In June I asked about LED strip lights, asking about real-world
experiences. Now I've had some can report that some are really good,
some others...

I bought some of these for under cabinet lighting in the kitchen:
http://www.yourwelcome.co.uk/cgi-bin...D501&NOLOGIN=1
£62.58 for 4 strips plus driver.
I got three strips on one driver to light under a 1.2 length of
cabinets. They do the job very well, providing good bright light just
where it's needed.

A couple of weeks ago I reviewed the old thread and found the Ikea
version for about half the price:
http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/30119408
£29.26 for 4 strips plus driver.
I would say that they're about half as bright, so not enough for the
kitchen setting. They'll do well enough for a display cabinet I need
to light though.

So I would definitely recommend the product from Your Welcome, and can
add that their service is excellent too.

I've also bought the GU10 LED lamps they sell, and they are jolly
bright, though the beam spread is a bit narrow. Expensive, but if
they do last 40Kh as advertised, they save on regular GU10 halogen
replacements (even at Screwfix prices) for bulbs alone, never mind
power consumption.

Andrew

In article
,
wrote:
In June I asked about LED strip lights, asking about real-world
experiences. Now I've had some can report that some are really good,
some others...

I bought some of these for under cabinet lighting in the kitchen:

http://www.yourwelcome.co.uk/cgi-bin...D501&NOLOGIN=1

£62.58 for 4 strips plus driver. I got three strips on one driver to
light under a 1.2 length of cabinets. They do the job very well,
providing good bright light just where it's needed.

If the colour in the pic is anything to go by I'd rather use decent
fluorescents. LEDs have still got a long way to go before they give the
sort of light most want.

--
*Growing old is inevitable, growing up is optional

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

Just one piece of advice, don't believe the "replaces xxW" statements.
My GU10 "50W equivalent" bulbs have been redeployed into the bathroom
that had too many spotlights anyway. Really, these things these days
should be rated in light intensity so that there's a fair chance to make
any kind of comparisons...

That said, I love the LEDs in the bathroom, no more exploding GU10s when
the kids throw water around with full ignorance of the building reg
zones...

On 15 Dec 2008, 13:39, "Dave Plowman (News)"
wrote:
If the colour in the pic is anything to go by I'd rather use decent
fluorescents. LEDs have still got a long way to go before they give the
sort of light most want.

The colour is fine for me, but then they're installed in a new kitchen
with a conservaory attached, so during the day the light is daylight
anyway. The walls and floor are blue, the ceiling off-white, the
units fake beech and counters fake slate.

All this fuss about colour temperature seems rather overblown to me
anyway. Just use warmer colours on the walls and ceiling and it
should look the same surely. If you're the sort of person who uses
brilliant white throughout the house then you'd welcome colder
lighting, neh?

Andrew - a parent of 3 who definitely doesn't use brilliant white
anywhere!

On 16 Dec 2008, 21:12, oh wrote:
Just one piece of advice, don't believe the "replaces xxW" statements.
My GU10 "50W equivalent" bulbs have been redeployed into the bathroom
that had too many spotlights anyway. Really, these things these days
should be rated in light intensity so that there's a fair chance to make
any kind of comparisons...

The £18 5W GU10s at yourwelcome are as bright as a halogen 50W (I
can't look into them), but the beam angle is rather narrower. For
direct light they're good but you need more to cover an area.

Andrew

In article
,
wrote:
If the colour in the pic is anything to go by I'd rather use decent
fluorescents. LEDs have still got a long way to go before they give the
sort of light most want.

The colour is fine for me, but then they're installed in a new kitchen
with a conservaory attached, so during the day the light is daylight
anyway. The walls and floor are blue, the ceiling off-white, the
units fake beech and counters fake slate.

All this fuss about colour temperature seems rather overblown to me
anyway. Just use warmer colours on the walls and ceiling and it
should look the same surely. If you're the sort of person who uses
brilliant white throughout the house then you'd welcome colder
lighting, neh?

Think you've missed the point that a paint colour which looks fine in
daylight or tungsten may not using a poor quality light. And it's not just
to do with colour temperature.

--
*'Progress' and 'Change' are not synonyms.

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

In article ,
clumsy ******* wrote:
LEDs have still got a long way to go before they give the
sort of light most want.

ive fitted them underneath our kitchen cabinets and if they last as
they are supposed to I will be perfectly happy.

Surely the idea of lights under cupboards is to illuminate the work
surface below - and to do this effectively you need a soft light source.
Of course if it's only for effect that's down to personal preference.

--
*Real men don't waste their hormones growing hair

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

Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
In article
,
wrote:
If the colour in the pic is anything to go by I'd rather use decent
fluorescents. LEDs have still got a long way to go before they give the
sort of light most want.

The colour is fine for me, but then they're installed in a new kitchen
with a conservaory attached, so during the day the light is daylight
anyway. The walls and floor are blue, the ceiling off-white, the
units fake beech and counters fake slate.

All this fuss about colour temperature seems rather overblown to me
anyway. Just use warmer colours on the walls and ceiling and it
should look the same surely. If you're the sort of person who uses
brilliant white throughout the house then you'd welcome colder
lighting, neh?

Think you've missed the point that a paint colour which looks fine in
daylight or tungsten may not using a poor quality light. And it's not just
to do with colour temperature.


I too think Andrew has missed the point - we (I assume many of us) don't
make a fuss about colour temperature/CRI for their own sakes - but
because they are usually the only objective criteria we have available.

And you can only use a warmer temperature in some places if they are
available. We have had great difficulty in sourcing lamps with the
characteristics we want - sometimes available in 2700 crap-O-colour but
often not in other temperatures.

People sometimes use brilliant white paint in association with warmer
lighting. And vice versa.

--
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

clumsy ******* wrote:
I read some stuff that said you get some strobe effect that makes
using a knife hazardous, I haven't observed this or even understand
what it meant. Each cupboard has a 3 LED strip +an extra one at the
inside corner join (can't find a picture) they are fine for cutting
and stuff, no noticeable shadows.

Hand knife is fine. What they can do is freeze rotating things. Such as
blender blades, circular saws, power planes.

Oh, and Angle Grinders

Andy

In article ,
clumsy ******* wrote:
"Dave Plowman (News)" wrote:

ive fitted them underneath our kitchen cabinets and if they last as
they are supposed to I will be perfectly happy.

Surely the idea of lights under cupboards is to illuminate the work
surface below - and to do this effectively you need a soft light source.
Of course if it's only for effect that's down to personal preference.

I read some stuff that said you get some strobe effect that makes
using a knife hazardous, I haven't observed this or even understand
what it meant. Each cupboard has a 3 LED strip +an extra one at the
inside corner join (can't find a picture) they are fine for cutting
and stuff, no noticeable shadows.

Only light source likely to cause strobing on fast moving stuff is non
electronic ballast fluorescents. But not a problem with hand knifes anyway.

--
*When the going gets tough, use duct tape

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

In article ,
clumsy ******* wrote:
But not a problem with hand knifes anyway.

you haven't seen my chopping skills :-)

But if you're that fast you wouldn't need to look at it anyway. ;-)

--
*I'm not your type. I'm not inflatable.

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

On 13 Jan, 14:19, "Dave Plowman (News)" wrote:
Surely the idea of lights under cupboards is to illuminate the work
surface below - and to do this effectively you need a softlightsource.
Of course if it's only for effect that's down to personal preference.

The ones I've fitted have 24 leds per strip, 3 strips make about a
metre length, so 72 points of light per metre. Not soft, but well
distributed.

Andrew