I have a kitchen 6 metres x 6 metres. I want to know how many 12v spot lights I should put in. Does any body know of any web sites that could give me an idea, or any suggestions welcome?
The last kitchen I did that was a similar size I fitted nine downlighters in it. You are better putting in more fittings that can have lower wattage lamps put in them if it is to bright or fit a dimmer switch, and also this will give you a more even spread of light. If you put in just a few brighter spots you may find you have dull areas in the kitchen and uneven light levels. Also it is very difficult to fit extra spots at a later date and keep them looking properly and neatly laid out on the ceiling.
It's nice and bright, but I wouldn't say it was too much.
Although with that in mind, your kitchen which is 4 times the size would need 24 lights!!
Ours are on a dimmer, but for cooking and the like (which is what I tend to do in the kitchen) I tend to have them on full and it really easy to see what you are doing.
HTH
When you put in more than 5 dounlights, I would recommend to use more than one switch than you have control on the lighting in zones.
The other thing is that if you want to use Dimmers do not forget that they are limited to a certain load, and for every 5 downlights I would use a different dimmer and not less than 400W, what I said does not mean that other advice is wrong, this is the way I would do it.
I agree absolutely with Albert. Split the lighting into several sub-circuits and don't bother with dimmers - there's not a lot of point in kitchens. Task lighting - such as beneath wall units - also makes a lot of sense.
If it's an area where you want 'mood lighting' (dining area, for instance) then consider alternatives to halogen spotlights; wall lights, perhaps, or separate feature lighting. This way you can configure your lighting to how you want to use the room.
Having said all that, you can't beat a good old six-foot florry for kitchen lighting!
I have fitted a ~3m x 3m kitchen with 6 eyeball downlights which point to specific areas - all off one non dimmed switch - combinded with under unit lighting the kitchen is bright and has no dull spots.
In the bigger kitchen area I would tend to use zones for the lighting but I suppose it depends on the layout of the kitche, position of the lights and if other methods of lighting are used as well.
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