Floor over GU10 Light fitting getting hot

[Roton600]

I know GU10 light fittings get hot...we have lived here in our house for 6 years, the previous owners had fitted 6 GU10 light fittings in the sitting room, the bedroom floor above has laminate flooring and over one of the spot lights the flooring is getting quite warm/hot to the touch.

I dropped the fitting but could see nothing obviously wrong.

Is this normal?

 

[PrenticeBoyofDerry]

GU10 halogen lamps can dissipate a lot of heat, so it would not be an unusual occurrence. These type of lamps require plenty of ventilation and there should be a minimum distance between the the fitting and the floor above (this would/should be given in the manufacturers instructions) But I guess they will not be available? I personally would expect a reasonable distance to be 50mm or greater. It would be wise to consider replacing with LED lamps as these dissipate less heat or replace fittings with something safer.

 

[bernardgreen]

Have you changed the lamps ( bulbs ) and fitted dichroic ( cool beam ) lamps ? These do NOT reflect heat forward with the light but alllow it to escape into the rear of the fitting.

http://www.esc.org.uk/fileadmin/user_upload/documents/industry/guidance/DownlighterTradeLfltweb.pdf

and go down to section 4

 

[Roton600]

Thanks for the info, i dont think they are the dichroic type but was planning to change the bulbs to the energy saving ones which i believe run cooler, so will do that asap and monitor for now and look into having the whole fitting changed

 

[riveralt]

Thanks for the info, i dont think they are the dichroic type but was planning to change the bulbs to the energy saving ones which i believe run cooler, so will do that asap and monitor for now and look into having the whole fitting changed

If the energy saving ones are LED's then your belief is wrong - they dissipate heat to the rear as well - hence the big fins on the body of the bulb.
You're best bet is firstly to ensure that there is sufficient space around the downlighter unit - standard seems to be around 75mm either side and above the lamp but it can be a higher figure.
If that is not possible then consider replacing the units with a surface mounted light.

 

[winston1]

If the energy saving ones are LED's then your belief is wrong - they dissipate heat to the rear as well -.

Yes, but a lot lot less.

 

[Roton600]

Was looking at the cfl ones not led ones

 

[DaftPunk]

What a mistake-a to make-a

LED wins on every single front. Have a look at tool station. They're knocking out 9W GU10 LEDs for about a tenner.

 

[riveralt]

If the energy saving ones are LED's then your belief is wrong - they dissipate heat to the rear as well -.

Yes, but a lot lot less.

Indeed that well may be the case, but don't pick one up, until its cooled down otherwise you will be wearing the heat sink on your fingers for a while.

Was looking at the cfl ones not led ones

Fine then - but remember just like LED's they too will require a minimum distance around the sides and rear of the unit and that seems to be the issue here.
You will also need to ensure that the downligher units are fire rated.