Lone_Twin Posted August 30, 2010 Share Posted August 30, 2010 In my new gaff the kitchen/diner has those halogen spotlight downlighter jobs. The bulbs don't last long cost about £3 each and are fairly high wattage each. (there's 19 of the blasted things) So my question to the collecive wisdom of HPC Off-topic is... what could I replace them with? Ta in advance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
19 year mortgage 8itch Posted August 30, 2010 Share Posted August 30, 2010 In my new gaff the kitchen/diner has those halogen spotlight downlighter jobs. The bulbs don't last long cost about £3 each and are fairly high wattage each. (there's 19 of the blasted things) So my question to the collecive wisdom of HPC Off-topic is... what could I replace them with? Ta in advance. Branded halogen bulbs e.g. GU10 should only cost you about £1 each, not £3 and you'll appreicate the warmth in the winter at 35/50W a throw. Alernatives are LED ones, I had a few but they're not cheap and I wasn't impressed with the light and they're a little expensive to start doing trials with various types. There are CFL types as well which are presumably more efficient but I've not used them and depending on the fitting, I don't think all applications have the space for them to fit as they're quite long compared to the halogen variety Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AteMoose Posted August 30, 2010 Share Posted August 30, 2010 I have one CFL in the kitchen on trial, and its failed, I am keeping it running in combination with the other GL10s.... get yourself a pack of GU10s from poundland/lidl/aldi, nice and cheap... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newbonic Posted August 30, 2010 Share Posted August 30, 2010 Branded halogen bulbs e.g. GU10 should only cost you about £1 each, not £3 and you'll appreciate the warmth in the winter at 35/50W a throw. .... Use devices that are designed for heating to do the heating; plus you get heating whether you like it or not, e.g. in the summer. If your budget can stretch to long life LEDs then go for that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Ayatollah Buggeri Posted August 30, 2010 Share Posted August 30, 2010 LED bulbs need good ventilation around the lamp fitment or else the transformer inside the bulb will overheat and fail very quickly. I bought one for the lamp above my computer desk (an enclosed metal holder that takes an E14 reflector spot) for a tenner from some website. The light was lovely while it lasted, but it died within six weeks. When I looked on the web I discovered that this was a well known problem with LED bulbs that are designed to run on mains voltage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newbonic Posted August 30, 2010 Share Posted August 30, 2010 LED bulbs need good ventilation around the lamp fitment or else the transformer inside the bulb will overheat and fail very quickly. I bought one for the lamp above my computer desk (an enclosed metal holder that takes an E14 reflector spot) for a tenner from some website. The light was lovely while it lasted, but it died within six weeks. When I looked on the web I discovered that this was a well known problem with LED bulbs that are designed to run on mains voltage. I'm missing something here I think. If LEDs don't use much power then why do they generate lots of heat? My torch is powerful and bright, but runs cold, for example. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caramba Posted August 30, 2010 Share Posted August 30, 2010 I have been trying LED's for a while and have now come across a new product. "Halers EVO LED" Whilst not cheap about £43 - they are superb with a 7 year gaurantee. They come in Neutral White or Warm White. Comply with all latest building regs and fire rated and IP65 suitable for showers. I have just fitted 2 in a bathroom. Quick search on Google brings this up although I bought mine from a local dealer. http://www.directtradesupplies.co.uk/lighting-products/led-lighting/halers.html?gclid=CLi76MKf4qMCFan-2Aod-xRL-g I have no connection with any firm manufacturing or selling these. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lone_Twin Posted August 30, 2010 Author Share Posted August 30, 2010 I have been trying LED's for a while and have now come across a new product. "Halers EVO LED" Whilst not cheap about £43 - they are superb with a 7 year gaurantee. They come in Neutral White or Warm White. Comply with all latest building regs and fire rated and IP65 suitable for showers. I have just fitted 2 in a bathroom. Quick search on Google brings this up although I bought mine from a local dealer. http://www.directtradesupplies.co.uk/lighting-products/led-lighting/halers.html?gclid=CLi76MKf4qMCFan-2Aod-xRL-g I have no connection with any firm manufacturing or selling these. Holy moly, thanks for the advice but thats a little out of my price range. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rxe Posted August 30, 2010 Share Posted August 30, 2010 19 downlighters - that's close to a kilowatt - don't leave the lights on for too long or it will get expensive. GU10 CFLs are hideous. You can run them in conjunction with standard GU10s and it just about looks OK - 50/50 is as far as I'd go. You can get 3 watt LEDs that are actually very good - but they are 25 - 30 watt replacements, although they only use 3 Watts. Quality is very variable - look for the ones that use "Cree" LEDs, they seem to be uniformly high quality. There is a lot of junk out there that looks identical, expect to pay £15 per bulb. In terms of longevity, I have a load in my kitchen, none have failed yet. There are new ones at £30 - 40 promising like for like 50W illumination. Haven't tried and of these. I'm missing something here I think. If LEDs don't use much power then why do they generate lots of heat? My torch is powerful and bright, but runs cold, for example. They do generate heat, but much less of it. A standard GU10 will burn you very badly - try grabbing hold of a lit one if you don't believe me! An LED one gets quite hot, but nowhere near the temperature of a standard one - you can touch an LED GU10, no problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bossybabe Posted August 31, 2010 Share Posted August 31, 2010 You can't beat good old tallow dips. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonb Posted August 31, 2010 Share Posted August 31, 2010 I'm missing something here I think. If LEDs don't use much power then why do they generate lots of heat? My torch is powerful and bright, but runs cold, for example. The voltage has to be stepped down from 230V to around 0.7V, and that generates a lot of heat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corevalue Posted August 31, 2010 Share Posted August 31, 2010 The voltage has to be stepped down from 230V to around 0.7V, and that generates a lot of heat. White LED terminal Voltage is around 3V, there's three of them in series inside most lamps, so they need about 9V to run. Each LED is trying to dissipate about 1W to 2W, so the lamp needs to get rid of about 5W. The LED's degrade when they get hot, above about 70C, so they need to kept as cool as possible, in contrast to CFL which like to be hot. It is actually quite difficult to get rid of 5 Watts from such a small device whilst keeping the temperature down. The conversion from 230V to 10V is about 90% efficient in most designs, so only adds about half a Watt. As the lamp is relatively cool, the lamp lasts a long time, compared to CFL where unless you are very careful following the mounting instructions (no closed lampshades) the conversion electronics overheats and gives up the ghost, causing premature lamp failure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankief Posted August 31, 2010 Share Posted August 31, 2010 Whatever happened to the standard light fitting for kitchens of fluorescent tube? It used to be exciting to see it flicker and the anticipation of will it/ won't it come on . When it did, there was abundant artificial light, with accompanied buzzing. Not good enough now, or fashionable enough, was it Carol Smilie or the TV chefs who decreed that we should pay extra for millions of useless bulbs resembling a starlit night, rather than one giving artificial daylight. It's the same when any bulbs go in the house now, it's not a 50p standard 60W bayonet type replacement. No, it's the 'screw in medium thread low voltage round bulb etc etc', you don't have any, and you have to go into town to purchase one and pay double the cost of your normal one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AteMoose Posted August 31, 2010 Share Posted August 31, 2010 Whatever happened to the standard light fitting for kitchens of fluorescent tube? It used to be exciting to see it flicker and the anticipation of will it/ won't it come on . When it did, there was abundant artificial light, with accompanied buzzing. Not good enough now, or fashionable enough, was it Carol Smilie or the TV chefs who decreed that we should pay extra for millions of useless bulbs resembling a starlit night, rather than one giving artificial daylight. It's the same when any bulbs go in the house now, it's not a 50p standard 60W bayonet type replacement. No, it's the 'screw in medium thread low voltage round bulb etc etc', you don't have any, and you have to go into town to purchase one and pay double the cost of your normal one. They still install them into the required social housing sections of all new builds.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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