New Lights Vs Old Lights

What lights do y'all utilise at home?

I'grand 100% LED now - even my refrigerator calorie-free is LED. You lot don't need to go that far - I'chiliad a little obsessed! It has taken me a couple of years of learning to get it right.

The nigh important lesson has been calorie-free 'temperature'. This is measured in Kelvin (you lot'll detect information technology on the packet of any lite seedling). I like a warm white, much like the quondam-fashioned tungsten bulbs. This is about 2700 Kelvin (1000).

It'south interesting that folks from colder climates tend to favour a warm light, while folks from hotter climates prefer something more white or blue. Now I sympathise the colour I like, I generally get the right seedling each time.

One of the reasons I switched to LED is that I take solar panels on my roof, which contribute to the electricity need of my house during the 24-hour interval. However afterwards I bought a existent-time energy meter I chop-chop learned that I was using a crazy amount of electricity at night - when my panels don't assistance. With a bit of investigation I realised my lighting was drawing a lot of electricity. Merely my electricity neb for my three-bedroom house is now £7 a month, and upgrading my lighting played a large office in that. Even if you don't have solar panels, lighting uses a lot of power. The good news is, it's one of the easiest things to modify.

Knowing which color you like is important.

LED colour chart Photograph: mediacollege.com

My personal preference is for 2700. A squeamish warm light.

Is it ok to supersede bulbs in a circuit (eg a 4 seedling kitchen lite) as they go, or would I have to replace all four at the same time? Can LEDs exist alongside halogen bulbs?

I am assuming that these are the spotlight blazon bulbs.

It depends if they are depression-voltage or mains. Yous tin tell this equally low voltage bulbs accept 'pins' (right - meet below) to connect them and mains have 'pegs' (left). If they are pegs it's not a trouble, but I'd suggest y'all replace them all anyhow. Halogen bulbs use then much electricity for the light they produce - just experience their heat - that information technology'southward a false economic system to wait until they blow to supercede them.

LED lamps - pins and pegs Photograph: ten:10

If they are low voltage (pins) it'southward a bit more than complicated. They volition take a transformer either in the ceiling or light fitting. Some LED bulbs, like the Philips Master LED range, have in-built circuitry that tin bargain with nearly (but not all) transformers, so you don't have to modify them.

In other cases, yous need to replace the transformer with an LED driver. This is considering the transformers are too overpowered for the minor amount of electricity that LEDs need. You volition need an electrician for that.

What have been people's reactions to y'all switching to these lights?

Lots of people tried LED lighting when it was first available and it often produced dim, cold puddles of light.

Those memories withal persist, so in fact a lot of what I do is to persuade people that this is no longer the instance. I take a selection of bulbs to people'south homes so they can run into the range of colours, brightnesses, fittings and so on, so they can try before they buy. That manner they get what they desire without making plush mistakes. Information technology blows the old 'bad bulb' stereotype to bits and the people I know have so far been universally delighted.

There are still some challenges on packaging that don't make it like shooting fish in a barrel to choose right bulb for its purpose, but at that place's a growing lobby for non-nonsense labelling, so hopefully things volition modify. Have a wait at my guide at the end of these questions for a step-by-stride approach to getting information technology right.

I take replaced all my old halogens with LEDs. What'south the all-time thing to do with the onetime, still functioning, bulbs?

Throw them away or recycle them if you can. You can discover more information of where to recycle here. Delight note that you should never throw CFL (compact flourescent tubes) into your full general waste product, every bit they contain mercury - another good reason to replace them!

The energy you save by replacing them volition far outweigh any embedded carbon in the production of the erstwhile lightbulbs.

In that location are still some energy savings, as LEDs do use less energy than CFLs. But you are correct, they are nowhere near every bit great every bit if you were replacing former-fashioned calorie-free bulbs.

If yous are happy with the calorie-free there is no demand to, just every bit you replace them y'all could go LED. Yous can purchase a adept quality non-dimmable spot for as footling every bit £4 at present (IKEA'south range are well priced and produce a great quality light). The other benefit, equally you mention, is they are 'instantly on' - no hanging around while your bulbs warm up.

How do nosotros reply those people who say that the estrus output of a tungsten or halogen lamp is part of the heat input to their house? Changing the lighting to LED will reduce this heat input, and then the heating system will have to run that scrap longer to compensate.

I come across what you mean - you only have to stand under those bulbs in a bath or kitchen to feel the oestrus pouring off them!

But this would exist an incredibly inefficient way of heating your house, for a number of reasons. Kickoff, you don't always want heat, so in the summer for case, you are heating your firm when you probably want it to be cooler. Second, heat rises, so heat from ceiling lighting will stay shut to the ceiling and therefore won't benefit the occupants of a room at all. 3rd, it's much cheaper to heat by gas, or biomass, than electricity, and your boiler will have a thermostat to control the level of oestrus.

Practise you know of any trusted online suppliers of LED fittings?

I always observe information technology hard to recommend suppliers as it's really a personal choice.
Generally, it is worth remembering you get what you lot pay for, then with a few exceptions, very cheap LED bulbs won't perform well or last long.

I employ energybulbs.co.united kingdom and ledhut.co.united kingdom of great britain and northern ireland equally they have great returns policy and a adept choice. I am also a fan of IKEA'southward new LEDARE range every bit they produce a warm and bright light. Do bear in mind this is just my personal recommendation.

Do LEDs work successfully in lights with dimmer switches where many energy saving bulbs do not?

Yes – dimmable LED lights are very reliable now. At that place are a few things to comport in heed.

You may accept to get your dimmer switch inverse to a 'leading edge' or LED compatible dimmer. This is because they handle much lower loads. For case if yous changed a 'four x 60 watt bulb central light' to LED you would go from switching a load of 240 watts to nearer 30 watts.

Some bulbs have built-in circuitry to manage dimmers; some don't. They best style to find out is to install them and if they don't dim well, or flicker, you will know to replace the dimmer. They are no more than expensive than 'regular' dimmer switches.

I have dimmable lights in my kitchen and living room and they work perfectly. Just make sure, when you purchase bulbs, they take the dimmable logo on the box or that it states they are 'dimmable'.

LED retrofit bulbs are great - yous get a prissy warm light instantly when you lot click the switch. Nevertheless, the advertised service life of an LED is years, and in my feel, they accept lasted months, if not weeks. So, I accept a few questions: 1. How can you be certain that LED's will final the reported amount of time? two. Tin bulb longevity be afflicted past the quality (consistency / voltage etc) of home electrical supply? iii. Is there anything that needs to exist washed with the home lighting circuit to prolong bulb life?

Poor quality, cheap bulbs don't terminal long. My feel is that if you lot buy quality they do last.

Some of my LED bulbs are more than 5 years old and withal going stiff. If your bulbs are blowing on a regular ground in that location may exist something else incorrect - loose connections in lamp holders, faulty connections to light switches, over-heating a bulb in a small confined space and so on. If this happens elsewhere in your home it could be a general issue; if information technology is in just one room, a local one. In either instance it might exist worth contacting an electrician to investigate it for you.

While in that location are energy efficiency advantages to 'voltage optimisation' (this lowers the voltage in your house to near 220v, which about all appliances now piece of work on and thus saves money), I propose you find out what's causing the trouble, as these systems toll a fair amount and may not solve your consequence.

Which shops stock LED bulbs and are they cheaper than low energy bulbs?

They are not quite as cheap as low energy bulbs yet but they are getting there.

When I think about how much a bulb costs, it is besides worth thinking nearly the running cost. For example, lets say you have iv spotlights in your kitchen, it costs £80 a year to run those, whereas LEDs volition toll £7 a yr to run. The 'payback' time adding is important. Information technology might be tempting to purchase the cheap non energy-efficient bulbs, but in the long term yous volition be better off.

Yous can buy them in many places at present - all DIY stores, lighting shops and online. Have a look at my guide at the end to making the right choices for you. At that place is nothing wrong at all with using modern low-energy bulbs (the new ones come on instantly also) if that is what our budgets lends itself to.

Tin you give us a make and model number of a reliable, actually warm LED bulb to replace bayonet 60w and 100w?

The elusive perfect bulb - a quest close to my own eye!

Ok, first things first: if you want a warm light you demand to choose something with a Kelvin count of 2700 or less. Any college than this and information technology volition be a colder light.

Side by side, cull the calorie-free output you desire. As a general rule of thumb most people know that a 100w bulb is bright and suitable for a chief low-cal, that a 60w bulb is suitable in a lamp, and 25w seedling works where we want soft and gentle light. LED bulbs employ virtually x% of the free energy of traditional bulbs – and so 10w will give you the equivalent calorie-free output of an old 100w bulb, 6w of a 60w bulb, and so on.

This ane, from Ikea (again simply a personal suggestion) might suit your purposes. If not, armed with the information above, yous should be able to get what you need.

Incidentally, if your fitting is a bayonet fitting, you can easily buy converters on places like eBay that allow you to use a screw fitting in your bayonet lampholder. In this case you would demand a B22 to a E27 converter.

Is it possible to replace GU3 halogen bulbs (the sort with two thin pins at the back) with LED lights, without ripping out the unabridged system? I accept asked this question before, and was told no, but technology is irresolute all the time.

Yes, information technology is possible. The GU tells us that the base of operations has a bi-pin cap, pregnant that it has two pins and the number, the distance between the pins - in your example 3mm.

So it is simply a matter of finding an LED replacement bulb that meets that specification.

I had a quick look online and information technology is possible to source them as more than and more LED bulbs are now beingness introduced. Remember, these are more often than not low voltage bulbs so you will need to ensure that they are compatible with your system. See my other answers (and guide beneath) about replacing low voltage lighting.

When you are replacing very specific bulbs, see yous if you can get an 'exact friction match' or 'perfect fit' labeled bulb and so that you know they volition fit into the existing aperture.

A plain-english guide to installing LED lights

What's on?
It sounds obvious, but the best place to start is to piece of work out which lights are on the most, and replace them first. In this mode, you volition maximise your saving.

How much light?
Light is measured in lumens, just this is too complicated to work out every time yous buy a bulb. So as rough guide, if yous want the equivalent of an 'erstwhile school' 100w light seedling, go for 10w, 60w – 6w, 40w – 4w. The mathematicians amidst you volition spot a rough ten% rule. For spotlights, supplant a 50w GU ten with a 4w LED bulb.

Which colour?
Lite temperature (colour) is measured in Kelvin (Grand). The lower the number, the warmer the light. Because I like a warm calorie-free, 2700K is my preference – it'due south like the lite from an old-fashioned bulb. 3000K is less warm, and then as you go up the light becomes libation and whiter – anything approaching 5000k will exist near blue. Sometimes these are called 'warm white' or 'absurd white'. And then, depending on your preference, cheque the packet to make sure have the correct colour for you lot.

Practise you want to dim your lights?
You volition accept to pay a little more for dimmable bulbs, but they are bachelor beyond the range. Wait for the 'dimmable' symbol on the parcel. Simply a word of warning – occasionally, because LED lights utilise so little energy, you may need to modify your dimmer switches too (inquire a qualified electrician to do this for you).

Got the right fitting?
You will have a range of lite bulbs in your home with dissimilar fittings – just make sure you lucifer the fitting to the one you are ownership. The all-time way to do this is to take the former bulb forth with you. If you are replacing downward-lights or spotlights, take one out (when information technology is cold and switched off) and run across if it has 'pegs' or 'pins'. If information technology has pegs, this is mains voltage (a GU10 fitting) and is no problem to alter. If it has pins, this is low voltage lighting and is a little more than complicated. You may need some advice from a professional as to which bulbs volition work in your home.

Finally, when you are changing your lighting, think of it like re-decorating a room, where you would buy a paint tester pot to see if yous like the colour first before you pigment the whole room. When you are investing in new bulbs, buy one showtime to encounter if you similar it before you supersede the remainder. And retrieve, near places will exchange the bulb if information technology is the wrong one for you.

In one case y'all accept changed your bulbs, you lot tin sit down back (you won't need to become upwardly to change them for an boilerplate of 15 years) and enjoy in their glow – and be smug in the knowledge you're quids in.

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