Lighting track with spotlights

Ellie2758

I want to get a track with spotlights on to replace the nasty old fluorescent tube in my kitchen. I have been recommended by a friend whose hubby is an electrician that the best sort to get are the ones with GU10-240v halogen bulbs and no transformer as with other sorts the bulbs blow really quickly. I have found one online with IKEA -it curves round so that hopefully you would not be left with dark spaces as you would if the track was in a straight line. However, what I would really like is one that you can install a dimmer switch with. Does such a thing exist, does anybody know?

Ellie

PS the one I found is called Leding and costs £19.99, which seems really cheap to me. Especially as it seems to include 5 halogen bulbs.......

Jem8472

First of all when I worked in a lighting dept I would always tell my customers that there will be dark sports with halogen lights. It does depend on the size of your kitchen but you will not get as good a spread of light as you will with a fluorescent light.

You can install a dimmer on halogen but you need to get the right one which will take the load. Just make sure you do get the mains voltage one because dimmers for them are easier to find.

I personally would not buy off Ikea you would be better going to some other places. John Lewis is a good place to go to even if it is just for advice.

All halogen lights should come with bulbs but you might find that they dont last very long at all. They are usually cheap bulbs they just shove in. But you could be lucky I have a light that still has the suppliers bulbs in it and that was about 2-3 years ago.

beefster

Check out the prices of replacement bulbs...... not cheap!

With the low voltage GU10's you can get various angles of light emmitance. 35 degree's seems to be the standard but I purchased some wider ones which helped eliminate somewhat the spot light effect of these bulbs.

I also added under counter lights which helped counter the shadow when working on the worktop.

Ellie2758

Jem8472 wrote:

First of all when I worked in a lighting dept I would always tell my customers that there will be dark sports with halogen lights. It does depend on the size of your kitchen but you will not get as good a spread of light as you will with a fluorescent light.

You can install a dimmer on halogen but you need to get the right one which will take the load. Just make sure you do get the mains voltage one because dimmers for them are easier to find.

I personally would not buy off Ikea you would be better going to some other places. John Lewis is a good place to go to even if it is just for advice.

All halogen lights should come with bulbs but you might find that they dont last very long at all. They are usually cheap bulbs they just shove in. But you could be lucky I have a light that still has the suppliers bulbs in it and that was about 2-3 years ago.

Sorry to sound thick, by mains voltage ones you mean not the transformer ones I assume?

I tried John Lewis online but couldnt see anything suitable. I have found another one now that states it IS dimmable - it is from Focus and is available online (dont really want to trek out to Ikea). It is called the Elbrus 4 bow spotlight. It says it is dimmable and suitable for bathrooms. How can yu use a dimmer switch in the bathroom, thought you had to have a corded switch??? Is it the fitting that has to be dimmable or the bulb?

Thanks

Ellie

Ellie2758

beefster wrote:

Check out the prices of replacement bulbs...... not cheap!

With the low voltage GU10's you can get various angles of light emmitance. 35 degree's seems to be the standard but I purchased some wider ones which helped eliminate somewhat the spot light effect of these bulbs.

I also added under counter lights which helped counter the shadow when working on the worktop.

How did you know the angle was wider? Does it state it on the box? Can you tell me where you got them and what I should be looking for - are they dimmable?

thanks

Ellie

Jem8472

Yes when i say mains voltage I mean without the transformer.

Worktop lights is a very good move if you are going for halogen in your kitchen.

As for a bathroom dimmer. I once had a customer that said he bought a corded dimmer off the internet for being able to dim lights in a bathroom. Sadly he could not remember which website he got it from but apparently they do exsist!!!!!!!

With the low volvtage GU10's they should say somewhere on the box what angle of light they give off but it can be hard to find.

Low voltage lights can be dimmed but you need an intelligent dimmer that is correct for the sort of transformer that the light fitting has. (please correct me if I am wrong or its changed)
You will really have to go and speak to some people that know. A good lighting shop/depatrment should know if not a good electriction if you know one should be able to help.

Ellie2758

Thanks, I will ask the electrician who is going to fit it. He has been recommended by a friend and is very reliable, she says.

Shame about the need for worktop lights, that would be extra wiring I guess. Best to get it done now though, then get walls re-plastered afterwards I guess. Sigh, where to start??!!

Ellie

zappomatic

GU10 halogon bulbs are always mains voltage and are always dimmable, but you need to double the wattage of the bulb to work out if the dimmer can handle it eg. a 50 watt halogen is equivalent to a 100 watt tungsten (normal) bulb. So if you have a three light fitting with 50 watt GU10 bulbs, the dimmer needs to be rated at least 300 watts otherwise it will buzz and quite possibly overheat or burn out (and worse!).

GU10 bulbs have a base like this: and are always mains voltage. They have chunky pins on the bottom and have to be pushed and twisted into place.

Low voltage bulbs look similar once in the fitting, but the base is less chunky and has two flimsy pins sticking out and are simply pushed into place. With these you have to check that the transformer is suitable for dimming, and also that your dimmer switch is suitable for use with low voltage lighting!

Most halogen spotlight fittings these days use GU10s as it significantly lowers the cost price of the product because a transformer is not required. I also suspect they are in cahoots with bulb manufacturers and retailers as GU10 bulbs are quite expensive! Do be wary of very cheap mains voltage halogen bulbs - they are not made to such a strict specification as more expensive, branded ones and can have a shorter life. It's not unknown for cheap ones to explode when they fail.

beefster

Ellie2758 wrote:

How did you know the angle was wider? Does it state it on the box? Can you tell me where you got them and what I should be looking for - are they dimmable?

thanks

Ellie

I got a box full from a local wholesaler
http://www.thelightbulb.co.uk/product/list.php?cat=104

Re under cupboard lighting. I ran the wiring through the cupboards using minitrunking, as I had aready tiled before I found the problem with shadows. I have a extractor hood so the electrical supply above the cupboards came in handy! ).
The wiring is low voltage but I wanted to protect the cables, hence the trunking. You should not need to bury the cables in the wall if you use LV lights.
Have fun..... your electrician will sort it all out for you with ease.

Ellie2758

zappomatic wrote:

GU10 halogon bulbs are always mains voltage and are always dimmable, but you need to double the wattage of the bulb to work out if the dimmer can handle it eg. a 50 watt halogen is equivalent to a 100 watt tungsten (normal) bulb. So if you have a three light fitting with 50 watt GU10 bulbs, the dimmer needs to be rated at least 300 watts otherwise it will buzz and quite possibly overheat or burn out (and worse!).


Low voltage bulbs look similar once in the fitting, but the base is less chunky and has two flimsy pins sticking out and are simply pushed into place. With these you have to check that the transformer is suitable for dimming, and also that your dimmer switch is suitable for use with low voltage lighting!

Do be wary of very cheap mains voltage halogen bulbs - they are not made to such a strict specification as more expensive, branded ones and can have a shorter life. It's not unknown for cheap ones to explode when they fail.

Help! Never mind the bulbs, my brain has just exploded.

1. How do I check the rating of the dimmer?

2. What counts as low voltage - do you mean the energy-saving type?

thanks

Ellie

Ellie2758

beefster wrote:

I got a box full from a local wholesaler
http://www.thelightbulb.co.uk/product/list.php?cat=104

Re under cupboard lighting. I ran the wiring through the cupboards using minitrunking, as I had aready tiled before I found the problem with shadows. I have a extractor hood so the electrical supply above the cupboards came in handy! ).
The wiring is low voltage but I wanted to protect the cables, hence the trunking. You should not need to bury the cables in the wall if you use LV lights.
Have fun..... your electrician will sort it all out for you with ease.

Thanks, that's handy to know (if only I knew what "minitrunking" was...)

I do have an extractor hood with a useful light in it already. Not sure if I will be getting LV lights though - see above post re. their questionable dimmable abilities. arghhhhhhhhhhhhh.

Ellie