Ceiling downlight from Orluna
This week’s Made in GB Monday light is the Detail Mini Tilt and Rotate ceiling downlight from Orluna which is one of the staples in my Lighting Consultant’s toolkit:
There are so many things that I really like about it. The wide variety of LED light engines available deliver from equivalent to 50W low voltage halogen lamps to well above this. I can use the same product in standard, double, or triple ceiling heights with each version providing the right amount of light – very useful when many homes have varying ceiling heights from floor to floor. The lowest light level version is well above the minimum 400 lumens per fitting required in the current UK Building Regulations when there are still plenty of products around that don’t meet or just meet this requirement. As a Lighting Designer I take it as my responsibility to ensure that all projects that require a building inspection meet all of the relevant regulations.
I can chose from 4 different colour temperatures from extra warm white through to cool white when many products come in 1 only or perhaps 1 or 2. The colour binning is the tightest on the market so I know I won’t risk them all producing light of slightly different shades of white which clients really don’t like! There are 4 different beam widths that allow me to highlight larger or smaller things precisely when many products only come in 1 beam width. The fitting rotates by up to 360° and tilts up to 28° allowing me to direct exactly where the light needs to go.
There are 2 IP (water tightness) variations – IP44 is standard and IP65 can be achieved which is almost unheard of in an adjustable downlight. I can carry the same look throughout a home if I want to without compromise by specifying a totally different, usually fixed downlight in wet areas such as bathrooms and swimming pools. The standard versions aren’t fire rated – fire rating is an add-on item so I can save my clients’ money by not specifying fire rated where it’s not necessary. Many downlights are fire rated as standard so extra is charged for something that isn’t needed.
The light engine is set back in the fitting with a black “baffle” that reduces the nasty glare which many downlights are prone to when the light source is close to the ceiling. If I want, I can have that baffle in an alternative finish. The clever engineering mimics the sparkle effect created by low voltage halogen downlights when so many downlight ranges create a pretty dull, dead light. The bezel is extremely slim and the textured paint means that they blend into a rollered ceiling when smoothly painted products stick out like a sore thumb. If the standard RAL9010 finish isn’t a perfect match to the ceiling I can have them matched to any RAL finish and they also come in a wide range of metal plated finishes such as polished chrome or antique brass.
Finally, the light engines are designed to go in their extensive range of fittings so if I want to use different designs to suit different areas in my projects I can and the light produced will be consistent throughout. What’s not to like?
