GX53 spotlights are they any good ?

deanos

I saw these in B+Q http://nextday.diy.com/app/jsp/product/productPage.jsp?productId=34590

They use 7w bulbs so a sustantial saving over the normal 50w GU10 bulb, my only concern is how much light they produce, has anyone got any of these types of bulbs and what are they like compared to a conventional spotlight ?

27col

I don't think that LED's have yet advanced to where they can substitute for 50w halogens. But the technology is advancing at a rapid rate. When they do I shall be the first in the queue to replace all my halogens. An interesting development is the new infra red coated halogens, which have improved the efficiency of halogens by 40%. But I am finding them very elusive to source and also expensive to buy. I suggest that you buy one of the fitting s that you mention, Try it and return it, if as I suspect, it does not measure up as a substitute for a 50w halogen.

keith969

They don't look like LED lamps though, they look like CFL's. Now they seem to think that a 7W CFL is equivalent to a 50W halogen, but I don't know anyone who would agree with this. Halogens have a nice warm light to them that CFLs and LEDs just can't match yet.

deanos

I have found some others with higher wattage, the picture give the impression they are really bright !

http://www.diy.com/diy/jsp/bq/nav.jsp?action=detail&fh_secondid=9706461&fh_view_size=10&fh_eds=%3f&fh_location=%2f%2fcatal!!!1%2fen_GB%2fcategories%3c%7b9372013%7d%2fcategories%3c%7b9372029%7d%2fcategories%3c%7b9372110%7d%2fspecificationsProductType%3dspotlights___downlights%2f_eco_indicators%3e%7bsaves_energy%7d&fh_refview=lister&ts=1263393998543&isSearch=false

marshallka

Just wondered if anyone knew of any energy saving GU10's as we have two fittings in our kitchen but on a dimmer and try not to use them at 50w x 8:eek:. I have been looking at replacing them with a "quality" type replacement in a 9w or even 7w but would cost a bomb (about £100 replacement to use with a dimmer). My hubby is an electician so is it best to replace the fittings would you say and say goodbye to the GU10's??

27col

By the way deanos, referring to your avatar, did you not see the news item about a man who marched in a Remembrance Day Parade wearing medals to which he was not entitled.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/8454715.stm.

deano72_2

i replaced my gu10s 50w with cfls 11w dimable ones.well, sort of dimable they only have 3 diffrent light settings & is achived by flicking the light switch on/off (these will not work with a dimmer) i have compared the brightness & found the cfl;s brighter & a nicer light aswell..one thing to make sure your existing fittings will have to be failry deep to take the cfl as the lamp is 80mm long

marshallka

I have just calculated the cost of replacing our GU10's dimmable in the kitchen and my sons R50 dimmable and my daughter also has 3 gu10's dimmable and we need a bank loan to do it... I cannot believe the price of these bulbs. Maybe we need to replace all the fittings instead.

Price 11 x gu10 dimmable roughly £12.00 each
4 R50 dimmable reflectors (can't find so have to swap the dimmer over again) £11.00 each
Need 3 x energy goldball - dimmable (cannot find but can find candle ones for about £10.00 each
Need 3 ES dimmable for living room £8.00 each

This would then put us all in energy saving mode BUT I would then have to pay interest on my overdraft to pay for them.:eek: Just have to wait for the prices to come down I guess.:o

marshallka

deano72 wrote: »

i replaced my gu10s 50w with cfls 11w dimable ones.well, sort of dimable they only have 3 diffrent light settings & is achived by flicking the light switch on/off (these will not work with a dimmer) i have compared the brightness & found the cfl;s brighter & a nicer light aswell..one thing to make sure your existing fittings will have to be failry deep to take the cfl as the lamp is 80mm long

Hi, thanks for that. I hate (and i mean hate) WHITE light (which I call blue light). It really makes my eyes funny. I want a warmer effect and when we got these GU10's they took some getting used to but at least they were a more yellowy light.

Where you say yours will not work with a dimmer but are dimmable I am unsure what you mean. We have got a touch dimmer switch in the kitchen and unless we change the switch over (which to us defeats the object as we got dimmers for the "choice" of lighting) would yours work with our switch would you say??

Thanks for the reply by the way.;)

deanos

Are the GU10 CFL's comparable with the halogen ones then ?

Do they take a long time to get going ?

deano72_2

marshallka wrote: »

Hi, thanks for that. I hate (and i mean hate) WHITE light (which I call blue light). It really makes my eyes funny. I want a warmer effect and when we got these GU10's they took some getting used to but at least they were a more yellowy light.

Where you say yours will not work with a dimmer but are dimmable I am unsure what you mean. We have got a touch dimmer switch in the kitchen and unless we change the switch over (which to us defeats the object as we got dimmers for the "choice" of lighting) would yours work with our switch would you say??

Thanks for the reply by the way.;)

they have a built in dimmer in them & they WONT work with a dimmer sw,it will only work with conventional switch which you have to flick on/off to dim,mine have 3 settings (in the lamp)flick sw on/off once then it goes a bit dimmer,flick it again then goes bit dimmer.ok you dont have as much control dimming whise as a gu10 but i find the 3 diffrent settings do the job for me personely.there not cheap from £11-£15
it might be worth just getting 1 & trying it but set your dimmer to max setting when testing it,dont try & dim it with your dimmer as it might damage the the lamp.

they dont take long to get to full brightness but never timed it but at a guess 1min so they would be no good if used just to have a light on for couple mins but then i guess you just aswell us a gu10 if thats the case.