GU 5.3 halogen (energy saver?)

Euphoria1z

Hi

my kitchen in my new property has 12 GU 5.3 bulbs rated 20w (12v).... I get the feeling its costing to much money as I seem to be using a lot more electricity... is it possible to get energy saving versions of this bulb (it has 2 small pins) say maybe 5w that gives a 20w equivalent light?

Thanks

oh, and is it better to have 20w led version than halogen or not?

Myser

If you opt for LED lamp replacements, firstly you need to check whether they can operate from your existing halogen transformers.

LED lamps operate more efficiently if powered by a transformer designed for LED lighting.

You can find MR16/GU 5.3 LED lamps in many shops:

http://www.ledhut.co.uk/spot-lights/mr16-led-bulbs.html

http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/30218187/

The wattage equivalence isn't the same. For instance, the Ikea 4W one above is quoted as being equivalent to an incandescent 25W lamp. The colour temperature may be different so if you can, try and see it operating in store.

Euphoria1z

Myser wrote: »

If you opt for LED lamp replacements, firstly you need to check whether they can operate from your existing halogen transformers.

LED lamps operate more efficiently if powered by a transformer designed for LED lighting.

whats the best way to check? shall I buy one or two and replace them and see if they work and for how long?

xyz123

Euphoria1z wrote: »

Hi

my kitchen in my new property has 12 GU 5.3 bulbs rated 20w (12v).... I get the feeling its costing to much money as I seem to be using a lot more electricity...

LED will be cheaper to run for sure but GU 10 are not as costly as people may think!

12 bulbs at 20W running for around 4 hours every day is 0.96 kWH of energy a day. Energy price is around 13p per kwH so you are spending around 12.5p a day on running 12 bulbs.

unless you are spending most day in kitchen...

Myser

xyz123 wrote: »

LED will be cheaper to run for sure but GU 10 are not as costly as people may think!

12 bulbs at 20W running for around 4 hours every day is 0.96 kWH of energy a day. Energy price is around 13p per kwH so you are spending around 12.5p a day on running 12 bulbs.

unless you are spending most day in kitchen...

OP has MR16 halogen lamps which they want to replace. They operate on 12V. GU10s operate on 230V (mains)!

OP, you would need to check the specifications/packaging of the LED lamp to see if it can operate from your existing halogen transformers. If they do recommend a specific transformer for LED lighting and you use your existing one which most likely won't be suitable, the lamps will have a very short lifespan.

Can you post a photo of the transformers you have now or the model number?

almillar

Agree with above, unless you're running those bulbs 24/7 they're not causing the jump in your bills. 12 x 20W = 240W = one big TV.
Everything about transformers above is right too, and so is your suggestion, if the transformers aren't ancient, they might do just fine. Try them out. Look out for flashing or flickering.
I went through trying to replace 50W MR16s and I don't think LED is quite there yet, even though plenty of people will tell you that they have equivalent ones. You should look for lights with the same beam angle (see if you can read this from any of your bulbs when you take them out, and a lumens of, say, 300 ish to replace a 20w. The other think to pay attention to is colour temperature, which is personal preference really. Warm will replicate the halogens, and the sun, cool will be whiter/bluer. This can be perceived as brighter, cleaner and more modern, or not cosy, depending on your view. People would generally want cooler in a kitchen though.

Fred_Bear_2

Last year I replaced 29 GU5.3 50W halogens with LEDs.
The installation used several 100W, 150W and 250W transformers which were 22 years old.

I bought these LEDs:
http://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Products/LTMR3NW.html

I bought one 3.7W and one 4.9W to test. They both seemed to work ok. The 4.9W version at nearly double the price did not seem worth the extra.

29 lamps cost £244
Electricity saving at 4 hours per day: £253 per year.

Very happy so far!

elstimpo

Euphoria1z wrote: »

Hi

my kitchen in my new property has 12 GU 5.3 bulbs rated 20w (12v).... I get the feeling its costing to much money as I seem to be using a lot more electricity... is it possible to get energy saving versions of this bulb (it has 2 small pins) say maybe 5w that gives a 20w equivalent light?

Thanks

oh, and is it better to have 20w led version than halogen or not?

Replacing low voltage GX5.3 20, 35, 50w halogen lamps with LED lamps

When replacing low voltage (12v) halogen lamps with low power, high efficiency LED units please be aware of the following possible issues.

NO work should be carried out on live electrical circuits, ensure power is turned off correctly at the main electrical distribution board. DO NOT assume that the light switch effectively isolates the lighting circuit. The existing tungsten halogen lamps will have a companion small transformer, possibly in the ceiling space above the lamp. The purpose of the transformer is to reduce the 240v mains voltage to a lower voltage of 12 volts suitable for the lamp. Please note though that installation methods vary and one transformer may feed individual or multiple lamps.

The transformer intended for the halogen lamp may have a minimum load requirement and replacing your lamps with the very low power LED units may cause the transformer to operate incorrectly due to the extremely low power requirement of the LED units in comparison with the original halogen lamp(s).

Whilst this will not immediately be a cause for concern or damage the transformer or LED lamps flashing you should not continue to use the combination of low power LED lamps and existing transformer but should seek advice from our technical department.

Failure to operate correctly is typically indicated by the LED lamps flashing on and off or just illuminating only at switch on and then extinguishing. You may also hear an accompanying high pitched noise.

If you experience these issues or are in any doubt, do NOT continue to operate the lamps/transformers in this state but switch o and replace the LED lamps with the original tungsten halogen units and contact our technical department for advice.

Note that standard replacement low power LED replacement units are NOT intended for use with dimmer units and should not be used with them. Please refer to our technical department if you require dimmable low voltage LED lamps.

elstimpo

Fred_Bear wrote: »

Last year I replaced 29 GU5.3 50W halogens with LEDs.
The installation used several 100W, 150W and 250W transformers which were 22 years old.

I bought these LEDs:
http://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Products/LTMR3NW.html

I bought one 3.7W and one 4.9W to test. They both seemed to work ok. The 4.9W version at nearly double the price did not seem worth the extra.

29 lamps cost £244
Electricity saving at 4 hours per day: £253 per year.

Very happy so far!

Average life - 3 years ??????????????

elstimpo

Euphoria1z wrote: »

Hi

my kitchen in my new property has 12 GU 5.3 bulbs rated 20w (12v).... I get the feeling its costing to much money as I seem to be using a lot more electricity... is it possible to get energy saving versions of this bulb (it has 2 small pins) say maybe 5w that gives a 20w equivalent light?

Thanks

oh, and is it better to have 20w led version than halogen or not?

You can all sorts of energy saving lamps with MR16 (GX5.3) fitting.
5w should be more than enough to replace what is quite a low performance 20w halogen. Good 6w and 7w LED's can replace 50w so you should have no problem finding a replacement for 20w.

Some LED companies use lots of tricks to get your business, so be careful. For example quite a few advertise a 5 year warranty on all products, when the standard warranty is only 2 years. To get the 5 yr warranty you need to fill out a form which they hide and don't tell you about.