We had our kitchen redone about a year ago, and for the lighting we
used spotlights. We're finding that the bulbs don't last long. Every
couple of months a bulb goes (we have 8 spotlights).

I like the spotlights but I'm fed up with changing the bulbs. Should
they really last such a short time, and are there alternatives?

--
Simon Elliott http://www.ctsn.co.uk

Simon Elliott wrote:
We had our kitchen redone about a year ago, and for the lighting we
used spotlights. We're finding that the bulbs don't last long. Every
couple of months a bulb goes (we have 8 spotlights).

I like the spotlights but I'm fed up with changing the bulbs. Should
they really last such a short time, and are there alternatives?

Simon,

you don't say what kind of spotlights you have - mains or low voltage,
halogen/non halogen, or even compact fluorescent or LED, so it's not
possible to say.

As a rough guideline, the average lifetime of incandescent light bulbs
is about 750-1000 hours. If you have eight of them, and they fail
randomly, you expect about one to fail every 1000/8 = 125 hours. If
you have your spotlights lit for 2 hours a day, that equates to
125/2=62.5 days - which is almost exactly one every two months.

It is possible to buy compact fluorescent replacments for standard
incandescent spotlights. These can last up to 10 times longer, so in
principle, you would then be replacing one every 20 months, and saving
electricity to boot.

Regards,

Sid

wrote:
Simon Elliott wrote:
We had our kitchen redone about a year ago, and for the lighting we
used spotlights. We're finding that the bulbs don't last long. Every
couple of months a bulb goes (we have 8 spotlights).

I like the spotlights but I'm fed up with changing the bulbs. Should
they really last such a short time, and are there alternatives?

Simon,

you don't say what kind of spotlights you have - mains or low voltage,
halogen/non halogen, or even compact fluorescent or LED, so it's not
possible to say.

As a rough guideline, the average lifetime of incandescent light bulbs
is about 750-1000 hours. If you have eight of them, and they fail
randomly, you expect about one to fail every 1000/8 = 125 hours. If
you have your spotlights lit for 2 hours a day, that equates to
125/2=62.5 days - which is almost exactly one every two months.

It is possible to buy compact fluorescent replacments for standard
incandescent spotlights. These can last up to 10 times longer, so in
principle, you would then be replacing one every 20 months, and saving
electricity to boot.

Regards,

Sid

I bet they're GU10s!

On 26 Apr 2006 13:56:35 -0700, had this to say:


wrote:
Simon Elliott wrote:
We had our kitchen redone about a year ago, and for the lighting we
used spotlights. We're finding that the bulbs don't last long. Every
couple of months a bulb goes (we have 8 spotlights).

I like the spotlights but I'm fed up with changing the bulbs. Should
they really last such a short time, and are there alternatives?

Simon,

you don't say what kind of spotlights you have - mains or low voltage,
halogen/non halogen, or even compact fluorescent or LED, so it's not
possible to say.

As a rough guideline, the average lifetime of incandescent light bulbs
is about 750-1000 hours. If you have eight of them, and they fail
randomly, you expect about one to fail every 1000/8 = 125 hours. If
you have your spotlights lit for 2 hours a day, that equates to
125/2=62.5 days - which is almost exactly one every two months.

It is possible to buy compact fluorescent replacments for standard
incandescent spotlights. These can last up to 10 times longer, so in
principle, you would then be replacing one every 20 months, and saving
electricity to boot.

Regards,

Sid

I bet they're GU10s!

I've had six GU10s (as well as a 100W GLS in a globe luminaire) in my
bathroom for about 3 or 4 years now, and have had _one_ failure.

--
Frank Erskine
Sunderland

Frank Erskine wrote:

I've had six GU10s (as well as a 100W GLS in a globe luminaire) in my
bathroom for about 3 or 4 years now, and have had _one_ failure.

Incandescent GU10s have an expected lifetime of 3-5000 hours, so on
average, with 2 hours per day use, you expect the average lifetime of a
single GU10 to be 5000/2=2500 days, which is just under 7 years.
Assuming random failures, you (Frank) would expect around 1 failure per
year on that usage.

1) You may be being lucky, or you may be running them for less than 2
hours per day. My bathroom lights are on for considerably less time
per day then my kitchen lights.
2) You may be running your GU10s below their rated voltage - it doesn't
need to be much, as bulb lifetime varies inversely at approximately the
sixteenth power of voltage. Assuming the GU10s are manufactured to
assume 240 volts, if you were running them at 230 volts, their lifetime
would be doubled, but they would only be providing 85% of the light
output.

The OP may be running European incandescents on UK voltage. This
halves their expected lifetime. As far as I know, incandescent
lightbulb manufacturers still have to produce different variants for
the UK market and the rest of Europe, due to the voltage difference.

Cheers,

SId

Simon Elliott wrote:
We had our kitchen redone about a year ago, and for the lighting we
used spotlights. We're finding that the bulbs don't last long. Every
couple of months a bulb goes (we have 8 spotlights).

I like the spotlights but I'm fed up with changing the bulbs. Should
they really last such a short time, and are there alternatives?

Yes. Low voltage spotlights. Instead of an average life of about 300
hours, they have an average life of about 3 years..Leastways mine do.

Mains voltage halogen spots are without doubt the most expensive form of
lighting ever created for domestic use.

AND the low voltage bulbs are (less than) half the price..

Frank Erskine wrote:
On 26 Apr 2006 13:56:35 -0700, had this to say:

wrote:
Simon Elliott wrote:
We had our kitchen redone about a year ago, and for the lighting we
used spotlights. We're finding that the bulbs don't last long. Every
couple of months a bulb goes (we have 8 spotlights).

I like the spotlights but I'm fed up with changing the bulbs. Should
they really last such a short time, and are there alternatives?

Simon,

you don't say what kind of spotlights you have - mains or low voltage,
halogen/non halogen, or even compact fluorescent or LED, so it's not
possible to say.

As a rough guideline, the average lifetime of incandescent light bulbs
is about 750-1000 hours. If you have eight of them, and they fail
randomly, you expect about one to fail every 1000/8 = 125 hours. If
you have your spotlights lit for 2 hours a day, that equates to
125/2=62.5 days - which is almost exactly one every two months.

It is possible to buy compact fluorescent replacments for standard
incandescent spotlights. These can last up to 10 times longer, so in
principle, you would then be replacing one every 20 months, and saving
electricity to boot.

Regards,

Sid
I bet they're GU10s!

I've had six GU10s (as well as a 100W GLS in a globe luminaire) in my
bathroom for about 3 or 4 years now, and have had _one_ failure.


Ive had about 10 Newye and Eyre 50W 12v bulbs in this house, since 2002,
and in that time only one has gone. These are 4+_ hours a day bulbs in
usage terms.

The six that came with another pair of lights have died and all been
replaced however.

In article . com,
wrote:
It is possible to buy compact fluorescent replacments for standard
incandescent spotlights. These can last up to 10 times longer, so in
principle, you would then be replacing one every 20 months, and saving
electricity to boot.

They cost about 20 quid, though.

--
*I'm out of my mind, but feel free to leave a message.

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

On Thu, 27 Apr 2006 00:48:00 +0100 someone who may be "Dave Plowman
(News)" wrote this:-

It is possible to buy compact fluorescent replacments for standard
incandescent spotlights. These can last up to 10 times longer, so in
principle, you would then be replacing one every 20 months, and saving
electricity to boot.

They cost about 20 quid, though.

Between £10 and £20 depending on the precise model. Well worth
buying as the incandescent ones fail, they pay for themselves many
times over during their lifetime.


--
David Hansen, Edinburgh
I will *always* explain revoked encryption keys, unless RIP prevents me
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2000/00023--e.htm#54

In article ,
"Dave Plowman (News)" writes:
In article . com,
wrote:
It is possible to buy compact fluorescent replacments for standard
incandescent spotlights. These can last up to 10 times longer, so in
principle, you would then be replacing one every 20 months, and saving
electricity to boot.

They cost about 20 quid, though.

The only one I've seen anywhere near that price is the GE Genura 23W R80.
OTOH, it is the only CFL spotlamp (floodlamp really) which gives the
same light output as the 100W lamp it replaces. (Actually, it gives out
slightly more light than a UK 100W R80 lamp.)

--
Andrew Gabriel

"Simon Elliott" Simon at ctsn.co.uk wrote in message
...
We had our kitchen redone about a year ago, and for the lighting we
used spotlights. We're finding that the bulbs don't last long. Every
couple of months a bulb goes (we have 8 spotlights).

I like the spotlights but I'm fed up with changing the bulbs. Should
they really last such a short time, and are there alternatives?

A friend of mines been there done that, running cost of his lights was
couple of quid a month in replacement bulbs.

First thing to try is an electronic limiter/starter, I am sure he got his
from tlc-direct and that improved things, far less blown bulbs.

Finally he replaced the whole lot by 12V spots and associated transformers
and that was in 2003 and not a single bulb failure since then. My house
built in 2000 has 27 12V halogens in various rooms, all still original
bulbs.

In article ,
Andrew Gabriel wrote:
The only one I've seen anywhere near that price is the GE Genura 23W R80.
OTOH, it is the only CFL spotlamp (floodlamp really) which gives the
same light output as the 100W lamp it replaces. (Actually, it gives out
slightly more light than a UK 100W R80 lamp.)

Yes - although it takes some time to get up to full output. I've got one
lighting the keyboard. Bought from B&Q. Very much colder than an
incandescent, though, if that matters.

--
*The statement above is false

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

On 27 Apr 2006 07:23:24 GMT someone who may be
(Andrew Gabriel) wrote this:-

The only one I've seen anywhere near that price is the GE Genura 23W R80.
OTOH, it is the only CFL spotlamp (floodlamp really) which gives the
same light output as the 100W lamp it replaces. (Actually, it gives out
slightly more light than a UK 100W R80 lamp.)

I have one over my kitchen sink and it is excellent. Task lighting
is one of the few things where a spotlight can be of use in a
kitchen.

http://www.yourwelcome.co.uk/index.html and the like offer such
bulbs in multiple quantities, for those who have eight spotlights in
their kitchen and wish to stop their electricity meter spinning
round like a catherine wheel and replacing bulbs all the time. I
have never purchased anything from them, so cannot say anything
about their products though.


--
David Hansen, Edinburgh
I will *always* explain revoked encryption keys, unless RIP prevents me
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2000/00023--e.htm#54

In article ,
David Hansen wrote:
http://www.yourwelcome.co.uk/index.html and the like offer such
bulbs in multiple quantities, for those who have eight spotlights in
their kitchen and wish to stop their electricity meter spinning
round like a catherine wheel and replacing bulbs all the time. I
have never purchased anything from them, so cannot say anything
about their products though.

Pack of 6 RO80 for 23 quid. Sounds interesting. I've got dozens of this
size in flush downlighters.

In the kitchen I've used mains halogen replacements which look like large
LV types and are very nice.

--
*I am a nobody, and nobody is perfect; therefore I am perfect*

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

In article ,
"Dave Plowman (News)" writes:
In article ,
Andrew Gabriel wrote:
The only one I've seen anywhere near that price is the GE Genura 23W R80.
OTOH, it is the only CFL spotlamp (floodlamp really) which gives the
same light output as the 100W lamp it replaces. (Actually, it gives out
slightly more light than a UK 100W R80 lamp.)

Yes - although it takes some time to get up to full output. I've got one
lighting the keyboard. Bought from B&Q. Very much colder than an
incandescent, though, if that matters.

When they first came out, they were available in 3000K and 3500K,
which are too high a colour temperature to blend with filament lamps.
However, I've seen them in 2700K colour temperature more recently,
which is the same as a filament lamp. So check the colour temperature
on the lamp you buy if this is important to you.

--
Andrew Gabriel

Simon Elliott wrote:
We had our kitchen redone about a year ago, and for the lighting we
used spotlights. We're finding that the bulbs don't last long. Every
couple of months a bulb goes (we have 8 spotlights).

I like the spotlights but I'm fed up with changing the bulbs. Should
they really last such a short time, and are there alternatives?

--
Simon Elliott http://www.ctsn.co.uk

A really horrible (but effective) solution is to wire them in with a
long cable of marginal size. The few volts dropped gives the filaments
an easier life.
Usual caveat, don't blame me if all hell breaks loose when you do it.