LED Light Bulbs
Hopper's mum
Posts: 596
Forum Member
✭✭
We have a light fitting which takes four GU10 halogen bulbs. I have been told that it would be more cost effective to use lED bulbs, even though they cost more to buy. I've been looking at a catalogue to purchase some but there are so many different types - all saying they are GU10!!
Can anyone help me to decide which of these variants I would need?
Can anyone help me to decide which of these variants I would need?
0
Comments
GU10 is the mains powered push and turn type, the higher the wattage the brighter the light. LED lamps tend to be around 5-8 watts consumption which is about the same as a 35-50 watt halogen, there are various types of white light so best to see some operating before buying. I use led lamps and they are vastly superior to halogen and CFL and do not fail as easily.
The replacement (halogen) bulbs that we have been using say that they're 50W. The LED versions I'm looking at vary: 3W, 4W, 5W, 5.4W, 6W, 9W. There are two which say they're genuine 50W halogen replacements but one is 7.5W and the other 5.5W
Looking at the catalogue there's a choice of cool white and warm white. I'm guessing that the cool white is the one with the bluey tinge and the warm will be a more yellowy tone.
Correct, Warm white is usually closer to the normal halogen lamps.
the 7.5w lamp will be closer to 50w than the 5.5w
I've started to replace them by buying a few LEDS every month.
Just be aware that they are quite dim.I put them in the front room then realised i couldn't see enough to read a book, so i had to buy a lamp
The ones that you are buying clearly don't qualify as 50W GU10 replacements. Does the packaging state the lumen output?
theses light bulbs will be the ones i will buy, when my normal 150w and 100 w bulbs are gone.
http://energy-reducer.com/Megaman-30-Watt-B22-Liliput-Compact-Warm-White-2700-Colour-Temperature-80CRI
Regular CREE LEDs have a harsh blue/white light which you might want in, say a bathroom or a kitchen (or a mortuary) but they're not very pleasant for most rooms (IMO).
The light fitting I'm looking to use these in has four bulbs and is in the kitchen so I was going to choose the blue/white light bulbs. I will just buy one bulb for now, I think, to see how it looks - especially as they're quite expensive.
Not cheap to buy (£30ish), but very bright and much cheaper to run.
I also bought the Brilliant White version too, but these were too stark fro what I wanted.
Told by someone in the Taliban, by any chance?
I laughed at the thought of IED bulbs too
I use these ones,
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B004KRB7XS/ref=oh_details_o05_s00_i00
Believe me, they are very bright, and unlike cfls, are 'instant on'.
and I try to be so careful with my grammar etc.
(I do appreciate your sense of humour though! )
I bought some of those last year, and whilst certainly bright, I found they had a distinct green tinge compared to my halogens and gave the room a somewhat industrial look.
They also spread "flat" light as opposed to spot light that GU10's normally give.
I really want to find some LEDs that match the look of halogens since they are far better in every other respect, cheaper, don't keep blowing, don't get hot.
Lumens - an objective measure of how much light is emitted from a source. If you want the GU10 LED light to be at least as bright as a 50W halogen GU10 you need 400 lumens. Most GU10 LEDs are only in the 300 range which is why they disappoint.
Colour Temperature - a way of explaining the type of light that is radiated against a temperature scale. For LED lights they come in Cool White or Warm White. Warm will be near to a GU10 halogen light. Cool is often used in modern buildings but is a very unforgiving light.
After a bit of research I have recently replaced all the GU10s Halogen spots in my place with Mirrorstone 80 LED Warm White, 400 lumens GU10s. They are simply the best I have come across (I've tried a few). I bought mine from these people though they are currently out of stock but were the cheapest supplier (read the reviews) - http://www.wholesaleledlights.co.uk/gu10-80-led-4-5w-led-50w-halogen-400-lumens-2-colours-available.html
Don't be put off by the price of LED lights over Halogen - the long life of LEDs and savings in electricity means that they will pay for themselves a number of times over.
But where do you get your lumen measurement for 50W GU10 halogen? The places I looked gave a range of 800-950...
I think we've already established that you want "warm white", since that will be closest in colour temperature to halogen. What are the lumen ratings for the 5.5W, 7.5W and 9W GU10s?
This whole "equivalence" thing is very confusing. I don't think it has any properly defined meaning, so people can just say what they want.