GU10 mini review!

[Steve]

There was an omicron rep in the wholesalers a few months ago with some all new LED GU10's and I must say the tech is improving, these had more of a warm glow that many people who dislike CFL's desire.

I dont get that. Is 2700K not warm enough???

And yes, the original review was way back in 2007, nearly 2 years ago. Technology has probably moved on since then, in all versions of GU10s.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

At £30 a pop maybe 5w LED's are not yet economically viabal.

Even when accounting for their very long life and much lower electricity consumption?

Base : GU10 Mark 7
3 LED
Watts 5W
Colour : Cool white 5000-7000 Kelvin colour temperature
Average Life : 30,000 hours life
38 degree beam angle
700 lux
350 Lumens

http://www.thornlighting.co.uk/gb/en/products_new_products_29059.htm

CT 2700 & 3500K
50,000 hour life
12W
650 lumens
Dimmable using conventional dimmers

Compared to 50W MR16 halogens they start to pay for themselves in the 3rd year assuming 12/hrs use per day. So I guess 4-5 years with 8-hour-ish average.

 

[JBR]

Thanks for this, Steve.

A few years on from your review, are CFLs the lamp of choice? I have a feeling that LEDs are still on the expensive side.

We have halogen GU10s in our kitchen which blow with alarming regularity, and they are not recessed into the ceiling but on 'stalks' so, presumably, this is not due to overheating.

If I replaced them (one by one) with CFLs, could I expect them to last noticeably longer?

 

[securespark]

I have had some GU10's in my lounge. I got sick of them popping off, so replaced them with Crompton 11W CFL's. These take an age to warm up, stick out horrendously and 4 out of 8 have popped off in 3 years.

So, I have taken the plunge and for Christmas, will treat the lounge to some LED's.

http://www.ledhut.co.uk/gu10-smd-le...1_1355786537_0bad13870ae24d3d473d9a1247296f7b

Will be delivered tomorrow. See how we go with those...

 

[JBR]

I have had some GU10's in my lounge. I got sick of them popping off, so replaced them with Crompton 11W CFL's. These take an age to warm up, stick out horrendously and 4 out of 8 have popped off in 3 years.

So, I have taken the plunge and for Christmas, will treat the lounge to some LED's.

http://www.ledhut.co.uk/gu10-smd-le...1_1355786537_0bad13870ae24d3d473d9a1247296f7b

Will be delivered tomorrow. See how we go with those...

Wow! If I replaced all 12 in our kitchen It'd cost me an arm and a leg. Aren't they also relatively dim?

If I had my way, I'd rip the lot down and put up a couple of long fluorescent tubes. Of course, I'm too scared of my wife to do that.

 

[winston1]

I've been using 7W and 9W GU10 CFL's in recessed fittings for a couple of years now and found them to pop with monotonous regularity. I eventually opened one up with a hacksaw and came to the conclusion there was too much packed in a small space and over heating occurred. A capacitor 1.5uF electrolytic seems to be the failure mechanism and I got it working by replacing it and then glueing the thing back together with superglue. Not a recommended procedure of course. B & Q now do a 3 pack of LED GU10s for £9-99 with surface mount LED's which replace 7W CFL's admirably and as the CFL's pop I replace them with these.

 

[JBR]

Thanks. It looks like I'm stuck either way. I might as well just buy cheap halogen GU10s and replace them when they go.

Another option would be to replace the fittings, of course, but with what? Is there such a thing as a lamp that doesn't break the bank and yet lasts a reasonable length of time?

 

[securespark]

Not yet!

 

[securespark]

Just got the LED lamps. Looking good in the daylight. I'll see how they look tonight, when I can check out the 120 degree beam angle.

 

[Steve]

Just got the LED lamps. Looking good in the daylight. I'll see how they look tonight, when I can check out the 120 degree beam angle.

Well?

My kitchen is lit by LEDs since its refurbishment in February. All 7 are going strong, 3 watts each. I love them. Very bright and quite warm. I have teamed them with undercabinet fluorescent lights and a CFL pendant light over the dining table.

 

[JBR]

With the lack of any better option, I have just gone out and bought some Philips halogen GU10s at the supermarket. At about £2 per bulb, at least I can afford to replace them when they go and, I presume, Philips is a reasonable good brand.

 

[Iggifer]

Yup, in my opinion you can't beat Philips

 

[viewer]

The Megaman were awful and failed in a very short time - not a criticism of the 2007 review, just experience. Must admit to being an LED fan and biased, but the new ones are nothing like those of 5 years ago and give a nice light, much warmer than daylight (if you want it). Prices are not bad, but expect them to drop and for general service lamps to get a wider range and higher outputs. Question is....Is it worth waiting? Not for me.

 

[JBR]

The Megaman were awful and failed in a very short time - not a criticism of the 2007 review, just experience. Must admit to being an LED fan and biased, but the new ones are nothing like those of 5 years ago and give a nice light, much warmer than daylight (if you want it). Prices are not bad, but expect them to drop and for general service lamps to get a wider range and higher outputs. Question is....Is it worth waiting? Not for me.

I'd like to use LEDs in the future, but only if their cost comes down to something like halogens.

My real preference for the future, though, is nuclear fusion lamps.

(Yes, I just made them up!)

 

[jase17uk]

I've been using LED GU10 lights in the kitchen for 5 years... cheap LEDs tend to burn out after about 12 months despise their claims! Expensive branded ones tend to last much longer and gives much more warmer light they are still working after 2 years and still going strong. The technology has really progressed since it first came out!

Using CFL in bathroom, two of them still going strong after 3 years but replaced one few months ago.

I have just bought a 360 year old house which I will use good quality LED lightings in all rooms!

And just want to say that LED will burn out if it gets too hot especially those high wattage LEDs does give out a quite lot of heat but nothing like halogens.