# LED GU10 lightbulbs



## evobaz (Aug 28, 2007)

When my house was rewired I had GU10 Halogen downlighters fitted in a few rooms. I've been thinking about changing the lamps to LED's rather than halogens so I bought 4 off ebay to try them out LIKE THESE

They fit fine and work fine but now my dimmer switch which used to make a small buzzing sound now sounds even louder.

Is this normal when changing to LED's?

I opted for Warm White to try and get similar lighting to that of the halogens but the light they produced was pretty strange - clinical white.

I'm looking for LED bulbs that will work with my dimmers, not flicker and not make my bedroom look like an operating theatre.


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## Phil H (May 14, 2006)

you need a certain dimmer switch and dimmable LED bulbs. Speak to:
http://www.wholesaleledlights.co.uk/

I had this issue and is now sorted. The 4w and 6w LED's from here are the best LEDs by far


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## evobaz (Aug 28, 2007)

Cheers Phil, i'll have a look at that site. The ebay bulbs are going back for a refund.

How do you find the light from yours? Is it similar to that of halogens or is it white/blue kind of light?


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## Guest (Jan 21, 2012)

i found that the best LED GU10 is made by Kosnic,i think they also make dimmable bulbs


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## SteveyG (Apr 1, 2007)

Philips MASTER are the becoming the 1st choice in commercial premesis

http://www.lighting.philips.co.uk/lightcommunity/trends/led/masterled.wpd

The colour is very neutral and the lamps are based on Philips Lumileds LEDs, so are of great efficiency and quality. Tesco occasionally has the 4W GU10 lamps at 1/2 price, and the dimmable ones for use with standard dimmers (provided you meet the minimum load for the dimmer) are usually £12.


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## S63 (Jan 5, 2007)

the EBay ad does state they are the dimmable variety

I recently had fitted Haler Evoleds, bit pricey but the dogs watsits.

http://www.dclighting.co.uk/catalogue_main.php?catID=4181&PHPSESSID=8fac8861550789fdffff0fa85bea8db4


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## EliteCarCare (Aug 25, 2006)

So can you used the gu10 bulbs mentioned above in existing halogen downlight bulb holders without changing the wiring or transformers?


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## millns84 (Jul 5, 2009)

EliteCarCare said:


> So can you used the gu10 bulbs mentioned above in existing halogen downlight bulb holders without changing the wiring or transformers?


Yes, they work just as a normal GU10 bulbs but use around 3 watts. We've got them in downlighters and my dad uses them throughout his house.


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## Phil H (May 14, 2006)

I have the 4w LED cool white bulbs from the site i mentioned above in my down firing ceiling lights. Very impressed with brightness. No need to change wiring or add transformers just change the bulb and away you go. 

I also have a normal light that takes gu10. I have used the 6w gu10 leds, very bright indeed but be aware anything from 6w upwards can be a slightly longer bulb than standard so always check the length of the bulb if your going for the higher wattage.


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## SteveyG (Apr 1, 2007)

S63 said:


> the EBay ad does state they are the dimmable variety


Yes, but you need to meet the minimum load of the dimmer, which is usually 40 or 60W, meaning you'd probably need at least 10 lamps on the dimmer.



EliteCarCare said:


> So can you used the gu10 bulbs mentioned above in existing halogen downlight bulb holders without changing the wiring or transformers?


Only if the fitting is suitable - the heatsink on the lamp needs airflow, so they cannot be used on fittings for aluminiumised reflector GU10s. Usually these are the fire rated fittings with an enclosed rear. Suitable fittings are usually the ones with a loose lampholder which fit freely into the recess and are held in with a spring clip.


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## Guest (Jan 22, 2012)

In the process of replacing all our GU10's with the LED variety. 

Just completed the kitchen replacing 12 x 50watt lamps- a massive 600watts consumption to 12 4.5watt (equivalent to 35 watts of light) so now using just 54 watts and the effect is just as good as with the 50watt lamps so no real difference.

I have purchased mine from 'Tool Station' in their catalogue (or on line if you wish) see page 393. I am presently using the warm white at £8.94 each and I also bought a couple of the branded lamps - Philips - at £9.78 each to see if the 'extra' is worth it. They also sell items suitable for dimmer controlled circuits.

Avoid lamps with multiple LED's the light output is abysmal, akin to a morgue!

I don't have a dimmer controlled system installed so cannot give any useful feedback.

Finally the so called life of the LED variety is said to be in the region of 25,000 to 30,000 hours against 2000 approx of normal 50watt GU10's got to be a better deal all round except of course for the initial cost....


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## EliteCarCare (Aug 25, 2006)

Some of our downlighters are on a dimmer switch. There are dimmable led bulbs available but I believe that the existing switch might not be suitable. Need to check with the suppliers before ordering the bulbs for these.

So is warm white as good as the equivalent output of a halogen GU10, or would I have to go with the bright white?


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## SteveyG (Apr 1, 2007)

Glass Top said:


> In the process of replacing all our GU10's with the LED variety.
> 
> Just completed the kitchen replacing 12 x 50watt lamps- a massive 600watts consumption to 12 4.5watt (equivalent to 35 watts of light) so now using just 54 watts and the effect is just as good as with the 50watt lamps so no real difference.


In the kitchen you'd be better of getting rid of the torches and putting up some lights suited to the purpose!



Glass Top said:


> Avoid lamps with multiple LED's the light output is abysmal, akin to a morgue!.


To clarify, lamps with multiple high flux LEDs are fine, but the types with standard 5mm LEDs are crap for general illumination. Most lamps greater than 3W will have multiple LEDs inside.


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## evobaz (Aug 28, 2007)

EliteCarCare said:


> Some of our downlighters are on a dimmer switch. There are dimmable led bulbs available but I believe that the existing switch might not be suitable. Need to check with the suppliers before ordering the bulbs for these.
> 
> So is warm white as good as the equivalent output of a halogen GU10, or would I have to go with the bright white?


The bulbs I bought were warm white (link in the first post) and they did give off a lot of light but not as much as as the halogen. The wife says she was struggling to put her make-up on with the LED's fitted. This may have been due to the spread/angle of the light. The light was also very white/blue and not as nice as the light given off by the halogens. I felt it made our room look like an operating theatre and the wife said a car showroom.

I had flickering issues with them and at times they had a strobe like effect but I think this was due to the dimmer switch not being compatible.


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## tommyzooom (Aug 15, 2009)

S63 said:


> the EBay ad does state they are the dimmable variety
> 
> I recently had fitted Haler Evoleds, bit pricey but the dogs watsits.
> 
> http://www.dclighting.co.uk/catalogue_main.php?catID=4181&PHPSESSID=8fac8861550789fdffff0fa85bea8db4


I recently tiled for a really, really fussy electrician, Normally you can tell there are leds in the room as soon as you switch them on, the light is that poor, but I never noticed for ages that he had these Halers, he explained them to me and said they are gauranteed for 7 years, so I thought if they were good enough for him, they would do for me.
I replaced the 8 50w downlighters in the kitchen and the light is almost exactly the same, (just don't look straight into one!)

Cheaper Here


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## jamest (Apr 8, 2008)

SteveyG said:


> In the kitchen you'd be better of getting rid of the torches and putting up some lights suited to the purpose!
> 
> To clarify, lamps with multiple high flux LEDs are fine, but the types with standard 5mm LEDs are crap for general illumination. Most lamps greater than 3W will have multiple LEDs inside.


Indeed, they are what I have and the light output is pretty poor but suffices for the living room with the cinema feel.


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## S63 (Jan 5, 2007)

tommyzooom said:


> I recently tiled for a really, really fussy electrician, Normally you can tell there are leds in the room as soon as you switch them on, the light is that poor, but I never noticed for ages that he had these Halers, he explained them to me and said they are gauranteed for 7 years, so I thought if they were good enough for him, they would do for me.
> I replaced the 8 50w downlighters in the kitchen and the light is almost exactly the same, (just don't look straight into one!)
> 
> Cheaper Here


That is a good price, didnt find them even after hours of googling:wall:


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## Wozza (Mar 3, 2007)

I fiited 11 Fire rated GU10 Aurora fittings and 11 Ledzworld 8.5watt dimmable led bulbs in my new Kitchen about 14 months ago..

They are cool white and look fantastic, not cheap however.


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## JCW85 (Oct 29, 2009)

evobaz said:


> The bulbs I bought were warm white (link in the first post) and they did give off a lot of light but not as much as as the halogen. The wife says she was struggling to put her make-up on with the LED's fitted. This may have been due to the spread/angle of the light. The light was also very white/blue and not as nice as the light given off by the halogens. I felt it made our room look like an operating theatre and the wife said a car showroom.
> 
> I had flickering issues with them and at times they had a strobe like effect but I think this was due to the dimmer switch not being compatible.


Like most things you get what you pay for - philips are good and used alot in commercial buildings.

The main problem with LED bulbs is that the luminous efficacy is lower than a halogen bulb and therefore you either need to increase wattage = ££ or increase number of bulbs in the room.

Halogen bulbs rely on reflectors to bounce light around the room whereas LED is much more directional and focused. Check the beam angle also on any new bulbs you are thinking of buying.

Colour temps

3000k - warm white (yellow white)
4000k - more pure white
6500k - daylight (white with tint of blue)


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## Shiny (Apr 23, 2007)

Lol, ignoring the second spam attempt from the above....

Anyone got any updates on cheap but reasonably decent LED GU10s (not dimmable)? I'm sure there is a wider market choice since this was posted a year or so back.

I'm going to need around 30 for our new office (window displays, wall displays and some in the ceiling) and don't really fancy paying £10 each or so.

I would think 3w will be fine, they aren't really lighting the room, just displays, and the ceiling lights are more decorative than functional.

Will need the flat faced ones, not the lumpy 60/80 LED type ones as there are various clip in fittings and they won't work on the lumpy ones.

Cheers for any pointers.


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## shl-kelso (Dec 27, 2012)

If you are buying large quantity then you should be asking the suppliers for a discount, most would oblige.

I only use Megaman 6W dimmable LeD GU10s in warm white (2800k) as they have proved to be a close equivalent to a 50w halogen. They have a 38 degree beam angle, are the same size as the conventional lamp body, and have a diffuser over the lamp front which helps make them look like a "normal" lamp.

I use them in dimmable and non-dimmable fittings of all types (fully enclosed up/down lights, fire-rated & IP65 downlights) without any issue. They also have a decent manufacturer warranty too. I've installed around 50+ of the GU10s and a little less than 20 of the GLS, golf ball, and candle lamps in other fittings too.

I tend to buy my LEDs from CP Lighting or Starlec depending on who has stock and offers the best prices at the time.

If you decide to go for a different lamp lamp then look for a decent beam angle and a lumen output of 450lm to maintain the light levels. You could always ask for a sample lamp to try before committing to buying 30 in one go.


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