[Stephen Barnes[_2_]]

Hi,

Saw a pack of 4 LED GU10 bulbs in B&Q Peterborough for a tenner. The box
seems to imply they equivalent to 35W. Has anyone tried them? I got some
9W CFL GU10s last month off ebay and was not impressed, are LEDs any better?

Steve

[Ian[_8_]]

"Stephen Barnes" # wrote in message
...
Hi,

Saw a pack of 4 LED GU10 bulbs in B&Q Peterborough for a tenner. The box
seems to imply they equivalent to 35W. Has anyone tried them? I got some
9W CFL GU10s last month off ebay and was not impressed, are LEDs any
better?

Steve

LEDs are not as good at the moment, but there is no real reason for
manufacturers
to be holding back products. One i was impressed with was a normal looking
bulb with a white coating on the inside and 3 uV LEDs. The coating glows a
brilliant white. Philips make them. More efficient than fluorescent bulbs
and only
using 1 or 2 watts. They will not be sold until people have bought millions
of
stockpiled fluorescent lights.
Low energy lighting is one reason our electric costs are now far higher.
Electric
companies were sick of not meeting projected income figures once people went
energy efficient and used less. So to still make the same amount of money
each year
they put the cost of each unit up.

[Bruce[_4_]]

"Ian" wrote:

Low energy lighting is one reason our electric costs are now far higher.
Electric
companies were sick of not meeting projected income figures once people went
energy efficient and used less. So to still make the same amount of money
each year
they put the cost of each unit up.


Of course it had nothing to do with the more-than-doubling of the
prices of coal, oil and gas, and the punitive levy on fossil-fuelled
electricity generation to subsidise the ridiculously high costs of
electricity generated from wind farms. No, it was all based on sales
of low energy light bulbs.

What utter nonsense. ;-)

[Andrew Gabriel]

In article ,
"Stephen Barnes" # writes:
Hi,

Saw a pack of 4 LED GU10 bulbs in B&Q Peterborough for a tenner. The box
seems to imply they equivalent to 35W.

It's a lie at that price.
They are equivalent to the same power of filament lamp which
they are themselves. They will probably have a very narrow beam,
and within that narrow beam, you might get the same intensity
as you do from a 35W filament lamp, but of course the filament
lamp generates that intensity over a wide beam, and hence much
more light output.

You will also find they are a completely different colour, most
likely a blue-white.

Many of these cheap LED lamps don't last long, either dimming
or failing outright.

Has anyone tried them? I got some
9W CFL GU10s last month off ebay and was not impressed, are LEDs any better?

CFL's don't make good compact light sources.

There are some LED lights which might come close, but they won't
fit into an existing GU10 fitting as they require a sodding great
heatsink to keep the LED cool, and they cost a bomb, and again
suffer from poor colour or low efficiency.

Commercially, small metal halide lamps are used for this purpose.
They have a high initial purchase price but low running cost, and
that's not a combination which seems to sell in the retail world.

--
Andrew Gabriel
[email address is not usable -- followup in the newsgroup]

[Steve Firth]

Ian wrote:

Electric
companies were sick of not meeting projected income figures once people went
energy efficient and used less. So to still make the same amount of money
each year
they put the cost of each unit up.

Are you on a dare to see how much complete crap you can post to usenet?

[ransley]

On Oct 25, 5:13*am, "Stephen Barnes" # wrote:
Hi,

Saw a pack of 4 LED GU10 bulbs in B&Q Peterborough for a tenner. *The box
seems to imply they equivalent to 35W. *Has anyone tried them? *I got some
9W CFL GU10s last month off ebay and was not impressed, are LEDs any better?

Steve

Leds are not ready for prime time yet, they are overpriced and lack
good color. Cfls in a warm white , not the older cold versions are
best for long life, color rendition and cost. I would never buy an
ebay flourescent cfl, old versions are not good in color and
reliability

[Rod]

ransley wrote:
On Oct 25, 5:13 am, "Stephen Barnes" # wrote:
Hi,

Saw a pack of 4 LED GU10 bulbs in B&Q Peterborough for a tenner. The box
seems to imply they equivalent to 35W. Has anyone tried them? I got some
9W CFL GU10s last month off ebay and was not impressed, are LEDs any better?

Steve

Leds are not ready for prime time yet, they are overpriced and lack
good color. Cfls in a warm white , not the older cold versions are
best for long life, color rendition and cost. I would never buy an
ebay flourescent cfl, old versions are not good in color and
reliability

Afraid I have to disagree. From personal taste, I very much prefer CFLs
with a colour temperature of at least 3400K - possibly up to 6000K. In
combination with a decent CRI, I am quite comfortable with these higher
colour temperatures.

Also, the only place we have managed to source some particular CFLs is
ebay. And that supplier and his products are beyond reproach. However,
we have tried one or two ebay traders that have disappointed in service
and product. So definitely a case for taking great care.

--
Rod

Hypothyroidism is a seriously debilitating condition with an insidious
onset.
Although common it frequently goes undiagnosed.
www.thyromind.info www.thyroiduk.org www.altsupportthyroid.org

[Mike Tomlinson[_2_]]

In article , Andrew Gabriel
writes

You will also find they are a completely different colour, most
likely a blue-white.

Indeed. Saw a room entirely lit using these the other day and not a
nice experience. Very poor colour rendition.

They may be OK for accent or mood lighting, or for indirect lighting,
but definitely not for general lighting.

[Brian Whitehead]

On 25 Oct, 10:13, "Stephen Barnes" # wrote:
Hi,

Saw a pack of 4 LED GU10 bulbs in B&Q Peterborough for a tenner. *The box
seems to imply they equivalent to 35W. *Has anyone tried them? *I got some
9W CFL GU10s last month off ebay and was not impressed, are LEDs any better?

Steve

They are bloody horrible, IMO. I bought some about 6 months ago, and
took them back almost immediately. The light they produce is an
unwordly blue/white light which makes you feel queasy. I replaced
them with 9W CFL GU10s which have been fine so far.

[Simon Stroud]

"Brian Whitehead" wrote in message
...
On 25 Oct, 10:13, "Stephen Barnes" # wrote:
Hi,

Saw a pack of 4 LED GU10 bulbs in B&Q Peterborough for a tenner. The box
seems to imply they equivalent to 35W. Has anyone tried them? I got some
.. 9W CFL GU10s last month off ebay and was not impressed, are LEDs any
better?

Steve

They are bloody horrible, IMO. I bought some about 6 months ago, and
took them back almost immediately. The light they produce is an
unwordly blue/white light which makes you feel queasy. I replaced
them with 9W CFL GU10s which have been fine so far.

Hmmm ... I haven't had much luck with the CFL GU10s.

A couple of years ago I bought some "Pro Lite" ones from CPC. They lasted a
couple of days in the kitchen (previously 5x50W GU10s) before SWMBO made me
remove them. So they are in my study now. Horrible things - take AGES to
light up.

A couple of weeks ago I thought Things Must Have Improved so I ordered
another set of 5 from CPC - 11W ones this time. Just over £10 each. They did
seem brighter than the last lot but still inadequate for the kitchen so I
bunged them in my boy's light (4x50W GU10s normally). He does like leaving
it on for hours and hours so I thought this could save a bit of doh.

One failed within a week. I sent that back for a replacement. BUT the
evening after I sent it off, another failed. So I got them to refund the
whole sodding lot. Incidentally they all seemed to have a rather nasty
burning smell this time - maybe related to the quick failure.

Will give it a few more years!

Incidentally this latest lot were also "Pro Lite". I haven't tried the
Megaman ones (mainly because CPC don't stock the full range) but maybe they
are better? At around £10 per bulb it's an expensive experiment each time.

BTW there's something about this part of this thread that stops Outlook
Express auto-indenting the original message. I had to hand add the ""s.

Regards,
Simon.

[Simon Stroud]

"Stephen Barnes" # wrote in message
...
Hi,

Saw a pack of 4 LED GU10 bulbs in B&Q Peterborough for a tenner. The box
seems to imply they equivalent to 35W. Has anyone tried them? I got some
9W CFL GU10s last month off ebay and was not impressed, are LEDs any
better?

Steve


Here's a clue ... not actually from B&Q but have you noticed the description
on the Wickes GU10 LED ones?

http://www.wickes.co.uk/Light-Bulbs/...lb/invt/195327

Note that special "ambient" word and the further admissions in the "product
description". Doesn't sound like it's much use!

Regards,
Simon.

[Roger R]

I tried them but did not find them suitable for the domestic environment.

The 'white' ones give a bluish light similar to moon light.
So if you prefer lighting to give a warm ambience these are not for you.

LED lights are very bright to look at but do not illuminate the scene at all
well, possibly because the light is only at one very specific wavelength.
I would have thought they could have included a couple of red and green
LED's to give a more balanced white but they didn't.

Roger R

[Bruce[_4_]]

"Stephen Barnes" # wrote:
Hi,

Saw a pack of 4 LED GU10 bulbs in B&Q Peterborough for a tenner. The box
seems to imply they equivalent to 35W. Has anyone tried them? I got some
9W CFL GU10s last month off ebay and was not impressed, are LEDs any better?


My local B&Q has four GU10 LEDs for £10, but they are of the variety
that changes colour every few seconds. They are in green cartons
shrink wrapped in fours.

Are these the same ones? If so, I wouldn't touch them because of the
changing colours.

B&W do pairs of "white" or blue GU10 LEDs (your choice) for £8.95, but
my local store was out of stock.

[Frank Erskine]

On Mon, 27 Oct 2008 23:41:06 +0000, Bruce wrote:

"Stephen Barnes" # wrote:
Hi,

Saw a pack of 4 LED GU10 bulbs in B&Q Peterborough for a tenner. The box
seems to imply they equivalent to 35W. Has anyone tried them? I got some
9W CFL GU10s last month off ebay and was not impressed, are LEDs any better?


My local B&Q has four GU10 LEDs for £10, but they are of the variety
that changes colour every few seconds. They are in green cartons
shrink wrapped in fours.

Are these the same ones? If so, I wouldn't touch them because of the
changing colours.

Yuk. Any changing of colours ought to be done by a lighting
tech/designer, choosing actual colour transforms and timing..

Those B&Q things sound naff!

--
Frank Erskine

[Bruce[_4_]]

"Roger R" wrote:
I tried them but did not find them suitable for the domestic environment.

The 'white' ones give a bluish light similar to moon light.
So if you prefer lighting to give a warm ambience these are not for you.

LED lights are very bright to look at but do not illuminate the scene at all
well, possibly because the light is only at one very specific wavelength.
I would have thought they could have included a couple of red and green
LED's to give a more balanced white but they didn't.


I think buyers might be put off by a kaleidoscope of different
coloured LEDs, but that is probably just what is needed to produce a
reasonable spectrum that approximates to "white light".

[Andrew Gabriel]

In article ,
"Roger R" writes:
I tried them but did not find them suitable for the domestic environment.

The 'white' ones give a bluish light similar to moon light.
So if you prefer lighting to give a warm ambience these are not for you.

LED lights are very bright to look at but do not illuminate the scene at all
well, possibly because the light is only at one very specific wavelength.

It's because there's so little light there. It's bright in the
very narrow beam, but that very narrow beam means there's very
little light there. You'll probably find they are 2W or 3W, and
the total light output is about what you'd expect from a 2W bulb.

--
Andrew Gabriel
[email address is not usable -- followup in the newsgroup]

[Bob Mannix]

"Andrew Gabriel" wrote in message
...
In article ,
"Roger R" writes:
I tried them but did not find them suitable for the domestic environment.

The 'white' ones give a bluish light similar to moon light.
So if you prefer lighting to give a warm ambience these are not for you.

LED lights are very bright to look at but do not illuminate the scene at
all
well, possibly because the light is only at one very specific wavelength.

It's because there's so little light there. It's bright in the
very narrow beam, but that very narrow beam means there's very
little light there. You'll probably find they are 2W or 3W, and
the total light output is about what you'd expect from a 2W bulb.

To be fair, as there is little heat, what you would expect from a 2W CFL
rather than incandescent but still not much!


--
Bob Mannix
(anti-spam is as easy as 1-2-3 - not]

[Andrew Gabriel]

In article ,
"Bob Mannix" writes:
"Andrew Gabriel" wrote in message
...
In article ,
"Roger R" writes:
I tried them but did not find them suitable for the domestic environment.

The 'white' ones give a bluish light similar to moon light.
So if you prefer lighting to give a warm ambience these are not for you.

LED lights are very bright to look at but do not illuminate the scene at
all
well, possibly because the light is only at one very specific wavelength.

It's because there's so little light there. It's bright in the
very narrow beam, but that very narrow beam means there's very
little light there. You'll probably find they are 2W or 3W, and
the total light output is about what you'd expect from a 2W bulb.

To be fair, as there is little heat, what you would expect from a 2W CFL
rather than incandescent but still not much!

The efficiency of the cheap things you pick up in the likes
of B&Q will be nowhere near that of a CFL. They are about
the same as a filament lamp. There's little heat because
2W isn't much in the first place!

--
Andrew Gabriel
[email address is not usable -- followup in the newsgroup]

[Bob Mannix]

"Andrew Gabriel" wrote in message
...
In article ,
"Bob Mannix" writes:
"Andrew Gabriel" wrote in message
...
In article ,
"Roger R" writes:
I tried them but did not find them suitable for the domestic
environment.

The 'white' ones give a bluish light similar to moon light.
So if you prefer lighting to give a warm ambience these are not for
you.

LED lights are very bright to look at but do not illuminate the scene
at
all
well, possibly because the light is only at one very specific
wavelength.

It's because there's so little light there. It's bright in the
very narrow beam, but that very narrow beam means there's very
little light there. You'll probably find they are 2W or 3W, and
the total light output is about what you'd expect from a 2W bulb.

To be fair, as there is little heat, what you would expect from a 2W CFL
rather than incandescent but still not much!

The efficiency of the cheap things you pick up in the likes
of B&Q will be nowhere near that of a CFL. They are about
the same as a filament lamp. There's little heat because
2W isn't much in the first place!

I meant (as I'm sure you know!) that the percentage of power dissipated as
heat in an incandescent is very high.

Rough figures - fancy bright 3W LED ~75lumen. 7W CFL ~286 lumen - roughly
equivalent to 35W incandescent so closer to a CFL Watt (if not quite the
same).


--
Bob Mannix
(anti-spam is as easy as 1-2-3 - not) --

Andrew Gabriel
[email address is not usable -- followup in the newsgroup]