How to determine if an led light is 12w?

[hellomate]

Hey guys

Question I have recently bought these led lights which are suppose to be 12w but I am not sure if they are 12w and suspect that they use more than 12w! Is there any way that I could find out if they are 12w or not?

Thanks for your help in advance

 

[EFLImpudence]

Is it not marked on them?

Assuming you do mean watts, why are you concerned?

 

[hellomate]

Is it not marked on them?

Assuming you do mean watts, why are you concerned?

No it is not written on them. Well the reason I bought these lights is that I thought they used less electricity than my 50w Halogen lights thus saving me some money and being environmental friendly so I want to make sure that I was not ripped off

 

[EFLImpudence]

12 watts is a lot for a single led lamp.

Can you post a picture?

Are you sure you or the seller are not confusing 12 volts?

 

[hellomate]

12 watts is a lot for a single led lamp.

Can you post a picture?

Are you sure you or the seller are not confusing 12 volts?

Here's a picture

Untitled

• hellomate
• 24 Nov 2012
• 1

I should point out that they are very bright (around 800 lumens) and im pretty sure it is 240V as it is connected straight into the mains.

 

[EFLImpudence]

Well, in that case they will use a quarter as much as a 50w.

The only way to measure would be a clamp meter on one of the wires.
However as 12w is only 0.05 amps it is unlikely you would have a meter capable of measuring this small amount.

There are a lot of 12w lamps so I would assume it is correct.

 

[hellomate]

Well, in that case they will use a quarter as much as a 50w.

The only way to measure would be a clamp meter on one of the wires.
However as 12w is only 0.05 amps it is unlikely you would have a meter capable of measuring this small amount.

There are a lot of 12w lamps so I would assume it is correct.

The reason behind my suspicion is because they heat up quite alot, not as much as halogens though and also I had 6x70W fluorescent light before which I now have replaced with 36x12W led lights but sometimes when I turn the lights on the fuse jumps and I have to go on turn it back on from the fuse box but I did not have this problem with the fluorescent lights and according to my calculation the led lights use a total of 12W more than the fluorescent lights so that leads me to think that they actually use more than 12W, what do you think

 

[hellomate]

Well, in that case they will use a quarter as much as a 50w.

The only way to measure would be a clamp meter on one of the wires.
However as 12w is only 0.05 amps it is unlikely you would have a meter capable of measuring this small amount.

There are a lot of 12w lamps so I would assume it is correct.

The reason behind my suspicion is because they heat up quite alot, not as much as halogens though and also I had 6x70W fluorescent light before which I now have replaced with 36x12W led lights but sometimes when I turn the lights on the fuse jumps and I have to go on turn it back on from the fuse box but I did not have this problem with the fluorescent lights and according to my calculation the led lights use a total of 12W more than the fluorescent lights so that leads me to think that they actually use more than 12W, what do you think

wow the last bit makes no sense whatsoever!!! what I mean to say is that"....that leads me to think that they cause the problem with the fuse what do you think?"

 

[DetlefSchmitz]

It'll most likely be the start-up surge from 36 power converters causing the trip, not the constant load after that. There's a couple of solutions. One is to split the lamps into two sets and switch them on separately. The other involves a different type of MCB, but needs more technical investigation before attempting.

 

[EFLImpudence]

The reason behind my suspicion is because they heat up quite alot, not as much as halogens though and also I had 6x70W fluorescent light before which I now have replaced with 36x12W led lights but sometimes when I turn the lights on the fuse jumps and I have to go on turn it back on from the fuse box but I did not have this problem with the fluorescent lights and according to my calculation the led lights use a total of 12W more than the fluorescent lights so that leads me to think that they actually ARE more than 12W, what do you think

In a way your question is irrelevant.

It is the lighting you require that is the determining factor.

Whatever wattage they are it will be less than 50 and so you will be using less power than before.

If the lights (together) are brighter than you require then remove some.
If not bright enough you will require more or brighter.

If they are equivalent to the previous lighting and just right then what difference does it make what the actual wattage is.

 

[Iggifer]

I think his question translates to "what is causing the MCB to pop when I turn *some* lights on"

And that his LED's use more power than his fluorescents, which is wrong

36 x 12 = 432w
70 x 6 = 840w

My follow up questions would be:

How much did you pay for 36 x 12W LED lamps? I'd be ballparking that near to £500 for halfway decent lamps
EXACTLY which lights cause the MCB to pop?

 

[EFLImpudence]

It is now.

I was referring to the original question.

70 x 6 = ???

 

[hellomate]

It is now.

I was referring to the original question.

70 x 6 = ???

6 refers to the number of fluorescent lights and 70 refers to their wattage so 70W. That is a total of 420W and the total wattage of the new lights is 36 multiplied by 12W which is 432W so I don't know what is making the fuse trip?

 

[Monkeh]

It is now.

I was referring to the original question.

70 x 6 = ???

6 refers to the number of fluorescent lights and 70 refers to their wattage so 70W. That is a total of 420W and the total wattage of the new lights is 36 multiplied by 12W which is 432W so I don't know what is making the fuse trip?

The wonders of electronics are making the breaker trip.

Send me a lamp and I'll tell you what it uses.

 

[hellomate]

I think his question translates to "what is causing the MCB to pop when I turn *some* lights on"

And that his LED's use more power than his fluorescents, which is wrong

36 x 12 = 432w
70 x 6 = 840w

My follow up questions would be:

How much did you pay for 36 x 12W LED lamps? I'd be ballparking that near to £500 for halfway decent lamps
EXACTLY which lights cause the MCB to pop?

Well to be honest with you I bought them off of ebay and they cost me around £120. The LED's have a total wattage of 432W, the fluorescent lights had a total wattage of 420W so the LED's use a total of 12W more which should not really cause the fuse to trip. What do you think?