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led kitchen lights
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powerjen



Joined: 23 Jan 2013
Posts: 44
Location: Argyll & Bute
PostPosted: Thu Jan 24, 13 5:46 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

We've had cfl downlighters for several years and had been watching the market for leds to become suitable. The cfls have been ok but never really produced much light (very poor compared to the 50w halogen) and if you could put up with the poorer light they were also slow to warm up, but they were better energy consumption wise than the halogens.

We plucked up the courage to try some led downlighters before xmas and they are superb, reasonably priced, the identical size to the halogen GU10s and very very close lightwise to them too. It was a complete shock to put them in and then turn them on to instant bright halogen type light! MAde us really want to get rid of the old cfls asap! We got these: https://www.amazon.co.uk/AURAGLOW-GU10-Light-White-Equivalent/dp/B004S70HVI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1359048898&sr=8-1 £9.99 each and can thoroughly recommend them. We also got some under cabinet leds lights on a stick-on roll a couple of years ago which are very good from here: https://www.yourwelcome.co.uk/acatalog/led-strips.html they're a small farm based business and were very helpful.

Hope that helps.

vegplot



Joined: 19 Apr 2007
Posts: 21301
Location: Bethesda, Gwynedd
PostPosted: Thu Jan 24, 13 10:00 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

I never thought of Tahir as a nerd.

yummersetter



Joined: 26 Jan 2008
Posts: 3241
Location: Somerset
PostPosted: Thu Jan 24, 13 11:29 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Hi CIG - we have the same ceiling= bedroom floorboards setup as you - it was the only way to make a room built for shorties safe-ish for six-footers to visit.

We have swivel spots on a track between the beams, the lamps come down about an inch below beam level. OH has just changed the bulbs from dichroics to some very good low energy, bright output ones which he says will cost 90% less to run. They are warm-toned, which I prefer in a dining room, but he also tried cool white ones.

'Megaman GU10s, 6w, guaranteed 2 years, 25,000 hours apparently - our previous set of 6 lamps totalled 300w. They're dimmable, cool to touch and come on at full brightness. It's meant we'll use the same amount of power to light four rooms as one 100w incandescent bulb.' he says.

I have been warned, before the bill comes in, that they're 'not cheap'

Nicky cigreen



Joined: 25 Jun 2007
Posts: 9702
Location: Devon, uk
PostPosted: Thu Jan 24, 13 11:48 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

thanks powerjen an yummersetter

- looks like I have a few things to research and consider.

tahir



Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45389
Location: Essex
PostPosted: Fri Jan 25, 13 10:12 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

vegplot wrote:
I never thought of Tahir as a nerd.


Got the tshirt

Lorrainelovesplants



Joined: 13 Oct 2006
Posts: 6521
Location: Dordogne
PostPosted: Fri Jan 25, 13 12:17 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Looked at the amazon linky....
£10 a bulb? Its a bit expensive. Ive got 6 to do in the kitchen.
Can you use these in the existing fittings?

vegplot



Joined: 19 Apr 2007
Posts: 21301
Location: Bethesda, Gwynedd
PostPosted: Fri Jan 25, 13 12:23 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

tahir wrote:
vegplot wrote:
I never thought of Tahir as a nerd.


Got the tshirt


Fousands of 'em.

powerjen



Joined: 23 Jan 2013
Posts: 44
Location: Argyll & Bute
PostPosted: Fri Jan 25, 13 2:14 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Hi Lorraine

£10 is pretty cheap for a good led GU10 equivalent, and the bulbs are really well made. We have the auraglow screw in led bulbs for our table lamps (E17) type 'normal' bulbs and they are brilliant too.

I don't know how you'd work it out but a £10 bulb of 6W compared to a 50W GU10 will soon give you the money of the cost of the led bulb back in low running costs and because they're supposed to last for 25000 hours or something you're not going to have to replace and LED any sooner than every ten years or something so it is an investment and I think they have a 5 year guarantee anyway.

The auraglow ones are exactly the same size as the GU10 halogen bulbs. We had been using CFL ones before but they were a bit too big and you had to pull the whole recessed downlighter out of the ceiling to change a bulb (as they went regularly) but with these you just undo the clip that holds the bulb in place in the fitting and pop it in. They are the closest we've ever found to 50w halogens light wise.

Amazon have a great returns policy and think its free to send back if the bulb isn't up for the job for whatever reason. Even if you dont' like Amazon because of their tax habits I'd use them just to try one and then send it back and buy the same bulb elsewhere!

Nicky cigreen



Joined: 25 Jun 2007
Posts: 9702
Location: Devon, uk
PostPosted: Mon Jan 28, 13 7:07 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

well we bought and put up 3 of these approx one for every 600mm of counter and they are good. I would say they are not as bright as the equiv halogen light as stated- but a fraction of the power used and two more than covers our needs - I can now see to work! - and it turns out the cooker needs a really good clean
I think we could have put up less of them. It is pretty bright there now - the light, although we chose 'warm white' is still bluer than CF bulbs - so a bit harsh all over the ceiling - maybe just for the counters. oh and they are just bulbs in casings so we could switch them for CF if we wanted to.

ninat



Joined: 01 Feb 2009
Posts: 606
Location: Scotland
PostPosted: Mon Jan 28, 13 10:01 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

IKEA do fantasic Gu10 LED's for £6 each. Loads of people have asked us where we got them.

Lorrainelovesplants



Joined: 13 Oct 2006
Posts: 6521
Location: Dordogne
PostPosted: Tue Jan 29, 13 10:12 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

We are nowhere near Ikea.


Seriously though, I understand that the new generation LED's are good, if I was trawling the net - what am I looking for?

Looking at the bulbs we have at the mo there is one central bulb thing in the actual bulb. In the shops and online 'new' bulbs seem to have either 15 or so little bulbs or 9 flat 'things (im presuming this is a diode but dont really know what Im talking about).

Alison - what have you got (that I missed seeing when I was visiting)?

12Bore



Joined: 15 Jun 2008
Posts: 9089
Location: Paddling in the Mersey
PostPosted: Tue Jan 29, 13 10:42 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Lorrainelovesplants wrote:
We are nowhere near Ikea.

I am very close to one, if that's any help.

lettucewoman



Joined: 26 Sep 2006
Posts: 7834
Location: Tiptoe in the Forest!!
PostPosted: Tue Jan 29, 13 11:14 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

soooo...numpty question here...why do some LED's need drivers? And I see you can get old style fitting LED's..can I just buy those and fit to my normal lights...Im thinking table lamps?

Lorrainelovesplants



Joined: 13 Oct 2006
Posts: 6521
Location: Dordogne
PostPosted: Tue Jan 29, 13 12:33 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

have just looked at the Ikea site, the LED lights are only 3.5W. John says we need 9W.

Lorrainelovesplants



Joined: 13 Oct 2006
Posts: 6521
Location: Dordogne
PostPosted: Tue Jan 29, 13 1:22 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Okay - purchase made!

Cree 9W GU10 bulbs on ebay 10@ £32.

We will see what we think on arrival.

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