need some lighting advices

[Tef]

hi,

before I start there are couple of questions i would like to ask to clarify some of the concepts.

to have remote dimmable recessed halogen spotlight, i need a remote controller, a reciever, a transformer (needed?), spotlight housing and the spotlight bulbs.

do all the parts have to be to dimmable?
by that i mean the transformer, the housing/fitting and the bulbs theselves.

What I am planning to do is this, please give some comments/suggestion if it is possible or not:

I already have a standard energy saving ceiling light in the middle of a fairly large living room, but i would like to add some spotlights around it to give the furnitures extra shadows. Heres the changelle, I'm in a flat, so i dont have access to upstairs to do all the wiring through upstairs floor boards, plus my wife won't let me dig into the ceiling. so what i need to do is to leech power from existing ceiling light's power line.

(basically, she doesnt want to all the plaster work, so i have to build a cirular platform around the light and house the recessed spotlights)

please help me construct a shopping list so far i got
B&Q home easy programmable remote link
B&Q home easy ceiling module link
3 packs of these spotlights but i think i will replace the with 35W bulbs link
do i need a transformer as well ?

last question, are these dimmable ?
mini spotlight

the arrangement:
ceiling wire out (live) --> wire splitter (live) --> normal energy saving light (live) --> back to wire splitter (neutral) --> back into ceiling (neutral)
_____(black space)____________________ --> home easy ceiling module --> Spotlights (live) --> back to wire splitter (neutral) --^

thanks in advance

[silver12]

Those spotlights are not fire or acoustic rated, so by fitting them you'd be breaching building regs.

I would make a few (small!) holes at the locations where you wish to fit your downlights, shine a torch through that hole and see if you can see the light at the hole where your existing light is. If so then you should be able to fish a cable through to it.

Flat ceilings are always a pain in the backside so I wish you luck.

[Tef]

thank you ! as long as they dont have grid type support then i should be able to run a cable to the lights. but as you said, the lights are not rated, so i guess i will have to find some atleratives

[silver12]

Try City Electrical Factors or Edmunson's, or do a search on Yell for 'Electrical Wholesalers' in your area.

A fire rated fitting to trade is about £4, to the public you should expect to pay around £10. These are ex VAT.

[silver12]

One other option, albeit not very aesthetically pleasing, would be to run small (YT1) plastic trunking between the lights. Personally I would hate to have this on my ceiling/walls, but some people do go for this option.

[Zog]

How about suspending a false ceiling (maybe use mdf) about 100mm below the existing ceiling.

This could be as large as you wanted.

In fact I'd make it in an irregular shape, stopping it on average about a metre from the walls.

You could then recess half a dozen or so low voltage downlights into this. But also use some dimmable fluorescent battens around the perimeter, if possible on a seperately switched supply.

This image is a bit small, but should give you some idea.

[Tef]

Originally Posted by Zog

How about suspending a false ceiling (maybe use mdf) about 100mm below the existing ceiling.

This could be as large as you wanted.

In fact I'd make it in an irregular shape, stopping it on average about a metre from the walls.

You could then recess half a dozen or so low voltage downlights into this. But also use some dimmable fluorescent battens around the perimeter, if possible on a seperately switched supply.

This image is a bit small, but should give you some idea.

yea, thats what i have in mind. but im using LED strips instead of flurescent tubes on the side.
i dont know how much weight my ceiling can actually take, so i think i will keep the false ceiling as small as i can.