Changing GU10 bulbs from halogen to low energy
Discussion
Well I've just fitted the new bulbs. Although they are a more clinical white (even though they are the warm white type) than the previous halogen type, they are acceptable. The room is around 30ft x 15ft with a vaulted ceiling. The lights are pointed upwards and the room is lit by reflecting light back from the ceiling more than from direct light. The new bulbs are noticably dimmer than the 50w halogens they replaced, but out of 12 lights I usually only had 4 on at a time, occasionally 8 and very rarely all 12. Looks like I will now have 8 or 12 on most of the time, but it will actually be quite nice to only have 4 less bright lights occasionally! They do appear to have a narrower beam than the originals, which I deduced from pointing the spotlights downwards instead of upwards. In summary, if I couldn't have afforded to reduce the lighting capacity wihin the room, the exercise would have been a failure. Fortunately, as is the case with most rooms lit by halogens, I have more than I need (plus 3 chandaliers for back up!) and so the rooms ambience doesn't feel compromised. I can now have 12 lights on for less than the price of 1 and that can't be bad. Hope this helps, I'm off to GG to talk about cars!
euroboy said:
My first 3 exergi bulbs turned up today and they are very good.
As another poster mentioned, a bit more clinical than a trad GU10, but depending on application I dont think this has to be a bad thing; mine are in a 3xGU10 fitting in the hallway and look very good.
I have a couple more regular GU10 fittings on the landing which I will replace now with exergi bulbs, but the main problem remains in that these are not dimmable
I have 15 dimmable GU10 fittings throughout the house and I cant do anything with them.
There are dimmable low energy GU10 lamps available but currently they're not very good. If you wait for 6 months or so, there should be something a lot better As another poster mentioned, a bit more clinical than a trad GU10, but depending on application I dont think this has to be a bad thing; mine are in a 3xGU10 fitting in the hallway and look very good.
I have a couple more regular GU10 fittings on the landing which I will replace now with exergi bulbs, but the main problem remains in that these are not dimmable
I have 15 dimmable GU10 fittings throughout the house and I cant do anything with them.
I bought some 11w Sylvania CFL GU10s a few weeks back, these in fact: http://www.toolstation.com/shop/Lighting/Energy+Sa...
(Annoyingly they've gone back up in price, I bought mine when Toolstation had 'em on offer at just under four quid a pop)
They're surprisingly bright; when new they take a few mins to warm up to full brightness, but get better with use and I'd say they're approaching the output of a 50w halogen - certainly a good bit brighter than a 35w. Light has a decent warm tint too.
Only snag is that they're still a bit bulky to be used in fittings where the bulb body is exposed - not a problem for downlighters, though
(Annoyingly they've gone back up in price, I bought mine when Toolstation had 'em on offer at just under four quid a pop)
They're surprisingly bright; when new they take a few mins to warm up to full brightness, but get better with use and I'd say they're approaching the output of a 50w halogen - certainly a good bit brighter than a 35w. Light has a decent warm tint too.
Only snag is that they're still a bit bulky to be used in fittings where the bulb body is exposed - not a problem for downlighters, though
Dimmable LED lights here.
http://www.ledlightingsupplier.co.uk/categories/di...
Saw them at the Grand Designs Show. Can be used with Lutron system and fit into normal GU10 fitting
http://www.ledlightingsupplier.co.uk/categories/di...
Saw them at the Grand Designs Show. Can be used with Lutron system and fit into normal GU10 fitting
I was in B&Q the other day as I needed to get 3 candle style bulbs for a chandelier in one of our rooms. It's a big size so needs a decent wattage to light it properly. The problem is that the light only has fitting for 3 standard size bayonet bulbs. I try to use the energy saving ones wherever possible as I don't like a gloomy house and like to have the lights on.
The best candle type ones I could see were the equivalent of 25 watts, at a combined 75 watts this would have made the room quite dark. I did then see 'energy saving' halogen bulbs in the candle style so got three of these. They give out a lovely light but have been wondering if they really are any better than normal halogen. Anyone got any experience on these, have I been sold some magic beans?
The best candle type ones I could see were the equivalent of 25 watts, at a combined 75 watts this would have made the room quite dark. I did then see 'energy saving' halogen bulbs in the candle style so got three of these. They give out a lovely light but have been wondering if they really are any better than normal halogen. Anyone got any experience on these, have I been sold some magic beans?
Reading this thread with interest - Why do people have problems with GU10s blowing?
We have 18 of them in our kitchen/dining room (9 in each). They were installed when we extended the house in 2007 - I have probably replaced five or six of them since then.... mainly in the kitchen - where they are used the most.
But certainly don't suffer from this "one a month" problem that some people seem to have.
The fittings were not the cheapest, but certainly not the most expensive.
The lamps in use of standard budget GU10s from Screwfix.
We have 18 of them in our kitchen/dining room (9 in each). They were installed when we extended the house in 2007 - I have probably replaced five or six of them since then.... mainly in the kitchen - where they are used the most.
But certainly don't suffer from this "one a month" problem that some people seem to have.
The fittings were not the cheapest, but certainly not the most expensive.
The lamps in use of standard budget GU10s from Screwfix.
Duke Thrust said:
I did then see 'energy saving' halogen bulbs in the candle style so got three of these. They give out a lovely light but have been wondering if they really are any better than normal halogen. Anyone got any experience on these, have I been sold some magic beans
Nah, they're just not as "energy efficient" as CFL's (low energy lamps). Where CFL's use about 20-25% of the power of a conventional lamp, these new halogens use about 70%.Meeja said:
Reading this thread with interest - Why do people have problems with GU10s blowing?
We have 18 of them in our kitchen/dining room (9 in each). They were installed when we extended the house in 2007 - I have probably replaced five or six of them since then.... mainly in the kitchen - where they are used the most.
But certainly don't suffer from this "one a month" problem that some people seem to have.
The fittings were not the cheapest, but certainly not the most expensive.
The lamps in use of standard budget GU10s from Screwfix.
Depends on the quality of your power supply I think, if there's an industrial unit next door and it's spiking constantly this reduces lamp life. GU10's seem particularly susceptible to this, but all mains voltage lamps are crap today. You can extend lamp life considerably using soft-start dimmers, and by fitting enough to run them at 80-90% of full brightness.We have 18 of them in our kitchen/dining room (9 in each). They were installed when we extended the house in 2007 - I have probably replaced five or six of them since then.... mainly in the kitchen - where they are used the most.
But certainly don't suffer from this "one a month" problem that some people seem to have.
The fittings were not the cheapest, but certainly not the most expensive.
The lamps in use of standard budget GU10s from Screwfix.
hairyben said:
Meeja said:
Reading this thread with interest - Why do people have problems with GU10s blowing?
We have 18 of them in our kitchen/dining room (9 in each). They were installed when we extended the house in 2007 - I have probably replaced five or six of them since then.... mainly in the kitchen - where they are used the most.
But certainly don't suffer from this "one a month" problem that some people seem to have.
The fittings were not the cheapest, but certainly not the most expensive.
The lamps in use of standard budget GU10s from Screwfix.
Depends on the quality of your power supply I think, if there's an industrial unit next door and it's spiking constantly this reduces lamp life. GU10's seem particularly susceptible to this, but all mains voltage lamps are crap today. You can extend lamp life considerably using soft-start dimmers, and by fitting enough to run them at 80-90% of full brightness.We have 18 of them in our kitchen/dining room (9 in each). They were installed when we extended the house in 2007 - I have probably replaced five or six of them since then.... mainly in the kitchen - where they are used the most.
But certainly don't suffer from this "one a month" problem that some people seem to have.
The fittings were not the cheapest, but certainly not the most expensive.
The lamps in use of standard budget GU10s from Screwfix.
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