Another one in praise of LED lights.

[oxoman]

Any recommendations ? I replaced the whole unit in the kitchen as it was ugly - the LED one is very neat. This isn't needed in the garage. I assume the new tubes are a straight fit - do you leave the starter in ?

Edit, for older fittings, there is a replacement starter/ballast that you insert instead.

Depends on the manufacturer, the few I used at work were originally designed to straight into the old fitting and just replace the starter with a plug in link that looks like a old style starter. The fittings I did were flameproof fittings and I was able to remove the internal control gear. Not a job for a non electrician. The tubes aren't as rigid as the old glass ones and can sag a little on longer ones and when it gets warm.

 

[oxoman]

IME for domestic lights they last way longer than any kind of incandescent.

Changing bulbs used to be a regular occurrence, now it's unusual.

TBH I was comparing against the fluorescent type SL type lamps that came out after the older incandescent ones. The only ones that seemed to hang on where the tungsten halogen spotlight and floodlight ones which ran extremely hot and didn't last long as opposed to the normal lamps.

 

[Dave7]

You can get strip / batten fittings that are adjustable on the internal driver, thats the bit that controls the leds. Spotlight type GU10 lamps come in different colours from 2700k to 6000k which is basically a warm light to a harsh intense white light.

Thanks.
As the one in question is in the lounge I wanted something decorative. The one you suggest would be useful in other places.

A question......can I use dimmer switches on ALL LED lights ? I know you can on some but this one doesn't mention it so i'm assuming it's a 'no'

 

[oxoman]

Any idea of the flash rate of a "steady" tube/strip light compared to the fluorescent tubes they're replacing?

Tbh I can't say as I've compared, I will say that LED,s seem to suffer a more pronounced flicker when the national grid switches from different points. Certainly more noticeable. We use them in a factory environment and in the past we had to be careful of the stroboscopic effect on fast moving machines, basically made them look stationary when in fact they were moving. With LED ones we've not noticed any problems.

 

[oxoman]

As some extra info and this is from my experience of using LED,s. The smart ones that you can adjust the brightness and colour for better ambient / colour light rendering , can be a right royal PITA especially the cheap ones. They tend to give out a high frequency buzz / hum and flicker more. LED stringlights especially the self adhesive type are really only fit for the bin, easy to damage and I personally dont think they're safe. The higher wattage lamps can get warm but nowhere near as hot as the older incandescent ones. The LED fittings especially floodlights and industrial ones tend to be sealed for life and when they start to flash you just throw them away. Finally Bulbs grow in the garden and lamps light the way. This was a quote from my old college lecturer years ago. If you asked him for a bulb he would produce an old daffodil bulb, you soon learnt.

 

[fossyant]

A question......can I use dimmer switches on ALL LED lights ? I know you can on some but this one doesn't mention it so i'm assuming it's a 'no'

No, you'll need to check the bulb is compatible, most aren't. Smart ones are different, but you control these with your phone !

 

[oxoman]

No, you'll need to check the bulb is compatible, most aren't. Smart ones are different, but you control these with your phone !

As Fossyant mentions. You can get dimmer switches for LED lamps, however you also need dimmer compatible lamps. You can't use the old style dimmer switches on them.

 

[Tenkaykev]

When LEd lights fail it tends to be the driver circuit that goes, the heat in such a confined space " cooks " the electronics. This is more marked in the cheaper ones. Philips made a lamp exclusively for Dubai, long life and high efficiency, originally it wasn't sold in this country but that's no longer the case. Here's an interesting video from " Big Clive " explaining the inner workings. It's 5 years old so not up to date but does a goos job of explaining why lamps fail.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klaJqofCsu4

 

[Dave7]

No, you'll need to check the bulb is compatible, most aren't. Smart ones are different, but you control these with your phone !

With your phone .
My parents just would not belive it!

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

"we" have just got a new lamp with 2 LED bulbs in it

when it arrived it was fine - but one of the bulbs failed after a few weeks
the supplier was great about it and replaced it - but we did learn that the "bulb" is not replaceable at all
if it blows then it is broke and there is no way to fix it

so I'm just hoping it will last
but it does seem like a bad idea to me!!

 

[fossyant]

Replacement batton LED and ballast ordered for the grand sum of £8. I'll collect at lunch when doing the cat food shipment (I kid you not) and a tip run.

It will either go bang or I'll be needing my sunglasses. I am sure the old lights get less bright as they age.

 

[oxoman]

The old fluorescent tubes used to darken at the ends and eventually fail, but you just replaced the tube and off you went for another umpteen years. I swapped my work over from fluorescent and hi pressure sodium lighting a few yrs ago and the old fittings were all still functional, just used to much power and required lamp changes every few years. With the LED replacements and there not cheap ones we started to see probably a 2 % failure rate in the first yr. Not ideal as each failure is a total loss and requires cherrypickers etc to replace. It does give a more consistent light, however you can get worse shadows with the harsher colour cool white colours 4500k plus.

 

[Dave7]

"we" have just got a new lamp with 2 LED bulbs in it

when it arrived it was fine - but one of the bulbs failed after a few weeks
the supplier was great about it and replaced it - but we did learn that the "bulb" is not replaceable at all
if it blows then it is broke and there is no way to fix it

so I'm just hoping it will last
but it does seem like a bad idea to me!!

What am I getting wrong here ?
You say they replaced the bulb but then say the bulb is not replaceable.

 

[Tenkaykev]

You can get " High CRI index " lights that are very close to natural daylight. It's what they use in those " reassuringly expensive " reading lamps that you see advertised in a lot of the newspapers / supplements. The CR10 ones from Philips cost around £12 each, I've used them in the flexible middle bit of our temporary* cheapo IKEA uplighters and the difference is noticeable.
* temporary for the last four years or so 😁

 

[oxoman]

What am I getting wrong here ?
You say they replaced the bulb but then say the bulb is not replaceable.

Sounds like they replaced the whole fitting. Some fittings they build the LED,s into and they aren't replaceable.