LED Spotlights - are they any good?

[TSS]

Has anybody had any experience of garden LED spotlights like these: http://www.gardenzonelights.co.uk/Gardenzone-GZ-Br...

They’re not cheap to buy, although very cheap to run, but do they actually throw any decent light?

Thanks,

TSS

[dugt]

not used those particular lights, but we have led down lighters, in the house (but not installed, just taped to the ceiling) and there very bright,

they are very bright, you cant look at them with out it being unpleasant, but they are the harsh versions, were looking at getting some soft versions soon

we have a power meter which tells you how much electricity you are using in pence per hour (down to 0.01 pence), and the led lights dont regester on it

we have had them on for about a year, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, only turned them off twice to see what happenes, (they have battery backup)

doug

[zcacogp]

We have LED downlighters too - more accurately, we have halogen downlighters in the kitchen, but had to put an LED bulb into one of them as it was quite close to a joist and there was a fire risk.

It works well, but looks 'different' to the others. I expect that if they were all LED then you wouldn't notice, but as a mix, they look a little odd. The quality of the light is different - it is more blue and harsh, but again this stands out as it is different from the rest.


Oli.

[eightseventhree]

Hi there,

I was asking the same question a while ago and decided to venture into the "Selecta Light" range from B & Q. Basically you get a transformer then get the wattege upto the max value of the transformer.

People said they will be crap and emit only a small amount more light than a Solar one. To say the least im very impressed with the result.

I have 3 small post lights and 3 spot lights.

here are the results:





These are not LED based but are more flexible then the fixed cable LED ones and arnt that much more to install

Edited by eightseventhree on Wednesday 7th October 08:23

[finlo]

dugt said:

not used those particular lights, but we have led down lighters, in the house (but not installed, just taped to the ceiling) and there very bright,

they are very bright, you cant look at them with out it being unpleasant, but they are the harsh versions, were looking at getting some soft versions soon

we have a power meter which tells you how much electricity you are using in pence per hour (down to 0.01 pence), and the led lights dont regester on it

we have had them on for about a year, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, only turned them off twice to see what happenes, (they have battery backup)

doug

Are you growing cannabis?

[dugt]

finlo said:

dugt said:

not used those particular lights, but we have led down lighters, in the house (but not installed, just taped to the ceiling) and there very bright,

they are very bright, you cant look at them with out it being unpleasant, but they are the harsh versions, were looking at getting some soft versions soon

we have a power meter which tells you how much electricity you are using in pence per hour (down to 0.01 pence), and the led lights dont regester on it

we have had them on for about a year, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, only turned them off twice to see what happenes, (they have battery backup)

doug

Are you growing cannabis?

no, we only have them in the hall/upstairs landing, but are plannign for the bath rooms and kitchen
and they dont require constand buld changing like halagens

sorry, i wouldnt know if there any use for horticulture

[Goochie]

dugt said:

sorry, i wouldnt know if there any use for horticulture

They're not - You need to buy special horticutural LEDs

[dugt]

Goochie said:

dugt said:

sorry, i wouldnt know if there any use for horticulture

They're not - You need to buy special horticutural LEDs

never mind, i do my growing outside, the suns pretty good, but obviously not 24 hours a day

but i did get some tasty tomatoes

[hairyben]

LED's tend give very cold light, an almost ghostly white many people find unpleasant. Some are better than others but the technology is not really there yet, coupled to some rather ambitious claims about how much light they emit.

I'd recommend either LV halogen or GU10's with compact fluorescent lamps. With either option you'll be able to replace the lamps with LED's, which in a couple of years should be fully developed.

BTW garden lighting is notifiable electrical work, just in case you're not aware...

[ineedagallardo]

eightseventhree said:

Hi there,

I was asking the same question a while ago and decided to venture into the "Selecta Light" range from B & Q. Basically you get a transformer then get the wattege upto the max value of the transformer.

People said they will be crap and emit only a small amount more light than a Solar one. To say the least im very impressed with the result.

I have 3 small post lights and 3 spot lights.

here are the results:





These are not LED based but are more flexible then the fixed cable LED ones and arnt that much more to install

Edited by eightseventhree on Wednesday 7th October 08:23

Looks good.

Is all of the lighting from the B&Q range ?

Thanks

[dugt]

hairyben said:

LED's tend give very cold light, an almost ghostly white many people find unpleasant. Some are better than others but the technology is not really there yet, coupled to some rather ambitious claims about how much light they emit.

you can get "soft" leds now, but obviously there more expensive as they only just come out

[hairyben]

dugt said:

hairyben said:

LED's tend give very cold light, an almost ghostly white many people find unpleasant. Some are better than others but the technology is not really there yet, coupled to some rather ambitious claims about how much light they emit.

you can get "soft" leds now, but obviously there more expensive as they only just come out

There's a lot of different LED stuff on the market, largely all overpriced and underdeveloped for consumer needs. thats why I say buy LV/CFL now and upgrade to LED in a couple of years, when the bulbs need changing.