In a plasterboard suspended ceiling, spotlights play more than just a practical role. With their help, you can create a harmonious design in the room, divide the room into zones, and illuminate hard-to-reach areas. Moreover, the market today offers a wide variety of models. You need to decide on the type of luminaires used before installing the suspended structure. In accordance with this, a wiring diagram is drawn up and the height between the base and plasterboard ceilings is determined.
Recommendations for choosing lighting equipment for plasterboard ceilings
Whichever type of fixtures you choose, when buying, first of all, you need to pay attention to the product certification and the supplier's license. It is also recommended to consider the protection index (IP). It usually consists of two digits.
The first shows the degree of protection against dust, where "0" - no protection, and "6" - full protection. The second number indicates moisture resistance, where "0" - no protection, and "8" - installation under water is possible. For rooms with high humidity, where moisture-resistant sheets are installed, devices with an IP 42 protection class are suitable. For example, in a kitchen such a lamp will be protected from dust and moisture.
Some manufacturers make models with special inserts for light diffusion. Well-known companies even use crystal for this purpose. However, such a product is not cheap.
Electrical wires for connecting lamps are used with a cross section of 1.5 cm2.
As for the step-down transformer, there are two types:
- Induction … Dimensional, inexpensive, weighs 2 kg, has a long service life.
- Electronic … It is relatively more expensive, and the service life is almost half the time. The main advantage is compactness.
It is important to choose the power of the transformer with a margin of 20-30%. This will significantly extend his term of office. If desired, you can purchase a dimmer - a device for adjusting the intensity of lighting and the smoothness of turning on the lamps. This will not only create interesting lighting effects, but also reduce energy consumption, increasing the life of the bulbs.
Rules for drawing up a lighting scheme for a plasterboard ceiling
It is important to take into account not only the distance to the metal profiles in the luminaire arrangement drawing, but also the efficiency and uniformity of illumination. With the help of spotlights, you can zone a room or achieve the desired lighting effect.
To do this, you must be guided by the following rules:
- If you decide to arrange the bulbs in rows, then the distance between the lines should be less than 1 meter, and to the wall - less than 0.6-0.8 meters. Otherwise, the devices will illuminate the walls, not the room.
- The symmetrical arrangement of lamps is used more often than others, especially if you do not have special design skills and want to achieve uniform lighting.
- The distance between the luminaires depends on their diameter. For models up to 10 cm, you need to maintain a length of about one meter. If the diameter of the device is 15 cm, then the distance is increased to 1.7 meters.
These simple guidelines will help you light your entire room as efficiently as possible without leaving any dark areas.
Installation of a recessed spotlight in a plasterboard ceiling
First you need to make a diagram of the location of profiles and housings of lighting devices. This is necessary so that after installation it does not turn out that the chosen place for installing the luminaire coincides with the section of the profile. Do not forget that before work it is imperative to de-energize the room.
After creating a schematic drawing, we work as follows:
- We install the frame from guides and ceiling profiles at the level of the suspended structure. Make sure that the distance to the base coat is sufficient to accommodate the selected luminaire.
- We fix the light box. Please note that it should be in an easily accessible area.
- We put all the wiring from the lighting box in a special corrugated sleeve made of non-combustible plastic.
- We install the switch. Note that it should only open the phase wire.
- We fix the sleeve to the ceiling using special fasteners. It is important that the wires do not come into contact with the metal profile during insulation breakdown.
- If there are sections of wires with twists, we place them in a copper sleeve and additionally insulate them.
- At the locations of the recessed fixtures for plasterboard ceilings, we draw wire leads. It is not advisable to make a serial connection. This can overload the terminal block of the first luminaire.
- We sheathe the frame with plasterboard. At the location of the lamp, make a hole with a drill with a special crown, the diameter of which is equal to the diameter of the lamp body.
- We pull out the wire and connect it to the device. For this, either special fasteners or a terminal block are used. We make sure that there are no kinks on the wires.
- We fix the body in the hole with springs.
- We insert the selected lamp and, if necessary, attach the body protection.
- We repeat the process to connect each luminaire.
If a halogen lamp is chosen for the luminaire, then do not forget about the step-down transformer. We connect it as follows:
- We clean 0.5 cm of insulation on each side of the wires.
- We insert the stripped ends into the terminal blocks on the transformer and luminaire.
- We tighten the screws completely and additionally insulate the ends of the wires.
- We connect to the 220 V terminal block.
Please note that when screwing in the lamp, it is advisable to work with gloves so as not to leave fingerprints on the surface of the product. LED fixtures for plasterboard ceilings are installed in the same way, but using a special driver that converts the voltage from 220 V to the required 3 V.
Fastening pendant lights to a plasterboard ceiling
Pendant luminaires are suitable for installation in a room with high ceilings. They usually have a relatively low weight, and therefore they can be mounted on the embedded profile.
We carry out the fastening as follows:
- We draw up a diagram of the suspended structure and the installation location of the devices.
- We install guides and ceiling profiles, fix the lintels.
- We attach a special embedded profile to the suspension at the place where the luminaire is installed.
- We equip the lighting wiring and lay the wires in the corrugated sleeve.
- We draw conclusions for devices in the form of a loop 20-30 cm long.
- We cover the structure with plasterboard.
- In the place where the fixtures are installed in the plasterboard ceiling, we drill holes with a crown.
- We pull out the wires and connect to the plafond.
- We fix the product to the embedded profile with special clamps.
- We install a decorative plug between the cover and the device.
If the weight of the structure is less than 2 kg, then it can be attached to the sheet using a butterfly dowel.
Installing a fiber optic luminaire in a plasterboard ceiling
Such a device can be installed in a room with high ceilings. It is perfect for a living room or bedroom. You can choose different colors of the products. Optical fibers are completely safe, they only conduct light (no current).
The installation process is carried out in the following order:
- We mark the surface and assemble the frame from metal profiles.
- Separately, we make a ceiling niche in which the projector will be located. It is recommended to do it near the luminaire installation site.
- We plasterboard the structure. At the place of its installation, we mark the not yet fixed sheet and drill a lot of holes with a diameter of 0.5-1 cm in a circle. The area of the circle should be less than 50% of the sheet area. It is recommended to maintain a distance of 2-2.5 cm between the holes.
- We connect the bundles of fiber optic threads to the projector. If necessary, we use special lenses and attachments to create various lighting effects.
- We pass through the holes of the fiber optic and pull it to an arbitrary length, which depends on the height of the ceilings. If possible, the luminaire can be equipped even up to the floor.
Most importantly, do not bend the threads so as not to damage them. How to install lamps in a plasterboard ceiling - watch the video:
Installation of lamps is indispensable if the suspended ceiling is installed in a low room, where the installation of the chandelier is simply impossible. In addition, you can organize uniform lighting in the room, highlight the work area and the resting place. How to choose a plasterboard ceiling lamp and correctly install it with your own hands, our recommendations will tell you.
