Which light bulbs?

sazuburns

I have GU10 fittings in several rooms - the bathroom has recessed spots, the kids' room and the kitchen have light fittings from B&Q and Ikea. None of them are fitted with dimmer switches.

I want to phase out the halogen bulbs, as they burn so hot and they don't last very long, and I was going to replace them with the compact fluorescent version but dh was listening to LBC the other day and they said that compact fluorescents don't actually save any money because they take so long to warm up so unless you need them on for hours at a time they waste a lot of energy in the warm up stage. I don't know how true this is, but it got me thinking that perhaps compact fluorescents aren't the way to go.

Another option would be LED GU10s. Does anyone have any information about energy usage for either of these types of bulbs (dumbed down if possible, I'm not very techie!) as I would like some advice before I spend a lot on either of these types of bulb.

Thanks

Sarah

Ben84

sazuburns wrote: »

...listening to LBC the other day and they said that compact fluorescents don't actually save any money because they take so long to warm up so unless you need them on for hours at a time they waste a lot of energy in the warm up stage...

All the new bulbs I've encountered come on instantly and brighten up very fast.

As a test I turned on my table lamp, which has a philips 12w softone bulb, which is intended to replace a regular 60w bulb. I must have bought it around 2003-4, so this is certainly not new technology. The bulb was completely cold having not been used since yesterday. It came on instantly, and I would guess the light was comparative to a regular 40w bulb. I watched it and it quickly got brighter. Within 60 seconds it seemed to have reached maximum (or something very close) output.

I would say these philips bulbs are the slowest bulbs I have. However, the wait is not that long, and they emit a good amount of usable light from the moment you turn them on.

None of the bulbs I have take an impractical amount of time to warm up, not even the very early ones that are over 15 years old.

ikr2

We have 7 GU10 style halogen spot light fittings, all in the kitchen. 1 set of 4 is like this

and we have another similar set of 3. When I realised my mistake (buying these fittings in the first place!) I downgraded them all from 50W bulbs to 35W. There was a little noticable dimming in the available light but no complaints.

Since then I have replaced 3 bulbs with Megaman GU10 11W Florescents but I reckon that's the limit. Pluses are:

• They don't keep popping;
• They save me £30 to £40 per year (assuming 20p per KwHr) so should save me about £150-200 over their lifetime at current energy prices;
• They put out the same illumination as the 50W Halogens so are in fact brighter than the 35W Halogens they are replacing;

Cons:

• The light is colder/ starker than the halogens;
• They take 2 to 3 mins to reach full illumination;
• They cost £7-£9 a throw;
• They are not spotlights like the halogens they are replacing. Beam angle of the halogens is 30 degrees. The Megamans are 110 degrees. So you get a more general diffuse light.

So I found that the best mix was of Halogens and Fluroscents. This worked offset the Fluroscents' wide beam angle, slow start up time and colder colour. They work best in smaller rooms (the 3 light fitting is in a corner of the kitchen and that's where most of the Megamans are) and not when trying to create pools of light on work tops from ceiling fittings.

Again no complaints from the rest of house - who are sensitive to this sort of thing!

I also thought originally that you had to leave on energy savers for a while to offset the extra energy needed to start them. However modern bulbs are not like that. According to http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/energy_saving_products/types_of_energy_saving_recommended_products/energy_saving_light_bulbs/frequently_asked_questions "switching on an energy saving bulb only uses the same amount of power as leaving it on for a minute or two. Although they also say, "to help it last as long as possible, it is best to leave it on for a 'stabilising' period of 10 to 15 minutes at a time." So now I just treat them like older incandescent bulbs and turn them off when I'm not in the room

LED GU10 bulbs have come along a lot in the last year. Up to then you could only get dim 10W to 25W equivalents. OK for background lighting but not much use for anything else.

There are now 5W LED GU10s on the market being advertised as replacements for 40W halogens. So no quite as bright as a 50W halogen but not bad. I don't have one as they are £20 each although I hope to have enough spare cash to try one out soon.

They should have 3 advantages over the Megamans: No warm up time, a spot light with a 38 degree beam and last 5 times longer (that's 30 times longer than the Halogens!)

Sledge_2

I discussed this in a different thread;

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?p=13443059#post13443059

I hope this is helpful.

[EMAIL="info@keenmill.com"][/EMAIL]

sazuburns

Sledge wrote: »

I discussed this in a different thread;

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?p=13443059#post13443059

I hope this is helpful.

Thanks - can I just clarify, are you using the cluster ones or the high power ones? Can I use them in existing fittings without any alterations, or do I need any special kit (I told you I was technically challenged!)

Would you recommend the same ones for the different rooms (ceiling spots in the bathroom, regular fittings in the kitchen/bedroom)?

Since then I have replaced 3 bulbs with Megaman GU10 11W Florescents but I reckon that's the limit. Pluses are:

• They don't keep popping;
• They save me £30 to £40 per year (assuming 20p per KwHr) so should save me about £150-200 over their lifetime at current energy prices;
• They put out the same illumination as the 50W Halogens so are in fact brighter than the 35W Halogens they are replacing;

Cons:

• The light is colder/ starker than the halogens;
• They take 2 to 3 mins to reach full illumination;
• They cost £7-£9 a throw;
• They are not spotlights like the halogens they are replacing. Beam angle of the halogens is 30 degrees. The Megamans are 110 degrees. So you get a more general diffuse light.

So I found that the best mix was of Halogens and Fluroscents. This worked offset the Fluroscents' wide beam angle, slow start up time and colder colour. They work best in smaller rooms (the 3 light fitting is in a corner of the kitchen and that's where most of the Megamans are) and not when trying to create pools of light on work tops from ceiling fittings.

Again no complaints from the rest of house - who are sensitive to this sort of thing!

I also thought originally that you had to leave on energy savers for a while to offset the extra energy needed to start them. However modern bulbs are not like that. According to http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/...sked_questions "switching on an energy saving bulb only uses the same amount of power as leaving it on for a minute or two. Although they also say, "to help it last as long as possible, it is best to leave it on for a 'stabilising' period of 10 to 15 minutes at a time." So now I just treat them like older incandescent bulbs and turn them off when I'm not in the room

LED GU10 bulbs have come along a lot in the last year. Up to then you could only get dim 10W to 25W equivalents. OK for background lighting but not much use for anything else.

There are now 5W LED GU10s on the market being advertised as replacements for 40W halogens. So no quite as bright as a 50W halogen but not bad. I don't have one as they are £20 each although I hope to have enough spare cash to try one out soon.

They should have 3 advantages over the Megamans: No warm up time, a spot light with a 38 degree beam and last 5 times longer (that's 30 times longer than the Halogens!)

That's helpful, I'll study it in detail at my leisure!

Sarah

Sledge_2

I'd recommend the hign power 'Luxeon' or 'Tree' technology bulbs. They are quite costly to install, but are exactly the same size as the equivalent halogen bulbs, so they will fit into any standard light fitting.

The cool white versions produce more light than the warm white versions, and in my opinion are better because of the increased colour rendering and they help to alleviate SAD (seasonal affective disorder). The GU10 mains versions will just be a direct replacement into the light fittings, but the 12V ones may need a different transformer, which can handle the lower power requirements. This is because a lot of transformers will have a range, ie 20-60W, so they don't perform well if you only run 12W on them.

Unlike the Megaman type and other Compact Flourescent lamps (CFL), the LED lamps swith on immediately, reach full brightness in milliseconds and use less power, typically 10% of the equivalent filament type.

I've heard people argue that LED lights are bad for people with Epilepsy or other conditions that can be triggered by the lamps flashing at high frequency (due to the mains being AC), but in reality they'd only flash at the same rate as any other mains powered flourescent lamp. As an example of this, when using a lathe or drill, many people find they have to place a normal incandescent filament lamp near the machine to prevent stereoscopic effects.

sazuburns

Thanks again - I'll look at those options.

(You lost me with the last sentence though )

Sarah