We are about to decorate in our bathrooms and I plan to put in low voltage downlights to give that nice bright clinical look, the only thing is if I use 50w halogens then in total I have a potential of 17 downlights (including my kitchen), 50w each totalling 850W if all the lights are left on (which I would not put past my children)

Hence I have been looking at LED replacements . The only problem is, is that there is an awful lot of different products low and high voltage all with different feedback and different subjective and objective views as to whether they are any good.

So, I am wondering if any of you out there have used LED downlight in place of halogens (LED lights in general>)and what your experience is...

Some initial questions on my mind...

Is it worth getting low voltage fittings as I have heard the GU10 LED builbs are just as good and dont need a transformer (as most of these are going into a bathroom then I would say yes but it is worth knowing in case I change my kitchen lights)

Do they look any good when they are turned off?

Do they fade up / fade down like a 12v halogen with a transformer?

Any problems with fitting them in existing lamp holders?

I have heard that some have active cooling (fans??) although i wouldnt have thought they got that hot?? whats that all about then?

Would you mix LED with halogen as a compromis? (I'm thinking of alternating them in the kitchen as a comprimise)

Can you recommend a decent transformer / driver to go with the lamps?

Anything else I need to think about?

Thanks  Freelander 2 TD4 Auto, SE, Narvik Black, Alpaca full leather, Rear Headrest Entertainment System, 6 CD, 18 HSE Wheels, Privicy tints

i'm currently changing halogens for LED around my house, my new LEDs are only 3.5w and give a far crisper purer brighter light than halogen, but the bulbs are more expensive although they are supposed to last 30,000 hrs, rather than fading on and off the led's are just on and off, its almost like the difference between ordinary headlights and xenon's. the light is very different between the 2 so i wouldn't mix bulbs, now i'm no electrician but heres what i was advised.... 12v halogens need a transformer and 12v led need a driver, a halogen trans will power led but will almost half the life of the bulb due to the way the power is delivered. I'm doing away with transformers, changing the holders to mains voltage, and just running them straight off the mains, some of my transformers have blown, and my old fittings take the push in pin type bulb, so its the best option for me to bypass transformers and use fittings that take the more available twist fitting bulb..
Hope that sheds some light on the matter (sorry! )
As i say i'm no electrician, this advice was from my local electrical factors who could have made more cash by selling me new transformers / drivers but didn't.

I bought 2 boxes of these last year and very happy with output

I have them on the landing and kids bathroom, and kitchen extension which all lights that are left on by the kids, saves me having 11 GU10 halogens on all day

View item:260795650181
10 x 6W GU10 White LED Light Bulb lamp AC 85~ 240V Former Mod/Member, with the most post & Chicken George Arch nemesis

Hi im an electrician and have fitted many recessed LED fittings. The chrome ones look very nice on a white ceiling. The best ones to go for are 230v made by JCC and have a running wattage of only 7 watts. They look good while on or off. They are not cheap at arrond £35 each but once fitted and registered with the company have a 10 year warranty in a domestic situation. Hope this helps

+1 on what superspark said. My son works for an electrical supplier and I asked him to get some LED lights for me. His advice was not to bother with anything under the £35 mark. The cheap ones work OK...for a while... but some of them have a nasty habit of going bang! I know this because I fell for some cheap ones a while back and they literally exploded. Scary! John
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the ones in my link above, came recommended from a thread on disco3 who had run them for sometime himself

I have had them up for over a year and nothing has gone bang or pop, I have had to replace 2 of them within the last month as the light they omit dimmed a little, nothing too noticeable when on a light fitting with another 3 of them, but would be if on their own

They have lasted loads longer than any low energy eco bulb i have bought from Tesco that say they save you 40%, but cost twice as much, but blow 3 times quicker = false economy Former Mod/Member, with the most post & Chicken George Arch nemesis

@superspark

which dimmable firerated LED would be suitable for a bathroom, just looked on the JCC website but cant see what areas they are for

ignore that, found them, at £52 each i think i keep the halogens as £416 for the ones i need the savings will be offset in about 10 years anyway  Former Mod/Member, with the most post & Chicken George Arch nemesis

Right now we are talking!!!

So firstly my bathrooms... I don't currently have down lighters so I will be installing them new. Should I go with low voltage with ip65 holders or can you get an equivelant gu10 holder?

In terms of light output - what do you need to achieve an equivelant rating of a single 50w halogen? I have heard 4w is a bit low - are 6w lamps that much better and could you replace them 1:1

As for my kitchen I currently have 6 down lights with 50w 12v halogens. I don't know how they are wired yet so I don't know if a strait swap for mains voltage lights will work with out rewiring but if not are there any decent 12v bulbs available and is there a recommended driver?

In terms of cost - I have read that a 4w led will save approx £10 per annum if used for 6 hours a day. Based on 30000 hours that's 12 yr life so even if the bulb is costing £30 then that should be a return over 3 yrs ish... And then a saving of 10 per lamp per annum... Which in my case could be as much as £170 - just not sure i can stomach the investment  Freelander 2 TD4 Auto, SE, Narvik Black, Alpaca full leather, Rear Headrest Entertainment System, 6 CD, 18 HSE Wheels, Privicy tints

Lumens is a measure of brightness.

As a rough guide:
Halogens = 12 lumens per watt
LEDs = 80 lumens per watt

So a 50 watt halogen gives roughly 600 lumens output
and an 8 watt LED gives roughly a bit over 600 lumens output.

Last edited by EYorkshire on 23rd Jan 2013 10:35 am. Edited 1 time in total

i don't believe a 240v light can be put in a bathroom, I believe they have to be zone 2 or 3 (or 1&2 can't remember which way round it is) due to the moisture level, one zone is in ceiling and distance from water source and one for above bath/shower rating Former Mod/Member, with the most post & Chicken George Arch nemesis

avoid the cheapos they can give off a bluish light unless you want that of course,
I just fitted a 8ft fluorescent tube in the kitchen as the original 8ft tubes are getting harder to find and take some transporting, fitting involved bypassing the old ballast and starter. my god its bright now, Ive had to turn the tube upside down so the light bounces off the ceiling, A bluish light but the alternative was removing the old fluorescent fitting which has been there years and my now me structurally holding up the ceiling.

dimming leds isnt simple and can lead to violent flickering without the correct dimmer, Ive 60 30watt led floodlights in the chicken sheds and it took 6mths to stop them flickering , however the energy savings are as much as £12 a day over the fluorescents fitted previously ( they had aged and become very wasteful)

but the leds run nearly cold , no heat is given off this sometimes has to be replaced by the heating system so all savings need to be offset slightly.
A mate of mine sells lots of led fitting to big cold storage firms, here the lack of heat from the tubes saves them a fortune in freezer energy, so put one in your fridge  At work
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@npinks - that is what I thought re bathrooms and low voltage but why would they sell 240v ip65 fittings????

Based on ey's advise I would say that 6w LEDs should do it. My 50w halogens are probably a little bit bright to be honest.

Aurora seem to do a pretty good range and I have used there fittings before. I don't like the look of the jcc stuff. A little bit to funky (and expensive)

Any one used an LED in a standard bayonet bulb type fitting? I have one in my office that tends to get left on during the day but provided general background lighting (I use cfl worklights on my desk for localised lighting). I think I could save a fortune replacing that!

White or warm white??? I just want them to look the same as halogens! Freelander 2 TD4 Auto, SE, Narvik Black, Alpaca full leather, Rear Headrest Entertainment System, 6 CD, 18 HSE Wheels, Privicy tints

I sell more Aurora and Robus than JCC by about a 12-1 variance. They are not the easiest organisation to deal with when things go wrong either....the other two Manufacturers do a better job, a better product and considerably more cost-effective than JCC all day long! Foraging near Gaydon....
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Most ceiling heights are outside of Zones 0, 1 and 2 meaning it would be OK for 240 volt lighting.

See here http://www.heatersuk.com/g/48861/guide-to-...rooms.html

Last edited by EYorkshire on 23rd Jan 2013 11:08 am. Edited 1 time in total

They are normally sealed units if IP65, to prevent moisture getting to the electric bits

you'll have to decided if you want dimmable lights before buying fitting and LED bulbs

I have the 12v halogens in the bathroom, all dimmable so the lights isn't too bright when i laid in the bath watching TV

But even with the few bulbs i have changed, i don't think my way i have the lights on has changed, but my electric bill shows a saving of about 4% over the year i have had them in Former Mod/Member, with the most post & Chicken George Arch nemesis