GU10 or Low Voltage lighting

Paschcom

Hi
I'm currently wiring an extension and we plan to put in a number of downlighters. We are getting conflicting advice of which is better between GU10s or low voltage lights with transformers!

With GU10s apparently we can go for the regular 50w bulbs which are dimmable, but use a lot of power, or else LEDs or CFL's which use less power but aren't dimmable and are more expensive and dont give off as good light (unless you go for the really expensive bulbs).

Alternatively, the low voltage option has transformers, (which is one more thing to go wrong!) require more wiring, and are heavier than CFLs/LEDs on power.

What's the right answer - while balancing Light quality/price/convenience/energy usage, etc??

rgds
Paschcom

Davy

A 'megaman' 11watt type is quite popular. They are GU10 so no transformers, but last for about 15,000 hours iirc, their is a cheaper option, but its half the life length.

paddymick

Low voltage over GU10s everytime for me.I will never use a gu10 again they just dont last the only advantage i see is like you said theres less work in wiring them up.I buy all my downlighters in site packs which only come in a box of 10 but the traffo and lamp holder are prewired so really its the same amount of work as wiring a gu10

davelerave

based on recent discussions here .i would say opt for 12volt if you want halogen bulbs and prob 230volt gu10 for energy saving(led or cfl).There seems to be 12volt led available online .the shops here only seem to stock led and cfl in 230v type

this place http://www.superbrightleds.com/led_prods.htm has 12v dc led bulbs .they need a regulated power supply and can be dimmed with a dc-dc 'pwm' dimmer.so then halogen would be 12volt preferably,led 12 volt dc preferably(or 230v ac) and cfl 230v ac .pick your bulb type first anyhow

Stoner

IMHO there is no good reason to use 50W halogen GU10 230Vac lamps, if you are going to use 50W per lamp you should get the 12V type as the quality of light is better.

I'd go for a mix of CFLs and LEDs myself, with Megaman fitting in the places you need decent light and LEDs in areas that will not require a punch of light.

batari

As far as i have ever known, the only major difference between 240v and 12v downlighters is that there might be more of a beam/spread from the 12v, and all 12v lamps are smaller than 240v lamps. But i'd opt for 240v, especially now you can get 2w led lamps that practically give you 50w of light

Paschcom

Thanks. Does the Megaman CFL 220v light up instantly, or is there a delay while it heats up. We need good light in the kitchen, but I don't fancy having to wait 30 seconds everytime I go into the kitchen, while the lights heat up.

Stoner

Paschcom wrote: »

Thanks. Does the Megaman CFL 220v light up instantly, or is there a delay while it heats up. We need good light in the kitchen, but I don't fancy having to wait 30 seconds everytime I go into the kitchen, while the lights heat up.

yes there is a heat up time