Energy Efficient Light Bulbs

RenovationMan

alexlyne wrote: »

this place looks cheap
http://simplyled.co.uk/GU10-LED-Bulbs-240v_B23PJ5.aspx

Though maybe too cheap... I wouldn't expect 50w equiv from their 4w or 6w units, though sizewise they look comparable to standard gu10s. The 20SMD one (£12) looks good as it has a 120deg beam angle.. though not in stock at time of writing. I would be tempted to get one in to check it out... I may go into lidl on way home and look at what they have too.

We are renovating an old farm house (1752) that we bought in May and I've been quietly replacing existing lighting with LEDS as we do a room. I fitted mains power downlights into our Boot Room with these lights:

http://simplyled.co.uk/GU10-High-Power-LED-20-piece-SMD-5050-320-Lumens-50-watts-equiv_ASI5T.aspx?0

and I have been really pleased with the result. They have a nice warm white, though we did have to have three spotlights in the room, but the light in there is disperced much wider and more uniformly than the single rose with a flourescent bulb that we previously had in there. We have also fitted a chandelier in the hallway with 5 Phillips LED Candle bulbs (2W each).

I dont believe its very environmentally or financially friendly to replace a flourescent bulb with LEDS, except where the flourescent bulb has gone or where we are completely changing the light fittings (i.e. such as our new downlights).

LEDS are great though, fit them and forget them.

themacster

RenovationMan wrote: »

We are renovating an old farm house (1752) that we bought in May and I've been quietly replacing existing lighting with LEDS as we do a room. I fitted mains power downlights into our Boot Room with these lights:

http://simplyled.co.uk/GU10-High-Power-LED-20-piece-SMD-5050-320-Lumens-50-watts-equiv_ASI5T.aspx?0

and I have been really pleased with the result. They have a nice warm white, though we did have to have three spotlights in the room, but the light in there is disperced much wider and more uniformly than the single rose with a flourescent bulb that we previously had in there. We have also fitted a chandelier in the hallway with 5 Phillips LED Candle bulbs (2W each).

I dont believe its very environmentally or financially friendly to replace a flourescent bulb with LEDS, except where the flourescent bulb has gone or where we are completely changing the light fittings (i.e. such as our new downlights).

LEDS are great though, fit them and forget them.

Just found these which appear to be the same bulbs but quite a bit cheaper, especially if bought in quantity - £8.10 each if buying 10.

alexlyne

I have just finished changing all my downstairs & landing bulbs with GU10 and E14 LED bulbs.

All the fittings are 3 or 4x spot types, so with 50W halogens and 40W spots the consumption would be huge.

I found that the 'JDR 60LED' types (in both gu10 and e14) were very good. About 40W equivalent and nice wide beam. Paid £4.50 each for them off an ebay seller (and there are a few).

Anyways, the missus didn't notice that I'd changed them when she got home, so they can't be that bad. To be fair though, they are slightly whiter than the existing bulbs but certainly not clinical. They work better where you have warm coloured walls.

I am going to do a direct compare of these vursus the SMD 2020 type of which I have one (cos they're more pricey), to see if there is a difference in colour, as would prefer the lounge a bit warmer, but it's not a big issue.

Peter_Pan

I don't like the new energy efficient bulbs for several reasons, the light is a cold light, doesn't make a room feel cosy in my opinion, they aren't as bright so i end up having more side lights on and they don't last as long as they are claimed either.

celerity

I replaced all the halogens in my office with bulbs from Simply LED too (independently of this forum).
These are the ones I got: http://www.simplyled.co.uk/GU10-High-Power-LED-20-piece-SMD-5050-320-Lumens-50-watts-equiv_ASI5T.aspx?0

I was very pleased with both the service I received over the phone, and the bulbs themselves. Like others on this thread, I wouldn't say they were equivalent to 50W bulbs, subjectively I'd guess at about 35W. However, they replaced 20W halogens so my office is now brighter. The colour of them is less yellow than the halogens, but still nice and warm - we prefer it to the halogens to be honest.

The slight downside is that you can't dim them, and the chap on the phone later emailed me to recommend I replace my existing dimmer switch with a normal one. The reason is that if you keep accidently trying to dim them it apparently affects their lifespan. This was a bit of a hassle but I took his advice and none have failed yet.

I use imeasure.org.uk to keep an eye on energy usage, and it's easy to see on our graph when we installed these - it really did make a big difference.

We're using "low energy" bulbs in our lounge at the moment, which actually aren't all that low energy. When I can afford to decorate though I'll replace them with dimmable LEDs - I'm a definite convert!

/\dam

MikeyMacbeth

I've been researching these lately and am more or less convinced of LED lightings benefits - one blog type site I found which had some quite clear explanations of what to expect and look for was kulekat.com - from what I gather on there most of the big-name manufacturer's (Philips etc) have stopped all r&d on CFL type low energy lighting and are moving towards LEDs.

I'm now planning to replace my CFLs in my home (and the hold-out awkward shape/size incandescent bulbs when ) with LED gradually as I go along and therefore not have too high an initial spend on these, hopefully the high initial purchase prices will be gradually coming own as I go along... :-)

Celerity - were the bulbs you bought branded at all?

One thing I have noticed is that LEDs don't seem to have made much of an appearance in supermarkets and the DIY sheds yet - I expect they're waiting for the CFL stocks to reduce

JC_Derby

penrhyn wrote: »

Buy some 35 watt GU10, and forget about the cooker hood, just consider how long you have these lights on for during the day.
You will save more money by filling the kettle with just enough water for your needs, and only using enough water to cover your vegetables when cooking, the same applies to the bath.[/QUOTE]:rotfl:

EdinPheonix

you could check out http://www.ecoappz.com/index.php/eco-bulbz/

celerity

MikeyMacbeth wrote: »

Celerity - were the bulbs you bought branded at all?

Nope, plain white box and the only branding is the importer name "Simply LED".

I should point out I've only had mine for four months, so it's not long enough to say whether they are reliable or not. I can say I'm pleased with the brightness and colour, and we have 20+ and none has failed yet.

/\dam

thenudeone

I have used various GU10 CFLs which started well but faded quite badly after a couple of years.
LEDs don't fade but sometimes the "50w equivalent" tag is not deserved.

I bought 6 x 60 LED GU10 for £33.49 on ebay a few months ago from a seller called onlybulbz. They are not selling anything now but their ebay page points to http://www.wesellbulbs.co.uk/. The bulbs really were as bright as the stated replacement wattage.