Halogen or LED lights

rowly731

Hi everyone

We are having new recessed lights installed in our bathroom (4 in total) and trying to decide between halogen or LED. We would consider other types if recommended.

Criteria I would guess is cost to install, cost of bulbs, lifespan of bulbs, cost to run and brightness.

Many thanks in advance

Dan_Iggulden

rowly731 wrote: »

Hi everyone

We are having new recessed lights installed in our bathroom (4 in total) and trying to decide between halogen or LED. We would consider other types if recommended.

Criteria I would guess is cost to install, cost of bulbs, lifespan of bulbs, cost to run and brightness.

Many thanks in advance

Well cost to install should be zero if you are already paying to have the lights fitted in your bathroom, just make sure you get GU10 downlighters then you can still choose LED or Halogen.
There is no doubt that LED bulbs are alot more expensive, for a good quality 50W equivalent in a LED, you will be looking at around £7-8 per bulb.
The difference is the life span, halogen average around 1000 hours whereas LED are rated for around 35000 hrs use, however LED hasn't really been around long enough to know whether people truly get that sort of use out of them.
The other big difference is cost to run, there are 3 Watt LED bulbs out on the market that give a similar light to that of a 50 Watt Halogen, thats a reduction in running costs of over 90%.

Utlimately LED is the way to go in my opinion and I am an advocate of anything that saves us money in the long run. My advice is do your research on different suppliers, there are lots of extremely poor quality bulbs out there, but with a bit of research you can certainly find the right product.

baldelectrician

Things to think about

Do you have PVC cladding- some cladding is not suitable for downlights (heat issues)?

If there are heat issues then led are the way to go

use Kosnic 5w led lamps and find them good

Dan_Iggulden

If you decide to go LED, you also need to consider the angle of light that you want from your bulb, ie, the spread of light.

The ones mentioned above are as similar angle of light to a regular halogen, around 38 degrees, this means you get a intense spotlight, narrow but concentrated.
You can also buy lights that give a much wider spread of light, up to 120 degrees which spread the light at a wider angle but as a result as not as bright in a concentrated area.

All things to consider!

missile

There are many poor quality LEDs.

If you want equivalent to 50 watt halogen, you should consider these> http://www.halers.com/neutral_white_nw/dl_cr_f_nw__halers_h2/24302_p.html

http://www.evoled.co.uk/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1&products_id=1&zenid=9gnm7d6o5h743829urpa8eba21

moonrakerz

I have had evoleds fitted in my kitchen, absolutely superb !

They run cool, give instant full brilliance, good light spread, 7 yr warranty.

One bad point - they are about £40 each - but they really are "fit and forget".

Don't even consider anything else

abankerbutnotafatcat

Dan_Iggulden wrote: »

just make sure you get GU10 downlighters then you can still choose LED or Halogen...

Ok, so stupid question time but can I just confirm that you are saying if the downlight fitting says it is GU10 then I can fit either bulb -halogen or LED - in it.

One other thing whilst writing, I read on another thread that firecaps were only required on downlighters in some circumstances. Please can I confirm 1) are they just required in ceilings that are barriers between other dwellings i.e. not in houses and 2) if LED lights give out much less heat as per above, are firecaps required at all?

Sorry if I've hijacked this thread but i'm looking into downlights myself at the moment.

casper_g

abankerbutnotafatcat wrote: »

1) are they just required in ceilings that are barriers between other dwellings i.e. not in houses and 2) if LED lights give out much less heat as per above, are firecaps required at all?

1) Don't know.

2) The LEDs will put out much less heat, yes. But as the fittings are the same for LEDs and halogen bulbs, you can't guarantee they won't be changed at some point in the future. For this reason, I'd say the firecaps should be in place whatever bulbs you intend to use initially, and I'd have thought this would be what the standards would require.

Hintza

We have just ha the evoled (Halers fitted) throughout the house very inmpressed but they cost £35-£40 each but only use 9W.

eilidh_s

When I did my lights a year ago, I got a whole pile of LED's on ebay. Can't remember the make just now but they were a bargain. Anyway they gave off a really cold, blue light so I interspersed them with nice warm, yellow hallogen ones. I have replaced one of the halogen ones already! A friend of mine has done the same thing but she finds the LED's to be quite dim. We both have 21 bulb LED's but I have granite floor tiles and quite pale colours on my walls whilst she has carpet and really rich colours so I suspect the amount of reflection has made a difference too.

Dan_Iggulden

abankerbutnotafatcat wrote: »

Ok, so stupid question time but can I just confirm that you are saying if the downlight fitting says it is GU10 then I can fit either bulb -halogen or LED - in it.
.

Pretty much yes. A GU10 downlighter will hold a Halogen or a LED bulb. The difference is the retaining ring or spring clip which is used to hold the bulb in place.
Some LED's are cluster bulbs, ie, have 48, 60 or 80 LED;s, because these LED's protrude the bulb slightly, usually by around 4-5mm, some regular retaining rings won't fit, although every provider of these sort of LED's should be able to sell you the correct retaining rings also.

As far as the fire rated bit, I don't honestly know, my knowledge stops there!