Common Inefficiencies of Downlights

For a detailed explanation of this post click here to see the Electrical Solutions Magazine article.

Here is a brief explanation on how downlights make your ceiling into Swiss CHEESE, while also exposing your insulation to risk of fire.

CHEESE

Convection Currents

When your lights are turned on, heat from your halogen lamp encourages air from your living area to shoot up into your roof area.

Heated Air pressure

During cold days, opening around your downlights and gaps in your insulation enable hot air to freely pass into your roof space from your living area.  Hot air wants to go up.

Expansion of Heated Air

During hot days, the sun creates extremely hot air in your roof area(70˚+ C), this air expands and pushes down into your living area through ventilated downlight fittings.  This effect is especially undesirable when you have LED recessed light fittings installed.  LED lamps can be damaged by operating in temperatures of 70˚ Celcius.

Excessive Air Drop

During cold nights, downlight fittings enable cold air to freely drop into your house avoiding the R-value from insulation completely.  Our house gets cooler quicker, with ventilated downlight fittings.

Spread of Draughts

During windy days, your roof can become quite windy, these draughts freely move into your living area with ventilated downlight fittings.

Exposure to Fire damage

Anything can get stuck in recessed lighting, to ignite into a flame, should insulation or debris get too close to a standard halogen dichroic Lamp(300˚ + Celcius).

The root cause of these inefficiencies is the way standard dichroic lamps operate.

• They produce light downwards and
• they try to force the majority of their heat and a good portion of the light backwards up into the roof.

“So effectively they create connectivity of your living area to your roof area.”

In this thermal imaging the Halogen Mitt is the cone shaped product.  It completely stops the convection current effect and separates your roof from your living area with an R-value, unlike plastic downlight covers, which only stops draughts.

The R-Value consistency of your insulation in your roof is equally as important as reducing the draught effect and convection current effect in your home.  There is no need to settle for just a fire retardant product, demand the best, demand downlight insulation which also has a fire rating!

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Images provided by Energy Imaging