's important. Standard downlights are one of the worst things around for energy efficiency, and they don't create a nice quality of light either. In my office I use floor standing lights, which take up more room but give a much nicer light.
I am not a fan of them either and specify pendant lights where I can, which you need less of, so less power is needed to light a room.
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