CAN you put halogens/downlights in a downstairs ceiling? As in the kitchen?

[ampere]

We have a 10 year old 2 storey estate house with the standard inadequate light bulb hanging forlornly in the middle of the kitchen ceiling. We want to put in a series of halogens, embedded in the ceiling.

IS it possible when you obviously can't access the ceiling from the floor above?

Might mean putting in a false ceiling a bit lower than your current - is there space for that?

I don't think I'd want to go to that much expense tbh!

in my experience, yes you can. we had downlighters fitted to our kitchen without the ceiling coming down or a false ceiling put in.
it was a few years ago, so can't remember the exact details, i don't think they did anything from above.

It can be done if there's a big enough gap between your ceiling and the floor above. The electrician would have to make holes in the ceiling, and then you'd need it replastered and redecorated.

We looked into doing this because we only have wall lights but we couldn't do it because there was no wiring at all near the ceiling. But if you've got a standard ceiling light that should be possible.

We've got them in the kitchen - they were put there before we moved in but there doesn't seem to be a false ceiling or anything.

we had it done a couple of months ago. The whole thing had to be ripped down anyway. We had a new ceiling with the lights and then replastered.

They're a pain though, the bulbs go all the time. And talk about wasting electricity... I hate not being able to control how many go on (except by not replacing the bulbs). Ours look awful.

They're all over our new house built 5.5 years ago - I hate them with a passion.

Yes, depends on the depth of the ceiling. I love them, but it's important where you place them (over the counter and not behind you so that your body doesn't create a shadow). Make sure you put them on a dimmer (but make sure you get dimmable transformers). Also you may want to have a separate switch for undercabinet lights.

You can get mains halogen downlighters that don't need transformers - had these type and just recently replaced saome of the bulbs that are 5 plus years old!! Depending on which way the joists run and the current cabling the electrician may just be able to cut a few small holes and use cable rods to push through (is there access from above floor is another option). Note do NOT buy the types sold in many DIY stores the new downlighters need to be the flame resistant type that keep the fireproof integrity when you cut the holes in the plaster board. Places like screwfix sell them - around £8 plus each depending on what you fit. Mains halogens can be dimmed, don't need transformers, last long time, maybe not as energy efficient as low voltage but IMO offer more benefits. You may not need full replaster just a few holes filled and re-painted over.