Scottish Elises

I have about 30 GU10s spotlights in the house and am thinking of changing the bulbs for LEDs. I had the same idea about 6 months ago and bought some cheep ones from e-bay which were terrible. The light was very blue and unpleasant.

Has anybody found a brand with a pleasant warm tone?

Warm white is what you are after, I fitted Phillips 3w GU10 to a customers house that worked well, same as these - http://www.ledbulbs.co.uk/philips+maste ... 2235609818

worth looking at a few others on that site for less monies.

Try here too:

http://www.ledhut.co.uk/spot-lights/gu1 ... price.html

Warm/cool colour options, and dimmable/non-dimmable. Watch out for any existing dimmer switches not working with LEDs, or getting very hot.

Graeme,

Talk to Mr Robb...he's tried countless bulbs in the office, and will tell you what he's settled on. Some of them have been terrible (lifespan/delayed operation or light quality) but the ones we have now are quite good...

Thanks guys, there are lots out there but some are absolutely crap.

Phil, those better be good for the price, it would cost me most of a grand to replace with them. If they are the cutting edge they will probably come down in price so it might be worth waiting.

Allan, I’ll ask RR what he has ended up with.

If I can’t get a firm and affordable recommendation I’ll probably end up buying a selection to see what looks best.

I looked into LEDs for work - one room alone has around 200 bulbs but getting a reliable supply was difficult and no one would commit on likely lifespan,so given the investment required for close to 2000 bulbs it wasn't worth the risk
I guess when they are more readily available and come down in price with economy of scale they might offer a worthwhile saving.

We've been installing LED in our buildings for the past couple of years, we've found Robus to be a very reliable manufacturer with a 5 year guarantee on most items. You can buy Robus LED GU10's for around £8 through most electrical wholesalers like Edmundsons Electrical that have a similar light output to the more expensive Philips/ Osram equivalents.If your after a bulk order PM me and I'll give you the details of Robert Campbell who is the Scottish rep.

The 3w ones are the equivalent of a 35w halogen bulb - which arent bright enough
the ones you are after are 6w - which is 50w
Different brands - vary - some are 5.5w & some are 6.5w

The ones you want have the 3 large LED's rather than the 24 tiny LEDs
and stick to a brand name - Osram, Sylvania, Philips etc

Only thing is, the 6w bulbs are about £15 each! - but you'll save a fortune over 30 bulbs in electricty
180w against 1,500w

The colour you want is Warm white - thats the equivalent of the halogens
(Cool white is too blue)

David

Thats a good website
i might buy these.....
http://www.ledbulbs.co.uk/kosnic+6w+ktc ... 3967069005
3 year warranty

David

a4drk wrote:The 3w ones are the equivalent of a 35w halogen bulb - which arent bright enough
the ones you are after are 6w - which is 50w
Different brands - vary - some are 5.5w & some are 6.5w

The ones you want have the 3 large LED's rather than the 24 tiny LEDs
and stick to a brand name - Osram, Sylvania, Philips etc

Only thing is, the 6w bulbs are about £15 each! - but you'll save a fortune over 30 bulbs in electricty
180w against 1,500w

The colour you want is Warm white - thats the equivalent of the halogens
(Cool white is too blue)

David

As above ,man speaks wisdom. I like the cool white i have them in the bathroom and wardrobe.

Thanks to all. Unsurprisingly it seems that you get what you pay for. I’ll start by getting enough to do the hall which is on all the time and will get another batch at a later date to do other rooms. No real reason other than that I can’t bring myself to spend £500 in one shot on something as boring as light bulbs.

I've got some cheapo eBay Hong Kong specials with the 48 small LEDs and think they are ok in certain situations (rooms you don't use much) as they are bright enough, though the colours isn't great.
Even buying warm white gives a very white light (not blue mind) rather than the more yellowed light of halogens.

I actually have them in my bedroom, en suite, top of the stairs etc but then after a 50w halogen GU10 sets your wardrobe on fire, you care less about the colour of the lighting, and more about the temperature of the bulbs! (and also didn't want to spend hundreds on bulbs)

Interestingly, I find the spread of light to be better in my loft converted bedroom, with the far corners being better lit than with halogens, despite the overall lighting being slightly duller.

a4drk wrote:but you'll save a fortune over 30 bulbs in electricty
180w against 1,500w

How long we talking to recoup the money as i have been thinking about changing the 50 or so around my house but as others have said can't bring my self to spend that sort of money on lights!

I am also sick of changing bulbs as they keep going on the lights we use the most

Depends how much you use the lights obviously but they use circa 10% of the electricity that ordinary ones do.

50 watts for one hour is = .05 kWh, going on my prices its about 16p a Kwh so your standard bulb will cost approx 0.8p an hour to run.

6 watts for one hour is = .006 kWh, going on my prices its about 16p a Kwh so your standard bulb will cost approx 0.09p an hour to run.

so each bulb will save 0.71p per hour, so if we say a bulb is about £20 it will take 2816 hours to cover the cost of the bulb.