Discuss Downlight hoods for upstairs/ loft in the Lighting Forum area at ElectriciansForums.net

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Billwah

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Hi all,
Have been asked to replace some ceiling lights in a customer bathroom; they're after LED downlight.
Now customer has some IP65 mains LED downlight which are fire rated (closed, can design). Do I need to use fire hoods in the loft? The insation is deep enough to bury the back of the light. If it helps, the lights the customer has have intumescent deals and are rated into 90 mins.
 
Hoods aren't required as the ceiling wouldn't be acting as a fire barrier to a room upstairs as it's only a inhabited loft above.
Your installing fire rated down lighting anyway.
 
hoods are fitted to give some air space around the fittings and help cooling.. nothing to do with fire rating. just cut the insulation away around the light.
 
You need to keep the insulation off the tops of the light fittings (you may fit 5W LED's but the customer could fit 50W halogens later...

You can either invest in expensive systems or recommend some 100mm wide wood and cut it into lengths and sit across the joists - if the joists aren't tall enough put a strip of wood on top of the joists first...
 
OP, your avatar suggest you are a DIY'er, your profile says 'aircraft electrician'. Appears you are charging someone to carry out electrical work in a bathroom, which also potentially could be notifiable.

A simple question of what luminaires to fit, and necessity or not, suggests like of competency, if you beg my pardon?
 
No you do not need a fire hood as for what you have described the down light has a intumescent strip to prevent spread of fire through cut out however you are supposed to fit a box/hood to allow the loft insulation to pass over the fitting (preventing heat loss) whilst a air gap around the light, however this is rarely done in practice. What sort of down light is it if it is one that takes GU10LED lamps check that it fits as have found in the past that the higher wattage ones do not fit ie you can not get IP glass cover on.
 
I am now fitting fire rated insulation coverable downlights all the time. The cost hasn't been prohibitive and you are covered both on the fire rating aspect and if the customer covers the down lights with insulation. There is also an IP65, Fire Rated, Insulation Coverable (They have thought of it all) made by Aurora part code AU-UNIF863 which off the top of my head is about £8 and they come with various different coloured bezels to suit your customers needs. I've just fitted 45 in one job, customer wanted downlights everywhere, they pull up really nice and tight to the ceiling and are easy to wire up. Cant remember the part code for the non-IP65 one but again an Aurora fitting.
 

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