We have one of those 3 lamp ceiling spotlights that currently has 3 x
50W halogen lamps in it that I would like to change to LED and one of the dimmer switches that was previously recommended in another thread.
However, I've never used / had a GU10 fitting or even changed a lamp (thst I remember) and certainly don't therefore have any feel for just how bright they may be (ITRW) in comparison with the supposed watt-equavalent halogen.
They also seem to range in price considerably and I'm not sure how likely that would reflect quality / reliability etc?
So, could anyone personally recommend a 'good' (VFM / reliability / light level and dimmable) LED GU10 lamp please?
I think we would want 'warm white' (it's in a bedroom) but ideally at least as much light as seen from a (well 3x) 50W halogen lamp please (if that's possible etc).
I recently did this. Dimmable bought from TLC. Not as bright as 50w halogen, closer to the smaller ones - 35w? Light quality not quite as good either (warm white). But overall, reasonably happy.
Sadly no low energy lamps ever seem to match the output of the larger tungsten types, despite the claims.
It;s difficult to judge such things I have a 6 way in the front room and a 3 way in the spare room. The cool ones do have a cold feel about the light and the warm white doesn't seem as warm as dimmed halogen.
My warm white LED GU10s do seem brighter but only when you look at them, when reflecting off walls and anything else they sem dimmer than the 35W I replaced them with.
My last lot came from screwfix standard dimmable in a pack of 5 or 6 LED GU10 warm white, they are OK I still prefer halogen for light quality, while the LEDs seem brighter they just seem monochomatic in light output, it's difficult to describe but knowing the spectral response of the human eye and that of sunlight I've been used to most of my life and for humans 1000s of years so it sort of works well. LED lights that don't produce that same spectral response and for me it noticable.
The LEDs GU10s seem to be a narrow angle in general compared to halogen verions so you get more of a spotlike effect which again can alter your perception of brightness.
My first set of dimmable LEDs GU10 dail from B&Q didnlt fit in my frontroom holders, becaus ethey had cooling fins that were a few mm high the GU10 pins could engage and click into the holder so were useless, but luckily they fited in the kitchen GU10 holders so weren't wasted.
So my advice would be to try a few out rather than expect to get the best via reviews or even personal recomendations, like marmite on toast I like very lightly toasted bread and a very thin coating of marmite, anyhting more and I hate the taste. Of course someone my have more experience and find some makes or type of bulbs to be crap for whatever reason, but if you really care about the light it's worth going around byung a few bulbs as they will get better in the future , so if you find a bulb you're not keen on, then keep it as an emergency spare is what I do.
And another fact is we have a couple of light meters and depending whatv tyoe of light your measuring you have to set it to flourescant daylight or tungsten so it's more than just lumens or lux to worry about as represented by a level of brightness.
Check that you will be above the minimum wattage for the dimmer. I have done this and then the dimmer didn't work as it had a 40 - 200 watt range (or similar)
I have not found sany LED that works *properly* with a dimnmer designed for incandescent. Also many that claim to dim, dont, very well, and flicker badly.
My advice is spend a little extra time and money testing a given brand and stick to it if it works for you.
IMLE you may well not get the expected life if the fitting encloses the lamp with little or no ventilation. They get too hot. But I'm willing to swallow that for the savings on consumption.
As mentioned elsewhere in this thread, the effective angle of illumination is often much less with a led, too. Also, despite TH lamps having a very bright filament, it seems to me that leds can "outglare" them with their often very bright pinpoints of light. However, I recently bought some GU10 leds which had the front glass frosted. These provide a much nicer light without glare.
Do bear in mind that the quality of light from a dimmed LED is completely different from a tungsten bulb. They don't get "warmer" as they dim.
Consequently, I reckon it's best to try and get the right brightness and colour quality that you want from the outset and not rely on a dimmer to adjust it afterwards.
T i m is asking for recomendations for dimmable GU10 LED bulbs.
I have NEVER bought a GU10 bulb from CPC not 1 or a pack of 10. Not dimmable or dimmable. So I can't recomend those things I haven't seen or used can I.
I couldn't careless it;s T i m that asking not me. If you can't understand what T i m wants then ask him.
Whi said I knew where they were as I've never seen them. if I had I would have bought some.
That;s one of the things yuo have to accept when going to GU10 my previous were standard beynet mount 60W candel type bulbs in an older style lighting stsyem from the late 70s early 80s brown wood chandelier they had what I;d estimate at about 270 as the light didn;t go through the base so it was 360.
GU10 are classed as spotlight bulbs, uo have to accept that.
I think he said he was going to replace the dimmer. But yes, I forgot this and one of the LED bulbs exploded. Stank out the kitchen for ages afterwards
Thanks for the replies guys, this is the sort of 'real world' feedback I was hoping for.
I'm wondering now if the starting point was a good one, eg this 3 way fitting with GU10 lamps? [1] Ok, the user (a young 'goth' <g>) liked it being provided for her (along with the black walls, all part of the surprise) but none of that makes good lighting 'easy', and hence why I was aware of not wanting to make the room any darker whilst trying to offer more control of the light level whilst saving them energy.
Maybe I'll run the idea of changing the fitting to something more suited to the more powerful LED lamps available easier in the bigger bases (BS / ES) but retaining the idea of providing the remoteable dimming function to give her something to play with.
If *I* had been party to choosing the light fitting I think I would have considered the availability of lamps and generally at the cost of any ideal 'style' (I'm not a form over function type of guy). ;-)
As a aside, the heat given off by the 150W of halogen wasn't such an issue when it's cold but would be as the temperatures start to go up ... and because it's a bit dark in there (black walls and bed sheets etc) you do still often need the lights on in there, even when it's fairly light outside (or sooner than you might if the walls where white etc).
It's nearly one of those things where you find the lamp and then work back to the fitting! ;-)
Cheers, T i m
[1] Excluding finding / trying the frosted LED's etc.
Goths don't like bright lighgting, you'd be better off with candles but for safety those arcitechal fliment LEDs might be better or even a few UV bulbs. There were 3 types of Goth Perky, mopey and cyber goths.
But for goths a room can't be made dark enough ;-)
Nice idea, she can practice the two step and the tree waving in the wind dance.
Long ago I spent a weekend with a friend in a rented castle on the Scottish borders. There were about 150 of us and various events going on. The organiser, who was also a fire-eater, was a goth and the caretaker was quite surprised to find him sleeping in a coffin in the gun room!
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