[Hopper's mum]

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?

[mackara]

Originally Posted by Hopper's mum

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?

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.

[Hopper's mum]

Thanks for that.
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.

[sy278]

Originally Posted by Hopper's mum

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

[Keep-it-Real]

I have 63 gu10s in my house, and probably why my electric bills are so high.

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

[njp]

Originally Posted by Keep-it-Real

I have 63 gu10s in my house, and probably why my electric bills are so high.

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 trouble is that there seems to be quite a lot of crap out there (along with some good stuff), and comparisons are difficult - because colour temperature, total light output and beam spread are all variables.

The ones that you are buying clearly don't qualify as 50W GU10 replacements. Does the packaging state the lumen output?

[barbeler]

There are several different types of LED in use now, some of which are very much more efficient than others. The main thing that you have to watch out for is whether they are dimmable. The cheaper ones usually aren't.

[rtavy73]

go on Amazon and read the reviews older LED bulbs give of a white almost moonish colour and very dim, new ones now tend to give a more natural bulb colour what we re all used too. I'm using ecolight make which cost £6 per bulb in Home Bargains 5 watts but give off equivalent to a 40 watt bulb.

[zoepaulpenny]

Megaman 30 Watt B22 Liliput Compact - Warm White 2700 Colour Temperature >80CRI

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...perature-80CRI

[Si_Crewe]

Main thing I'd say is that if you're looking for something similar to a regular bulb, make sure you get LED bulbs that have the "warmest" possible light.

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).

[Hopper's mum]

Thanks for all the help.

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.

[scorpio man]

Instead of using GU10 50w try 35w or 20w they seem to last longer and at the very least your power consumption will be lower.

[njp]

Originally Posted by zoepaulpenny

Megaman 30 Watt B22 Liliput Compact - Warm White 2700 Colour Temperature >80CRI

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...perature-80CRI

And not remotely relevant to someone needing GU10 replacements, especially when they were specifically asking about LEDs...

[Mark39London]

I changed the halogens in my kitchen for a set of four 3W Interlux GU10 Warm White Downlights High power USA chip LED (do a google search).

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.

[lemoncurd]

Originally Posted by Hopper's mum

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...

Told by someone in the Taliban, by any chance?

[Mark39London]

Originally Posted by lemoncurd

Told by someone in the Taliban, by any chance?

I laughed at the thought of IED bulbs too

[JulesandSand]

Originally Posted by Keep-it-Real

I have 63 gu10s in my house, and probably why my electric bills are so high.

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

I use these ones,

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B...ls_o05_s00_i00

Believe me, they are very bright, and unlike cfls, are 'instant on'.

[Hopper's mum]

Originally Posted by lemoncurd

Told by someone in the Taliban, by any chance?

and I try to be so careful with my grammar etc.

(I do appreciate your sense of humour though! )

[tommy vercetti]

we have just fitted about 200 megaman gu10 6w warm white lamps in a new restraunt. we put one 50w halogen lamp in that came with the fittings to see the difference and they looked exactly the same. no one would tell the difference unless you where actively looking at them very close. I am that impressed Im going to get some for home.

[listerofsmeg]

Originally Posted by JulesandSand

I use these ones,

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B...ls_o05_s00_i00

Believe me, they are very bright, and unlike cfls, are 'instant on'.

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.

[Hopper's mum]

Is the Lumens bit important?

[njp]

Originally Posted by Hopper's mum

Is the Lumens bit important?

Well, it gives you an objective way of comparing one light source with another. But it's not the whole story. All the supposed "50W GU10" LED replacements I've looked at so far (and bear in mind that this is a rapidly evolving technology, and I don't claim to have looked at them all) have a lower lumen output than the halogen equivalent. But that doesn't necessarily mean that they won't work well as replacements. This is because the human eye has a non-linear response to light, so each increment in perceived brightness takes more light than the one before. The upshot of that is that you may get away with less light than you had before without even noticing it!

[soulboy77]

Originally Posted by Hopper's mum

Is the Lumens bit important?

There are two important specifications. One is Lumens and the other is Colour Temperature:

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/...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.

[njp]

Originally Posted by soulboy77

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.

A bit nit-picky, perhaps - but "radiant flux" would be an objective measure of the light emitted from a source. The lumen measurement weights the emitted wavelengths according to the sensitivity to them of the human eye, so it takes account of the destination as well as the source!

But where do you get your lumen measurement for 50W GU10 halogen? The places I looked gave a range of 800-950...

[Hopper's mum]

The ones I'm looking at are 200 - 550.