Lighting Installation in Melbourne

Halogen downlights run at around 50W each and get hot enough to be a genuine fire risk where insulation has crept over them. A ceiling with twelve of them is drawing 600W just for light. The LED equivalent draws roughly 100W in total and runs cool.

The part that is often skipped is the old transformer. Each halogen fitting had one sitting in the ceiling space, and when the fitting is swapped, that transformer must come out rather than be left disconnected in the roof. We remove them. If a company quotes a suspiciously cheap price per light, ask them directly whether the transformers are being removed and whether the ceiling space is being checked while they are up there.

The most common mistake is treating downlights as a decoration to be spaced evenly. They should be placed where you need light. In a kitchen that means over the front edge of the bench, not centred in the room, because a light directly overhead puts your own shadow on the chopping board.

As a rough starting point, downlights in a living area sit about 1.2 to 1.5 metres apart and roughly 600mm off the walls, but ceiling height, beam angle and wall colour all shift that. We mark the ceiling and let you look at it before a single hole is cut.

Most homes we work in have too few switch points rather than too few lights. Two-way switching at both ends of a hallway, or at the bedroom door and the bed, costs very little at the time and is used every day for twenty years.

Dimming is worth doing properly. LED dimming needs a dimmer designed for the driver in the light, and matching the two is not optional. We keep to combinations we have installed and tested, because the failure mode of a mismatch is flicker at low levels or lights that will not start reliably. Smart switches and app or voice control are straightforward to fit, but we always keep a physical switch that works when the internet does not.

Outdoor lighting has two separate jobs and they need different fittings. Security lighting is about detection and deterrence, which means motion sensors positioned to cover approaches without triggering on every passing cat. Garden and entertaining lighting is about being able to use the space after dark, which means lower level, warmer light that does not blind you at the table.

Everything outdoors needs a suitable IP rating and, in bayside suburbs like Altona, Williamstown and Seaholme, corrosion resistance matters. Salt air destroys cheap fittings within a couple of summers. Outdoor circuits require RCD protection, and any new outdoor wiring is installed to the requirements of AS/NZS 3000 for the conditions it is exposed to.

For a swap over of existing fittings we work room by room and clean up as we go. For new positions we check the ceiling space first, because joists, ducting, water pipes and existing cable runs decide what is actually possible. On a plaster ceiling with a roof space above, new lights are usually straightforward. On a raked or concrete ceiling, or a double storey with a floor above, options narrow and we will talk you through them before quoting.

All new and altered lighting circuits are tested and covered by a Certificate of Electrical Safety, and the workmanship carries our 12-month guarantee on top of the manufacturer warranty on the fittings themselves.