We rebuilt a bungalow 5 years ago. A number of rooms have a total
quantity of 31 of these 8W Dimmable Downlighters

<https://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Products/AUDE8CW.html?source=froogle&srsltid=AfmBOoql60lDVzwtJrWOXwyRER_nRhCqQnlVZj0ulndtW3Lm62xNXvoMW_k&gQT=1>

About three months ago one of them went faulty (started to flash after
it had been on for a minute or so). I bought a new one and replaced it.
Just one of those things I thought, 1 out of 30 after 5 years.

Last week, another one went. I replaced that.

Yesterday, one in the guest bathroom (so hardly ever used) flashed on
switch on (so presumably that's on the way out too).

The first two, I was alarmed when I extracted them to find them more or
less stuffed into the fibre loft insulation. Sods Law they are both
under some loft flooring, so not easily accessible from above. That
said, as an experiment, I took one of them and wrapped it up in a
football sized ball of bubble wrap, and switched it on for a couple of
hours (outside on the patio BTW) It didn't get excessively hot. It still
goes against my instincts for the treatment of electronics !

Second question, they have incredibly powerful spring clips, I find it a
bit hairy removing them. How strong is plasterboard to such activity, or
am I just being a wooss ? I don't fancy replacing all them, either over
time, or all at once.(Though 9 of them are easily assessable from above).

Thoughts and guidance welcome.

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On 25/02/2025 15:19, Mark Carver wrote:

Second question, they have incredibly powerful spring clips, I find it a
bit hairy removing them. How strong is plasterboard to such activity, or
am I just being a wooss ? I don't fancy replacing all them, either over
time, or all at once.(Though 9 of them are easily assessable from above).

When I fitted three in the bathroom (to replace halogens), two were ok
but the other damaged the plasterboard and is, shall we say, not exactly
flat against it!

I detest recessed downlighters, the damage they cause to the ceiling,
and the problem in replacing them with anything other than another
downlighter. :-(

--
Jeff

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On 2/25/25 15:19, Mark Carver wrote:

We rebuilt a bungalow 5 years ago. A number of rooms have a total
quantity of 31 of these 8W Dimmable Downlighters

<https://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Products/AUDE8CW.html? source=froogle&srsltid=AfmBOoql60lDVzwtJrWOXwyRER_nRhCqQnlVZj0ulndtW3Lm62xNXvoMW_k&gQT=1>
About three months ago one of them went faulty (started to flash after
it had been on for a minute or so). I bought a new one and replaced it.
Just one of those things I thought, 1 out of 30 after 5 years.

Last week, another one went. I replaced that.

Yesterday, one in the guest bathroom (so hardly ever used) flashed on
switch on (so presumably that's on the way out too).

The first two, I was alarmed when I extracted them to find them more or
less stuffed into the fibre loft insulation. Sods Law they are both
under some loft flooring, so not easily accessible from above. That
said, as an experiment, I took one of them and wrapped it up in a
football sized ball of bubble wrap, and switched it on for a couple of
hours (outside on the patio BTW) It didn't get excessively hot. It still
goes against my instincts for the treatment of electronics !

Modern downlights are 3 or 4 watts. If they are in a big case, with
airflow, I can't see why they would get hot. Much of the heat advice
about fitting seems to date from the era of 40 watt incandescent bulbs.

Second question, they have incredibly powerful spring clips, I find it a
bit hairy removing them. How strong is plasterboard to such activity, or
am I just being a wooss ? I don't fancy replacing all them, either over
time, or all at once.(Though 9 of them are easily assessable from above).

Thoughts and guidance welcome.

The spring wrecks my ceiling, you can buy surrounding rings to
re-enforce the plasterboard for about the same price as a downlight.

I use downlights with GU10 replaceable bulbs, easy to replace, no need
to go near the spring.

In my kitchen GU10 bulbs last 5 years+, which is long enough.

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On 25/02/2025 15:49, Pancho wrote:

On 2/25/25 15:19, Mark Carver wrote:

Modern downlights are 3 or 4 watts. If they are in a big case, with
airflow, I can't see why they would get hot. Much of the heat advice
about fitting seems to date from the era of 40 watt incandescent bulbs.

A lot of advice was about fitting LED bulbs into down lighters that were
not designed for LEDS especially fittings with inadequate heat sinking
and/or no air flow.

--
mailto : news {at} admac {dot} myzen {dot} co {dot} uk

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On 2/25/25 16:44, alan_m wrote:

On 25/02/2025 15:49, Pancho wrote:

On 2/25/25 15:19, Mark Carver wrote:

Modern downlights are 3 or 4 watts. If they are in a big case, with
airflow, I can't see why they would get hot. Much of the heat advice
about fitting seems to date from the era of 40 watt incandescent bulbs.

A lot of advice was about fitting LED bulbs into down lighters that were
not designed for LEDS especially fittings with inadequate heat sinking
and/or no air flow.

I meant when I fitted mine, there were rules about how close they could
be to a rafter, etc. Suggesting downlights with 40w bulbs got really hot.

I think you are talking about the GU10 LED bulbs getting slightly warm,
and that this shortens their lifespan, compared to an integrated LED
downlight. This may well be true, but it is easier to replace ten GU10
bulbs than it is to replace one integrated fitting.

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On 25/02/2025 16:44, alan_m wrote:

On 25/02/2025 15:49, Pancho wrote:

On 2/25/25 15:19, Mark Carver wrote:

Modern downlights are 3 or 4 watts. If they are in a big case, with
airflow, I can't see why they would get hot. Much of the heat advice
about fitting seems to date from the era of 40 watt incandescent bulbs.

A lot of advice was about fitting LED bulbs into down lighters that were
not designed for LEDS especially fittings with inadequate heat sinking
and/or no air flow.

Correct. I tried putting G9 4W leds into movable, unventilated, glass
"shades" originally used with 35W halogens. They didn't last. I think
that G9s were amongst the worst leds for replacing halogens as they were
so small, and the bases were very prone to overheating.

--
Jeff

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