I had a bunch of cheap LEDs and they were horrible - most have now blown after 6 months to a year, and I'm replacing them with Philips Master LED bulbs which are flipping fantastic. Colour temperature on the warm white is an exact match for the old halogens, with a wide beam angle and most of all, they don't blow up after a short period of time. Yes they're expensive, but worth it. Plus they're dimmable if that's of interest.
Huh, didn't see this thread first time around. I was looking at LED bulbs the other day but couldn't work out the watt/light output/lumen thing so just gave up. Trouble is I have seasonal adjustment disorder, which hits like a freight train around February time. There's a bunch of things that I try to overcome it, one of them being sleeping with the light on (the brighter the better.) In the olden days I'd use a single 100w incandescent bulb, these days it's a 23 watt (103 equiv/1450 lumen) ccfl. Could anyone recommend an single bulb LED equivalent for lighting Victorian-height rooms?
got some cheap ones off ebay a while back (£45 for 10), cant remember what brand (though they look winger LEDs, but thats just going on physical appearance and ratings, not sure what the parts actually are) there is a significant flaw in their design which is the base > the plastic of which cracked on two of the bulbs. but other than that they've been good for last 2 years or so. also have some GU10 bulbs which aren't bad, but they've only been up a year or so, so cant add a huge amount about them. and the ikea bulbs aren't bad (though they are warm white... personally I like 6500K bulbs, I hate warm white with a vengeance,)
I'd wait till the IKEA ones come down, they've always been a nice price indicator for solid lamps (Made by Osram anyway)
Hey guys. I hate to dig up an old thread but there is volumes of knowledge here. I've a newbuild flat, two years old now and the bulbs are slowing fizzing and popping. They're all spiral 10w with reflectors. In fact these puppies; Tp24-2842 L1 T2 Spiral 10w http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B0044BCMNY/ref=pd_aw_sims_2?pi=SL500_SY115 And as other reviews have said, they are fairly shite. I've 19 of them in my front room/kitchen and now about a third of them are dead. Id like to replace them with led without bankrupting myself but I'm a little lost at which are best, what lumins, and whether they would fit in the recess of the bulbs. Amazon sells the same model without the reflector to show what they look like, but are just stubby spiral type bulbs. Any recommendations? Cheers!
Gotta love those spirals. You just have to remember to turn them on 30 minutes before you need light in that area. In terms of LED bulbs, Osram and Phillips are the best. IKEA sells rebranded Phillips (I think) bulbs --they are also very good quality. Sylvania is another good make. The GU10 bulbs will fit right into the existing sockets. Always go a step higher than the wattage you are trying to replace; 50W replacement (about 6.5W in power consumption) are more like 40 Watts. The light cone may also be a bit narrower. You can get dimmable GU10 bulbs, but not all of them are. Check the packaging. Colour temperature wise, go for 2700K for warm light, perhaps 3000K if you want natural light in the kitchen. Anything above that will look cold. In terms of light quality they are excellent, radiating pure, clean light.
Thanks Nexxo for such a great reply. Think you've answered all my queries in one. I've got an IKEA far too close for comfort so perhaps I'll take a lunchbreak wandering in there, great excuse to pick up some meatballs too. Cheers mate!
No probs. I have a bunch of Phillips GU5.3's in the kitchen (6.5W) and bathroom (4W); all 2700K. I feel that in the kitchen I could probably have used 3000K bulbs, but still, the light is clean and bright.
What's the score with the lumins then, I see some are measure in lm and some kelvins. I'm only taking a butchers on amazon for some comparison, but now I understand that the fitting I need is a Gu10 I can get some bearing on it.
Kelvin is the colour temperature [whether the bulb has blue-ish or yellow-ish tint], lumens is the actual brightness of the bulb...
I picked up some 'Diall' G10's from B&Q about 18 months ago, we have 12 downstairs in the kitchen/living room. They have been solid, they came in packs of 3 so I bought spares but I have never had to use them! I seem to remember them costing less than £5 for 3 (where on offer) Link to a review They are only 1.4w but they are available in other wattages, they kick out plenty of light for our house. What's more they are brighter than the 50w they replaced, pretty epic power saving if you ask me.
Lumens, as said, are a measure of brightness. It is hard to compare relative brightness of LED bulbs and halogen bulbs in terms of wattage as it confuses people (Watts used vs. subjective resemblance to a traditional bulb of a certain Watts rating, which can vary in light output anyway). Lumens is more objective, although subjective brightness also depends on the shape of the light cone (how wide an area it is spread over). Still not a totally reliable measure though. Kelvin is colour temperature: the higher the number, the more blue-ish the light: Pick the colour temperature for your environment. In our bathroom I have 2700K bulbs, which give a nice, warm halogen light that suits the large white surfaces. In the kitchen I would probably pick 3000K as it needs to give clear task lighting. Anything above that, and you're straying in cold white fluorescent tube territory and that is only any good if you want to home-grow pot.
