LED Bulb Thread

[kefkef]

Looking to put some LED strips in the kitchen to replace the current under-counter halogens which are forever blowing bulbs. Could just go with 5050 Warm White but also considering 5050 RGB ones.

However, since they will be powered with the main kitchen lights this means that the LED controllers will be powered off each time the main kitchen lights are off. Do these sort of RGB LED controllers remember settings each time they are powered on and off?

Yes, at least the one I got does. Got it from morelight on eBay. £100 for a 15m kit. Quite nice, but I'm going to gorilla tape the LEDs on as they are a bit droopy in sections. Have to say they are quite nice for addin some colour to the kitchen but useless when used as 'white' lights for any sort of work on the kitchen worktop.

 

[Irish_Tom]

Been kitting out our place with LEDs over the last week or so —*picking up a load from Screwfix this evening and that will be every room done apart from the kitchen and bathroom.

Will live with them for a bit to see how we get on with them but so far so good. We went for the lowest lumen possible but they still seem brighter than the bulbs they are replacing.

We didn't go for dimmable bulbs to save on cost but might have to replace them in the living room, dining room and bedroom down the line if we feel they are too bright.

 

[Valo]

I made the switch to GU10 LED's about 18 months ago when having a load of work carried out to my bungalow.
Over the course of the last three months I've had three bulbs fail on me which I'm a little disappointed about, as I thought they would last longer than that.

I never really paid attention or carried out my own research to the bulbs the electriction installed for me. These are the bulbs I currently have, I managed to track down replacement bulbs - http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00AZFAF6Y/ref=s9_simh_gw_p201_d4_i1?pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_s=desktop-2&pf_rd_r=10C49TMJQBKS6K780QZW&pf_rd_t=36701&pf_rd_p=577047927&pf_rd_i=desktop

What I'm looking to find out is wither these are any good or are they just cheap and nasty? Would I be better to replace the lot with these GU10's from LEDHut - http://www.ledhut.co.uk/spot-lights/gu10-led-bulbs/new-4-5-watt-gu10-led-350-lumens.html

Am I right in thinking that the GU10's from LEDHut will give me a brighter and wider spread of light, compared to what I have this now?

A quick look at the specs shows that the LEDhut ones have a beam angle of 120 degrees while those dodgy looking chinese ones are 45 degrees.

I've just replaced my kitchen bulbs with the daylight variation of those LEDhut ones and they certainly have a much better spread than the halogens I had in there before.

I wouldn't recommend going for the cool white though - the daylight ones are ok for the kitchen, but I got a "cool white" golf-ball for the bathroom and it makes the room look like a lab!

Quidco are currently doing 15% off and 20% cashback at LEDHut until Sunday

I just placed an order for a new set of GU10's for my bedroom in Warm White. Once I see what they are like then I'll wait for the next decent offer and replace the rest throughout my house.

 

[asteldian]

Just getting my kitchen redone this week and our electrician recommended LED rather than the awful Halogen lights we had. Good to see people tend to be in favour of them

 

[Haggisman]

Just getting my kitchen redone this week and our electrician recommended LED rather than the awful Halogen lights we had. Good to see people tend to be in favour of them

My gf tends to forget that light switches also have an "off" position, so anything that can save me a few ££ when they're left on 24/7 is a good thing

I just placed an order for a new set of GU10's for my bedroom in Warm White. Once I see what they are like then I'll wait for the next decent offer and replace the rest throughout my house.

As someone else posted, the LEDHut ones seem to be a lot cooler in colour than some other brands - the warm white ones I got from them aren't quite as "warm" as some Diall ones I got from B&Q

 

[Valo]

I had my new GU10's delivered and got them installed yesterday....what a difference the wider beam angle makes, they are also a lot brighter than the previous type I had.

I'm going to replace the rest of my existing LED's around the house with these as they've made a massive difference.

 

[Selekt0r]

I recently changed the old 12V halogen under-cabinet lighting in our kitchen to some 5630 LED strip (from ebay ). The LED strips themselves are great, however I'm less convinced with the LED drivers which came with them as switching on the lights (which come on with the main ceiling lights) randomly trips the MCB on our consumer unit - probably once in every 20-30 occasions.

A bit of research appears to indicate that a lot of LED drivers have a high 'inrush' (i.e. current surge at switch-on), and can trip a 6A Type B MCB - particularly if multiple drivers are used on a switch (my installation has two).

The drivers which came with the LED strips are definitely el-cheapo (laptop charger-style) ones like this:

http://www.thehunthouse.co.uk/images/LED_driver.jpg

** Please don't hotlink images **
** It's not hotlinked - that's a stock image uploaded to my own webspace... **

I could probably resolve the issue in by getting a sparks in to change the MCB to a Type C, but as an alternative, can anyone suggest some better LED drivers which are don't have a high inrush?

 

[Valo]

I've decided to go-ahead and replace the rest of my existing rubbish LED's with newer bulbs.

I've got a total of 25 to replace throughout the rest of my house:

En-Suite - 6
Main Bathroom - 3
Kitchen - 16

The bulbs I've just replaced in my bedroom (LEDHut GU10's) have made a massive difference and produce a lot more light than my previous set due being slightly more powerful and having a greater beam angle.
I'm nervous at replacing the bulbs in my Kitchen with the same style as I'm worried it could potentially be to bright, and I don't want to look at having to using a dimmer. I'm also trying to figure out if I should look at using Daylight or Cool White bulbs in the Kitchen or Bathrooms over the standard Warm White which I'm using at the moment across the whole house.

Any advice would be great

 

[beachBOYken]

I have just got 5 bulbs in 4.5w gu10 for the kitchen in warm white, nice and bright. Don't think I would like cool white as it would make it to clinical looking.

I'm slowly changing my bulbs to led using mostly 4-5 watt range from LedHut.

Really impressed with led compared to my existing energy saving bulbs.

 

[jas72]

Just fitted LEDs in my Kitchen in March and already one has blown. Complete waste of time. not to mention cost at 16€ each

 

[Sui]

Contact the retailer/manufacturer. They should last longer than that, either your fixture is faulty or the lamp was.

 

[jas72]

Think that'll work ?

How can I prove how long I've had the lamp?

I'll see what they say but it's like a Belgian version of b&q no receipt no refund...

 

[uchuff]

Picked up three Sylvania GLS Filament LED bulbs to replace the energy saving ones that were in our hallway / landing when we moved in.

Have only popped one in for now to test but looks good. The usual LED benefits but also less directional than other LED bulbs I've bought and look quite like an incandescent. Good replacement for traditional fittings, although non dimmable.

 

[colinmcr]

If anyone is looking for LED spotlights for kitchen etc I highly recommend LEDhut under go to their commercial light section. I used the 9W DL flush fitting ones that are only 12mm deep but managed to make that work with my new ceiling. Worked out cheaper than using the GU10 ones my sparky wanted to use.

 

[Mr Jones]

Changed my kitchen 6 spotlights and 2 extractor hob lights to LEDs yesterday.

£25 in total with 5 more GU10 spares.

Total of 380W down to 30W. Regular use of kitchen and hob lights, up to 1.5 hours daily in winter. Let's see how they hold up

edit: The colour temperature is stated warm-white for the LEDs, whilst my previous bulbs were all warm, so it's noticeable but my I quite like it. Wider spread as well, so that's another perk!

 

[Valo]

Just took the opportunity to order a further 25 GU10's to replace the rest of the rubbish LED bulbs with 15% off and 20% cashback

 

[beachBOYken]

Has anyone got the daylight version of led bulbs, was thinking of trying them instead of warm white for the dining room?

Thanks

 

[acake]

Has anyone got the daylight version of led bulbs, was thinking of trying them instead of warm white for the dining room?

Thanks

yes i have just installed 5 down lights with these bulbs in .the difference is for me amazing to the warm white bulbs .the day light bulbs give out a very bright clean even clinical light. really nice in the bathroom and top of my hall stairs.got mine from screwfix pack of 5 for £20.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/s9nie0vmfmr1a8q/20150719_202646.jpg?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/m78incapjjq049s/20150719_202639.jpg?dl=0

 

[beachBOYken]

Cheers, not really wanting a clinical look in the dining room, think I will stick with warm white then.

 

[acake]

Cheers, not really wanting a clinical look in the dining room, think I will stick with warm white then.

np just edited last post with 2 pics of lights you can sort of see how they look