LED lights

[ruddlad]

Has anyone here got GU10 LED's fitted?

The ones I bought were sufficient enough in light, although they did spot on the floor which I figure was down to the beam angle of 45°

The surrounding colour was horrible though, it made you look jaundice, so I returned them. I need to replace 50w halogens.

It's all lumens and "equvalent to . . ." etc.

[andrewsmith]

Yes
We're trialling GU5.3 12V lamps at work.
Are's are fine, throwing the same amount of light and colour as a 20w Diochloric lamp

Where did you get them from?

[tigersaw]

I've got them everywhere, very pleased with them. Got the 1 watts in hall, landing, they are the sort with lots of surface mounts, soft even light, no spot. Ones in utility room are the 5w ones with 3 kinda lenses, very white light but not that bright. Kitchen was the hardest to get right - they are some I got from B+Q at £10 each, (although 3 for 2), 5 watts as well, not as bright as the 6 50 watters I had before, but along with with the cabinet lighting (also LED) its just fine.

edit - we are replacing flourescent lamps with LED tubes at work, they are very good, and have bought some 100,120 and 140 watt LED lamps for outdoor lighting - they are truely blinding

[happysv]

I've got gu10 Philips 7w in the kitchen and bathroom 4200k and there spot on :)

[Bibio]

shell garages are rolling out LED lighting across Britain. the one round the corner from us has them and they are as good as sodium, they also go half bright till a car comes along. they must be saving a fortune in power.

[ruddlad]

Got mine from ebay, just didn't like the surrounding colour.

They were 8w (4x2) so am now looking to get the smd versions where there is up 60 LED's to spread more evenly, though have read they aren't as bright???

Considering I have 34 in total in my house you can see the savings I can make.

Kitchen is the main area I want to get right.

[andrewsmith]

Go to City Electrical Factors (http://www.cef.co.uk/) or Newys (http://www.neweysonline.co.uk/Homepage.action)
Spend about £15 a lamp, you'll be paying less than that as your getting bulk supply

[ruddlad]

£15 a lamp is way of the question. Asda do 11w CFL's for £3.50, granted not as bright and take time to warm up. Just didn't know if my returned lights were par for the course with the colouring.

Majority of lights on ebay are from sellers based in China, considering a vast majority of products are made there these days and all the lights I have seen on UK based websites look identical, I figured I'd try them out.

They were warm white so going to try white light next time.

[happysv]

The Philips ones come up on eBay a lot so worth watching a few sets of 6-10 lamps on there.

[ruddlad]

Managed to get gu10's that were a great replacement at a good price and have a very good light. I went for daylight (6000k) instead of warm white.

Only problem now is I have some accent lighting that is still warm white. Three of which are on the same circuit as the ones I replaced but are 12v mr11 (gu4) smaller bulbs that use a transformer where the only access to it is through the ceiling as its now nestled snuggly under our recently refurbished bathroom with a tiled floor.. I cannot seem to find anywhere that sells day white halogen bulbs.

Have read on internet that the existing transformer may not be suitable if I get LED's,

Has anyone just replaced 12v halogens and used the existing transformer?

Simple solution is to disconnect, then patch and skim the holes but I'd like to keep them.

I know, forward planning and all that for the transformer positioning!!!!!!

[andrewsmith]

Managed to get gu10's that were a great replacement at a good price and have a very good light. I went for daylight (6000k) instead of warm white.

Only problem now is I have some accent lighting that is still warm white. Three of which are on the same circuit as the ones I replaced but are 12v mr11 (gu4) smaller bulbs that use a transformer where the only access to it is through the ceiling as its now nestled snuggly under our recently refurbished bathroom with a tiled floor.. I cannot seem to find anywhere that sells day white halogen bulbs.

Have read on internet that the existing transformer may not be suitable if I get LED's,

Has anyone just replaced 12v halogens and used the existing transformer?

Simple solution is to disconnect, then patch and skim the holes but I'd like to keep them.

I know, forward planning and all that for the transformer positioning!!!!!!

Yep we did. Had 1 that didn't like it out of 4 on the circuit

[ruddlad]

How'd you resolve it?

[andrewsmith]

swapped it for another unit. They're about a fiver to replace. we think it was one on the way out

[ruddlad]

So no need for a replacement transformer?

[andrewsmith]

you can buy led specific drivers (transformers ) but we swapped it with a standard 20/50W transformer

[tigersaw]

I replaced my bathroom MR16 (12v AC) lamps with LED 5 watters no problem.
There were 2 transformers previously, I consolidated them into just one.
The LED's dont mind AC supply, and work very well.
Existing transformers may not work if they are the electronic type - they need a minimum load to work. If you can remember your transformer before you buried it, if it was lightweight it will have been an electronic one.

[ruddlad]

Cannot recall, it's been there 8 years. The irony is that I did the bathroom 18 months ago and the bath sits over the transformer and it's all tiled, otherwise access would have been lino & floorboard up job done.

Mine are the smaller MR11's so around 2w LED, worth trying them I suppose, it's just accent lighting.

If I could get halogens white as opposed to the yellow warm white I'd do that, can't find any anywhere though.

Got to redecorate the kitchen and ceiling could do with a skim, so as a last resort hammer out!!

[thefallenangel]

I've been pushing in work to change flourescent tubes to LED. I got 5w 240v LED GU10's in my kitchen at £5 a lamp. Should *touch wood* never have to change on in the lifetime of the kitchen. Go cool white as warm white gives that jaundice effect. I've just ordered some G9 replacements for the bedroom which were more expensive at £10 each but 15% off this weekend + free LED torch this weekend on their site. I'm urging everyone to go LED. saves power, reduces cable wear and reduces the amount of changing which can damage fittings espically outdoor halogen lamps makes them viable.

[andrewsmith]

To give an update to this on the work based mods I've done.

We went down the GU10 240v replacement along with the 12v GU5.3 line.
Bloody hell it makes mini florescents look old hat! The GU10 LEDs thrown more and better light than the next best equivalent (on run time).

I'm looking at converting T5 recessed light fittings to LED as it makes the fittings a true Maintenance free item (100,000 hours from the info I've got)

[tigersaw]

My outdoor lighting is now LED too. Its brighter and clearer than the old halogens for about 5% of the power consumption.
They should now ban CFL (which have always been a bit carp - poor light, dont last long at all, toxic) instead of promoting them as the next best thing and push LED

[phil24_7]

What makes should I be sticking to? Where's best to get them?

[tigersaw]

I've used a lot of the diall from B+Q and they are great. Expensive, so wait until they are 3 for 2 and send your grandad to get another 10% off
Others brands I've found OK are Philips and Megaman
http://www.diy.com/nav/decor/lighting/lightbulbs/led_bulbs/Diall-LED-5W-GU10-12418965?skuId=12939671
http://www.diy.com/nav/decor/lighting/lightbulbs/led_bulbs/Diall-LED-6-5W-GU10-12418967?skuId=12939673

[andrewsmith]

What makes should I be sticking to? Where's best to get them?

We're using fusion lamps. They're not cheap but the light is very good
City electrical factors do a good range

sent from a weapon of mass distraction

[thefallenangel]

City are dire and overpriced. And massively corrupt. GE lamps are good and cost me £5 for a GU10 but worth it. ledhut.co.uk got 15% off this weekend and i've ordered some odd ball LED G9's. Will report findings this week

[andrewsmith]

City are dire and overpriced. And massively corrupt. GE lamps are good and cost me £5 for a GU10 but worth it. ledhut.co.uk got 15% off this weekend and i've ordered some odd ball LED G9's. Will report findings this week

Newys ain't much better, Edmundsons are comical with orders and delieveries

[thefallenangel]

Newys ain't much better, Edmundsons are comical with orders and delieveries


That's why i use local wholesaler who i can trust. But city, lockwell are dire. Anyway to stay on topic, anyone who buys a lamp because "It's a quarter of the price of them LED ones makes them expensive" is incredibly short sighted. They aren't in their infancy anymore. And i'm starting a project in work to replace flourescent tubes with LED replacements. No choke or starter required either.

[andrewsmith]

That's why i use local wholesaler who i can trust. But city, lockwell are dire. Anyway to stay on topic, anyone who buys a lamp because "It's a quarter of the price of them LED ones makes them expensive" is incredibly short sighted. They aren't in their infancy anymore. And i'm starting a project in work to replace flourescent tubes with LED replacements. No choke or starter required either.

You got a spec on that, for the flouro tubes?
I do now of a rather large accountancy firm thats doing that in their offices up north, paybacks good on it. From the info I've got from the contractor leading the job, it worked out at about £100 a fitting

[tigersaw]

Weve got some LED flouro tube replacements. You keep all the same fittings, but bung out the choke and starter and just fit the LED size tubes.
Not overly keen on them, would be better with a complete new fitting designed for LED's rather than trying to retrofit

[andrewsmith]

Work well if they are uplighters type set-up.
Going to see what the price will be and if this works out cheaper http://www.ultraleds.co.uk/rgb-10m-plus-rf-controller-and-power-supply-kit-c10.html
having that fitted instead

[tigersaw]

Work well if they are uplighters type set-up.
Going to see what the price will be and if this works out cheaper http://www.ultraleds.co.uk/rgb-10m-plus-rf-controller-and-power-supply-kit-c10.html
having that fitted instead

Thats a bit like what I have used in my kitchen, white under the cabinets and blue above. Quite bright, about 70 watts consumption over two transformers. However, mine came from a place in Portsmouth at £8 a roll (5m) and the transformers from RS for about £10

[thefallenangel]

You got a spec on that, for the flouro tubes?
I do now of a rather large accountancy firm thats doing that in their offices up north, paybacks good on it. From the info I've got from the contractor leading the job, it worked out at about £100 a fitting


nope all i know is the tubes work from 110v -240v and 6" tubes are 28w. Will report back with 5" stats once they appear tomorrow or thursday. The one fitting i made just was a connector box left on it. Live one side, neutral the other. I hate lighting with a passion so these are spot on. 5" tubes are £30 each and 6" tubes are £45. But as we use ip65 stuff the tubes are a good replacement cost wise.

Just splashed out on G9 lamps for my bedroom. Look poor build quality but are pretty unnoticeable in fitting. One thing i've noticed from LED is no heat = better life length of fitting as it doesn't burn up and get crappy. I'm really sold on LED's atm.