The definitive low-energy GU10 lighting thread

[asimpleusername]

garycat said:

Exactly - who cares indeed. 90% of consumers don't care about CRIs equivalent lumens, colour temps etc. They just want good value products that will save on their leccy bill. The screwfix bulb has 113 5-star ratings and thats good enough for most buyers.

A lot of people care. A lot of people want lighting that shows the true colours of the items in their home. Most consumers have no idea about CRI, why should they, it's never been something they needed to know about. It's almost like saying why buy an Aston Martin when you could by a good value Ford which will also get you from A to B - is the fact one does it a hell of a lot better than the other worth the extra value to you? Maybe not, but it's important to some.

Like I previously said, if the Screwfix bulb does the job for you then fantastic, but it will fall severely short for others.

[asimpleusername]

Murph7355 said:

It depends where you're using them, but most people will care about these things without even knowing about it IMO.

You do get used to higher colour temps but in things like bedrooms and living rooms they really make a house feel "warm" rather than like an office/waiting room. And that's important to most people I suspect.

In bathrooms, kitchens and passage ways it's less of a problem I suspect.

Absolutely spot on!

OT - are you the same murph from fchat, if so how you doing? I caught up with Peter D in Hong Kong recently, had seen him in years.

[monthefish]

RossP said:

Really happy with my screw fix LEDs! Can't get to grips with all the jargon spouted on this thread!

I understand the basics of the tech behind it, but the fact is there are so many variables in play that the only real way to see the final effect is to try them. That's why I thought I'd give those screwfix ones a bash, as at £20 for 6, if I didn't like them, it was no great loss.
But as I said earlier in the thread, they are the first LED ones I've seen that are a decent match for a standard GU10 50W Halogen.

[stanwan]

rich83 said:

Just picked up a batch of ECOLED zep1s.... I think they are actually a bit too bright.. its thats possible!! Good job they are on dimmers.

LED lighting has been the subject of intense discussion between myself and a work colleague. He thought I was mad to opt for Guy's dedicated fittings. His argument was that he could get a GU10 for half the cost and would look the same.

Well I went over to look at his install and he was quite right - his kitchen is just as bright as mine. Only thing is he has effectively twice the number of fittings so there was no cost saving there. Also, his room looks really cold and harsh (high colour temp), and there is lot of direct glare from the fitting.

I'd probably still opt for GU10 for a cheap retrofit, but for all the new lighting in my house, it has to be dedicated fittings. I've installed 4 ZEP1s in the bathroom and some ZEP3 to downlight the feature and it is almost too bright in there!!!

[Swervin_Mervin]

Anyone got a view on these?:

http://www.ledhut.co.uk/spot-lights/gu10-led-bulbs...

We recently tried a Lumilife 3W (210 Lumens) in one of our kitchen fittings and, despite being impressed at first, have come to the view that it simply doesn't have the "throw" of the halogen it replaced. So I'm now tempted to try something with a bit more guts and a wide beam angle - hence the above which is rated at 460 Lumens.

[Pheo]

Swervin_Mervin said:

Anyone got a view on these?:

http://www.ledhut.co.uk/spot-lights/gu10-led-bulbs...

We recently tried a Lumilife 3W (210 Lumens) in one of our kitchen fittings and, despite being impressed at first, have come to the view that it simply doesn't have the "throw" of the halogen it replaced. So I'm now tempted to try something with a bit more guts and a wide beam angle - hence the above which is rated at 460 Lumens.

GU10 beam angle is never going to be ideal for LED as it was designed for halogen and the fitting isn't big enough (Hence the Zep1 has a much bigger footprint, allows the LED to sit further back.

[E36GUY]

Swervin_Mervin said:

Anyone got a view on these?:

http://www.ledhut.co.uk/spot-lights/gu10-led-bulbs...

We recently tried a Lumilife 3W (210 Lumens) in one of our kitchen fittings and, despite being impressed at first, have come to the view that it simply doesn't have the "throw" of the halogen it replaced. So I'm now tempted to try something with a bit more guts and a wide beam angle - hence the above which is rated at 460 Lumens.

It won't. 210 lumens is not even half the output of what you would expect from a 50 halogen and the beam angle will be wider so the light is scattered rather than focused 35 degree that you'd get from halogen. 460 is getting closer but whether it's 460 lumens at the chip or post optic (delivered) is open to question. An optic, even clear (in this case it's frosted), can reduce the overall output by 30%. It's a very difficult area to navigate in terms of what you're being told is the output and what the reality is as there is no legislation to tell sellers one or the other. Obviously many will give whichever figure sounds best so a lot quote simply the chip lumens. We quote the delivered lumens as we like people to get what they expect!

[Woody3]

Where have you all got your Varilight Dimmer switches from? I can't seem to find any for sale that state that they are version 10E's or newer...

Cheers!

[14-7]

http://www.screwfix.com/p/lap-gu10-led-lamps-281lm...

Bought a pack of these the other month to try out in the kitchen. Can't even tell they are LED the colour is that similar to the old GU10 halogens that were in.

[Evolved]

14-7 said:

http://www.screwfix.com/p/lap-gu10-led-lamps-281lm...

Bought a pack of these the other month to try out in the kitchen. Can't even tell they are LED the colour is that similar to the old GU10 halogens that were in.

Not a bad price but non dimmable so useless for most of our rooms.

[HotJambalaya]

rich83 said:

Just picked up a batch of ECOLED zep1s.... I think they are actually a bit too bright.. its thats possible!! Good job they are on dimmers.

I just installed some too, and I'm also concerned that they'll be a little bright -Im currently only running 1 (out of 4) in the bathroom at the moment and it is almost bright enough on its own! I'm quite concerned that 4 will be over kill. The bathroom measures 207cm x 226cm and they're the 3000k warm white units....

Can anyone recommend some dimmers? the push button ones, not the knobs?

The second bathroom is 207 x 167 and I've budgeted 3 zep1s ....

[rich83]

Our bathroom is 2.3x2m and we have 4 of the older ~5w zep1 and its perfect. I think 4 of the new ones would be too bright.. I think 3 will be ok. The lightwave dimmers work ok with the new zep1/power supply and the remember the 'set' dimmed level.

[loughran]

HotJambalaya said:

rich83 said:

Just picked up a batch of ECOLED zep1s.... I think they are actually a bit too bright.. its thats possible!! Good job they are on dimmers.

I just installed some too, and I'm also concerned that they'll be a little bright -Im currently only running 1 (out of 4) in the bathroom at the moment and it is almost bright enough on its own! I'm quite concerned that 4 will be over kill. The bathroom measures 207cm x 226cm and they're the 3000k warm white units....

Can anyone recommend some dimmers? the push button ones, not the knobs?

I've used Varilight Eclique dimmers all over the house. Available in lots of finishes, I like the screwless plates, you can dim them remotely and they give off a low blue light which is useful when stumbling around in the middle of the night.

[Murph7355]

asimpleusername said:

Absolutely spot on!

OT - are you the same murph from fchat, if so how you doing? I caught up with Peter D in Hong Kong recently, had seen him in years.

More ClubScud really but possibly...

[nokio]

Guy I may be wrong but you keep stating halogen gu10's have a lumen output of around 500 depending on the quality, but from looking on 3 manufacturers websites it would seem you are wrong.

GE lighting claim 340lm

http://catalog.gelighting.com/lamp/halogen/halogen...

Sylvania claim 300lm

http://www.havells-sylvania.com/en_GB/products/002...

Philips claim 330lm

http://www.ecat.lighting.philips.co.uk/l/lamps/hal...

Compared to Philips LED GU10 5.5w that they claim replaces a 50w halogen, has a lumen output of 370lm

http://www.ecat.lighting.philips.co.uk/l/lamps/led...

So it would seem that retrofit LED's can be better than halogen.

[Gazzab]

Having bought some 40 or more zep's I am very pleased with them. As ever it's important to position them with care so as to get the best from them. I won't get my money back in electricity savings but as we were refurbing so many rooms it was worth choosing a quality item.

[EggsBenedict]

Turned my ZEP1s on for the first time at the weekend (sparky livened up on Fri). Really happy with them, and really happy I didn't go with the arrangement the sparky was going to do. Light is great in that room. Got a load more to fit now!

[E36GUY]

nokio said:

fair question

Perfectly fair question. Obviously all lamps will vary but a reasonable rule of thumb for halogen is 10-12 lumens per watt therefore a 50 would be around the 500 mark.

It could of course be possible that some of the manufacturers are downplaying the light available from their halogens in order to make the LED lamps appear to be like for like. This would not surprise me in the slightest but I'm not in that business! Quite an interesting article on it here:

http://www.electricity-monitor.com/direct-replacem...

[bigdom]

Woody3 said:

Where have you all got your Varilight Dimmer switches from? I can't seem to find any for sale that state that they are version 10E's or newer...

Cheers!

Here you go.

https://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Main_Index/Wiring_Acc...

Edited by bigdom on Tuesday 5th May 19:57

[baxb]

E36GUY said:

nokio said:

fair question

Perfectly fair question. Obviously all lamps will vary but a reasonable rule of thumb for halogen is 10-12 lumens per watt therefore a 50 would be around the 500 mark.

It could of course be possible that some of the manufacturers are downplaying the light available from their halogens in order to make the LED lamps appear to be like for like. This would not surprise me in the slightest but I'm not in that business! Quite an interesting article on it here:

http://www.electricity-monitor.com/direct-replacem...

I am in the GU10 business (in a small way) & my 6.8w 400 lumen GU10 we market as a 35w halogen replacement as it was on a par with most 35w offerings, I know Halogen GU10's were typically 500-550 Lumens according to manufacturer data sheets because I read them. Have they started making less bright halogen GU10's or have they just changed the data sheets to match their 5w GU10's so they can now claim a '50w equivalent' ? Who knows.