Dimmable?- LED 240v 1w into 240v downlighter
- Thread starter Tvrwolf
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Hard to say I would expect dimmable to be printed on it, what brand are they? 1W dimmables are available.
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Mine say 9 LED GU10 0.54W/240V Energy Saving Bulb from Pound World and they are dimmable the problem is getting them to go out they are such a low wattage the capacitive and inductive link in the cable means they are on dim all the time and just become bright when switched on.
At 0.58W not bright of course but at around a meter from my book I can read in bed with them which is the whole idea of having a wall mounted bedside lamp enough for me to read without keeping my wife awake.
The problem is the manufacturer does not say what system is being used to get the power out of the LED. Where capacitors are charged and LED's are fed with a Mark/Space supply to boost the output the Unit can't be dimmed. But where the supply is content then they can however what point they will dim at is another question and if that point is less than half the rated voltage then likely a phase clipping dimmer switch will not reduce the power enough for them to start dimming.
I would not have thought dimming LED lights would be much use as unlike tungsten the colour will not alter so you will not get the ambiance effect of the redness as with tungsten. Also why anyone would fit dimmers to a GU10 lamp I don't know as quartz lamps should not be dimmed. I know they will dim but the envelope temperature is really important too cold and the tungsten will deposit on the quartz rather than back onto the tungsten element so we go to great lengths to ensure content voltage with quartz lamps. Often using extra low voltage inverters to ensure the voltage is really stable.
Soft start yes good idea I have soft start bulbs in my living room so switching on the lights do not wake my wife. But dimmers are really a left over from an age gone by when we had the option of turning the wick up and down.
At 0.58W not bright of course but at around a meter from my book I can read in bed with them which is the whole idea of having a wall mounted bedside lamp enough for me to read without keeping my wife awake.
The problem is the manufacturer does not say what system is being used to get the power out of the LED. Where capacitors are charged and LED's are fed with a Mark/Space supply to boost the output the Unit can't be dimmed. But where the supply is content then they can however what point they will dim at is another question and if that point is less than half the rated voltage then likely a phase clipping dimmer switch will not reduce the power enough for them to start dimming.
I would not have thought dimming LED lights would be much use as unlike tungsten the colour will not alter so you will not get the ambiance effect of the redness as with tungsten. Also why anyone would fit dimmers to a GU10 lamp I don't know as quartz lamps should not be dimmed. I know they will dim but the envelope temperature is really important too cold and the tungsten will deposit on the quartz rather than back onto the tungsten element so we go to great lengths to ensure content voltage with quartz lamps. Often using extra low voltage inverters to ensure the voltage is really stable.
Soft start yes good idea I have soft start bulbs in my living room so switching on the lights do not wake my wife. But dimmers are really a left over from an age gone by when we had the option of turning the wick up and down.
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A kitchen 12 foot by 12 foot at least to have 9 lamps 6 foot apart would not be lit solely from the GU10 lamps. They are spot lamps and as the name suggests will project a spot of light very handy for lighting small areas from a distance like a picture on the wall but no good for general lighting.
I use florescent tubes for my kitchen likely a little OTT with 180W but my mother uses a single 2D round fitting at 22W with seems ample. She has got extra lighting on the cooker hood and good lighting from the window during the day but because the lights have no earth connection I was limited to class II fittings and was very pleased with the result.
Spot lights do come with different angle of beam and the GU10 at 0.58W have a very narrow angle where the cold cathode lamp used before had a very wide angle. So I can read a book better with 0.58W LED than 11W cold cathode but to see to get to bed the 11W cold cathode was better.
Cold Cathode is really another name for florescent by the way. Doing the CD test on the LED lights the colour rending is not as good as with the discharge lights which seems odd as now used a lot with photography.
I use florescent tubes for my kitchen likely a little OTT with 180W but my mother uses a single 2D round fitting at 22W with seems ample. She has got extra lighting on the cooker hood and good lighting from the window during the day but because the lights have no earth connection I was limited to class II fittings and was very pleased with the result.
Spot lights do come with different angle of beam and the GU10 at 0.58W have a very narrow angle where the cold cathode lamp used before had a very wide angle. So I can read a book better with 0.58W LED than 11W cold cathode but to see to get to bed the 11W cold cathode was better.
Cold Cathode is really another name for florescent by the way. Doing the CD test on the LED lights the colour rending is not as good as with the discharge lights which seems odd as now used a lot with photography.
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After reading your post I thought I would test the GU10 0.58W lamp in a dimmer and see the result.
Dimmer on at any setting LED lamp shows no change on brightness. Switch dimmer off and LED lamp dims but does not go out.
OK your lamps are nearly double the wattage but do not be surprised if they remain on although dim when switched off.
Dimmer on at any setting LED lamp shows no change on brightness. Switch dimmer off and LED lamp dims but does not go out.
OK your lamps are nearly double the wattage but do not be surprised if they remain on although dim when switched off.
You also said that these LED lamps have an output of 56lm.
A 50W halogen MR16 will produce around 12-15lm/w, i.e. 600-750.
35W ones probably a little less per W.
So 56lm is the equivalent of a 20W halogen? Not a hope in hell.
It would be more than enough if you used efficient lighting of a type actually designed to light up rooms.
It would be absolutely fine if it comprised 3 x 60W GLS incandescent lamps.
But if you use a design of lamp which is actually specifically designed to not be any good at lighting up rooms it won't be anywhere near enough.
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