any advice

40kelly

in the process of building at the moment and am looking for advice on energy saving downlight
about 30 downstairs and am wondering is cfl ,or led are best and were i can get see samples of these ,they have some in b and q buy the gu10 bulbs are bigger than the old type and i'm weary that they will become smaller to fit the older housing and i'll be left with a problem
thanks

dewsbury

My advice is ..... give a more meaningful title to your message.

Sorry !

actionman85

Hi Kelly,
Go with the led all the way, stay away from gu10 as they are NOT efficent in anyway and have a short life span. The LED is alot better for energy saving and a cleaner white light.

10-10-20

My advice is short and sweet. Avoid downlighters upstairs at all costs. Waste of energy.

northdublin

if worried about the gu-10 fittings dont be cause they come in a spring loaded form which allows for differant sizes. the overall diameter of the bulb in most brands is about the same. i used these in my hallway and with 7 watt daylight cfl gu-10 lamps which in my case give ample light, but im not so sure about larger areas, ie living rooms and large kitchens. as you go up in wattage the bulbs get slightly longer so the spring loaded type should allow fitment of most brands

RoundyMooney

10-10-20 wrote: »

My advice is short and sweet. Avoid downlighters upstairs at all costs. Waste of energy.

This is probably a very stupid question with an obvious answer, but can I ask why?

Stoner

RoundyMooney wrote: »

This is probably a very stupid question with an obvious answer, but can I ask why?

Must have something to do with loss of energy through the insulation.

My own opinion is still CFL, although with a GU10 lamp holder you can install CFLs or LEDs. As I have stated before some people like the white light from an LED and some like the Warm light from a CFL, so there are always other options to consider.

1) Your partners opinion, they seem to love giving out about any mans attempt to conserve energy, so if there is something wrong with a light, it will be found out quickly enough:D
2) do you want to dim them-- different options available but LEDs are easier to dim
3) Warm up time of the lamp (can be long for CFLs, and instant with LEDS)
4) consider the colour-- warm, colder white etc.
5) The power used, LEDs are getting better consistantly and are still being developed, apart from some Dimming options CFLs are kind of at stand still IMO, but LEDs are coming on the market with higher and higher power requirements, so the power usage gap has closed somewhat IMO.

I guess the main thing to do is have GU10 lamp holders installed in you downlights, this will cover most options.

10-10-20

RoundyMooney wrote: »

This is probably a very stupid question with an obvious answer, but can I ask why?

Yes, Stoner nailed it.
These fittings, when installed without hoods, allow air flow into the attic space and therefore break the basic rules of energy saving - to trap warm air.
If installed in the ceiling space of a ground floor, the don't contribute to the same losses.
Ideally, you don't want to penetrate the ceiling with anything other than a well sealed access hatch.

wil

Stoner wrote: »

As I have stated before some people like the white light from an LED and some like the Warm light from a CFL, so there are always other options to consider.

CFLs dont come in one colour. Unfortunately though many people seem to think they do as many manufacturers dont bother to quote colour temperature so when you go to buy, the retailers havent a clue what you are talking about. We are very backward here in terms of what CFLs are available, big manufacturers have appalling limited ranges, many far from compact and in sickly yellow.
I bought several 4 years ago while travelling in Asia and have not been able to find anything as good here since.

I find 2700K too yellow for my liking and try to find daylight (>4000K) the best I found was 20W 6700K versions, but very hard to find.
Bulb life is nowhere near that quoted, with my collection of dead bulbs growing rapidly.

LEDs while improving rapidly are still not near that available in other forms and prices seem to be marked way up on what they should be considering the actual prices they are available in China, a fraction of what they arrive here at. I reckon they are the direction that most lights will eventually go.

eoghan.geraghty

Megaman have a " dimmerable" lamp out now, (their name not mine), its not their dors system but instead works off a standard electronic dimmer.
Spoke to them at their stand at the nec yesterday, their display dors system wasn't working but the new lamps dimmed well.
Downside is they only give 10,000 hours not 15,000 because they can't fit their i-chip and electronics for dimming in the same lamp without it being 3 inches deep, but cost is about the same as their standard.

40kelly

actionman85 wrote: »

Hi Kelly,
Go with the led all the way, stay away from gu10 as they are NOT efficent in anyway and have a short life span. The LED is alot better for energy saving and a cleaner white light.

thanks for your advice leds seem to be the way to go
do anyone know were to get good ones

ballinloughan

Just came acros this thread - If you go for the 'Dimmable' bulb from Megaman which look to be 11W - do you still need to ensure that there is air flow around the fitting? In other words, can I cover the fitting on the attic side with insulation?
Cheers