LED GU10's

[ub7rm]

Perhaps not the most relevant section for this topic but I'm considering replacing my 50w halogen Gu10's (2 light fittings with 4 bulbs in each) with 2w LED GU10's. These bulbs produce a hell of an amount of heat which I don't want from a light fitting - only light.

How does the light output compare - are they as bright as the halogens?

Is this a good price? £8.95 + VAT

http://www.capcarbon.co.uk/prod_info.asp?prodid=83

Thanks

 

[TicklyT]

From the link you provided, "they are not suitable for main room lighting....." but they should be OK for accent lighting.

A 9 or 11 Watt CFL may provide a better solution. They certainly produce a lot less heat than a halogen, but some don't like the quality of the light or the time they take to reach full brightness.

http://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Main_In...x/Lamps_and_Tubes_Index/GUCFL_Lamp/index.html

http://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Products/GULEDW.html

 

[Albert]

I never used GU10, LED type bulbs for general lighting purpose, but I can tel you that if you use GU10 energy saving bulbs you will have less heat and get (with 9W,10W or 11W) energy saving bulbs the same amount of light as 50W halogen and it will be white and not yellow.

 

[blu3tang]

i have used both the led and energy saving ones.

LEDs do not produce awful amount of light.

Energy saving ones, take a few seconds to warm up but are perfect.

You can get them in various colours/shades/kevlins of white (ie warm white, cold white etc..)

Forgot to add, cheapest place i found was ebay (£5 each) though you have to buy 10 (ie £50) that was a few months ago , so perhaps prices have gone down a bit...

 

[bsimmo]

I've used them and for the bathroom they are not bad at all, you get the modern light effect, you may see in Wine Bar's or new Pubs in the toliets etc. That kind of fresh white (in effect blue tinted, which will make whites look whiter btw since all your clothers have blue dye in them from washing them... our eyes are also... nuff science there)

The 'white' is created from a Blue emitting Semiconductor, usually Indium Gallium Nitrate based which then hits phosphurs (often a yellow colour) and gives (or should ) a broad output around th yellow spectrum. But if the LED's are cheap then you'll often get a large peak of the blue getting out, hence giving it a blue tinge.

Some companies have solved this to an extent (Philips ?), some will (or may altready have) moved on to Quantum Dot posphur coatings which give out a really decent light similar to standard light bulbs.

 

[electronicsuk]

I just received delivery of some 3w LED GU10s to use in the garden. I think I paid around £10 each, but the light output from the single Luxeon emitter is far better than any of the cheaper units using standard LEDs that I've seen. If it weren't for the fact that the beam angle is quite tight (I'm using them as spots) they wouldn't make bad room lighting. I've also seen 5w models which claim a beam width of 60 degrees.

I wouldn't bother with the bulbs you've linked to, as everywhere I've seen this type installed there are already failed LEDs. I expect this is because they are cheaply designed and manufactured with little or no thought for heat dissipation - the decent luxeon units are built into metal cases with fins to keep them cool.

 

[viewer]

The wattage of LEDs is slowly going up (last ones I got were 1.8W - manufacturers state equivalent to 20W incandescent - but I suspect they are "optimistic"). The TLC ones are cheapest (£5-75) for proven reliability (I think). No problem with delay in giving light and I'm using as reading lights, spots in bathroom and as hall lighting without any problem. Blues make ceramics look ooo. I'd suggest getting a TLC LED and a Screwfix downlighter. Total cost about £11. Play with them and then decide. The CFLs I've tried are not inspiring. The colour is a sort of magnolia and they take some time to come on. If you want to try some, our local B&Qs have a set of 3 units complete for under £10.
HTH