Warmup time of CFL GU10's... what about LEDs?

[LiamPope]

Helloooo

Putting downlights in my bathroom and have been reading up on low energy. Anybody know if CFLs nowadays still suffer from crap light output from cold (for example the megaman ones from TLC) or have they gotten better? Annoying anywhere, but especially in a bathroom what with frequent short visits. Do I have to go LEDs if I want to avoid being ****ed off?

Again looking at TLC, it's a little upsetting the 5W bad boys are twice the price of the 3W ones. I'm considering about 5 of them in my ceiling and it's a fairly small bathroom - 2.4 x 2 m. Reckon the 3W would be OK? I notice these are equivalent to 25W halogens, but how does that relate to incandescent - i.e. lumens per watt? I can only really 'visualise' incandescent if you know what i mean.

Anywhere other than TLC I could be looking?

Cheers,

Liam

 

[ban-all-sheds]

I can't comment on LED lamps as I've not looked at them for a few years, but when I did they were unmitigated carp.

Stare directly at them and they'd boil your retina, but overall they were so bad at lighting the room that they made it darker when switched on.

Slow starts on CFLs isn't as bad as it used to be, and it's actually quite welcome at times, particularly in the bathroom at night. I can pretty much guarantee that if we'd always had CFLs, and always had a slight ramp-up, and then someone invented incandescent halogen lamps people would complain that they hated the way they sprang into full startling brightness immediately..

Ever wondered why people pay loadsa money for lighting automation systems that fade from one setting to another?

Your basic problem to overcome is the desire to use small downlights in the first place - they simply don't light the room well. Putting CFL or LED lamps in them just means they use less electricity to light the room poorly.

Go for something which takes an 18 - 23W PL or TC-D type lamp, high-frequency control gear for quick starts (and possibly dimming).

Or there are lots of ceiling mounted bathroom luminaires such as these:

http://www.hib.co.uk/show_products.php?category_id=76

which will take a CFL GLS replacement.

 

[The Dentist]

I just fitted these in my bathroom, and the start up is quite slow, the other thing is the light output is a dreadfull colour, so I changed the single spot above the shower for a 50w halogen, so I now get instant brightness and the warmth of the halogen colour has removed the ghastly butchers shop window effect

 

[stunlawless]

Morning Liam,

I got some Megaman 11w CFLs to replace 7 40w r50 downlights in the kitchen..

They take about 0.5 s to start up, and then take several minutes to reach full brightness. p*****d me off so much that I put two incandescants back in.

Main reason was that I was fed up with replacing the lamps (even with 5000 hour rated lamps, it seemed to be about one every two weeks).

From that point of view, they're a great success, and when they're lit up, they give the same amount of light as the incandescant. Colour appears to be the same.

So, I've achived nearly a 75% saving in energy for the same light output, but with a b*****y annoying start up characteristic. Definitely won't be putting them in the loo; my aim is bad enough when I can see the target.

Hope this helps, David

 

[Zambezi]

One thing to remember with CFLs and any other fluorescent lamp is that they don't like to be used for short periods of time, like in a toilet. Best suited to places where they will be on for longer periods of time.
The are fittings that keep the lamps ticking over/barely on, so that when you turn the switch on they are up to full brightness very quickly. You also get dimmable CFL lamps
I think these guys do them www.greenlighting.co.uk

 

[ElectricDunc]

If your wanting to save energy when using recessed lights in my experience you have a few options. If i was allowing for recessed halogen lights in a room that size i would usually specify ELV fittings (MR16) as they give a much brighter light per watt compared to mains voltage halogen (GU10). Obviously the standard lamps are generally 50W however Osram now do an IRC halogen lamp which is 35W but gives the same quantity of light as a 50W standard halogen lamp. I think they manage this by reducing the amount energy lost through heat if you want a technical reason plus they also offen 4000hr lamp life which is twice the life of a standard halogen lamp. See here for where to buy them.

The next option is the LED lamps. I installed a 5W ELV LED the other day and i was very impressed with the quantity of light it gave. Another electrician i am friends with has been installing lots of them with very positive results. You will have to install atleast 2 more compared to the halogen counterparts but they have an incredibly long lamp life of 30,000hrs and they give off very little heat. One lamp will cost you just over £30 and the light is very white but the whole bathroom would only run at 30W compared to the 140-200W that would be required with halogen so the benefits in the running costs will be noticeable. They do seem to be alot of money on the initial outlay however the running costs and longevity of operation over the lamp life will still give them an advantage over halogen.

Your final option is the CFL lamps, the warm up times on them are improving however they will still take a minute or more to warm up to their full output. I would only recommend the 11W versions as anything lower will not give you an adequate amount of light. Aurora have produced a 15W fitting which boasts the same output as a 50W halogen so that may be an option however they are larger units then a standard recessed light and will only take the 15W Aurora lamps. See here for more details. That cost is a list price so you will be able to purchase the fittings cheaper if you decided to go with them but they will still have the slow start issues that all compact fluorescents have.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

They take about 0.5 s to start up, and then take several minutes to reach full brightness.

Must be something about the R50 replacements - I have one that's the same.

But the various GLS replacements (ES and BC) I have, made by GE, start instantly, and get to something like 90% brightness in a fraction of a second.

Definitely won't be putting them in the loo; my aim is bad enough when I can see the target.

Go and live with Stevethetiler and his wife - you won't even have to unzip...

 

[ban-all-sheds]

the light is very white.

Check out the new Thorn Base LED.

 

[Steve]

Our bathroom lights get left on all night. at only 27 watts for 3 lights we can afford to (thats less than the pond pump and uv at 60w and 8w).

3 x 9w lights. yes its slow to warm up, but when its on all night, cant complain. and its bright in there. Far better light than the 150 watt of halogen we had. My god how many KWs did we waste on that rubbish.