Integrated LED spotlights

maurice28

We are coming to the end of an extension build which has seen us knock through from our current kitchen/diner to create a new dining room, with an opening between that and the existing kitchen.

The electrician is coming on Thursday to fit the electrics (lighting and sockets) in the extension - first fit is done so this is the second fit. For the lighting, we are having six downlights. The electrician has said he will fit integrated LED lights. These are new on me - in the kitchen we currently have downlights but they are the traditional ones with GU10 bulbs.

I was assuming the new ones would be GU10s too - to be honest, I've never heard of the integrated ones! I had a few questions - is it a requirement on new builds that integrated LEDs are used for energy efficiency purposes? Does the whole unit need replacing when the bulb dies and can the homeowner do this or is it an electrician job? 

I'm a little concerned there will be different brightness/temperature of light between the kitchen and extension and that it won't be possible to balance it with one set being integrated and one set being GU10. How noticeable that would be I don't know. 

Basically, are integrated LEDs a step up from traditional fittings?! Any guidance gratefully received.

Mutton_Geoff

Personally I would replace your old GU10s at the same time as they are inefficient and quite dangerous (a friend's house burned down due to a faulty GU10 transformer). This will solve the colour temperature mismatch and lower your bills.

Integrated units are pretty common these days. I like Aurora products, they seem very reliable.

grumbler

Mutton_Geoff said:

Personally I would replace your old GU10s at the same time as they are inefficient and quite dangerous (a friend's house burned down due to a faulty GU10 transformer). 

GU10 are mains voltage and don't need any transformer

maurice28 said:
Basically, are integrated LEDs a step up from traditional fittings?! Any guidance gratefully received.

Yes and no. They are more natural for LEDs needing a local transformer that is difficult to make both reliable and small enough to build into a traditional GU10 bulb. However, they are more difficult to replace and if the springs are too tight it's easy to damage the plasterboard in the process. Also, integrated lights are generally more flat and need less space in the ceiling above.

Mutton_Geoff

GU10s -You're quite right. Still horrible things though 

[Deleted User]

Given a choice, I would avoid Chip-on-Board LED lights. 

LED ‘bulbs’ are reported to have a long life; however, no such claims are made for their adapters. The manufacturer of my new build CoB LED lights (new build) has changed the design from a ‘plug and play’ adapter to a light unit with a hard-wired adapter at £20 a unit. I was able to purchase a suitable adapter from an electrical factor for £7. My failed CoB light came back to life.

FreeBear

I have a mix of traditional GU10 and integrated LED downlights. The integrated are certainly much more compact and don't need such a big hole. In terms of reliability, I've had to replace one of the integrated - Can be a bit of a crap shoot to get an identical replacement.. But on the whole, I've found them to be pretty reliable.

One downside is if you don't like the colour/temperature of the light (i.e. warm or cold), swapping out an integrated is more expensive than just changing a bulb. On balance, I'd go for fittings that take a standard GU10 bulb.

DullGreyGuy

Mutton_Geoff said:

Personally I would replace your old GU10s at the same time as they are inefficient and quite dangerous (a friend's house burned down due to a faulty GU10 transformer). This will solve the colour temperature mismatch and lower your bills.

Mutton_Geoff said:

GU10s -You're quite right. Still horrible things though 

So many mistakes dont know where to start... GU10 take mains voltage so no transformer to burn your house down. There are LED GU10 bulbs that are just as efficient as integrated units. 

I am guessing you must have shares in some form of integrated lighting company as that is the only plausible reason to recommend them... friend had 10 in their lounge, one failed and turns out they dont make that model any more and so rather than the cheap process of changing one bulb they've had to change whole units creating a large bill and a lot of waste.

If I were to have to go the integrated route for any reason I would certainly be buying a couple of spares as whilst the average lifespan is long the standard deviation is high and so they can fail after a couple of months/years 

maurice28

Thank you all, that's really useful. I've been doing some reading this afternoon. While it seems the integrated ones can potentially last a few years longer than a bulb, the chances of them going wrong and needing the whole thing replacing means they can potentially be a pain.

I've asked the electrician if we can switch to a GU10 fitting instead - I would prefer the flexibility of being able to change a bulb the old fashioned way and make sure they are all the same throughout the extension and kitchen (and the brightness/colour temperature that we prefer).

Slightly irritated the electrician didn't check first - I'm waiting for him to get back to me but I assume a first fit would provide fittings suitable for either integrated or non-integrated fixtures, so we'll still be able to switch to GU10s?

Sorry, as with many things house building, this extension has been a learning experience!

koalakoala

I much prefer my integrated ones to those I’ve had in the past. Mine have 2 colour shade options, there is a little switch

Risteard

I only fit integrated fittings for the past number of years. GU10s are a bit crappy, and also there are issues with insulation covering and also heat if someone fits a halogen lamp etc. Integrated fittings are also much more reliable, and many use a plug and socket type coupler to connect them making replacement simple and not requiring an Electrician.

Many Electricians won't offer inferior GU10 luminaires in this century.

rob7475

I tend to fit a GU10 holder and the use GU10 LED bulbs. When a LED does fail (which it will), you've only got the bulb to change rather than the whole unit. It's much easier to find bulbs with matching colour temp, beam angle etc than having to find a matching complete unit.