Torodial or electronic transformers?

[llama]

Just this weekend I fitted six low volt downlights in my kitchen ceiling. Taking advice from members of this forum I used one transformer per light fitting. The whole install was very straight forward and everything works fine. I was just wondering what the pros and cons were of torodial v electronic transformers. As it happens I used torodial on this occasion (advice of my local sparks shop) but I will be fitting more in the future so any opinions would be appreciated.

 

[plugwash]

of real wound transformers torodial are basically the nicest type

they have a higher efficiancy than most wound transformers and have virtually no external magnetic field

i strongly suspect that theese "electronic transformers" are some form of switched mode units

assuming my suspicion above is true

pros of real transformers
proven old technology
can be dimmed even though they weren't specidically designed for ti
no high frequency noise (though dimming will change that)
cons of real transformers
larger size
probablly higher back emf

the entrys for electronic transfomers would mostly be the collaries of theese

i think as long as you use a good brand you are unlikely to get much trouble with either

 

[ban-all-sheds]

i strongly suspect that theese "electronic transformers" are some form of switched mode units

They are some form of PSU. Whether switch-mode or not I cannot say, but if asked to say I'd guess not, as one of the good things about switch mode PSUs is that they are immune to input voltage variations over a wide range, which would mean that dimming would not be possible.

But then, FAIK, it's possible to design a SMPSU that does not maintain it's output when the input voltage varies.