LED Downlights

Hi All,

I have to do some new lighting, and while I am aware of what is available, what I am not aware of is what is the current trend.

Place is a rental, electrician was going to put in hard wired LED's, I would prefer lamps that tenants or others can replace.

I am thinking GU10 style lamps in the normal size downlights, are people doing 12v or 240v ?

Or what are they installing in new places these days ?

 

Good question! Those Halogen downlights are rubbish. I got a bunch from beacon (not super cheap) and they are a nightmare. The heat they give off is ridiculous, they melted to the surround so when the tenant went to change globes they spun the bejesus out of them ripping up the gyprock cause they wouldn't budge. Needed a small screw driver and hammer to free them

Led gives off buggerall heat and use little power. They are the go. 12 vs. 240 I'm not too sure, I thought they were 12v with a transformer.
Go 12v with a car battery in the roof they'll last ages

 

They usually install LED downlights with a power point immediately above in the ceiling cavity, so that if they need to be replaced, it's simply a matter of plugging in a new one, just like you'd plug in a new lamp.

 

These are the ones i used in the last reno.
Damn good, better than my GE 50w Halogens.
http://www.schnap.com.au/lighting/down-lights/12w-led-downlight-kit.html
LANX Australis 13W Dimmable Samsung LED Chip Downlight Kit Warm W LED Light review

I like the ones with transformers, i found they deliver a brighter and consistent light and are longer lasting too.

Some electricians install it with the power plug, others hardwire it in.

 

I prefer a gpo as stated above, you can change the transformer if it ever fails.

 

The thing is, if you cannot change the lamp part from in the normal living space, that seems impractical to me.

I know someone is going to say, but LEDs last a long time, well, they can, but they do not always, I have had many fail, usually in the driver or electronic board, may sound cheap, but don't want to send a sparky for such things.

So none of the popular lamps are GU10 type ?

Also the sizing, are they standard, is/are they the size of the old halogen, so a straight drop in.

The place is nothing flash, but is not horrible either, may sound odd, but there is no existing lights in some rooms or lounge, they must have used side lamps, anyway they have put 2 downlights in one bedroom, and 3 in kitchen (albeit kitchen has flouro type bulbs) there are fans in centre, so seems best to put downlights, 4 in lounge 2 in bedrooms and bayonet in hall.

Someone said change fans, but they are nice fans and even cheap fans with light will still need work to make all operational.

I better go look and read more, have to decide.

 

The downlights with GPOs in the ceiling cavity can be changed from in the living space. The whole thing that you changeover costs only about $30, and you do it from standing on a ladder under the downlight. The GPO is right inside the hole.

 

Yeah, ok, I looked at the website and can see they are quite large.

Here is the GU10 style I was talking about http://www.schnap.com.au/lighting/down-lights/l.e.d-gimle-10w-gu10-downlight-fitting-22638.html I can see the cut out is approx same size, difference is I can buy GU10 LEDs for about $3-5 and they will probably go down in price too.

If you have used them, have you had any/many of any of these fail on you ?

 

We've lived in our new home with around 25 of them for 10 months and haven't lost one. The electrician said we wouldn't expect to lose any of them for some years.

 

That's if you only have to replace the globe. The $30-ish I quoted is if you have to replace the driver as well. (I think. I'm not up with all the techo terms.)

 

Transformer?

I prefer the fixed type (is gimble directional?)

A fan and light combo is good for bed rooms. Don't get the cheapest from bunnings spend around 100

Go led for long life and less chance tenants playing with them.
With the GPO option, can you buy led down lights with a plug on them?? You'll need to pay for a plugv to be put on by a sparky anyway. Just as much work as swapping a Transformer over

 

LED's are the only way now.

Look for 10-13watt varieties that are SMD ( surface mounted disc ) SMD is newest and best technology.
COB ( chip on printed circuit board ) is still good. Down light varieties tend to be bulkier in nature though.
LED lamp life will range from 25,000hrs to 50,000 hours
40,000hrs @ 5 hours per day = 21.9 years. ( only time will tell if this yields true )

We have been installing this type of LED recessed down light for approx 5 years now and have had very few failures. In fact out of the thousands installed that number would be less then 10 and most instances the failure would be due to poor installation.

Which brings me to the next point. Do not cover LED down lights or any recessed down lights with ceiling insulation. Lack of heat dispersion kills these light fittings and is the number 1 cause of failure.

SMD LED down lights will come with a seperate driver/ transformer with plug top requiring socket outlet / plug base ( clipsal 413 ) installed in ceiling.
Hard wiring of recessed down lights is fast becoming uncommon and is no longer best practice.

Supply only - Retail pricing expect to pay $20-$35 for good quality mid range. $50 and beyond for architectural or lighting designer.