Replacing GU10 Halogen Bulbs with LED

tillycat123

baldelectrician wrote: »

I have used Kosnic 5W PowerLED GU10 - warm white for around a year now

I have 14 around the house and 2 have failed (had them replaced under guarantee)

Of the 12 that are still original all but 1 are fine and working as they should

1 is giving out a lower light output- that will be swapped out.


As far as things go I have reduced my lighting electricity bill by;

• Replacing with LED's
• Installing movement sensors for lights (lights come on when you walk into a room- and stay on for 2-3 mins after not detecting movement)

The movement sensors are around £15-£20 each
Be careful what LED's you buy- look for the efficiency, you are looking for above 50 lumens per circuit watt.
Two different 5W LED's can vary by as much as 30% in light output

I had a movement censor fitted in my bathroom last year. It costs me more money, the darn lights go on if it's windy at night as it's recessed into the loft. So on a bad night it's setting the extractor fan off as well in there keeping me awake. Drives me mad. Have tried covering the sensors in the loft but to no avail.

Keep_it_safe

This is an old thread but still relevant as we try to reduce electricity bills. I've replaced six 20-yr-old 100w downlighters with six Megaman 6w LED. General effect is just as good but better for reading as LED is white while floods were yellow tinged. Cost of LEDs and fittings, about £150.

I've just tried two 5w LED of other makes, one cost £10, one £13, to replace 12v halogen MR16. Both failed in about 10 hours, they light but go out after a few minutes.

When you work out payback times on lighting we don't use constantly you may find you need to live to 110 or so to recover your money -- assuming the LEDs last as long as you do. Myself, I'm sticking with halogen.

elstimpo

Roopeedoo wrote: »

If a manufacturer approached you with a 2 year warranty would you sell it with a 5 year?

Yes i would and i have.

elstimpo

Keep_it_safe wrote: »

I've just tried two 5w LED of other makes, one cost £10, one £13, to replace 12v halogen MR16. Both failed in about 10 hours, they light but go out after a few minutes.

When you work out payback times on lighting we don't use constantly you may find you need to live to 110 or so to recover your money -- assuming the LEDs last as long as you do. Myself, I'm sticking with halogen.

That might not be to do with the LED's, it might have a lot to do with the circuit you are installing them into. If you are installing a low voltage LED of say 6w into a circuit designed for 50w Halogens then the circuit will over load the LED's and they won't be able function properly. You might need to install an individual transformer to each low voltage fixture. MR16 LED's can be a real pain.

You don't need heavy usage to benefit from LED's.

steveclecy

Wondering if anyone has any significant updates about GU10 LEDs? I read somewhere that because of confusion amongst the public the EC has regulations requiring light levels to be shown in lumens as opposed to wattage which is just about power consumption.

Nevertheless, interested in how the market has developed since this thread was started, and members experiences.

Steve

JohnB47

Have a look at this thread. I've now replaced all my 50w halogen gu10s with 7w ones from energysavingled.com and I'm very pleased with them. Ones I tried from another company were pretty poor, so I think there's still a lot of rubbish out there. Why anyone thinks a 3w or 3.5w led is equivalent to a 50w halogen I'll never know.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4835815

almillar

JohnB47 - you're talking about brightness, but you've only ever stated wattages. This is part of the confusion. State lumens (and certainly in the case of spotlights, the spread angle).
steveclecy - LEDs, including in the GU10 shape, have got brighter and cheaper. That's the update. Plenty of places will still be selling the same tat they were from the start of the thread. You'll pay more for the more modern and brighter ones. Do compare lumens.

JohnB47

almillar wrote: »

JohnB47 - you're talking about brightness, but you've only ever stated wattages. This is part of the confusion. State lumens (and certainly in the case of spotlights, the spread angle).
steveclecy - LEDs, including in the GU10 shape, have got brighter and cheaper. That's the update. Plenty of places will still be selling the same tat they were from the start of the thread. You'll pay more for the more modern and brighter ones. Do compare lumens.

You're right, I quoted watts (in this thread - but I seem to remember quoting lumens in others) rather than lumens because my main objective was to provide the link to that other thread which provides all the info needed. In my case, the 7w ones I bought are 450 lumens and in my opinion, the lowest lumen value you should go for, to replace a halogen 50w gu10, is 400.

almillar

the lowest lumen value you should go for, to replace a halogen 50w gu10, is 400.

Agreed - still not quite as bright to my eyes. Beam angle is also very important for any spotlight.

janerikpaul

Yes, working out the actual lighting 'impact' is difficult because with LEDs you are having to work with beam widths, colour temperatures & lumens output (which can be really different depending on the 'power factor' of the bulbs - this is the efficiency of the power conversion of input wattage into output light).

I've just started working for ledlightguru.com and having to get my head around all this stuff. But it's fun as well. If you have any further 'technical' questions, drop me a line on here and I will see if I can answer specifics!

Thanks,
JP