Changing Halogen Bulbs to LED

[BrettRogersUK]

Hi All,

When we moved into our house we found our kitchen to have dimmable bulbs by means of a Varilight system (V-Pro IR). Each bulb is a 12v 35W Halogen MR16 bulb and is connected connected by a Ansell Electronic Transformer For LV Halogen bulbs (See below).

I want to switch now to LED bulbs to make it more energy efficient. Would I need to buy an LED Driver for each new LED bulb? if so, which do you suggest I get. As it stands at the moment the Transformer has AC240v coming in and output AC 12v. The Transformer can be found on Amazon for £7.00 each.

Your help would be appreciated.

Regards,

Brett

 

[flameport]

Convert to 230V GU10, no transformers or separate drivers required.

 

[ericmark]

The unit you show has a minimum output of 20 VA, one can consider VA as the same as watts, in the main G5.3 MR16 bulbs want a 50 Hz supply and the only way to get a 50 Hz supply is with a transformer, not an electronic transformer and a transformer is unlikely to work with dimmer switches, to be frank neither should you use quartz lights from a dimmer as it will shorten the bulbs life.

So there are three possible routes to use extra low voltage.
1) Toroidal transformer.
2) An electronic transformer able to supply from zero.
3) A DC driver (12 volt).

Non are perfect. 1) will have a problem dimming, 2) may end up transmitting interference, and may not work with bulbs really designed for 50 Hz, although I suspect most only are marked 50 Hz so users will not connect to a power supply with a minimum output. 3) may again not work with 50 Hz rated lamps, although again I suspect most only are marked 50 Hz so users will not connect to a power supply with a minimum output. DC bulbs tend to be more expensive often with a voltage range of 10 - 30 volt designed for caravans and boats.

So I would agree with @flameport in the main converting to GU10 is the way to go, however if you want to retain extra low voltage, although not really designed for LED 50 Hz lamps, I would say the driver is likely the best option of the three, if you want to dim them, and the toroidal transformer if your swapping to standard switching.