How I Chose my PLC DownLights

Hi, all. I hope my post here will help to illuminate those who are new to finding PLC downlights.

Ok, contrary to my usual rambling style, here's what I finally got.

Each PLC downlight has (1) 2 X 13W sockets for the PLC tubes and (2) The ballasts are not from China, in this case, after scouring Jalan Besar to Balestier, I got them with ATCO (made in Australia) ballasts.

Why 2 X 13W? Mind you, even though our HDB flat is small, the "downlight" as the name suggests, casts a downward light with a certain spread of angle outwards from the centre. So, that's why in false ceilings or light-boxes, you see a row of 3's or 4's. So, you need 2 tubes to be sure that there is enough light. If you find it too bright, at least you have the option to unscrew one (13W only) or replace with 2 X 10W light. Also, since you usually have the glass sandblasted or with a piece of frosted film to disperse the light so that it is not too harsh to look at, you do need certain level of brightness.Note that in my selection, I chose these little angels with halos because they've got a clear glass border that "leaks" more light and you will see it like a halo effect. Most of the normal ones have plain white borders so you can only count on the light coming out from the centre part of the glass panel.

Finally, I also made sure that the PLC light holder has a good amount of reflective surface inside.

Let there be light!

P.S. At request of "My BB", here's a picture of the PLC downlights switched off on the left. Sorry for blurry image, I took the photos when I came home at night and I only switched on a neighbouring LED light to illuminate it.

The Science and Art of a Water Heater

Ok, a follow-up from my previous post. I visited the Bennington office at TechPlace 1 to solve my water pressure and "slow" hot water problem. Robert Lee, the guy in charge of technical support was very thorough and he gave an excellent demo of how the C600 works.

They actually set up a working model at one corner, and he proceeded to explain to me how fast the water will be heated up by the C600 (C600 multi-point instant) water heater. For demonstration purposes, they didn't hook up long pipes (from 5 to 10m long) to simulate the common and MBR (master bedroom) bathroom water points. But it did show how fast hot water will start flowing once the heater is triggered by water pressure. It took about 3-4 seconds - roughly the same as my current single point instant heater at home. It works, point taken. But what about my slow hot water problem?

Well, earlier, their onsite engineer has already checked that it is not due to the debris in the C600's copper tank. (Note: it is always a must for the installer to flush out the water in the pipes before connecting to the inlet of the C600 to prevent accumulated dust or other contaminants from getting into the heater tank).


So, anyway we already established that whether it is using instant heater or storage heater, the hot water needs to first travel along the pipes (even for HDB flats where the MBR and common bathroom are practically side by side), and so it will still take time for the water inside to be displaced before you can feel the hot water. I figured the water was probably displaced around 1 metre worth of pipes per second (okay I have no scientific measurements to confirm this, and going by gut feel here), so the 10 seconds initial wait was logical. But, it would probably take another 2-3 seconds per metre worth of pipes I reckon for the hot water to completely displace the pre-existing water, so you'd look at 15-20 seconds in the afternoons for the water to feel hot, and a 20-30 seconds wait in the evening/night. However, there is another hidden factor at work.

In my case, the large shower heads (on the right side in the picture above) from the original HDB fittings means that (1) more water needs to flow through to get satisfactory pressure (2) you waste more water. I also deduced that when there is more water rushing through the C600, besides wastage, it also means less time for the water to heat up fast - so the hot level doesn't reach the optimal hot level fast. So, therein lies another hidden factor - the size of the showerhead. Size, it seems, does really matter. ;-)

Robert also explained to me that his company took pains to scour the market to find the showerheads that meet their stringent requirements. So, I bought 2 of the same smaller type "standard" showerheads that come bundled with their other instant single heaters. (Note: the C600 doesn't come with showerheads as it is a multi-point heater and you're home should have the separate shower set installed). He also mentioned that some countries require hand shower to be tested to specific water saving standards and what they supply comply with such standards. When I tried them, I could feel sufficient water running through in strong jets, but yet, the total amount of water dispensed is surprisingly modest compared to my old ones. See picture below of the 2 types of showerheads that Bennington has. I choose the smaller one on the left.

When I got back, I was so happy that I made the trip to get the showerheads. The whole system from C600 to the showerheads really works! After I replaced the showerheads, I turned on the shower in the MBR, and strong jets of water came forth. Hot water started coming after around 10 seconds (you can't escape the physics portion) and it really could get hot unlike before! After a while, I even had to turn down the knob a bit to adjust it to lukewarm coz it got quite hot (but to be objective that's like after half a minute while I was testing, so I guess the whole system of heating, water flow and rate of expulsion from the shower has reached optimum). At least it works, and works well, unlike some hotel rooms where I had stayed before.

With a small turn on the showerhead, I got the "spa" mode where the water comes out in a few thicker and pulsating jets - or more like water massage mode - as it beat down on my palm. Finally, I really like the "mist" mode when you turn it all the way to one side. The showerhead becomes like tiny sprinklers and you can feel both warm mist and wind blasting out. Very therapeutic, and I think the ladies would love it.

So, now the water pressure from the shower is strong - in fact, I may turn it down the volume at the water mains so that the jets are moderately strong. In fact, I probably should have gotten the other bigger showerhead that Bennington has. Unfortunately, it only comes in the normal and "spa" mode. Would have missed out on the "mist" mode. I guess that's the "Art" part of it to appreciate how things work, and get the maximum satisfaction out of this product. I also love the fact that its more environmentally friendly, as the water-saving feature of their showerheads means I can indulge in the shower slightly longer without the guilt or a big water bill at the end of the month.

Oh, I forgot to mention that Robert explained that their heaters are tested by PSB, and besides being protected from current leakage by using earth connection, there are 2 safety thermal cut-off protections or what I term as "fail-safe" features in the heater. One fail-safe kicks in at the heater when it rises about 60 degrees to act to prevent overheating so that you won't get scaled. The 2nd fail-safe kicks in if it really rises above 90 degrees or there is major expansion to prevent any form of "explosion" or the copper tank cracking.Most heaters come with only one such thermal cut-off protection. While shopping for my lights and heater, I heard there is another brand of multi-point instant heater on the market by Rxxx, but the news is that the OEM manufacturer has apparently closed down. So, price may be low as they are clearing stock, but customer service is in question. Robert also mentioned that their C600's copper tanks are sealed using a higher temperature process called "blazing" (above 600 degrees?) which effectively makes the copper tank bonded stronger. The other manufacturer uses normal welding which will leak through prolonged use or above 500(?) degrees.

I'm glad I bought this C600, and will recommend to whoever is looking for a good balance of function, safety and reliability.

P.S. I apologise for some of the blur pictures - it was warm and misty in the bathroom. ;-)

Bravo! Bennington Instant Multi-Point Water Heaters

Under the recommendation from Alan of Venice of Italy lights, I bought the Bennington C600 Multipoint Water Heater. Why? Well, mainly because of 2 key points: (1) We're used to having "instant" water heater, and actually, my mum is worried about gas-heated storage heaters (2) I wanted to maximise the nice ready-built cold and hot water pipes by HDB. I almost went ahead to get 2 instant heaters (thereby wasting the mixer tap for the sink and only using one set of pipes, or got a storage heater (thereby incurring the wrath of my mum's constant nagging), but as luck would have it, Alan introduced me to the Bennington C600.

But, really maybe my family is just having this unwarranted phobia of gas leakage or getting scaled by storage heater. I'm sure there are thousands of households using storage heater, so the track record speaks for itself.

However, the idea that we don't wait 10 minutes or more to get hot water and getting back the "instant" water heater was appealing. Plus, it would feel like a 5-start hotel coz I can get the hot water at my wash basin/sink too, so why not? So, after visiting Bennington's website I decided to go ahead to buy from Alan. He even had photos from the agent or distributor to show (similar to the one I took in this blog) to tell my contractor how to do it properly. So it was a no-brainer. At the price of S$280, roughly similar to the price of 1 storage heater or similar to the price of 2 single-point instant heater, or even cheaper depending on what brand/model you buy, it was the wisest decision for me.

So, after the installation was done, unfortunately, I only have one gripe. Ergo, this rambling blog. Okay, before I go further I have to say this: If you WANT hot water on demand all the time, and you WANT to maximise the piping (cold/hot water pipes) done by HDB for the new flats, then in my opinion this Bennington C600 multi-point instant heater is AS GOOD AS IT GETS! But, it is not perfect. So, I thought I should write this to help other customers acquire a reasonable expectation, so that they don't get disillusioned unnecessarily by wrong assumptions, or unreasonable expectations of this product. Because, really in my opinion, so far the C600 is a good product.

Let me explain. After my contractor's plumber installed it (in the common bathroom), I tested the hot water by turning on the mixer tap in the common bathroom. I was initially surprised it took longer than my instant heater in my old bathroom shower. Sure, the water is running through a new set of pipes hidden in the wall, but I didn't expect it to take from usual say 6 seconds to now 10 to start feeling warmish, and 15-20 seconds to feel the hot water now (I later noticed it takes about 20-30 seconds to feel the hot water if its in the evening or late at night when the pipes are cooler). I didn't realize that the length of the pipes had such an impact. I never used storage heaters before, but I guess that is a good compromise to having wait 10 minutes for the hot water to boil in a storage heater. Both will have the same issue of the hot water having to transverse the pipes. So, the "wastage" of the water is the same, and I only heat what I need to use. I figured overall I'm better off, but again, I had a wrong set of assumptions initially about how "instant" the hot water is. Secondly, after the heater was installed, I noticed the water pressure from the showers had dropped a lot. I would say maybe 50%, but to be fair, I didn't really remember how it was like before as I hardly turned it on. But my impression is that surely it cannot be this low because my shower would not be satisfactory. Luckily, the solution to this is much simpler and the final outcome was good.

Like I said, this product is AS GOOD AS IT GETS if you want to have the convenience of an instant heater and still have the 5-star feeling of having hot/cold water on tap. But, here I also want to highlight the very unexpected good customer service I got from them. I figured I would send in a question via their website. I didn't have high expectations of getting a reply, but lo and behold, they pleasantly surprised me by replying within 48 hours and even during the midnight time. The boss must be very "gelek"/on the ball I think.

So, we corresponded via email and phone, so what happens is that their engineer will come down to my place to check out 2 possible problems: (1) there is debris lodged in the copper tank which may reduce the heating capacity. This may happen when during installation, the contractor didn't take the extra step to let the water flow to clear the debris (2) there is a problem with the HDB mixer tap (i understand from them it happens) so they will still help to troubleshoot and then I can get HDB to change out of goodwill. And of course there is (3) the heater wasn't installed properly, or it is not functioning well. So, we finally agreed I would pay a $20 transport fee if it is not heater related. Fair enough, so we agreed. I'm surprised that they would go to this length to help (yeah, its customer service, but we know in Singapore very few companies live up to this) since they didn't install for me. They truly live up to their word to "establish robust and lasting relationship with ... consumers...". I'm impressed.

So, the verdict? Well, the engineer from Bennington came, and when he turned on the mixer tap, he informed me that 10 seconds is about normal, and although he only did a visual inspection of the heater from external, and tested all the mixer taps in the showers for both the common and master bedroom, he established that the installation was correct, and there is no debris in the copper tank. So, the C600 multi-point heater was working perfectly.

Then I feedback about the low water pressure. He then whipped out a few smaller shower heads. He unscrewed the standard bigger one from HDB (with larger holes in the shower head) and put these standard ones that came with the other water heaters. When he turned on next, I was surprised that the water jets were gushing out with very good pressure. In fact, I would say it is excellent. Theirs had what I call 3 settings: jet/massage/mist. The hot water was spurting out very nicely with the jet setting, and when you turn to massage, the strong jets became a nice gushing frothy flow, and finally in "mist" mode, it became very fine and "misty". He proved on the spot that granted you use a small shower head, the water pressure is sufficient. In fact, I would say very strong indeed. Unfortunately, when he offered to sell me those on the spot, I couldn't decide - thought I could do better by going elsewhere coz he didn't have 2 of the same chrome colour - but later I regreted. I went to Jalan Besar to find, but none of the shops had the ones they sold. I was determined to get that, so I called them up, and they very politely told me to go to the showroom where besides choosing the ones i like, they could again take the chance to help explain the functioning of the C600.

So, I'm OFF to their office tomorrow at Ang Mo Kio Avenue 10. A bit out of the way, but hey, when you treat me like a customer, I feel good going down to find out first hand from them. Seems like I can't fix the 10 seconds wait, since it is as good as it gets, but at least I can solve the water pressure issue. Will report back after my field trip with pictures of the shower heads.

The Living (room) DayLights...

So... my writing seems to be getting this "80's" track. Before, it was "Square Rooms", now its "The Living Daylights". ;-)

Anyway... back to the ceiling lights. Finding the right PLC downlights for the living room was easy (yeah..like scouring the entire Jalan Besar street) but the final spot was an agony. First, I couldn't decide between a ceiling fan, or a ceiling light. So, I left it looking like this for a few weeks.

So, why was it so tough? Well... firstly, having a ceiling fan is practical - especially since I didn't want to make the whole unit air-conditioned. But, given the tight space left between the L-Box and the false ceiling (actually 66 inches wide to be exact), I wasn't sure if a small-ish 54 inch blades was sufficient, and if a bigger 56-incher or more would make the ceiling look very cramped. Luckily, there is always a good breeze running through the house if we open the windows, though when the air is still, it does start to feel a bit warm. Besides, I'm tall and my nephew and niece are very active, so it was also a safety concern. Still... I romantised that it would be great to lie down on the L-shaped sofa and drift slowing into dreamland listening to the blades swish slowing round and round... (Gosh, I feel another 80's song coming on! You spin me right round, baby, right round like a record baby, right round round round...)

So, finally - we ironed out the ceiling fan option - so, the next agony was finding the right ceiling light to fill the spot. Good lord! I thought it would be simple, but Noo.... Its a "Square Room", so if it was a round one, it would be such a contrast or won't fit into the space. Yes, it may "break" the monotony of the edges and maybe soften the feeling a bit, but I could find anything decent at Jalan Besar. At some point, i also thought of chandeliers with crystals, but the good breeze I mentioned earlier ruled that out pretty early in the game - no clink-clanking of crystals (or worse broken shards on the floor for someone to step on accidentally)... At some point, played with the idea of LED lights, or "ice cubes" mounted on the ceiling. Naaah... just doesn't "feel" right to me. But, almost got talked into it by the sales people...

I almost bought something online that looked really nice. They're really helpful with information, and I was talking with them over email on the specifications of the lights, but unfortunately, I ran out of time. On the 4th night on my quest to find the perfect light, I decided to head on to Balestier when my contractor called to say that the following morning, the electrician was coming over to finish the touch-ups, so I must get the ceiling light for them to mount.


So, this is finally what I decided to buy for the final ceiling light after 3 hours and 5 stores along Balestier road. I got it at "L C Lighting" which had a huge selection of lights. I ran through all the permutations again - they did have a very nice round-ish translucent ceramic light that looks like a donut with the centre filled with a polished silver plate which I almost bought - but finally, I saw something that said "Presto!". It was a plain looking squarish design – it looked like a bigger version of the downlights next to it, with a single piece of glass, a clear border with frosted sandblasted centre protruding out from the base held up by 4 round screws (almost identical to the downlights) – most people don’t notice “it” coz its so plain when its installed, but when I saw it I told myself “This is it!”. I went over all the permutations of square and round, spotlights or LED lights or chandeliers. It just fit the space to me, and it didn’t detract from the other décor but blended into the theme. It was also a private joke to myself that only I understood. It was a big brother downlight (3 X 26W energy saving tubes) to the rows of 3 next to it.

Another perspective: You'd probably see it better as a "big brother" PLC downlight in this picture. Well, I kept thinking about the other piece which I saw online, so I thought I'd include a link here for you folks to take a look here: Blue Moonstone.

I always wondered how it would fit in the space instead. Hmmmm... anyway, another time perhaps. ;-)

Square Room

Here's a shot of the living room. The 80's hit, "Square rooms" by Al Corey, comes to mind... A 6 feet suspended squarish TV console, built into a feature wall - simple design of stripes of glossy white laminate layered with thin steel trimmings and a light-coloured wood laminate in matt finish. Almost a "washed-out" look with no strong contrasting colours, but I know it will please the old folks while making the living room look good. Comes complete with 2 drawers and a frosted glass center console area for the DVDs and set-top boxes. Square PLC downlights flank both sides of the feature wall, and Yes, a squarish ceiling light to finish off the "square" theme.

3 months ago, I started looking for quotations and designs by saying I wanted something "contemporary, clean-cut and minimalist". When I started talking to contractors, and interior designers (IDs), I noticed that they didn't understand what I meant, or maybe I couldn't bring across what I wanted. So, I said "simple but nice". Yeah... sounds very boring, but I started getting them to go into the direction I wanted, so I continued with it.

I also agonized if I wanted a feature wall. You have those more complicated ones mirrors - in all combinations - clear mirrors, tinted mirrors, mirrors border the edges, or mirrors across the top. You also have those feature walls with a display area cut into the feature wall to make it look "cool". It all seemed that a suspended TV console was "in". At one point, I really wanted to just have some nice wall paper, and a very nice ready-made TV console instead. I've seen quite a few pre-fabricated TV consoles in fantastic gloss piano white finish, some with stainless steel finishes, etc. But I never found the right one to suit my requirement: "simple but nice". (Actually, it started out as "simple and elegant", but they couldn't get that right, so it was back to "simple and nice".)

So, eventually I settled for this design which was simple, and somewhat understated, but not so plain that you'd feel laminates were slapped on thoughtlessly. All I need now is a very nice black LED TV to punctuate the feature wall.

(Taken from the lyrics of Square Rooms...)
Just you and me
just you and me until the end of time.
Oh
oh
I know
I can see those. . . .
Oh
oh
square rooms
oh
oh
square rooms. ...
Oh
oh
square rooms
oh
oh
square rooms. ...
Oh
Oh
square rooms
oh
oh
square rooms. ...

Ergo: Altar Ego!

Ok, so here's the actual implementation of the altar table. At last! After anguishing over the lack of a sizable wall space facing the windows (which was what my parents insisted is the only direction suitable for the ancestral altar) the only available space is just about 60cm wide on the floor plan when we conceived the design. That's a big reduction from the old 2 metre plus altar table we currently have. I remembered my unpleasant surprise on the day of our collection of keys, that I discovered that the wall actually only measured 54cm... The wall was already small to begin with and I needed every inch of space available. This altar table has an ego, and if I messed it up, I'd be living with my mum nagging at me every time she has to make offerings.

So, in the end, as you can see in the picture (or you may not see coz the wall is now hidden), I tried to maximize the altar table space by building the right panel of the altar "cabinet" wider than the wall itself. This meant that the right panel would be protruding further than the edge of the wall. And by doing so, we then needed to extend the right panel all the way to the back to become a "feature wall" that joined with the shoe cabinet. So believe it or not, in the end, the altar top has 27 inches of space (68.6cm) even though the wall behind the altar table is only 54cm wide!

Actually, there is another secret - the shoe cabinet is deeper than it actually looks by about 1.5 inches. When they constructed the shoe cabinet, they didn't built it over the feature wall (luckily!) but they took the trouble to leave a hole to mount the shoe cabinet into the feature wall so that the shoe cabinet is not too wide, but at the same time, provides a load bearing structural support for the "floating" shoe cabinet as well.

So, anyway I think in the end, what matters most is that my mum is happy with what the contractor delivered. A suitable design, a suitable colour, and actually all measurements were made according to "auspicious" dimensions. I'd write about the "auspicious" dimensions another time...

First Post! (The End Comes First)

Ok, guys. Thanks for your patience, I've finally found time to create this blog.

So, the story starts with the ending in mind and this is the outcome of my renovation after months of labour, research, procrastination, decisions, discovery, agony, anguish, frustrations, joy, surprise, delight, and to say: "Finally, it's here!"

So, this first picture is of the "floating" shoe cabinet by the door. Nicely done with soft-closing hinge with just above 1 metre of space allowance from the main door. Finished with a bronze tinted mirror with a 3-watt LED spotlight that doubles up as a all-night light if needed, otherwise, a brighter 2X13W PLC light illuminating the foyer if we have guests coming for dinner.