The definitive low-energy GU10 lighting thread

[roofer]

Any negative info on these ?

http://shop.eev.ch/Infodateien/20326_D.pdf

[Trif]

Anyone able to offer some guidance with a problem?

I have 2x GU10 lights in a bathroom that I've replaced with Philips 5w LED. When I install 1 LED and 1 halogen it works fine but 2x LEDs and they both start strobing. The halogens are standard 50w 230v, LEDs are these: http://www.johnlewis.com/philips-5w-gu10-led-spotl...


Thanks.

[mk1fan]

How are they switched on and off? A dimmer or minimum load specific switch? The switch needs to work with low load demand - you're going from 100W down to 10W.

[mk1fan]

roofer said:

A question for those in the know.

I want to put LED' into sealed units, but hear that stopping the dissipation of heat reduces bulb life. Is there a particular bulb that overcomes this ?

The Ikea and the Toolstation bulbs are plastic bodied. After 3-hours odd use the other day I needed to remove one of the fittings. Unpluged it and could touch the bulb without being burnt - or it being uncomfortably hot. Try that with any halogen gu10.

Heat build up is not an issue with the bulbs I've used.

I've still got the 'early type' 5050SMD gu10 bulbs going strong in the IP65 bathroom and kitchen fittings. 6+ years now.

[Pheo]

I've fitted mainly Zep1s throughout the house rather than other models. The zeps significantly out perform the other models I've used for down lighting both in volume of light, spread and quality. In particular, they avoid the tiny spotlight problem which happens with GU10s.

Additionally I have under cabinet lighting which blows the lighting MCB 7/10 times on the on due to high inrush current (48A! Each!) in the cheap no-name transformers. Guess which company's transformers I am going to be swapping these out for this weekend?

I guess it's like anything really, you have your desired quality and desired price point, the EcoLED products have a higher quality / feature level than some alternatives. Perhaps that quality level or feature set is not so valuable to you. In which case, they will seem poorer value.

[Trif]

mk1fan said:

How are they switched on and off? A dimmer or minimum load specific switch? The switch needs to work with low load demand - you're going from 100W down to 10W.

I think it is a standard pull cord light switch... No dimmer involved. How can I check if it is a minimum load one?

[dave_s13]

dave_s13 said:

Steve57 said:

following on to the link above for ledhut, i purchased several http://www.ledhut.co.uk/spot-lights/gu10-led-bulbs...

some cool white, some warm white. there are 6 in our bathroom and possibly too many, but here is a pic. Very happy with them TBH.

I've just replace 16 50w gu10s in the kitchen/dining room and the difference is minimal... Maybe a tad dimmer but the level of light is more than adequate. The acid test is how long the buggers last.

16 months on...... Still going strong! Not a single failure yet..........

[roofer]

mk1fan said:

The Ikea and the Toolstation bulbs are plastic bodied. After 3-hours odd use the other day I needed to remove one of the fittings. Unpluged it and could touch the bulb without being burnt - or it being uncomfortably hot. Try that with any halogen gu10.

Heat build up is not an issue with the bulbs I've used.

I've still got the 'early type' 5050SMD gu10 bulbs going strong in the IP65 bathroom and kitchen fittings. 6+ years now.

Appreciate that. Thank you.

[anonymous-user]

DudleySquires said:

Here's the coving "halo" with the down-lights off







As you can see, it shows up the finish of the plastering very well

Just about enough light to light the room on its own too, and on the dimmer can give a very nice background lighting while watching the TV. Gets lots of comments, very pleased I made the effort

Edited by DudleySquires on Saturday 10th October 21:35

Me likey lots - which ones were they, and how are they installed?. My kitchen is a bit 'underlit' and that might be an excellent solution as I have several high cupboard/cabinet sections what could have them on top

thanks

[IIIRestorerIII]

E36GUY said:

oyster said:

Why on earth would I buy those ZEP1 lights?

£40 a pop. In my kitchen that's £320 (plus fitting by an electrician, so a total more like £600).

It would take me over 10 years to break even with the current halogens. And that's assuming none of them go bang in that time.

There is a significant special price for PHers Oyster. Don't take what u see on line as an indication

Would like to order 9-22 of these ZEP 1's but struggling to get the price much lower than £40 each from your office, actually rechecked the quote and it seems to be more. Any chance you could have a look, ref 21415, Thanks?

Edited by IIIRestorerIII on Tuesday 12th January 14:47

[Super Slo Mo]

You need to speak to Guy directly. Ask for him when you ring, or send him a PM to get his phone number.

[Mattt]

Layla also knows the deal.

[Ahonen]

samdale said:

V8RX7 said:

Wickes have a great offer on at the minute £1.99ea if you buy 20.

Toolstation are selling similar too.

Claimed 350lu

Anyone have any experience with these. None brand name with no reviews = gamble

Just noticed this. I bought the cheapy Wickes ones the other week for use in the kitchen and the entrance hall. I'm genuinely impressed. The light is nice and warm and compares well with the previous 50w halogens - well enough that when after I got home and cursed the fact that I was one short for the hallway I realised that you can't tell the difference between the LEDs and the remaining halogen. Maybe the beam is slightly narrower, but only a fraction. Heck, for £2 a bulb I'm not going to be writing to my MP to complain.

I'm an LED bulb-buying machine at the moment. Spent a fortune. And strangely the kitchen seems much colder these days...

[E36GUY]

IIIRestorerIII said:

Would like to order 9-22 of these ZEP 1's but struggling to get the price much lower than £40 each from your office, actually rechecked the quote and it seems to be more. Any chance you could have a look, ref 21415, Thanks?

The quote is correct assuming you didn't identify as a PHer. 020 8492 7933 and we'll sort it.

Cheers and many thanks

Guy

[treetops]

Does anyone know if these are dimmable?

Appears not but the box makes out like they might be.

https://www.ledhut.co.uk/mr16-smd-led-20-pice-best...

Cheers

[TSCfree]

I'm after some 5W LED GU10 IP20 downlights for the kitchen on a budget of no more than £15 a unit. I've looked at the choices at screwfix from robus/aurora and they seem to get good reviews. Are there any other alternatives worth looking at?

[hairyben]

TSCfree said:

I'm after some 5W LED GU10 IP20 downlights for the kitchen on a budget of no more than £15 a unit. I've looked at the choices at screwfix from robus/aurora and they seem to get good reviews. Are there any other alternatives worth looking at?

Consider the icage as it's open backed while being fire and acoustic rated, the more common enclosed designs may reduce lamp life through inadequate ventilation/ running hotter. I fit them all the time where people aren't opting for contained fittings

http://www.fastlec.co.uk/lighting/downlights/low-e...

[TSCfree]

hairyben said:

TSCfree said:

I'm after some 5W LED GU10 IP20 downlights for the kitchen on a budget of no more than £15 a unit. I've looked at the choices at screwfix from robus/aurora and they seem to get good reviews. Are there any other alternatives worth looking at?

Consider the icage as it's open backed while being fire and acoustic rated, the more common enclosed designs may reduce lamp life through inadequate ventilation/ running hotter. I fit them all the time where people aren't opting for contained fittings

http://www.fastlec.co.uk/lighting/downlights/low-e...

Thanks for that. I was considering Philips bulbs togo in the holders, out of supplied bulbs on the site do any of those bulb chipsets compare?

[hairyben]

TSCfree said:

Thanks for that. I was considering Philips bulbs togo in the holders, out of supplied bulbs on the site do any of those bulb chipsets compare?

The megamans are worth the extra- one of the wholesalers I use swears by them and they'll be the first to know when stuff fails to meet expectations. Plus the 7w is rated 550 lumens which not much else comes near.

[Murph7355]

I've just tried some Philips 4W and 5W GU10s. Dimmable. Warm white.

They're brilliant. Can't say whether power wise they meet the 30W and 50W respectively expectations as they are replacing 20W halogens (light fittings won't take more). But they're significantly brighter than the 20W which makes me think they won't be far off.

6 quid or so a bulb, but guaranteed 2yrs and should last a good chunk longer than halogens if the packet is anything to go by...