Integrated LED spotlights

maurice28

Thanks to everyone who replied to this - just to update, we went with GU10 bulbs in the end but have switched out the kitchen ones too to LED bulbs (they were halogen before), so all matches (and should be more energy efficient!)

Thanks again for the input!

Risteard

maurice28 said:

we went with GU10 bulbs (sic) in the end

The wrong decision in my opinion.

Money_Grabber13579

Risteard said:

maurice28 said:

we went with GU10 bulbs (sic) in the end

The wrong decision in my opinion.

You say it was the wrong decision and that everyone should be fitting integrated LED fittings instead. What happens when one fails prematurely and a direct replacement can’t be sourced? Seems like a recipe for a lot of waste…

Speaking of which, whatever happened to this piece of legislation?

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/end-of-halogen-light-bulbs-spells-brighter-and-cleaner-future

I include a quote from the press release:

Today’s plans also include a ban from September on the sale of lighting fixtures with fixed bulbs that can’t be replaced – meaning the fixtures have to be thrown away. Fixtures such as these account for 100,000 tonnes of electrical waste every year – out of a total 1.5 million tonnes of electrical waste each year.

fenwick458

Money_Grabber13579 said:

I include a quote from the press release:

Today’s plans also include a ban from September on the sale of lighting fixtures with fixed bulbs that can’t be replaced – meaning the fixtures have to be thrown away. Fixtures such as these account for 100,000 tonnes of electrical waste every year – out of a total 1.5 million tonnes of electrical waste each year.

thats quite interesting. I understand the point about trying to get rid of waste, but I don't think that is aimed at LED downlights.
a GU10 lamp/bulb was conceived 20-30 years ago and designed to be a lump of glass with a coil of wire in it, nothing fancy.
all the LED replacements (which must be manufactured to the same dimensions) to date are never going to last as long as long as they could, the size is just too small, they get too hot.
an LED downlight like this is very similar to a GU10 lamp/bulb, it's just a bit bigger, which mean the electronics inside can be cooled properly, it's got a bezel on the front of it, a couple of springs and a connector plug on the back of it. it beats a GU10 in every category, more lumens per watt, better quality of light, wider beam angle and longer life. and a lot of the good ones all have connectors on the back so they are easily swapped by the homeowner when they do need replaced.
so the LED downlight will take up slightly more space in landfill than a GU10, but they last so much longer so there will probably be a lot less of them.
that legislation is probably aimed at these sorts of lights

if you are replacing GU10's in existing fittings then thats fair enough, but to be installing GU10 fittings with LED bulb's inside doesn't make much sense now, a good quality fitting and a good quality LED will be in the region of £10, and the dedicated LED downlight I linked to above is £12. also the "need an electrician to change them" argument is null and void now as most of the good ones come with a connector

grumbler

In this respect 12V MR16 bulbs  are far more natural for LEDs.

I wonder if 240V MR16 fittings exist with a built-in transformer?

But generally, we need a new generation of even lower-voltage bulbs and corresponding fittings instead of squeezing transformers into bulbs and producing mountains of waste.

DullGreyGuy

fenwick458 said:
so the LED downlight will take up slightly more space in landfill than a GU10, but they last so much longer so there will probably be a lot less of them.

Other than for the fact you wont be throwing away 1 integrated unit when one fails but potentially a dozen or more if the manufacturer has ceased making that model.

GU10 bulb blows... £1 or less to replace it
Integrated unit - £150 or more to replace as you've got to replace the other 9 

Risteard

Money_Grabber13579 said:

Risteard said:

maurice28 said:

we went with GU10 bulbs (sic) in the end

The wrong decision in my opinion.

You say it was the wrong decision and that everyone should be fitting integrated LED fittings instead. What happens when one fails prematurely and a direct replacement can’t be sourced? Seems like a recipe for a lot of waste…

Speaking of which, whatever happened to this piece of legislation?

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/end-of-halogen-light-bulbs-spells-brighter-and-cleaner-future

I include a quote from the press release:

Today’s plans also include a ban from September on the sale of lighting fixtures with fixed bulbs that can’t be replaced – meaning the fixtures have to be thrown away. Fixtures such as these account for 100,000 tonnes of electrical waste every year – out of a total 1.5 million tonnes of electrical waste each year.

Direct replacements can easily be sourced. Use a quality brand like Collingwood.

Risteard

fenwick458 said:

Money_Grabber13579 said:

I include a quote from the press release:

Today’s plans also include a ban from September on the sale of lighting fixtures with fixed bulbs that can’t be replaced – meaning the fixtures have to be thrown away. Fixtures such as these account for 100,000 tonnes of electrical waste every year – out of a total 1.5 million tonnes of electrical waste each year.

thats quite interesting. I understand the point about trying to get rid of waste, but I don't think that is aimed at LED downlights.
a GU10 lamp/bulb was conceived 20-30 years ago and designed to be a lump of glass with a coil of wire in it, nothing fancy.
all the LED replacements (which must be manufactured to the same dimensions) to date are never going to last as long as long as they could, the size is just too small, they get too hot.
an LED downlight like this is very similar to a GU10 lamp/bulb, it's just a bit bigger, which mean the electronics inside can be cooled properly, it's got a bezel on the front of it, a couple of springs and a connector plug on the back of it. it beats a GU10 in every category, more lumens per watt, better quality of light, wider beam angle and longer life. and a lot of the good ones all have connectors on the back so they are easily swapped by the homeowner when they do need replaced.
so the LED downlight will take up slightly more space in landfill than a GU10, but they last so much longer so there will probably be a lot less of them.
that legislation is probably aimed at these sorts of lights

if you are replacing GU10's in existing fittings then thats fair enough, but to be installing GU10 fittings with LED bulb's inside doesn't make much sense now, a good quality fitting and a good quality LED will be in the region of £10, and the dedicated LED downlight I linked to above is £12. also the "need an electrician to change them" argument is null and void now as most of the good ones come with a connector

Use the H2 Lites all the time. Only ever had one failure. And even then it was a few seconds to replace it with the male and female connectors.

I haven't offered inferior GU10s in years.

Risteard

DullGreyGuy said:

fenwick458 said:
so the LED downlight will take up slightly more space in landfill than a GU10, but they last so much longer so there will probably be a lot less of them.

Other than for the fact you wont be throwing away 1 integrated unit when one fails but potentially a dozen or more if the manufacturer has ceased making that model.

GU10 bulb blows... £1 or less to replace it
Integrated unit - £150 or more to replace as you've got to replace the other 9 

A decent lamp can be around the £6 mark. Certainly not a pound.

Money_Grabber13579

Risteard said:

DullGreyGuy said:

fenwick458 said:
so the LED downlight will take up slightly more space in landfill than a GU10, but they last so much longer so there will probably be a lot less of them.

Other than for the fact you wont be throwing away 1 integrated unit when one fails but potentially a dozen or more if the manufacturer has ceased making that model.

GU10 bulb blows... £1 or less to replace it
Integrated unit - £150 or more to replace as you've got to replace the other 9 

A decent lamp can be around the £6 mark. Certainly not a pound.

Not sure if you consider Philips to be a decent lamp but these can easily be obtained for just over £2 a bulb and never had a failure with them.