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LED Spotlights


Quillan

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I remember a few years ago this was a topic but it has long since gone.

I have 12 spots in my kitchen and currently use 50w/230V tungsten lamps and would like to change them to LED ones as they fail. I was wondering if people still know of cheap good sources, how their ones are performing and being new to this what about colour? I understand some LED bulbs can make places look like operation theaters with a very 'white' light. So far I have noticed there are two 'colours' of 'white' so which is the nearest to the ones I have now?

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Hi,

I asked this in early 2011

thread here....

http://services.completefrance.com/forums/completefrance/cs/forums/1/2426056/ShowPost.aspx#2426056

And I stand by the recommendation I made on page 2. Its been almost 3 years now and they are all still going strong.

However, you may find things have moved on in the past three years too....perhaps there are better options now?

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They should be alright Q as they are the latest 3528 chips not the older 5050 series I mentioned on that previous thread Dave dug up.  Things have moved on from those as well. I hope your alright with the daylight version you are chasing as i have found customers initially at least favor what they have been used to, in yellow light (3500 deg) but after a while they prefer the daylight versions (5000-6000 deg) except in bathrooms where yellow light is more flattering.  At those price expect a failure rate of 10% after a year or so but you maybe lucky.
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Since we are on this subject, can I ask the experts here if they have come across problems with radio reception (in this case digital radio in the UK) caused by interference created by LED spotlights. Are there any brands less susceptible to this problem please?

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Here's an (admittedly oldish) review of cheaper led bubs that amongst other anecdotal comment put me off "It has now been two years since I bought my original GU10 LEDs. In total since I first purchased, I have had 12 GU10 LEDs. Out of those 12 there are 3 working".

http://www.ebay.co.uk/gds/GU10-cheap-LED-Bulb-comparison-/10000000119377785/g.html

Homebase in the UK and Super U near us have been marketing 4-5 watt GU10 LED bulbs since October, maybe longer, at £10-£12 for two. Expected life, it says on the packet, is 25yrs -25000 hours. One needs 4 or 5 watt LED to replace 50W conventional bulbs and these are 3000K - not icy white.

If my maths are correct the payback period at 15p per kwh is around 1000hrs, less than a year in our case. I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong :)

I see that Super U have 12volt LED spotlamp bulbs too. A nice feature of LED spots, especially if you have flush downlighters or low spotlamps is that they generate very little heat.

On an energy-saving thread, I was shocked to read how much it costs to run a gas pilot light, and reckon that our son's in the UK was costing over £100 a year as it was running like a bunsen burner.

Steve
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I noticed that to but was too polite to say anything.

Pickles, I haven't noticed any issues with audio or video signal and my house is entirely LED with a mix of 12v and mains lamps but any transformer can cause noise down the mains so HiFi enthusiasts often put mains cleaners in line to prevent this.  

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[quote user="Théière"]I noticed that to but was too polite to say anything.[/quote]

Maybe Quillan will be able to talk his way into switching to the cheaper deal, as it's the same vendor...

Is this a roundabout way of saying I'm not polite? [blink][;-)]

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[quote user="Théière"]Pickles, I haven't noticed any issues with audio or video signal and my house is entirely LED with a mix of 12v and mains lamps but any transformer can cause noise down the mains so HiFi enthusiasts often put mains cleaners in line to prevent this.  [/quote]

Thanks for this. I was concerned because I had read several comments on Amazon and elsewhere about this kind of problem. I shall try a couple and see if mains cleaners are necessary.

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Cheapest I've seen in France is E Leclerc @ 4.80 each

I've put 5 up in the bathroom ceiling about 6 months ago and they have been fine

The one's with the deep plastic lens over each led patch seem to give a better light and look more expensive

The LED.s that came with the fittings, like 2 mini J shaped tubes back to back, from Brico lasted weeks

Look out for the start up times, I could go in and out of the bathroom and use the toilet before the light came fully on  with the Brico ones

JB

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John, LED's are instant light because they are semiconductor devices and electrons move near the speed of light. Compact fluorescents take time to heat the gas and therefore time to full brightness.

Brico shed ones are very poor compared to others as they takes years to make the decision to stock and years to change the decision to buy any others and cheap is as cheap does, at least Q's decision is to buy recent models.

The latest innovation is the COB LED, it has high power LED's behind a thin film of phosphorus which gets excited by the LED light and glows giving a very high brightness for very minimal power.  These produce a better quality of light and are being used in most cutting edge replacement lamps for conventional lamp designs.  I have 100 watt versions in carparks replacing 500-1000 watt halogens, not quite as powerful light wise but an additional lamp here and there gives even better lighting still at a fraction of the electricity of the old and halogens have a short life.  A 6-7 watt version gives out more light than a good 60 watt or poor 100 watt incandescent lamp.

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The lower price was not available when I made my bid. Had I not sent my crystal ball away for repair (it has a problem telling me the correct Loto numbers) I would not have bid but waited. In fact at the time I bought them the 'Sell Now' price was actually higher, around 35 Euros for 10.

SuperU is a long way from us, about an hours drive, and the last time I went there only half the shelves had anything on them. They didn't even sell bread!

I have looked in Leroy Merlin, LeClerc, Intermarche, Lidl, Mr Bricolarg and Carrefour (excuse my spelling) and the cheapest I have found was the 35W equivalent for 8 Euros a pair. All the others sell the 50W equivalent for for between 8 and 10 Euros in single packs. So in my mind based on recommendation at around 3 Euros each I have got a good deal. Sure I would have had an even better deal at the lower price but thats life and to be honest the difference in price is not that much of a concern.

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Q, don't take it to heart, no explanation req. These things do happen, just like currency transfers, they day after the rate always improves [6]

Your lamps will be better than the Brico offerings, job done!

As to 50w replacements I have some 5w that put out around 360 lumen at 1.5 m compared to 280 lumen for 50w halogens from Tesco (the worst lamps by far)  but other 50w lamps put out around 480 lumen at 1.5 m  so it's not a level playing field and that is why the UK is going to stop (yeh right) the import of the poor performing ones.  Most lamps need 6-8w to really out perform a 50w halogen but 5w out performs a 35w and that's about good enough for most rooms.  In the bedroom I use the oldest SMD leds as I don't want it dazzling bright in the mornings.

 

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They arrived today and I have tried one. They are very bright and very white, ideal for a working kitchen where you need loads of light. I am very happy with my purchase and would recommend this particular model to others if they want a 'white' light. I shall now but another 10 at the reduced price. [;-)]

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Hi,

While all the lamp nerds are congregating here, perhaps I could piggyback another question on?

I see there are LED replacements for the pencil bulbs in halogen floodlights (are they R7 bulbs?). I have a few security lights around the place and they are 500w each. I also use the same style of lights as work lamps on stands I have made for them.

500w is a fair chunk of juice so I wondered if the LED versions are any good without a drastic reduction in light output?

I would imagine another advantage is they run cooler? The standard bulbs put out a huge heat and for the worklamps this is uncomfortable/dangerous in tight spaces.

I had a quick flick through ebay and they look to be about a tenner each.

Thanks,

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I too have been considering them for my worklights for the same reason, like you I am waiting to hear of the experience of others.

I remember the Windsor castle fire was caused by a contractors floor mounted 500w halogen lamp just like mine, it was switched off and somehow the curtain behind it got pulled over it, the next day someone plugged in the extension lead and the rest is history as they say.

The result of that was that my contractors insurance premium rocketed and I was no longer allowed to use welding equipment, a blowlamp or even my gas pencil soldering iron without paying a second person to stand by with a fire extinguisher.

I have a worklamp that has a large 2D compact flourescent lamp inside a very tough polycarbonate casing, Screwfix accidentally sent it to me with my order and said that I could keep it, it is far better than my halogen ones gives a better light without blinding and runs really cool.

Has anyone tried LED replacements for the 10 watt G4 halogen lamps used in kitchen and bathroom units?

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To Dave and Chancer,

The original R7's smd led's are crap!! the light output is very poor indeed but arguably better than the CFL R7's which are pathetic, my mobile phone puts out more light.  The COB led pattern I showed earlier is also available in R7 but I haven't tried them. They are however only half of the version which I use in my hallway so probably still not good enough for work lights.

I use the 10w & 20w Cob outdoor flood lamps which I make fit onto the old R7 work light type mountings and just by chance I am actually doing that downstairs right now to two more work lights for exactly the reasons stated, fire longevity and ability to run long times off my jump pack inverter.

Yes Chancer the G4 lamps are very good if you get the same series chip as Q just bought the 3528 rather than the 5050 and the latest COB version should be even better!

Just ask me about my new LED swimming pool lights, 24-36w instead of 300w  and far better water tightness and longevity!

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