Bulbs always bustings : what can I do ?

[rideforever]

I am living in a converted Victorian flat, I have mostly GU10s and a few traditional incandescents.

They are costing a lot of money : the last 2 incandescents lasted 3 months or so, and GU10s have about 9mnths expectancy.

The circuit breakers trip maybe once every 2 mnths on average; the flat is in good upkeep really.

Can someone give me advice for cost effective things I can do ?

Cheers

 

[Taylortwocities]

Don't buy cheap, unbranded lamps.
And/or use low energy lamps.

 

[RF Lighting]

Change the lamps to LED lamps.

You need to spend about £10 per replacement lamp, but they will pay for them selves in reduced energy costs and much longer life.

 

[rideforever]

What about getting the wiring checked or UPS things ?

 

[pjcomp]

It's normal for circuit breakers to trip when lamps blow, not every time but very common. CFL or LED lamps won't cause trips, they're cheaper to run and genrally last lots longer, so while they seem tocost more up front, replacing halogen GU10s every few months at £2 a pop isn't cheap either.


PJ

 

[sparkiemike]

Have a look at the life expectancy of the lamps (light bulbs), it will be printed on the packaging.

Most of the GU10 I have seen the supermarkets and DIY stores are rated for about 1000hours.

So if you use them for 4 hours a day then you can expect them to last 8months. The same applies for a decent BC incandescent lamp.

As already said look at LED and/or CFLs.

 

[canduit]

And if you have dimmers come back for more advice.

 

[rideforever]

Thanks for the responses, I will look into LED GU10s.

What about dodgy electricity. Some of these incandescents were almost new. What can I do ???

 

[RF Lighting]

You can get an electrician to check your supply but it's most likely going to be a combination of poor quality lamps, and if you've got 6 lights in the same room it'll seem like the bulbs blow 6 times as often.