LED replacement for 50W halogen spots

Steve059

I've just replaced a flickering 30W CFL in my living room for a 30W 6400K daylight one. However, this now makes the 4 x 50W 2700K halogen spots in the kitchen area look very yellow. I've also been looking, off and on, for either CFL or LED replacements that would use less that the 200W these guzzle.

I've found some 5W 6000K LED ones. However, they're rated at 400 lumens, whereas 50W halogens seem to be rated at 800 to 900 lumens. So, as the LED ones emit less than half the light, they hardly seem to be the "replacements" for 50W halogens, as (of course) claimed by the seller.

Are these LED spotlights really comparable to the halogen ones?

The idea is to save some more money here, so I can't afford an expensive mistake.

almillar

I've just bought some very nice 6W LEDs to replace 50W halogens. They're rated at 380 lumens, and they're not as bright. They are however, identical in colour to the halogens, which I didn't think was possible considering how blue/white LEDs seem to be.
So your 5W 400lumens LEDs, I reckon will be far bluer, and not as bright as, your current halogens.
I'm quite sure some sellers on eBay will make up whatever lumens rating we want to hear, but it looks like you and I want the same product, which doesn't yet exist. Give it a year...
Have a look here at the LEDs I bought, and there's plenty of info to read on the site too. Note the colour temp is 2700K which matches halogens. Maybe you could replace 2 of the 50W bulbs to almost halve the cost since they match colour wise?
http://www.energysavingled.com/shop/led-spotlights/6w-led-spot/

rob_harb

More than 300 lumens should get you something quite usable, unless your spotlights are very widely spread.

Colour temperature is also very important
2700K looks like traditional halogen
3000K is a bit whiter, and looks a bit more modern to me at least. I like this in bathrooms/kitchens etc...
4000K or more looks quite blue.

The beam angle is also important
25 degrees is quite focused and narrow
35-40 degrees is a broader light and better for general applications in my view.
Some lamps use "SMD" LEDs and these don't really have any lensing on so will generally not give a beam of light. I haven't seen any big brands adopt this tech yet, which makes me a bit suspicious of it...

LEDs still create some heat, which can shorten their lifetime, so the heat sink on the lamp, and the ability to circulate cool air around the lamp are still important

For a long lifetime, bright lamp with good quality light, that is dimmable is still likely to be towards £20, but that'll still give a payback of within a few years replacing 50W halogens that are used a lot. But it's an investment/home improvement like loft lagging etc...

alanobrien

We recently replaced 16 50w halogens with 16 of these;

http://www.ledhut.co.uk/spot-lights/mr16-led-bulbs/mr16-smd-led-20-pice-best-internet-price.html

We used warm white and are pleased with the result, they are every bit as good as the halogens replaced and only 64w total compared to 800w for the halogens.

Since then we also changed the bathroom, lounge and dining room lights to LED.

almillar

320 lumens doesn't replace a 50W halogen in my opinion, but maybe you get away with it because you have so many bulbs. When I replaced 2 with 380 lumens (details above), it wasn't as bright.

newbie1980

i personally use kosnic 4.5w ones for my customers and they seem to be very bright
unsure of there specifications

edwardw

Ive replaced my bathroom with day bright ones, plan to do the rest of the house with warm white ones.
Much prefer the cheapness of LEDs

Steve059

Update.

I bought one to try it out. They're [CENSORED] bright. They make the 50W halogen ones look pale and yellow, like old French car headlights.

The 6000K colour temperature seems to 'trump' the 400 lumens.

I will be buying 3 more.

http://www.led-bulbs.com/productDetail.asp?prod=47

Yorkie1

Spam reported - multiple posts in quick succession, on non-current threads, all promoting the same company.

mymedi

almillar wrote: »

Note the colour temp is 2700K which matches halogens.
http://www.energysavingled.com/shop/led-spotlights/6w-led-spot/

Correction - their temps are 3000K for warm white, 4000K for natural white.
As per their website.