GU10 Halogen, GU10 LED or T8 LED?

[Skimpy Wan]

Advice needed please.

Currently renovating a house for my parents, but not sure which way to go with the kitchen lights. At present they have a T8 florescent tube as the main lighting within the kitchen, but I was looking to change this for either:

1. 6 x GU10 Halogen downlights;
2. 6 x GU10 LEDs;
3. or a T8 LED replacement tube?

Do you recommend the T8 LED replacement tubes as a replacement / upgrade?

As the downlights would be fitted in the ceiling between the kitchen and bathroom, which contains plastic pipework, would you recommend going for LED downlights over GU10 Halogen downlights (or with LED replacement lamps) because of the reduced heat generated? Also, are the GU10 LED replacement lamps actually comparable to GU10's for brightness, spread angle, fitment into the holders (as previously these seemed longer in length than standard GU10 lamps) etc.

Thanks in advance.

Skimpy

 

[wade88]

In my experience, GU10 halogens can be a total nightmare. Temperamental and inconsistent. LED downers every time. Bulbs are more expensive, but reliable and will not need changing.

 

[amlu]

first of all, whats wrong with t8 tube? get some modern looking fitting and a daylight tube. energy efficient, bright, looks good

been fitting some 6.5watts megaman led gu10 bulbs recently... imho brighter than halogen. dont go for halogen bulbs, lots of power consumption, heat issues, need replacing every couple of months.

 

[Skimpy Wan]

I was swaying more towards the LED downlighters because of the extended life of the lamps, lower ongoing costs, etc, but as I haven't fitted (or seen) the T8 LEDs fitted, so I cannot comment on whether it would be better to go for downlights rather than just a T8 upgrade - hence my OP.

 

[happyhippy68]

I was swaying more towards the LED downlighters because of the extended life of the lamps, lower ongoing costs, etc, but as I haven't fitted (or seen) the T8 LEDs fitted, so I cannot comment on whether it would be better to go for downlights rather than just a T8 upgrade - hence my OP.

Go for the LED downlighters or possibly a wire/track system, they have an average life of 50-80,000 Hours. There are some very nice fittings available now.

 

[Skimpy Wan]

Might be a stupid question (so I'll await the abuse), but if the colour of the LED lamps are to blue / white etc is it a matter of just changing the lamps or the fittings as well - basically the olds have only ever had standard pendants / tubes and not 100% comfortable with modernising the lighting etc?

 

[amlu]

Might be a stupid question (so I'll await the abuse), but if the colour of the LED lamps are to blue / white etc is it a matter of just changing the lamps or the fittings as well - basically the olds have only ever had standard pendants / tubes and not 100% comfortable with modernising the lighting etc?

if you talking about downlights then you have 2 choices, one with led integrated into the fitting (not replaceable), another is a standard gu10 fitting and gu10 led bulb. (easy to replace)

 

[happyhippy68]

If you go for GU10 LED Lamps buy decent ones with a good quality heatsink, LEDs degrade when they overheat and may have a shorter life span.

 

[Skimpy Wan]

Might be a stupid question (so I'll await the abuse), but if the colour of the LED lamps are to blue / white etc is it a matter of just changing the lamps or the fittings as well - basically the olds have only ever had standard pendants / tubes and not 100% comfortable with modernising the lighting etc?

if you talking about downlights then you have 2 choices, one with led integrated into the fitting (not replaceable), another is a standard gu10 fitting and gu10 led bulb. (easy to replace)

So the lamps within LED downlights aren't changeable, but GU10 down lights can have their lamps replaced for others spreads / colours etc? If so (as per my OP), would the GU10 fitments not get too hot near to the plastic pipe in the ceiling - hence why I was looking at fitting LED downlights rather than GU10?

 

[Skimpy Wan]

If you go for GU10 LED Lamps buy decent ones with a good quality heatsink, LEDs degrade when they overheat and may have a shorter life span.

What lamps would you recommend if it's the GU10 route with LED lamps (sorry again if this seems a silly basic question, but just want to not melt the pipe work and not flood their kitchen or leave them with colours / spread that they're not happy with)?

 

[Richard Burns]

If you replace a T8 fluorescent with 6 downlights you will have significantly less light in the room unless they are positioned very carefully to light the areas in which you want to see.

I would also say that if you were looking for energy saving then changing to an LED tube will not save a lot of energy, the saving will be with the lifetime of the LED compared to the fluorescent which will be about doubled (not really worth the cost of the LED tube). I would suggest that the most effective change you could make would be to fit a T8 to T5 conversion kit to the existing fitting (if the fitting is still viable) so you can use T5 tubes.

If you are fixed on downlights then LED is the way to go, the colours of LED are selectable and the warm white ones are much more warm white than they used to be (I have even seen some very warm white ones).
For LED replacement GU10 lamps, SMD lamps can have a wide light spread (120 degree) and would limit the loss of light you will experience, the 3x1watt LED lamps have a very good similarity to GU10 halogen but because the beam angle will be 38 or 60 degree the light will be more focused and limit the lighting effect outside the area.
Because LEDs run a lot cooler than halogens it is very unlikely you will have a problem with overheating the surrounding area (but do ensure sufficient ventilation for the lamp itself).

 

[happyhippy68]

What lamps would you recommend if it's the GU10 route with LED lamps (sorry again if this seems a silly basic question, but just want to not melt the pipe work and not flood their kitchen or leave them with colours / spread that they're not happy with)?

Anything other than the non branded Chinese crap out there, Have a look at Collingwood fittings (Google them)for some ideas on top quality stuff. Osram and other brands do decent GU10 replacement lamps. Surface temperature should not exceed 60 degrees C so you should be ok with the pipe if there is no direct contact with the lamp. If the ceiling is a fire barrier(I.E between occupied floors) then a fire rated fitting should be installed that matches the minimum fire rating of the ceiling. These Can style fittings would also help protect the plastic pipes.

 

[911]

Just fitted 10 GU10's to my house! (5W 24 SMD as these were the brightest) Got them from ledsave (with good trade discount by calling them (Their site is not working properly). They told me they offer a full 2 year guarantee but in addition they offer a partial additional 3 year guarantee. So that if a bulb goes in 2.5 yesrs I wouldn't get my full money back but would get 1/2 of it back. 4 years I would get 1/5 of it back. The only snag is that the money back must be used to buy more bulbs from them and that it apples to residential only.

 

[sedgy34]

Forgot all them
its a kitchen fit a Hacel type fitting 2x26watts that will be best

 

[Dohnut]

I would recommend Aurora GU10 LED lamps I fitted about 70 in a house last year, I used a mix of the 7.5W and 8W Cree dimmable lamps and they were great. The lamps are long though so you will need deep fittings. I've recently used the 6W versions that are more like a standard GU10 lamps which is good for clients who already have downlights but are looking to go down the LED route.