A Buyers Guide to LED Bulbs

RobGuggle

RobGuggle wrote: »

I bought their 6w LED Spot (£9.98) for my home office and a 9w LED Bulb (£9.98) in Natural White and they are super. I posted a picture of the spots in my office on another thread.

I'm currently getting my MR16 fittings changed to GU10 in my kitchen so i can buy their 7w dimmable spots (£13.98), which they have told me have a warmer colour than the 6w spot, which i want in the kitchen.

Reason i bought from them initially was the 1 year returns policy.

Just to update, i changed the fittings in my kitchen from MR16 to GU10 and fitted a Varlight Dimmer, as recommended by energysavingled. I then bought this dimmable LED Spotlight
http://www.energysavingled.com/product/dimmable-led/7w-dimmable-led-spot/ and they are absolutely superb. I cannot tell the difference between them and the 50w halogens i was using. The dimming range is also good and smooth.

I used the code posted on here, "MSED20" to get 20% off, which made them about £11 each. Not sure if the code is still valid, but i'm well chuffed.

xyz123

RobGuggle wrote: »

Just to update, i changed the fittings in my kitchen from MR16 to GU10 and fitted a Varlight Dimmer, as recommended by energysavingled. I then bought this dimmable LED Spotlight
http://www.energysavingled.com/product/dimmable-led/7w-dimmable-led-spot/ and they are absolutely superb. I cannot tell the difference between them and the 50w halogens i was using. The dimming range is also good and smooth.

I used the code posted on here, "MSED20" to get 20% off, which made them about £11 each. Not sure if the code is still valid, but i'm well chuffed.

Where did you install the "driver" for GU10 LED? Did they go in ceiling void? And do drivers come with the bulb or you order them separately!

RobGuggle

xyz123 wrote: »

Where did you install the "driver" for GU10 LED? Did they go in ceiling void? And do drivers come with the bulb or you order them separately!

I changed my fittings from MR16 to GU10, therefore no driver necessary.

I phoned energysavingled and spoke to Bujar and he recommended that i use this dimmer http://www.myswitchshop.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=52_93_222_223&products_id=7865 with their GU10 7w dimmable spots.

My electrician then carried out the work while i was away working and they work beautifully.

londonlydia

We recently bit the bullet and replaced 30 dimmable GU10 Halogens in our open kitchen/ lounge with dimmable 6W Megamans. We tried a few, but settled on these ones because the aperture (i.e. the glass) was wide and comparable to what we had, they dimmed the best and had good colour. I went for warm in the sitting area and a brighter light in the kitchen and I actually prefer the light now.

Regardless of saving on the electricity, I've got better lights for what I want now too so I'm dead pleased!

societys_child

xyz123 wrote: »

Where did you install the "driver" for GU10 LED? Did they go in ceiling void? And do drivers come with the bulb or you order them separately!

if you're replacing mains voltage GU10 halogens there is no need for drivers. The GU10 led bulbs plug straight in.

xyz123

RobGuggle wrote: »

I changed my fittings from MR16 to GU10, therefore no driver necessary.

I phoned energysavingled and spoke to Bujar and he recommended that i use this dimmer http://www.myswitchshop.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=52_93_222_223&products_id=7865 with their GU10 7w dimmable spots.

My electrician then carried out the work while i was away working and they work beautifully.

So did you have dimmers earlier and needed new ones specifically for LED? or did you not have any dimmers. I am just trying to work out if you need special dimmers for LED compared to normal ones we currently have for GU10 halogen.

JohnB47

xyz123 wrote: »

So did you have dimmers earlier and needed new ones specifically for LED? or did you not have any dimmers. I am just trying to work out if you need special dimmers for LED compared to normal ones we currently have for GU10 halogen.

My understanding is that your existing dimmer may work with dimmable leds but it is unlikely to. It needs to be a 'trailing edge' dimmer, apparently.

RobGuggle

xyz123 wrote: »

So did you have dimmers earlier and needed new ones specifically for LED? or did you not have any dimmers. I am just trying to work out if you need special dimmers for LED compared to normal ones we currently have for GU10 halogen.

I didn't have dimmers in the kitchen before so i have no idea. Drop energysavingled an e-mail or call Bujar - they really know their stuff.

Froggitt

Ive already replaced the halogens in my kitchen with Alt Crees (I can find orders for V3 and V6 from lightplanet). However I have an upstairs light fitting that must be the same size exactly as a halogen. I tried the V3, and its about 5mm longer than a halogen.


Any recommendations? 4 x 5w should be fine. Don't need dimmable.

Ianwzzz

almillar wrote: »

I'm happy to list Chris' site as I've bought several bulbs from him and always had an excellent service, on excellent products. He is honest and doesn't oversell his products, which I think is the biggest problem with LEDs at the minute, as he hinted at in his first post.
http://www.energysavingled.com/
I've personally got the LED spotlights (V6 which are no longer made) which just about replace 50w, 60 degree halogens. I have other LEDs too, which clearly either do not output what they say they do, or have been very generous in saying what they're equivalent to. Or hidden the beam angle away somewhere.

Thanks for the great summary but I would not use this company as the only telephone number displayed on the website is an 0844 number.