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[bleicker]

I want to install LED lights on plasterboard that is directly on top of PIR boards on a 5.1x2.2 metres garage that I'm converting to a home office. I was reading that I should have clearance between the lights and the PIR board to allow air circulation, so I was looking for slim profile LED lights, but with so many choices, it is difficult to find the right product and if I'm taking the right way. I initially wanted to put GU10 LED lights in place as there is a lot of options with colour temperature, beam angle and lumens. But slim led lights there is way less choice, also the brands are a bit more obscure.

I was hoping anyone could shed some "light" here to what is the best way forward. The GU light fittings are quite bulky but I have more options compared to the slim LEDS that have an external driver. I was hoping to leave as much insulation in place as possible.

[ericmark]

Although the GX53 lamps seem good, there is no question GU10 has become a standard.

If you look at Lidi smart lights they had E27, E14, GU10, and a colour changing strip. You could not even buy the B22d lamp which has been for years the British standard light bulb.

I had a kitchen with a 65 watt fluorescent lamp, 65 watt fat tubes were replaced with 58 watt tubes, and due to wrong ballast it was a bit poor starting, so I as a quick easy cure fitted a 24 watt LED tube.

The drop from 5200 lumen to 2200 lumen (24 watt) was not too noticeable, although first LED tube was short lived at 18 months.

My son now lives in the house and he swapped the LED tube for GU10 lamps 16 x 3 watt (48 total), 230 lumen (3680 total) the light is not improved, but it does look better.[attachment=1]Kitchen bike.jpg[/attachment] But what you need to remember that is a high ceiling. With LED the heat is not really a problem, although surges can be, last house lost one LED 5 foot fitting, this house non, and this house has a surge protection device fitted.

LED lights have worked well for me, others I see complain about short life, biggest problem for me is flashing and flicker, there is nothing on a LED bulb to say if a smoothing capacitor is fitted, it is pot luck, however the LED tube to replace the fluorescent in the main does not require one to remove the wire wound ballast, so they have a massive voltage range, the only way to get that range is to use a pulse width modulated driver, so the fluorescent tube replacement is likely to have less shimmer to a GU10.

To fit smoothing capacitors needs space, so a BA22d or E27 bulb is less likely to shimmer to a G9 bulb.

My wife got G9 in the bedroom [attachment=0]G9-comp.jpg[/attachment] the small bulb allowed the covers to be fitted, the large one did not, but the large one no flashing or shimmer. One of the large ones failed, and I opened to see how made, actually found the fault a dry joint, and running again, but the smoothing capacitor inside that bulb is nearly the size of the whole small bulb, so big is good.

[Mr White]

There are a whole variety of LED down lights, yes you should have air circulation around the lights, but could you not lower the ceiling by a few mm to accommodate?
As for knowing which ones are best for you, that depends on what you actually want, as you did say there are colour temperatures and beam angles to choose from. I would say it is really up to you what you have, decide on colour temperature, then how bright you want the area, then buy the number of lights you require and install them.

Lights with external drivers are not always dimmable and will take longer to install as there are more wires to connect. But on the other hand if you are in no rush.........

[bleicker]

I was hoping to not need to lower the ceiling as I want to use as much insulation as possible. After some research it seems the https://www.electricalcounter.co.uk/pro ... 3189793314 can work directly under insulation, the JCC V50 also can.