Hey there,
Just wanting to know what uses less power to run? Is it 12v 50w downlight or a 240v 50w downlight?

Regards Michael

We are about to move into a new project home. I have an electrician friend who will help me install downlights. I am energy conscious but of course I also want to light the rooms sufficiently, I also want to dim the lights. I have borrowed a sample of the new compact fluorescent lamps in a downlight fixture and with it temporarily wired to an extension chord whilst I held it at the ceiling in a dark room my wife and I were not impressed with the light out put, it was 11W supposedly the equivalent of a 60 Watt but it was more like our camp light in our tent and of course was not dimmable, this lead us to borrow a new Infra red coated dichroic 12 V lamp, which of course is dimmable, the one we borrowed was 20 W but there is a 37 W available that is more like a 55W lamp (apparently) this seemed to give a better light and is the way we are thinking of going, as it has power consumption advantages and gives good light, our dilemma now is how many to fit to a room, getting advice from the internet has confused me no end as some say better to fit more and use dimmers and others suggest 6 is plenty for an average room.