GU10 Energy Saving Bulbs

ristac

ristac

ristac

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Having wasted money on various LED energy saving bulbs not being anywhere near bright enough for my needs I have found some 9W GU10 bulbs made by Cree. Each bulb has 3x3w LED's.

I need 18 and I can get them on an auction site for £139.99 a lot of money to pay for a pack of bulbs IF they are not bright enough.

Does anyone have any feedback on them, has anyone got any recommendations to GU10 bright energy saving bulbs or do the words "energy saving" and "bright" together simply not exist?
 
I feel your pain - I just don't like the light they give off. Incandescents are so much better IMO. I've tried a huge range of different bulbs, including the 15W jobs. :(
 
Do you have a DIY type superstore near that you can visit? Mine had 40 different bulbs i could actually try out.
 
PianoBasher said:
I feel your pain - I just don't like the light they give off. Incandescents are so much better IMO. I've tried a huge range of different bulbs, including the 15W jobs. :(
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Crikey I didn't realise you could get 15W ones, I thought 9W was the highest, not much hope for me then if you felt the 15W were not as good.

Efour2 said:
Do you have a DIY type superstore near that you can visit? Mine had 40 different bulbs i could actually try out.
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They always look brighter in a bright store though, I was hoping someone would say yes the Cree ones are great or no but get these ones :(
 
ristac said:
Having wasted money on various LED energy saving bulbs not being anywhere near bright enough for my needs I have found some 9W GU10 bulbs made by Cree. Each bulb has 3x3w LED's.

I need 18 and I can get them on an auction site for £139.99 a lot of money to pay for a pack of bulbs IF they are not bright enough.

Does anyone have any feedback on them, has anyone got any recommendations to GU10 bright energy saving bulbs or do the words "energy saving" and "bright" together simply not exist?
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140 quid :rolleyes: This is what cheeses me off.

I worked out that spending 50quid on energy saving bulbs would take me a whole year just to break even :mad:
 
I've got a torch with a single 3W CREE LED. It's pretty bright but the light is quite different to what an incandescent bulb puts out. Brightness-wise, I'd say 3x 3W LEDs is probably comparable to the original incandescent, but I'd think about buying a single one to compare.

Subliminal Aura said:
140 quid :rolleyes: This is what cheeses me off.

I worked out that spending 50quid on energy saving bulbs would take me a whole year just to break even :mad:
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1) That's for 18 bulbs. I remember when incandescent GU10 bulbs were nearly that much.
2) ONE year, is that all? Are you even serious?
 
Jonny69 said:
2) ONE year, is that all? Are you even serious?
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That was just a rough calculation, even then I don't think it's worth the investment - Seriously how long do these bulbs last for ?

10 x Halogen GU10s = 500W
10 x Crees = 100W

Excess = 400W ~= 4p an hour

Lets say I use my lights for 4 hrs a day = 16p a day == £58.40 p.a
 
Subliminal Aura said:
That was just a rough calculation, even then I don't think it's worth the investment - Seriously how long do these bulbs last for ?

10 x Halogen GU10s = 500W
10 x Crees = 100W

Excess = 400W ~= 4p an hour

Lets say I use my lights for 4 hrs a day = 16p a day == £58.40 p.a
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When you factor in the average lifspan of an LED bulb is around 10-20 years then they start to look a lot more promising.

Your average GU10 halogen bulb will last around 1 year.

I would say LED bulbs are worth the investment however I dont consider them a viable alternative to halogens due to light levels they produce.

/Salsa
 
I use 5w 20SMD LED bulbs in all the downlights in my house and they are fine. They give a 120 degree beam angle so you get a very wide coverage. Got them for a similar price. They are quite bright and will only dim on a trailing edge dimmer on a minimum 10 watt load (less than 10 watts and they will flicker slightly). Put them on a normal dimmer and they will strobe.
 
Strife212 said:
They are a joke. Mine broke non stop, just binned them all in the end and replaced with LED. Although they have their own problem, that being that they are not bright enough ._.
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Oops, sort of missed the point a bit with GU10 but I did the same in my kitchen... I have LED ones which look nice in the evening but on the practical side they really aren't bright enough! The light on my extractor hood makes up for it though, fortunately.
 
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For me the only way to use energy saving GU10's is if you designed you lighting with them in mind, ie added and extra 50% to the number of fittings, they are simply not viable as a direct replacement particularly in a kitchen where clear bright light is essential.
 
a1ex2001 said:
For me the only way to use energy saving GU10's is if you designed you lighting with them in mind, ie added and extra 50% to the number of fittings, they are simply not viable as a direct replacement particularly in a kitchen where clear bright light is essential.
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I too felt like this, that is until I tried the SMD bulbs!
 
Well I use to get 3 months out of a 50w gu10 in my kitchen, there was 4 of them in the fitting and gave a nice light, but seemed to trip the light circuit out everytime one went.

I've since bought some LED ones and I like the colour of the light, it seems more daylight like, but they're not bright enough to cook by properly. I've been looking for alternatives, but thinking of going to 35w gu10s that I can get for 37p each. But I like that the LED ones don't cause my meter to spin madly!!
 
Strife212 said:
They are a joke. Mine broke non stop, just binned them all in the end and replaced with LED. Although they have their own problem, that being that they are not bright enough ._.
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Are they warm white? Can you please give more info?
 
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