GU10 LEDs - Advice Please

Its a bit of a minefield but anything with a known manufacturers name on it will be expensive but you will have some come back. Buy cheapo Wooflungdung stuff and it wont last. In theory you shouldn't have to touch em for years as lamp lives are so long!

 

These are what I fitted in my kitchen, about a fiver each from tool station if I remember right



Presume if yours are gu10 they are 240 volt?

 

I've replaced all mine too - go for the bright white ones - I got some yellow ones first and they are too dim and some only lasted a few months. My last lot was on ebay number 400836941221 - 10 for £14 + £4pp - great so far.

 

make sure you get the right colour, theres whiter than white and a blue type white, i changed some in my kitchen to see if i was gonna do the lot and the light is horrible...... might be the choice i made - who knows.... were about £10 a go from home bargains - i haven't done the rest.

 

i think mine were NOT cool white they were some sort of blue white, genuinely hurt your eyes crap - home bargains finest - that'll teach me trouble is i needed 12 and it's big dollar so i tried one light fitting first......

 

Simple, just convert your house to an operating theatre or dental surgery now!

 

I bought cheap ones the first time - they're having a laugh with their 20 year expected life. 3 years down the line after putting 16 in the kitchen (most used bulbs) we have 2 of the originals left. They've lasted longer in low use areas, but only because they're not on much! The first ones went in 6 months and a lot have gone in the past year. I replaced them with Osram 4.5 Watt in warm white 2700K. We have lots of lights in the kitchen (recent refurb), so these work well. In an older part of the house where they are further apart we used the 7W version for more light. Not had an Osram fail yet, £7.99 in Morrisons so easy to pick up locally when the crappy ones go pop. One of our customers is a really big LED light user on a large industrial site. He uses Philips bulbs, found the same problem as me with the cheapo ones. Buy a big name brand, it will cost more but better value.

 

I used these from Screwfix. http://www.screwfix.com/p/lap-gu10-led-lamp-250lm-4w-pack-of-10/5412d
Needed 8 for the kitchen as the normal GU10's didn't last long. There always seemed to be one needing replacement. These Screwfix one are not the cheapest, but I really like them. A nice bright white light, brighter than the normal GU10. I would recommend them.

 

If they're on a lot, the payback is very fast, in spite of the outlay. Bite the bullet and buy decent ones though.

 

Wait until Homebase have a 15% off offer and buy theirs as they work out about £4 then and they have a 5 year guarantee. I got 12 or so over a year ago and all going well so far compared to crap LED ones I bought off ebay! Whether Homebase will still be around in 5 years to honour the guarantee is not certain though..

 

I worked at a holiday rental and spent a hour changing them everyweek ,why are they so hard to change ?

The ones that have spikes were easier, than the push twist type.....

 

I think there is a tool to aid fitting. Like a rubber sucker with a ring on the back to put your finger in.

 

You never mentioned if you have dimmers fitted, these are different bulbs and the price goes up even more. We pay around the £5 each mark for normal and they seem to last, if not we take them back. The last dimmable ones we paid £16 each for.

 

Whoever invented down-lighting needs a slap.

The old days of a single fluorescent tube were much maligned - the thing took 3 times more power than an LED, but the kitchen requires 15 less of them.....

 

I've been wondering the same thing about these LED lights and what to get, so many thanks for the info. It still amazes me what you can find out on this forum.