KItchen Lighting - ZEP 1 advice.
Discussion
I've just installed zep1s in the garage and so far am very pleased with them. I did think they were quite dim but that may just be me subconsciously comparing to the panels.
I'd definitely recommend listening to Guy's advice and/or consider getting the lighting positions properly planned (professionally if needed) as it really makes more difference than you would naturally expect.
We also have zep6 darklights in the living room and similarly are really impressed with the quality and at 2700k the colour is spot on for what we wanted. Using vPro dimmer with no flicker. We never have them this bright though!
I'd definitely recommend listening to Guy's advice and/or consider getting the lighting positions properly planned (professionally if needed) as it really makes more difference than you would naturally expect.
We also have zep6 darklights in the living room and similarly are really impressed with the quality and at 2700k the colour is spot on for what we wanted. Using vPro dimmer with no flicker. We never have them this bright though!
bulldong said:
No, it is all the lights, on all the circuits. To be honest, I have never looked when they do, to see if the lights on different switches are flickering. I will check that question out next time they flicker.
It does tie in with the colder temps but it is difficult to tell because we barely use the lights in summer due to our house having windows on all sides and it being light until 10pm, so maybe we just don't notice it because we don't use them. They don't continuously flicker, just when they do it is like "ah ffs, flickering lights again" - like a constant reminder that I didn't quite get that aspect of the renovation right
.
The only thing I do know, is that no other lights in our house flicker, and there is never a problem with inconsistent power supply which would mean things like the oven turning on and off, or computers going on and off, or the internet etc.
I've just got my fault finding hat on, trying to work through the symptoms in a kind of logical fashion. It does tie in with the colder temps but it is difficult to tell because we barely use the lights in summer due to our house having windows on all sides and it being light until 10pm, so maybe we just don't notice it because we don't use them. They don't continuously flicker, just when they do it is like "ah ffs, flickering lights again" - like a constant reminder that I didn't quite get that aspect of the renovation right
.The only thing I do know, is that no other lights in our house flicker, and there is never a problem with inconsistent power supply which would mean things like the oven turning on and off, or computers going on and off, or the internet etc.
Edited by bulldong on Thursday 8th December 16:33
My reason for the question is that if they were all on the same switch, or a number of them are, it's unlikely they will all display a fault all at the same time. However, I'm not sure they are wired like that are they?
It might be a localised wiring fault, in that there's a slightly higher resistant in that part of the lighting circuit. Unlikely perhaps, and not likely to be confirmed without an electrician and his test gear.
Super Slo Mo said:
bulldong said:
No, it is all the lights, on all the circuits. To be honest, I have never looked when they do, to see if the lights on different switches are flickering. I will check that question out next time they flicker.
It does tie in with the colder temps but it is difficult to tell because we barely use the lights in summer due to our house having windows on all sides and it being light until 10pm, so maybe we just don't notice it because we don't use them. They don't continuously flicker, just when they do it is like "ah ffs, flickering lights again" - like a constant reminder that I didn't quite get that aspect of the renovation right.
The only thing I do know, is that no other lights in our house flicker, and there is never a problem with inconsistent power supply which would mean things like the oven turning on and off, or computers going on and off, or the internet etc.
I've just got my fault finding hat on, trying to work through the symptoms in a kind of logical fashion. It does tie in with the colder temps but it is difficult to tell because we barely use the lights in summer due to our house having windows on all sides and it being light until 10pm, so maybe we just don't notice it because we don't use them. They don't continuously flicker, just when they do it is like "ah ffs, flickering lights again" - like a constant reminder that I didn't quite get that aspect of the renovation right
.The only thing I do know, is that no other lights in our house flicker, and there is never a problem with inconsistent power supply which would mean things like the oven turning on and off, or computers going on and off, or the internet etc.
Edited by anonymous-user on Thursday 8th December 16:33
My reason for the question is that if they were all on the same switch, or a number of them are, it's unlikely they will all display a fault all at the same time. However, I'm not sure they are wired like that are they?
It might be a localised wiring fault, in that there's a slightly higher resistant in that part of the lighting circuit. Unlikely perhaps, and not likely to be confirmed without an electrician and his test gear.
Harry Flashman said:
And me too.
They work well with dimmers, we use LighwaveRF and it works well.
Here's a pic of our kitchen (almost finished but not decorated. The walls are currently pure white, so you can get an idea of the tone of the (Warm white) ZEP1 DKLs we are using. It is a newly renovated 1938 house. This kitchen is 7.5 x 6m.
The centre island lamps are 5W "filament" LED bulbs from LED Hut - not cheap, but quality, dimmable items.
The thing to note is not to overdo it. Our ZEPs are all around the room - the centre is taken care of by the island, and there are areas of floor that are not directly lit - we rely on the spots bouncing light off the walls. and we use 13 lights, arranged in four quadrants. The cooking area has 4, all others have 3 - effectively around the perimeter of the room. You can't see most of the spotlights in this photo, but you can see the light they emit.
The light given is a decent, warm shade without being too yellow - not at all cold and clinical. We get no flickering with the Lighwave dimmers, which are in this room running mostly circuits of 3 bulbs (each quadrant has its own circuit/gang on the 4 gang dimmer). In short, very successful.
Go to the 10w variants. You can always dim them down, but it means you can get away with fewer units, and avoid peppering the ceiling in that dreadful style you see in so many new builds. I'd also advise a couple of extra quid for the DKLs. Not only does the black painted recess help with glare, they also look significantly more expensive compared than the standard units. Which they are not.
iPhone photo, but colour rendering is accurate, and I have not messed with the light settings. This is all the ceiling lights (13 x ZEP1 10wDKL + 3 x island pendant LEDs) on full setting. Easily light enough, without any of the under-cabinet task lighting turned on
I've said this before. The ZEPs are one of the purchases I really feel were worth it (many things were not). Quality engineering, and the light quality is fantastic - consistent between lamps, warm and not harsh and cold, as LEDs can often be. Spread from the spots (beam angle) is great too.
Kitchen complete by baconrashers, on Flickr
Thanks for this. This is really helpful. That's a fantastic kitchen you have there, Are those the 2700K lights? We will be having 3 pendant lights over the island , and also some wall lights to add to the layering effect.They work well with dimmers, we use LighwaveRF and it works well.
Here's a pic of our kitchen (almost finished but not decorated. The walls are currently pure white, so you can get an idea of the tone of the (Warm white) ZEP1 DKLs we are using. It is a newly renovated 1938 house. This kitchen is 7.5 x 6m.
The centre island lamps are 5W "filament" LED bulbs from LED Hut - not cheap, but quality, dimmable items.
The thing to note is not to overdo it. Our ZEPs are all around the room - the centre is taken care of by the island, and there are areas of floor that are not directly lit - we rely on the spots bouncing light off the walls. and we use 13 lights, arranged in four quadrants. The cooking area has 4, all others have 3 - effectively around the perimeter of the room. You can't see most of the spotlights in this photo, but you can see the light they emit.
The light given is a decent, warm shade without being too yellow - not at all cold and clinical. We get no flickering with the Lighwave dimmers, which are in this room running mostly circuits of 3 bulbs (each quadrant has its own circuit/gang on the 4 gang dimmer). In short, very successful.
Go to the 10w variants. You can always dim them down, but it means you can get away with fewer units, and avoid peppering the ceiling in that dreadful style you see in so many new builds. I'd also advise a couple of extra quid for the DKLs. Not only does the black painted recess help with glare, they also look significantly more expensive compared than the standard units. Which they are not.
iPhone photo, but colour rendering is accurate, and I have not messed with the light settings. This is all the ceiling lights (13 x ZEP1 10wDKL + 3 x island pendant LEDs) on full setting. Easily light enough, without any of the under-cabinet task lighting turned on
I've said this before. The ZEPs are one of the purchases I really feel were worth it (many things were not). Quality engineering, and the light quality is fantastic - consistent between lamps, warm and not harsh and cold, as LEDs can often be. Spread from the spots (beam angle) is great too.
Kitchen complete by baconrashers, on FlickrEdited by Harry Flashman on Thursday 8th December 13:25
MrChips said:
I've just installed zep1s in the garage and so far am very pleased with them. I did think they were quite dim but that may just be me subconsciously comparing to the panels.
I'd definitely recommend listening to Guy's advice and/or consider getting the lighting positions properly planned (professionally if needed) as it really makes more difference than you would naturally expect.
We also have zep6 darklights in the living room and similarly are really impressed with the quality and at 2700k the colour is spot on for what we wanted. Using vPro dimmer with no flicker. We never have them this bright though!
Thanks, will contact Guy for some advice, The lighting from those zep6 look great and look much smaller in size too, is this the main difference between Zep1s?, why did you decide on these for the living room?I'd definitely recommend listening to Guy's advice and/or consider getting the lighting positions properly planned (professionally if needed) as it really makes more difference than you would naturally expect.
We also have zep6 darklights in the living room and similarly are really impressed with the quality and at 2700k the colour is spot on for what we wanted. Using vPro dimmer with no flicker. We never have them this bright though!
bulldong said:
Yes, it's baffling to be honest. I think we have 22 or so ZEP1s in total. 7 in the bathroom on one switch, 3 on a dimmer, 3 on another switch, 3 on another switch, and 6 in the hall on yet another switch. They all flicker. They flicker at different times. I hoiked the electrician back quite a few times moaning at him that they were flickering. He acknowledged the issue because he waited for it to do it, he tested it all a lot and couldn't find any problems. We have learned to live with it, but it is definitely an issue.
Concerned to hear about this. I'm not massively technical on fault finding so perhaps try our technical department next week when he's back. I can't pretend we don't have the occasional faulty light but it'd usually be either a single lamp or a driver - all the lights on a circuit doing the same thing would point towards to an issue being somthing else.
MrChips said:
I've just installed zep1s in the garage and so far am very pleased with them. I did think they were quite dim but that may just be me subconsciously comparing to the panels.
Your Z1s have a hell of a lot less output than the panels so they would be. But to add, you're seeing the reflection from raw plaster which is light absorbant. Will be much better once painted
boxster9 said:
Thanks, will contact Guy for some advice, The lighting from those zep6 look great and look much smaller in size too, is this the main difference between Zep1s?, why did you decide on these for the living room?
I'm sure Guy can advise on the technical differences but having seeing the zep6's, they are much more suited to a living room in my view. The led's are recessed quite a way inside the fitting, with the inside of the tunnel coated black, you drastically reduce the amount of glare. We can have the lights on at a fairly high level yet have no glare from the fitting even if you just stare directly at them. They are also very small in diameter, so visually less intrusive than traditional downlights. They are still plenty bright enough when needed though. Generally speaking, they just seem to give a really nice light, I had high hopes but they've even exceeded them!
MrChips said:
I'm sure Guy can advise on the technical differences but having seeing the zep6's, they are much more suited to a living room in my view. The led's are recessed quite a way inside the fitting, with the inside of the tunnel coated black, you drastically reduce the amount of glare. We can have the lights on at a fairly high level yet have no glare from the fitting even if you just stare directly at them. They are also very small in diameter, so visually less intrusive than traditional downlights. They are still plenty bright enough when needed though.
Generally speaking, they just seem to give a really nice light, I had high hopes but they've even exceeded them!
You can get the ZEP1's with the same dark recessed ring (oh err) Generally speaking, they just seem to give a really nice light, I had high hopes but they've even exceeded them!
http://www.ecoledlight.co.uk/product-builder/?stag...
But yes the smaller size of the 6 would be nice for certain applications too I guess. nice and discreet in places.
loughran said:
What does that tilting drawer in the end of your island conceal ? Is it a massive ironing board ?
It's just a drawer front, behind it are hidden some mains sockets. I hate when people make a nice island then put sockets on show, just looks crap. These work really well, reason its slightly open is something it plugged in.Gassing Station | Homes, Gardens and DIY | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff