230v or 12v spot lights

bonzos

hi guys, thinking of getting a few recessed spot lights installed what are the dis/advantages of using 12v spot lights aposed to 230v spot lights?

dufferman

get 12volt spots, way better light out of them, a little more expensive but worth it. plus there is a better selection in 12 volt

bonzos

are they more expensive to run?EG. does a 50w 230v bulb use less energy than a 50w 12v bulb?

davelerave

as dufferman said better lite output and not as severe on dimmers .positives for gu10 .cheaper ,no trafos to fail and easy to fit them out with energy saving bulbs

DublinDilbert

I'm no expert on spot lights, but installed some GU10 (220V) spots there a few months back and am quite happy with them...

I know some of the guys have said there's "better" light out of the 12V ones, but i can't think of any reason why...

oh yea they both use the same amount of power, i.e. 50W.

MicktheMan

bonzos wrote: »

hi guys, thinking of getting a few recessed spot lights installed what are the dis/advantages of using 12v spot lights aposed to 230v spot lights?

I would advise not going with recessed spots. In my experience, they can be the cause of a lot of draughts in houses.

Stoner

From an energy usage and initial cost point of view CFL downlights are good value if you want spots. 50W lights are heavy on electricity, GU10 light connections can take CFL, LEd and 220V halogen although the CFL can cause issues with eyeball/wallwasher fittings due to the extra lenght. 12V halogen fitting use a different connection MR16 and require a transformer. You can interchange CFL, LED and 220V halogen one they all use a GU10 connection.

The cheaper LED fittings will not give enough light for a one to one replacement IMO, but if you are installing them from scratch you can plan around this with more fittings. There are more powerful LED fittings out there but they are pricy.

12V 50W halogen is about the brightest and "best quality" light from all the options, they are also easy to dim.

220V 50W lights are really only installed by electrician/builders trying to save some money are they require less parts so they are cheaper and faster to install.

Using 12V 50W halogen fittings and not 220V 50W halogens in a no brainer from a quality and light output point of view.

If I was you I'd be comparing LED vs CFL vs 12V halogen.

Qwerty?

MicktheMan wrote: »

I would advise not going with recessed spots. In my experience, they can be the cause of a lot of draughts in houses.

Have to agree with this. We have tiltable recessed 12v spotlights and some have a very strong breeze around them at times.

I am currently looking for more energy efficient recessed lights to replace my existing ones, and to cut down on the breezes.

I've tried the 1 watt LED version of Colour temp 3000 - 3500K light and found it terrible. Would a CFL of 3000 colour temp be the same?

I've been looking online and came across the following CFL option and am wondering would it be the equivalent in brightness and colour of light to the 35w 12 V we already have?

Thanks

Stoner

Qwerty? wrote: »

I've tried the 1 watt LED version of Colour temp 3000 - 3500K light and found it terrible. Would a CFL of 3000 colour temp be the same?

I've been looking online and came across the following CFL option and am wondering would it be the equivalent in brightness and colour of light to the 35w 12 V we already have?

Thanks

Well colour temps are a standard and should match from lamp type, but they seldom do, even with two of the same lamp types it's advised to match the manufactures.

The CFL (11W) will match the "brightness" of a 35W 12V halogen

Plus you can just buy them in Ireland there is a sticky on the main forum page listing electrical suppliers, just a Megaman lamp available in 7W -9W and 11W, I never really go by their matched up ratings though i.e 9W = 35W, I'd go for the 11W.

fishdog

dis/advantages of using 12v spot lights aposed to 230v spot lights?

12 volt like this advantage: 40% more light for the same energy consumption as a 220 volt equivelent (GU10). Bulb life is very good. Colour rendering / light quality excellent, dimming is possible, but dimmable transformers must be used. If there is a shock rick for some reason (in a shower) 12 volts is very safe. This can be very handy is certian circumstances.

Lamps should cost about €2. Suitable dimmable transformers (60VA) such as IBL cost about €10ish.

Disadvantage: You need to have buy a transformer. Lamp gets hot! Space required for transformer. Best to have one transformer per light fitting.

230 volt, GU10 like this advantage: No transformer required, can be dimmed.

Lamps should cost about €2

Disadvantage: Lamp life seems to be short. Colour rendering / light quality not as good, very yellowish. Gets hot.

does a 50w 230v bulb use less energy than a 50w 12v bulb?

50W is the power consumed, it has nothing to do with light output. Therefore both lamps consume the same amount of power. The 12 volt lamp has a higher current, so the light output is higher.

no trafos to fail

IBL traffos have a 3 year warrenty. In general they never fail. Out of hundreads installed I have never replaced any. I did find a few that were faulty out of the box though.

gu10 .cheaper ,no trafos to fail and easy to fit them out with energy saving bulbs

The point about energy saving lamps is a good one, but in general these lamps are expensive (€20 for the best ones) and light quality by comparison is poor. Some take time to warm up too. The lamps are so expensive it will take a long time for them to pay for themselves IMHO.

davelerave

fishdog wrote: »

12 volt like this advantage: 40% more light for the same energy consumption as a 220 volt equivelent (GU10). Bulb life is very good. Colour rendering / light quality excellent, dimming is possible, but dimmable transformers must be used. If there is a shock rick for some reason (in a shower) 12 volts is very safe. This can be very handy is certian circumstances.

Lamps should cost about €2. Suitable dimmable transformers (60VA) such as IBL cost about €10ish.

Disadvantage: You need to have buy a transformer. Lamp gets hot! Space required for transformer. Best to have one transformer per light fitting.

230 volt, GU10 like this advantage: No transformer required, can be dimmed.

Lamps should cost about €2

Disadvantage: Lamp life seems to be short. Colour rendering / light quality not as good, very yellowish. Gets hot.



50W is the power consumed, it has nothing to do with light output. Therefore both lamps consume the same amount of power. The 12 volt lamp has a higher current, so the light output is higher.


IBL traffos have a 3 year warrenty. In general they never fail. Out of hundreads installed I have never replaced any. I did find a few that were faulty out of the box though.


The point about energy saving lamps is a good one, but in general these lamps are expensive (€20 for the best ones) and light quality by comparison is poor. Some take time to warm up too. The lamps are so expensive it will take a long time for them to pay for themselves IMHO.

about a tenner for the 11 watts and of course theres the nuisance and time of individual bulbs blowing and having to be replaced .theres also the environmental benefit.one thing i've learn't.if i fit hundreds of transformers i won't get called back to replace every single one that fails so that wouldn't be a good method for calculating the failure rate.anyway it comes down to personal choice at the end of the day

fishdog

about a tenner for the 11 watts

Yeah I have seen these CFL ones too. I was not too keen on the light quality from them, but they do reduce payback by a large margin.

.if i fit hundreds of transformers i won't get called back to replace every single one that fails so that wouldn't be a good method for calculating the failure rate

Lucky you! I seem to get calls years later even if a bulb blows!!

anyway it comes down to personal choice at the end of the day

Yeah, lighting is a very personal thing. There are 100s of correct ways to light a building.