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Far from being the province of the style gurus, bathroom downlights are the lynchpin of most of today’s bathroom lighting schemes. Whether you go for wide or narrow beam, downlights are perfect for the task lighting so necessary in the bathroom – and they cast lovely ambient light too.

In downlights, the bulb is housed above the ceiling in a container that is commonly known as a ‘can,’ which is sealed. If the can isn’t sealed, the hot air generated by the bulb will be drawn into the ceiling void and pose a potential fire risk.

Downlights are far easier to install than you might have thought too – once you have the requisite holes in the ceiling that is. They tend to have simple clip fittings that slip in and out of the void as required. However, it is vital that you take note of the bathroom electrical regulations, which put strict limits on what light fittings you can use in specific areas of the bathroom. These directives are based on IP ratings and are clearly marked on bathroom lighting packaging.

You can get halogen and LED downlights, and both of these light sources are excellent for bathrooms, where accurate colour rendition of skin tones is important. Modern LED lamps also give enough brightness for ambient lighting.

Halogen bathroom downlights, powered from the mains, can be dimmed using normal light dimmers placed outside the bathroom. Low voltage downlights require a special kit to allow dimming.

For ambient lighting, a space of about 7 feet between lamps is ideal, although, unless you are particularly keen on the runway effect, you need to give careful consideration to how you achieve this. The lights should be positioned between ceiling joists. And a final word of warning about positioning: downlights too close to the walls don’t look good; try to get about 3 feet in from the edges of the ceiling.

As well as providing flexibility in your bathroom lighting, low voltage downlights will also help you keep your power bills under control. In fact, in bathroom zone 0, you are restricted to a maximum of 12 volts anyway, and, to be honest, the lower the voltage of your bathroom lighting the better. Far better, after all, to receive a 12 volt electrical shock than a 240 volt one.

If you want to be creative with your bathroom lighting, bathroom downlights are where it’s at!

Want to find out more about bathroom downlights, then visit Duncan Munday’s site on how to choose the best downlights for your bathroom.

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