Loft space lighting question

[louisIV]

Hi folks.

A friend has asked if I can install some lighting up in his loft space. He wants to be energy efficient, and I'm wondering which is the best way to go. It has cross-beams all over the place and no room to stand except at the centre, so he's generally only going to store stuff up there.

My thoughts are that while LEDs are very efficient, the light distribution might not be very good (is that right?) - and they are very expensive. Old style fluorescent tubes are much better at distribution, but some people are bothered by the flicker (never worries me). CFLs are annoying because they take a while to light properly.

Are there any other options? And what have people done in similar situations?

Cheers m'dears.

LIV.

 

[ianmacd]

Why LE? Is he planning on leaving them on for hours a day?

 

[Doc Hudson]

Whatever type of lamp you do install always ensure more than one, so when a lamp blows you still have one other working light to see by to replace the blown lamp. Standard batten or pendant holder is probably quickest & cheapest as some lofts can be tricky finding a suitable mounting position for a fluorescent tube. If going into a loft you probably are up there for a short while so the CFL's delay may not be too much of an issue. I think cost is the major factor when choosing loft lights, as they are not going to be used much anyway!

Doc H.

 

[louisIV]

Thanks for the help guys. No I don't imagine he'll be spending much time up there, so LEDs are probably overkill. And considering space issues, it looks like pendants/CFLs are probably the best choice.

Thanks for your thoughts. Being a student who so far hasn't landed a job in the industry, these things are a good exercise for me - chewing over all the practical angles on a 'real' job.

PS Canoeboy - I know what you mean about wasting electricity on lighting. I'm a lodger with a friend at the moment. Mother and daughter alike seem to be totally oblivious to the fact that when you leave 3/4kW of lighting on continually (even when they're both out) is a waste of resources and costs money! The other thing is always filling the kettle - just for one cup.

Mother complains she's always short of money, but she's as bad as her daughter for just pure waste. I've pointed these things out to both of them, but I'm a lodger; it's not my house. I just go round switching lights off as much as possible.

LIV.

 

[Ali]

In a loft with not much headroom, I always try to put in pendant fittings rather than fixed battens so that if they get hit when stuff is being moved around, they will swing out of the way, not smash. I have got a fluorescent in my loft (it's been there since before I moved in) and I've nearly smashed it loads of times. One day I'll change it - I just hope it's before I break it

 

[Megaohm7]

If its anything like my house the missus and kids think money grows on trees and leave the lights on day and night, got to the point i'm sick of moaning now (and the selv transformers are packing up) about the 20 x 50Watt lights being left on daily.....Just bought a load of Halers 7W leds, going to save me a fortune

I thought that it was just my son who leaves lights on all over the house, but the wife is always nagging at him to turn them off when he's done.

 

[SPECIAL LOCATION]

Candles??

ROTFWL

 

[Badger]

Candles?? ROTFWL

is that like four candles or fork handles :slap

 

[louisIV]

Thanks Canoeboy for that link. They say that the Superkettle can save energy. I'm trying to figure out whether it would in this house. It's actually my friend's birthday coming up in a week. Sadly, they say they're out of stock until the 22nd!

LIV