My kitchen lighting comprises seven MR16 lamps in the ceiling. They have been very reliable and I have not needed to change a bulb in over seven years-until now. The bulb failure turns out to be a transformer failure as the replacement bulb still didn't work. I'm thinking of replacing all of the lamps with leds and I wonder whether I should go for MR16 12V (not sure whether the existing transformers would be suitable) or just eliminate the transformers altogether and go for GU10 mains voltage units. As total replacement would be quite expensive, I propose to do it progressively as and when units/bulbs fail. Suggestions and advice welcome please.
LED Lamps: MR16 or GU10.
- Thread starter spongsdad
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The MR16 has two good points.
1 - With quartz lamps it keeps the temperature spot on so bulbs last longer and are brighter. With Cold cathode or LED there is no advantage keeping voltage spot on.
2 - The lamps comply with the requirements where used is certain areas of the bathroom. So again for you not an advantage.
The GU10/GZ10 also has some good points.
1 - You can use cold cathode type lamps.
2 - You can't physically fit the wrong type GZ10 lamps will not fit GU10 holders.
3 - You don't need a transformer.
4 - You can reduce the size of lamps without a problem (see note)
One problem when using very small GU10 lamps like the 0.58W you can get from pound world is they use so little power the current picked up by the cable between switch and lamp can be enough to stop them going completely out. Did not have a problem with 1W lamps.
The angle of the beam is something one does need to be careful about. With the cold cathode (florescent) the beam tends to be rather wide which is good when used for general lighting however spot lights are not for general lighting they are as the name tells us to give a spot of light. The LED lamps seem very good at that and my bedside lights are about 4 foot from where I hold a book and they light the page spot on.
This hardly changes between LED for MR16 and GU10 but since the GU10 can also use cold cathode and you can lamp at a time swap between tungsten, LED, and Cold Cathode to me unless in a bathroom GU10 wins every time.
The GZ10 holder will take both GZ10 and GU10. With GZ10 the heat passes through the reflector but the light is reflected. With GU10 both heat and light are reflected. The GZ10 is designed for when you don't want the item being lit from getting too hot. One would normally have GZ10 as a pod so the heat can escape.
1 - With quartz lamps it keeps the temperature spot on so bulbs last longer and are brighter. With Cold cathode or LED there is no advantage keeping voltage spot on.
2 - The lamps comply with the requirements where used is certain areas of the bathroom. So again for you not an advantage.
The GU10/GZ10 also has some good points.
1 - You can use cold cathode type lamps.
2 - You can't physically fit the wrong type GZ10 lamps will not fit GU10 holders.
3 - You don't need a transformer.
4 - You can reduce the size of lamps without a problem (see note)
One problem when using very small GU10 lamps like the 0.58W you can get from pound world is they use so little power the current picked up by the cable between switch and lamp can be enough to stop them going completely out. Did not have a problem with 1W lamps.
The angle of the beam is something one does need to be careful about. With the cold cathode (florescent) the beam tends to be rather wide which is good when used for general lighting however spot lights are not for general lighting they are as the name tells us to give a spot of light. The LED lamps seem very good at that and my bedside lights are about 4 foot from where I hold a book and they light the page spot on.
This hardly changes between LED for MR16 and GU10 but since the GU10 can also use cold cathode and you can lamp at a time swap between tungsten, LED, and Cold Cathode to me unless in a bathroom GU10 wins every time.
The GZ10 holder will take both GZ10 and GU10. With GZ10 the heat passes through the reflector but the light is reflected. With GU10 both heat and light are reflected. The GZ10 is designed for when you don't want the item being lit from getting too hot. One would normally have GZ10 as a pod so the heat can escape.
And almost always is an MR16.
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