Recessed downlights

[Thepipdoc]

First post to the forum and would appreciate some advice.

We have a 4 bedroom house which included lounge, dinning room hallways etc. and each of these rooms has at least 8 halogen 12v down lights fitted. We have something like 60 of these lights throughout the house!
We recently put the house on the market and we subsequently received an offer which we duly accepted. The buyer commissioned a full structural survey and one of the things the surveyor highlighted was the fact that "the wiring and downlights have been covered in the loft space by rock wool insulation".
The upshot of this is the buyer pulled out of the sale and we are back on the market.
My question is this:
If I replace all of the down lights with fire rated downlights ( currently some of them are fire rated some are not) AND replace the halogen lamps with LED lamps, would this satisfy regulations?
It was my understanding that no fire break was required in a loft space. I thought this was only a requirement when there was a habitable floor above the ceilingto which the lights are fitted to. I should perhaps add that these lights were fitted when we moved into the property but because we only had a home buyers survey this wasn't picked up.
Thanks in advance for any assstance

 

[PrenticeBoyofDerry]

You can purchase covers
http://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Main_Index/Fire_and_Smoke/Fire_Cover_Downlight/

 

[riveralt]

the fact that "the wiring and downlights have been covered in the loft space by rock wool insulation".

Which is your problem - although 60 *50w (potential) might well be another.
For the loft space you could use these:
http://www.screwfix.com/p/halolite-downlight-insulation-guard-220mm/97932
The lighting circuit wiring in the loft is not an issue since there is normally sufficient headroom with the current carrying capacity even when covered with insulation.

 

[PrenticeBoyofDerry]

"the wiring and downlights have been covered in the loft space by rock wool insulation".

The issue is ventilation for the lamp and also for the transformers.
Plus de-rating of cable within insulation, this will not be an issue on 5A or 6A lighting circuits, but any other power circuit such as sockets and shower it could well be, best advice is to lift if possible, the cable above the insulation.

 

[Thepipdoc]

Thanks for the replies guys.
Would the covers be required even with "cold" lamps i.e. LED lamps?

 

[PrenticeBoyofDerry]

Thanks for the replies guys.
Would the covers be required even with "cold" lamps i.e. LED lamps?

I would, just in case someone in the future decides to replace them back with halogen.
But the issue on survey concerns ventilation and over heating, so protecting the fittings with guards satisfies that.

 

[RF Lighting]

Whilst LEDs don't generate huge amounts of heat, the heat they do generate needs to be dissipated to prevent the fitting burning out.

You should install the insulation guards, but you do not require fire rated fittings / fire hoods in a standard 2 storey domestic house.