LED bulbs - why not mandatory or subsidised

LED bulbs - why not mandatory or subsidised

Author
Discussion

Evanivitch

19,804 posts

121 months

Sunday 19th January 2020
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I've generally found Screwfix LAP bulbs to be decent VFM and reliable.

Teddy Lop

8,294 posts

66 months

Sunday 19th January 2020
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Elderly said:
Thanks for the idea, but that's the very place I purchased these from and had a number of failures just out of guarantee,
might have been a faulty batch - I'll try them again smile.



I haven't fitted loads tbh, the super condensed electronics in the base of such lamps do make for a failure point compared to the more lumpen white blob efforts, but LED in general has come a long way in the last few years.

If you don't need dimming they can cost little more than an old filament bulb would anyway:
https://discounthomelighting.co.uk/products/philip...

CoolHands

18,496 posts

194 months

Sunday 19th January 2020
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Inspired by this thread I went to screwfix to buy some more mr16 downlight bulbs to replace the remaining halogen bulbs in the kitchen.

Annoyances:
they’re too dim. I’ve bought warm white obvs as don’t want to look like a dentists operating theatre. But they’re only 5w ~ 345 lumens and it’s just not bright enough.
Also, they are slightly more bulbous so annoying to get seated with the little clip in the enclosure.
Also, some of the others that I already had as led have randomly stopped working at times. So they do not seem to stick to the eleventy billion hours claims
Also the electric bills will never go down as the standing charges and other bks just flies up instead. So you’ll never win.

CoolHands

18,496 posts

194 months

Sunday 19th January 2020
quotequote all
Elderly said:
Thanks for the idea, but that's the very place I purchased these from and had a number of failures just out of guarantee,
might have been a faulty batch - I'll try them again smile.



Ikea sell lots with that style for anyone that’s interested.

Teddy Lop

8,294 posts

66 months

Sunday 19th January 2020
quotequote all
CoolHands said:
Inspired by this thread I went to screwfix to buy some more mr16 downlight bulbs to replace the remaining halogen bulbs in the kitchen.

Annoyances:
they’re too dim. I’ve bought warm white obvs as don’t want to look like a dentists operating theatre. But they’re only 5w ~ 345 lumens and it’s just not bright enough.
Also, they are slightly more bulbous so annoying to get seated with the little clip in the enclosure.
Also, some of the others that I already had as led have randomly stopped working at times. So they do not seem to stick to the eleventy billion hours claims
Also the electric bills will never go down as the standing charges and other bks just flies up instead. So you’ll never win.
toolstation sell 8.3w integral branded mr16s, 600+ lumens and both dimmable and non dimmable. Used many to good effect in garden lighting where I convert a lot of gu10 stuff to low volts.

TBH though for anything indoors I'd be converting to gu10 by replacing trans&lampholder - tends to be better as many old transformers can be problematic with LEDs - be careful of bathrooms where 12v may be providing an addition safety measure.

98elise

26,376 posts

160 months

Sunday 19th January 2020
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Anyone else remember the thread where loads of people were bulk buying 100w filament lamps because they refused to buy energy saving bulbs smile

Zirconia

36,010 posts

283 months

Sunday 19th January 2020
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98elise said:
Anyone else remember the thread where loads of people were bulk buying 100w filament lamps because they refused to buy energy saving bulbs smile
Yep.

At that time the highest rated bulb I had in use was the aforementioned 18w (100w equiv).

anonymous-user

Original Poster:

53 months

Sunday 19th January 2020
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98elise said:
Anyone else remember the thread where loads of people were bulk buying 100w filament lamps because they refused to buy energy saving bulbs smile
You can still buy those all over the place !

Elderly

3,486 posts

237 months

Sunday 19th January 2020
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CoolHands said:
Ikea sell lots with that style for anyone that’s interested.
I couldn't see similar with SBC fitting on their website - thank goodness .....

.... otherwise that would have meant a trip to Ikea biggrin.

Elderly

3,486 posts

237 months

Sunday 19th January 2020
quotequote all
Teddy Lop said:
If you don't need dimming they can cost little more than an old filament bulb would anyway:
https://discounthomelighting.co.uk/products/philip...
I said that it wasn't easy ............. they don't do a 6Watt; but thanks for the pointer smile.

Chris Type R

8,018 posts

248 months

Sunday 19th January 2020
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98elise said:
Anyone else remember the thread where loads of people were bulk buying 100w filament lamps because they refused to buy energy saving bulbs smile
I still have a few incandescent bulbs stock piled for use with my biltong maker (meat dryer).

Robbo 27

3,605 posts

98 months

Sunday 19th January 2020
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Chris Type R said:
I still have a few incandescent bulbs stock piled for use with my biltong maker (meat dryer).
So do I, must admit that the quality of the light is much better than any of the alternatives, easier on the eyes for reading and close up work.

techguyone

3,137 posts

141 months

Sunday 19th January 2020
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Only incandescent I have are for things like Himalayan stone light & lava lamps where you need the heat they produce for them to work right.

ambuletz

10,690 posts

180 months

Sunday 19th January 2020
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i noticed alof of LED bulbs being sold for a quid in wilko and poundland...anyone bought/used these?

ARHarh

3,703 posts

106 months

Sunday 19th January 2020
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is this expensive? https://www.wilko.com/en-uk/wilko-1-pack-bayonet-b... had cheap wilko bulbs in my house for years now, with no issues.

Teddy Lop

8,294 posts

66 months

Sunday 19th January 2020
quotequote all
Elderly said:
Teddy Lop said:
If you don't need dimming they can cost little more than an old filament bulb would anyway:
https://discounthomelighting.co.uk/products/philip...
I said that it wasn't easy ............. they don't do a 6Watt; but thanks for the pointer smile.
yeah higher power and not pig ugly makes it harder. SBC is a PITA too as its a mostly UK thing, rest of world uses screw.

What sort of fittings are they, I've converted the lampholders before now to give more options (normally G9>candle to give more dimming options) but if the fitting will take a normal gls lamp then swapping to ES or BC is an option...

glenrobbo

35,077 posts

149 months

Sunday 19th January 2020
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techguyone said:
Only incandescent I have are for things like Himalayan stone light & lava lamps where you need the heat they produce for them to work right.
A used condom filled with coloured water, tied off in a knot and placed on a radiator makes a cheap substitute for a lava lamp.

For the illumination, an LED headlamp can be inverted and held in place with the elastic strap.

Think of the energy saving, as well as minimal outlay on the hardware.

grumbledoak

31,500 posts

232 months

Sunday 19th January 2020
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98elise said:
Anyone else remember the thread where loads of people were bulk buying 100w filament lamps because they refused to buy energy saving bulbs smile
I bought a load. I skipped CFLs completely - they gave a pitiful money saving and were a disposal nightmare.

Now I'm almost entirely LED - they are available in bayonet and make some sense financially. The energy saving is still a sham - there isn't much waste heat in a UK home in winter.

rolex

3,110 posts

257 months

Sunday 19th January 2020
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I have green credentials, there's an LED light in the fridge.

Peter911

473 posts

156 months

Sunday 19th January 2020
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rolex said:
I have green credentials, there's an LED light in the fridge.
IIRC the LED fridge lights stay on when the door is closed.