Just How Much do Halogen Downlights Cost to Run ?

ic

Shops have started supplying 35W GU10s as a straight swap. No more expensive to buy than the 50W, but offer an immediate 30% saving in energy... but probably also equivalent loss in light output. Perhaps a consideration if you can reduce the light, especially in parts of the room - perhaps supplementing with a couple of energy saving uplighters whilst you wait for LED versions to improve and reduce in price?

grizzly1911

had a quick look at the Finbright Website and those units do look pretty good and a fair price. the 3 year guarantee is better than I have seen elsewhere, I guess time will tell if they last 50K hours but we will probably be back to candles by then.

I tried some of the cheaper LEDs and I must admit they weren't for me (or SWMBO). I got hold of some spots (the old ones needed replacing) with CFLs at a good price. Whilst I won't save so much on running costs (80%) I am happier with the quality of light in my application/setting.

grizzly1911

OK so we have now realised how much the halogens were costing and we have made our choice on alternatives.

Where do we go from here:question:

Despite fully insulating the house, eco lighting, A+ rated appliances, switching everything off etc bills still keep rising in double digits year after year:(

fettlerfred

Hi there,

Just throwing my experience in as it may help some people out there who wish to reap the benefits of replacing halogens with LEDs, but are put off by the price of LEDs as was I initially. !I have recently replaced every last light in my house with an LED over the last 4 months a bit at a time to spread the cost and I am very impressed with the result.

I purchased all my LED bulbs off eBay at a fraction of the cost to the other companies who have been linked to other posts on this forum. !I think one LED bulb from one of those companies was £35 an LED? !This would have put me off as well. !Well from eBay you are looking at £2 - 5 an LED bulb depending on what type you want and if you bulk buy they get cheaper. !I had 32 50w halogen spotlights in my house and have replaced the lot for about £70 - £80. !Now that sounds a lot for bulbs and I was a bit sceptical myself, but the savings are huge in the long run as they are 80-90 more efficient, use only 2.5 - 5w per bulb and last over 10 times longer than traditional CFL energy saving bulbs (factor into that how much you save when replacing bulbs. !My halogens used to pop all the time). !And when you consider that the other links on here were for £35 a single LED, what I paid is very reasonable in comparison. !In fact they are better than CFL energy saving bulbs because they run much cooler and light up instantly rather than the delay in reaching full brightness. !You can even touch an LED bulb and not burn yourself even if they have been on for hours as they produce so little heat. !Try doing that with a halogen or any other traditional bulb.... !I'll see you in A&E at hospital if you do.

I then went on and replaced all other bulbs in my house, lamps etc... And you can get LEDs with all base fittings from GU10 to E27 to E14 and B22 and much more. !If you don't know the different bulb base fittings just google them, but all fittings are catered for.

Some tips for ordering LEDs from eBay.
1) Personally, I always turn on the 'UK only' search to avoid getting anything from china etc... Sometimes these work out fine, but problems and hassle can arrise if anything doesn't work or is broken. For this reason, stick with UK stockists. !
2) Next, there will be lots of different types of the same or similar LED bulb so research the differences and find out which will be best for your situation. !Pay attention to the wattage and luminous flux value (brightness - the higher the number, the brighter the bulb) of the bulb. !There are different types of LEDs out there and some are better / brighter than others so do you research before buying the 1st ones you see. !
3) Next pay attention to the colour temperature of the bulb. !For indoors, I would always go with warm white which is about 2500 - 3500 K, as other whites can seem quite 'harsh'. !You might need to experiment a little but the benefits are immense.

I have even replaced my PIR outdoor security light from a 400W halogen with a 10W Led! !Simple maths.

I no longer worry when my wife leaves all the house lights on at the same time when she is in only one room ;0)

If anyone ones some info on which companies I dealt with on eBay, just let me know, but for starters I recommend going to eBay, setting it to buy it now items, filter price low to high and UK only and searching for something like:-

GU10 led warm white
Or
E27 led warm white.

Hope this helps and you benefit as much as I have.

Weird_Nev

When we had our kitchen re-done we got 6 LED downlights instead of the halogen equivalents. 7W power plays 50W - so 42W plays 300W to light the whole kitchen. I'm very impressed with the quality and brightness of the light, we got a sample and tested it prior to comitting. The spot lights themselves were £30 each and are guaranteed for 10 years.

ed110220

For some reason these halogen spotlights have become very popular in recent years, despite the standard type being very energy inefficient and the bulbs having short lives. Almost every new or recent kitchen I've seen has them, often in other rooms too. Usually I notice at least one bulb is dead. Call me oldfashioned but I'd much prefer fluorescent - much longer lasting, more energy efficient, more even light etc.

I think some people are confused by the fact that some of these bulbs are low voltage which they assume means low energy.

You can of course replace the standard halogen lamps with compact fluorescent or LED equivalents in the same fittings. These use much less energy and are much longer lasting, but are more expensive to buy.

muskoka

I used these in my kitchen. Quality & light seems fine by me and I purchsed them from an electrical wholesalers at £9.57 + VAT each

http://www.gwsupplies.co.uk/p/8844/aurora+led+gu10+6w+par16+lamp.htm

baldelectrician

Hintza wrote: »

Good to hear, mine are still stuck on a box waiting fitting soapart from seeing a test one I was/am still worried about the amount of light.

As I say the architect thought they were an un-necessary expense but I reckon they will pay for themselves in about a year.

But to me the long length of the bulbs would virtually swing it on it's own. Normal downlighters seem to blow far too frequently.

Your architect may not be upto date on the latest Scottish Building regs.
The regs (Scotland) require an efficiency of 55 lumens per circuit watt- the Halers warm white don't meet the Scottish building standards, but the Halers cool white ones do

I use fire rated fittings with 5w Kosnic LED 300 lumen warm white lamps around £20 each plus vat each complete

Hintza

baldelectrician wrote: »

Your architect may not be upto date on the latest Scottish Building regs.
The regs (Scotland) require an efficiency of 55 lumens per circuit watt- the Halers warm white don't meet the Scottish building standards, but the Halers cool white ones do

I use fire rated fittings with 5w Kosnic LED 300 lumen warm white lamps around £20 each plus vat each complete

Intrestingly it was the cool white that we choose (just personal preference) and I must say they have been great.

The only room that isn't working quite as well is our daughter's bedroom . It is 12' x12' and has 4 Halers. One is right above a high bunk bed which doesn't help and the walls are quite a dark dusky pink which must be having an impact. Ideally this room could have done with 6 lights I think.

The master bedroom is 16' x 12' (slightly odd shape) and has 5 Halers with fairly light walls and it is great.

mj62mj62

I spent a lot of money trying 'the latest' new led and other types of bulbs.

My latest attempt has finally worked out: "Eco LED Revolution". ~£11 bulb on amazon, both dimmable and non dimmable models.

Most importantly, the light colour is nearly identical (maybe 80% similar - somewhat whiter) and just slightly brighter than 50w philips halogen bulbs. I have the one I ordered installed above my desk with the others in the room being 50w halogen bulbs. The difference is small but noticeable.

Same size, fits the gu10 socket no problem. Runs cool, rather than roasting hot.

According to this thread, if the cost is £240 per year and I can knock that down to £28, then it's a fantastic savings.