Another one in praise of LED lights.

[ebikeerwidnes]

We certainly have LED bulbs here that have loasted over 5 years
these days I just don;t need to replace them - they never blow

(bet one will tonight now - after that!)

 

[presta]

I put a CFL in the lounge in 2006 because that's the quickest to pay for itself, and intended to replace the rest of the tungsten ones as and when they failed. The problem was that they never did. The CFLs kept failing, some in as little as a few months, but I've only had one tungsten fail in the last 25 years. After a few years I replaced another three of the quick to pay ones, and switched to LED, but it's only quite recently that I bothered changing any of the ones that'll never pay for themselves, and even now there are a few tungsten in places like the loft and patio lamp.

 

[steveindenmark]

It appears in Denmark that many people have decided to leave their LED christmas lights hanging outside their houses to act as security lights. Its not just one or two houses, there are many of them. It adds an extra layer of 'Hygge'.

 

[SpokeyDokey]

If that is the case then the wrong LED lamps are being used.

Mine are neither too bright or too cold, instead they sit in what I consider to be the Goldilocks zone.

You may well be right.

We have some very warm, low lumens LED's in the kitchen and they are just right.

Dining in a friends conservatory a few months back it was like being in a floodlight football stadium.

And as for ultra-bright restaurants - yuk! We steer well clear. We just want soft romantic lighting.

 

[Fastpedaller]

We have two 'light bars' in our kitchen, each with 4 GU10 Halogen bulbs. I fitted the light bars because I was worried about the heat and intumescent covers required for downlighters. The heat emitted from the halogen bulbs was immense - I was concerned about the heat affecting the wiring. The bulbs also 'blew' regularly, about one every month. Along came the LED replacements (bought off Ebay initially) and they are great, with little heat output, and the light is good. After about 7 years, only 2 have failed, and they are very cheap to replace.

Recently, a fluorescent batten failed in the garage, and switching tubes around proved it was the ballast inside the unit rather than the tube.
I sourced a new tube from our local wholesalers - he was very helpful and suggested a tube that only requires wiring to one end and works off mains with no ballast. It was very simple to wire in (even for a colour-blind numpty like me), and the difference in light output is astonishing.
I've kept the old fluorescent tube as a spare, but am tempted to change some of the other lights to LED.

 

[figbat]

We have two 'light bars' in our kitchen, each with 4 GU10 Halogen bulbs. I fitted the light bars because I was worried about the heat and intumescent covers required for downlighters. The heat emitted from the halogen bulbs was immense - I was concerned about the heat affecting the wiring. The bulbs also 'blew' regularly, about one every month. Along came the LED replacements (bought off Ebay initially) and they are great, with little heat output, and the light is good. After about 7 years, only 2 have failed, and they are very cheap to replace.

Recently, a fluorescent batten failed in the garage, and switching tubes around proved it was the ballast inside the unit rather than the tube.
I sourced a new tube from our local wholesalers - he was very helpful and suggested a tube that only requires wiring to one end and works off mains with no ballast. It was very simple to wire in (even for a colour-blind numpty like me), and the difference in light output is astonishing.
I've kept the old fluorescent tube as a spare, but am tempted to change some of the other lights to LED.

I’ve been contemplating replacing the fluorescent tubes in my garage for LEDs but have been put off by the options that are shown - whether or not you replace or bypass the ballast etc. Nowhere has given me enough confidence to take the plunge.

 

[roubaixtuesday]

...

I’ve been contemplating replacing the fluorescent tubes in my garage for LEDs but have been put off by the options that are shown - whether or not you replace or bypass the ballast etc. Nowhere has given me enough confidence to take the plunge.

I just replaced the whole assembly.

Not expensive and easy to choose lumens.

Miles brighter in my case, the old one was inadequate.

Can't remember the exact make, but this sort of thing

https://www.screwfix.com/p/4lite-ad...d-ip20-batten-light-16w-2000lm-220-240v/119av

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

We have two 'light bars' in our kitchen, each with 4 GU10 Halogen bulbs. I fitted the light bars because I was worried about the heat and intumescent covers required for downlighters. The heat emitted from the halogen bulbs was immense - I was concerned about the heat affecting the wiring. The bulbs also 'blew' regularly, about one every month. Along came the LED replacements (bought off Ebay initially) and they are great, with little heat output, and the light is good. After about 7 years, only 2 have failed, and they are very cheap to replace.

Recently, a fluorescent batten failed in the garage, and switching tubes around proved it was the ballast inside the unit rather than the tube.
I sourced a new tube from our local wholesalers - he was very helpful and suggested a tube that only requires wiring to one end and works off mains with no ballast. It was very simple to wire in (even for a colour-blind numpty like me), and the difference in light output is astonishing.
I've kept the old fluorescent tube as a spare, but am tempted to change some of the other lights to LED.

I got some halogen lights some time ago

The place got them from said that the bulbs that came with them were cheap rubbish and might not last long
but when they fail just replace them with good quality ones and they will last years
He was right - I ended up replacing all of them with good ones and that was it for that kitchen - they just worked and never failed again

These days I used LED so it isn;t a problem anymore

 

[fossyant]

I’ve been contemplating replacing the fluorescent tubes in my garage for LEDs but have been put off by the options that are shown - whether or not you replace or bypass the ballast etc. Nowhere has given me enough confidence to take the plunge.

Did mine recently. If it's got a ballast (the little plug in tube gadget), then they come with a replacement. Looked on screwfix, checked the reviews. 2 minute job when I got home. Makes a huge amount of difference in light. Cost was negligible. Just need to take the old tube to a disposal point at the local 'tip'. The existing fitting was fine so didn't want any extra faff.

Cheap as chips

https://www.screwfix.com/p/lap-g13-t8-led-tube-3300lm-22w-1514mm-5-/608ha

 

[Fastpedaller]

My original batten was the newer type with an electronic ballast and no starter (little plug in the side of the casing). The one with the little plug has a 'magnetic ballast' inside the casing.

 

[icowden]

I've found the most challenging thing with LED lights is "dimmable LED lights". If you have the wrong type of bulb all hell breaks loose. And the dimmable ones tend not to be very dimmable.

I've had good results with the smart bulbs - my daughter has had full colour smart bulbs (LIFX I think) for almost 10 years now and they still work perfectly. Older daughter has LIFX smart LED strips which we set up to work with Harry Potter commands via her Alexa. "Alexa - Lumos!" and they turn on - "ALexa - Nox" and they turn off :-)

 

[figbat]

I’ve been contemplating replacing the fluorescent tubes in my garage for LEDs but have been put off by the options that are shown - whether or not you replace or bypass the ballast etc. Nowhere has given me enough confidence to take the plunge.

Inspired by words here I ordered a couple of 4’ T8 LED replacements for my fluorescent tubes in the garage. They were £6.79 each from Screwfix, ordered and collected the same day. They came with the appropriate LED ballast.

I wish I’d done it years ago! It took moments to replace them, they are brighter than the old tubes and illuminate immediately. No more walking in to a dark garage awaiting the tubes to fire up!