Help with LED lights (currently have halogen)

I am somewhat confused by these LEDs, I am currently running inherited halogen lights in this house and would like to convert to LED if it makes economical sense. The problem is I get more confused the more I look into it. Currently got mostly Halogen MR16 GU5.3 12 volt, I tried searching ebay for equivelent LEDs but some I cant use the halogen driver and must get an LED one, others are not dimmable does this matter if we never dim the lights? I looked also at these 4/10x MR16 GU5.3 60 SMD 3528 LED 4W Warm/Day White Spotlight Light Lamp Bulb 12V and of course there are warm /bright / cool etc which means jot all to me. Basically all I want is an equivelent for say 60w that will be reasonably cheap to purchase and replace. My kitchen alone has 17 halogen bulbs, the lounge has 12, shower room 5, so I am sure I can reduce my elec bill if I can convert at a reasonable cost, especially as my wife doesnt know how to switch a light OFF :-(

Any thoughts on what direction to go in, I was hoping to buy straight replacements a few at a time. I would appreciate if anyone can offer some guidance.

Reply to
ss
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Do your spotlights have individual transformers?

Reply to
ARW

That I am not sure as they were installed prior to me buying the house, problem is they are located in the ceiling, would I be able to determine this without hacking in to the ceiling or lifting floorboards?

What is the significance of individual transformers? as opposed to one transformer running several bulbs.

Reply to
ss

You could swap to 230V GU10 LEDs "a few at a tme" if you have individual transformers. Remove a spot light and pull gently on the cables. If a transformer appears at the hole (and will fit through the hole) there is a chance you can change to 230V GU10s and do away with the LED drivers.

Reply to
ARW

I will check that out tomaorrow ARW as it appears I need to know in any case if one or several transformers, however based on info trawling ebay I think the GU10s have a different fitting to the GU5.3. One is straight thin pins the other a straight pin with a nobbly bit on the end.

Reply to
ss

The GU 10s do have a different fitting. I am suggesting swapping an individual transformer (if possible) for a direct swap with something like this

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(they can be bought cheaper than on that link) and then using a 230V GU10 LED. The light fitting has no idea if you are using a GU10 or a MR16 lamp. Both of them will fit the lamp in MOST cases.

Reply to
ARW

I can't help with the technical side of your query, but I can illustrate the savings made by going over from halogen to LED, as I replaced the former with the latter a couple of years ago.

The kitchen had 480W of halogen lighting, now it has 36W of LED. These lights are on an average over the year of 4 hours per day; that's a saving of 444 x 4/1000 kWh = 1.776 kWh per day. Over two years that's a saving of 1300 kWh, or £158. The bulbs cost about £80, indicating they paid for themselves within a year. But their projected lifetime is 25000 hours per bulb, against a halogen's 2000 hours, so in that time I won't need to replace 12 (the number of replacements in 25000 hours) x 9 (the number of bulbs) = 108 bulbs at say £1.50, saving another £160.

25000 hours use, at 4 hours/day, is 6250 days or, less the 365 pay-back time, comes to £375. Plus the £175 saved on halogen replacements, then over their lifetime the kitchen LEDs will save me £375 + £160, or £535. As electricity prices rise, these savings will increase.

So, running hlaogens, where LEDs could replace them, makes no economic sense except for very low usage lights (e.g. loft), or where you're going to leave the property before the payback time.

HTH

Reply to
Terry Fields

Several years ago we had some changes to lighting in our house, and the electrician said that he'd just done a big job in a local wine merchants. He changed several kilowatts of display halogens, on some 14hrs per day to LEDs. Note only did this give a huge reduction in power use but the owner would never have need to install the expensive air-con he'd had fitted the previous year. Go into many shops and you can feel the heat from the halogen spots and hear the air-con running. Note only would they save huge amounts of money but there would be less of a chance of a energy shortage...

Jim

Reply to
Jim Chisholm

warm white = similarish light to the halogens, if its an honest descripti on, it often isnt with LEDs. cool white = nasty cold white light For a more reliable indication look at the CCT figure, halogen are 3000K, n asty cool is more like 4000-5000K.

If you've got several halogens/LEDs on one transformer (ie there isnt a tra nsformer attached to each light fitting) you can always run all but one lam ps with LEDs, and the last with either a LED it that works, or a halogen, o r get a more suitable transformer and use all halogen.

I don't know if you'll find lights with equivalent light output.

NT

Reply to
meow2222

Not always the case.

I got a couple of warm whites and they turned out a horrible yellow light.

We have cool in the kitchen and the study and they produce a really pleasant light...

Reply to
F

Our kitchen had 5 sets of 3 x 50w 12V halogen bulbs when we moved in, each 150W set running off a transformer rated for 120W max, as I found when investigating why they kept cutting out :-(

I replaced them with 20W halogen, and later (not all at once) with LEDs. It's more likely that more of them will be on at once now, but still a big reduction.

Now, if only I could presuade my wife that an R7s LED really is an adequate replacement for the halogen uplighter in the other room.... I do have to admit than the one I tried wasn't really as good though.

Reply to
Alan Braggins

A minority of people prefer cool white, but most dislike it. The situation is quite the oposite in hot countries, where most people prefer cool white - which of course is a higher colour temperature than warm. :) Its a funny world.

NT

Reply to
meow2222

The light fitting has no idea if you are using a GU10 or a

I don't understand this comment. Most people will expect the "fitting" to include a lampholder won't they?

Reply to
DerbyBorn

I worded it badly. GU10's and MR16s both fit the same light fittings. If the fitting will take one type of lamp then it will take the other type of lamp. They have different teminals for the electrical connection. One takes 230V and the other takes 12V. However the LED versions may not always fit the lampholders as they are not always to the same dimensions as the halogen lamps. It's a problem I have encountered on a couple of occasions - using a different brand LED is the cure.

Reply to
ARW

We must be in that minority!

A few middling temperature LEDs and fluorescent link lights in the kitchen and several CFLs with relatively high colour temperatures and all with fairly balanced look. We loathe 2700 CFLs.

But do not like the 6000K ones...

Reply to
polygonum

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