GU10 spot lights worth a curse?

gu10

I have recently bought some of these but havn't yet installed them. I now know the halogen ones have a notoriously short life, and of all the problems with trying to cover them and insulate around them. Now most of the problems will be solved by using LED bulbs or cfl, even though those are hardly worth it for installing in infrequently used places. but i will still be stuck with extra holes in the ceiling and heat being lost that way so now I'm thinking would i be better off sticking with the normal e27 or b22 fitting dangling from the ceiling w/ lampshade? also whats the story with r63 spotlights? we have loads of them but the lamps are hard to find now, even the bulbs can be hard to find at times. were they a fashion fad? perhaps as halogen gu10 or mr16 lamps are now?

antoinolachtnai

halogen don't necessarily have a short life. they last long enough, they're fine, certainly for occasional use.

r63s have the same problem with insulation and heat loss. They just aren't used anymore, that's why you can't get 'em. Put a pendant light if you want, but it's a completely different style of thing. I find the ceiling lights make the ceiling seem a bit higher, because you don't have things hanging down.

indie armada

i would have thought that r63 would have more heat loss cause of the size of the fitting and the gap between the bulb and the casing.
ive not come across anyone having difficulty in getting the r63 bulbs either so i wouldnt rule them out for that reason. i think they are not as popular as they were because of aesthetic reasons and with the halogen spots there is a better variety of fitting, ie square hexagonal ect.

antoinolachtnai

Yep, you can get replacement bulbs, even halogen and cfl's, but fittings aren't that common. I think I have some lying around here if you really want 'em! Another issue with them is they require more room in the ceiling void, which may or may not be a problem.