Browse Forums What's New Re: LED Downlights: to LED or not to LED, that is the questi 41Mar 28, 2011 7:38 pm Hi Our house is a reno so we had existing fan lights in the bedrooms. All new rooms have the downlights and we have put them in the hallway and entrance. We had one in the toilet but found it very bright. Then we had to buy more because once we opened up the space in our lounge/kitchen our old island ended up looking to small. Getting a bigger island meant that we had to put another 2 downlights in. Given the cost I took the one from the toilet and have orded one more. Ours are spaced at about 1.8m. The spacing from the walls varies depending the room. Lounge and kitchen- 80cm, Study- 2 downlights down the middle (3m x 4 room size approx) and family room 4 downlights- 1.2m (room 5m x 5m)My only complaint with them is that they seem a bit loose in the ceiling. The builder reckons the spring on them is not very strong and they are very heavy. He is going to do something to fix this though (have no idea what). We have the warm light. Would I get them again? I do like the light and look they have but the price is pretty big. We had originally been told $115 each but as it isn't in our contract and it is something that was organised over a beer it was a bit tricky when the price changed at the last minute (I mean the day of the installation) as the electrician had stuffed up. I saw the receipt so I know what they paid and there is no mark up by the builder or electrican so it was genuine. I had been looking at thinkwise.com.au led's. Phil lent me one to try but at that stage they only had the 10 watt. they now have a 13 watt we were just a couple of weeks to early. The 10 watt was good just not bright enough so not sure about the 13 watt. It was more of the traditional downlight look as well so it depends on what you are after. Not sure what it is priced at- not sure if I want to know if it heaps cheaper LOl Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Hope that helps. Donna Re: LED Downlights: to LED or not to LED, that is the questi 43Mar 28, 2011 8:41 pm Awesome post, thanks HEAPS for all that donnam !! If it's any consolation, I had a look at the Thinkwise site, and theirs don't seem as many lumens as the Brightgreen ones !! Seems like you've done a thorough job picking and locating these babies. One last question (for now , sure to have more to follow ), are you happy with the "brightness" of the rooms ? Seems like in your kitchen (and family area ??) you've got six lights in each, just looking at your photographs that seems to be about the same number of Halogens that would of gone in that space until recently so I guess that's a good thing ............ Promise, final question (for this post), how many, and what configuration are your light-switches (and dimmers ??) for these lights ? Thanks a zillion, P_D . Block settled 07 June 2011 Our little piece of the Interwebs on HomeOne....... viewtopic.php?f=31&t=48577&start=0 Re: LED Downlights: to LED or not to LED, that is the questi 44Mar 28, 2011 8:45 pm New post...New question 3m * 4m study / good size bedroom, happy with the two LEDs there ? Dimmer / individual control ? And brightness, I'd assume that two would be plenty bright enuff for a study / bedroom sized room ? 'Till next time !!! Cheers, (and thanks again !! ) P_D . Block settled 07 June 2011 Our little piece of the Interwebs on HomeOne....... viewtopic.php?f=31&t=48577&start=0 Re: LED Downlights: to LED or not to LED, that is the questi 45Mar 28, 2011 8:58 pm Haven't spent much time in there yet so I had to go and check LOL Probably could be a touch brighter. Overall light would be equivalent to one standard globe in the centre of the room I would say. Fine for a bedroom I would think and should be ok as a study. At the moment it isn't set up properly- it does have the computer but it is full of other stuff as well. 3 LED's probably would be better but that wouldn't have looked right. Hubby has been there in the evening and he hasn't complained. Hope that helps Re: LED Downlights: to LED or not to LED, that is the questi 46Apr 06, 2011 5:13 pm From the tests I have done in-house our 16W model puts out more light than the D900, I cannot comment on what they are claiming on their website. What I can say is that we have recently had our lights NATA tested which came out at 750 lumens which is above every other 16w on the lighting councils list. http://www.lightingcouncil.com.au/ssl/label_Results.php Our product is also cheaper All aside the D900 is a great product and looks quite different to ours in the roof so it mostly comes down to personal opinion. Re: LED Downlights: to LED or not to LED, that is the questi 47Apr 17, 2011 8:15 am As my house has now started moving again, I have been out seeing what changed in the last 10 months or so. Some retailers still seem to be in denial (had one tell me they were still years away and the one he had was selling at $185) then I visited another place with a very helpful owner who had a wide array of LED lights, and was very helpful, she demonstrated a whole bunch of them versus their equivalents in halogen and CFL. In the end I bought a couple of MR 16 plug in replacements for halogen to test them for myself before I committed to a whole house of the things, thankfully I currently have iron core transformers so there was no additional work required, although she does sell an electronic driver that is certified to work with these lights.
We plugged them in and all I can say is wow, they were certainly at 9W brighter than the older 50W halogen they replaced and at $45 my wife was suggesting we replaced some of the existing other halogens that we use regularly. Will try them on a dimmer probably next weekend and she how that pans out, but as she sells these kits at under $80 retail, and they are dimmable, this coud finally be the answer to the discussion I have been having with my electrical contractor. If I can't solve it I'll just get him to install halogens with a specific driver and replace the lamps afterwards. The retailer said the prices have been dropping significantly over the last few months and she keep little stock as the price drops so fast, so my fingers crossed as I won't be installing lights for 4-5 months in the new house, it may be even cheaper. Re: LED Downlights: to LED or not to LED, that is the questi 48Apr 17, 2011 9:53 am WW.......... Sounds good, what brand (or are they just "Generic") are these new LED's you're trying out ? Just checkin' You just needed the globe so you only needed to pay $45 for the MR-16 globe, and the whole kit (what's that, LED // Transformer-Driver // Housing-Fitting-Holder ?? ) was available for < $80 ? And the shop-lady alleges they are dimmable too ? Sounds like you might be on to something !! Photos ??? Thanks P_D . Block settled 07 June 2011 Our little piece of the Interwebs on HomeOne....... viewtopic.php?f=31&t=48577&start=0 Re: LED Downlights: to LED or not to LED, that is the questi 49Apr 17, 2011 10:39 am Pepsi_Drinker WW.......... Sounds good, what brand (or are they just "Generic") are these new LED's you're trying out ? SAL is the brand on the box, tried to match it up to her website, but there were too many options.. when was the last time you heard anyone say that about LED lights! Just checkin' You just needed the globe so you only needed to pay $45 for the MR-16 globe, and the whole kit (what's that, LED // Transformer-Driver // Housing-Fitting-Holder ?? ) was available for < $80 ? That is my understanding And the shop-lady alleges they are dimmable too ? Again my understanding, but I plan on testing at least with my existing setup Sounds like you might be on to something !! Photos ??? Will take one next weekend when I have a little more time Thanks P_D Re: LED Downlights: to LED or not to LED, that is the questi 50Apr 24, 2011 2:37 pm So I installed one of the LED lamps in a four halogen dimmed set, at full there was little to no difference between them, at 50% the LED was noticeably brighter but still dimmed, at the point the Halogen was dim orange the LED was still brighter but had developed a flicker ( this was on iron core transformers with an analogue dimmer). Overall acceptible, but would like to try this on an LED driver/ dimmer, might go back an ask to shop to demo this specific thing, so far the vote from the family is very pro the LEDs, the quotes are it's a cleaner light...
Took some photos, will take a couple of the standard install tonight and post shortly. Cheers Re: LED Downlights: to LED or not to LED, that is the questi 51Apr 26, 2011 3:21 pm This first photo shows the dining room dimmer solution, the right most light is the LED, 100% illumination Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ The second shows about 50% Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ This one shows it at about 10% Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ This one shows both LEDs installed in the kitchen in a non dimmer setting Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/cISXje4QedY37bekKsKYuvjwMHMayUWi_fJAcuBrF8o?feat=directlink Re: LED Downlights: to LED or not to LED, that is the questi 52Apr 26, 2011 3:44 pm As much as I am PRO LED installs and its great WW that you have made the decision, there needs to be some more criteria to testing than just "looks brighter" a 9W LED is not going to be as bright as a 50W halogen especially at the $45.00 mark its just physics. I would recommend measuring the light spots on the ground at night to gauge actual light throw, I am trying to compile a report with light levels and beam angles of the most popular models on the market and should be able to release it as an article in the next couple of months. Whether a person finds the lighting acceptable is an entirely different matter. Those beam angles don't look too narrow which is a bonus. The gu10 models (or anything with a built in driver) will find it hard to achieve anything near 50,000hrs although this is acceptable as when they die (lets say at 15k-20k hrs) LED products should be cheap enough to replace without too much fuss. Re: LED Downlights: to LED or not to LED, that is the questi 53Apr 26, 2011 4:40 pm Don't disagree with the scientific approach, but at the end of the day that was what I was trying to do, install and test it with the people who are going to be using it. We have been trying them in different fittings around the house, to see would it be acceptible by the users. Now our exisitng downlights are a bit older (not sure if Halogens dim with age?), but we have been using them almost 2 weeks so far, and have been happy with them everywhere we have used them. At the end of the day the test that truly counts, is the one of does the person who is using them like and value them, so far the results are very positive. Would be interested in seeing an informative report that helps with the selection, I have to admit there is a real dearth of quality information, and the pricing of the products in Australia is aimed at the premium market. The value for me in this test is that I can adapt my electrical plans now to take advanatage of LED lights, and if the information improves and / or the cost reduces further, I am positioned to make the best decisions. (Recognise my electrical contractor was inisting on compact fluros) Re: LED Downlights: to LED or not to LED, that is the questi 54Apr 26, 2011 9:32 pm Well I applaud you for getting out of CFL's! I have dealt with SAL and endeavor to get one of products you installed. I believe you posted a model number earlier. The down side of working with lights every day is I can quickly see imperfections in any product. If a 9W model can be accepted by the public as a suitable replacement I will seriously look into designing one. Re: LED Downlights: to LED or not to LED, that is the questi 55Apr 26, 2011 10:32 pm I'd be interested in 9W (I think). We haven't chosen which brand to go with yet, but I want to put 4 in each of the bedrooms and I think 4 of anything higher than 9W would be overkill (I've been told 2 is plenty based on a 12-15W, but I prefer the even look and lighting of 4). Surely 9W would be enough for bedroom application with a standard height ceiling? The problem is finding the same range with enough variety to do the entire house in the same style with different W. I'm still trying to figure out if I can put LED in the slab- some places say yes others say no Re: LED Downlights: to LED or not to LED, that is the questi 56Apr 27, 2011 8:19 am Hi Guys, I have been reading all your posts with great interest. My husband & I are having LEDs in the whole house ( except the bathrooms ) as the advantage & savings of LEDs are much better than Halogens. Our builder recommended we use the 7W Philips GU10, apparently it's very popular to use, even at overseas. & Just to prove that LEDs are much better than Halogens, just try visiting an exhibition home fitted with halogens & see how hot it gets!.....It was recommended to us too that 4 LEDs in a bedroom of decent size would be plenty....so for people who have concerns about LEDs, I say just think of the benefits & savings you'll get Thanks for all your posts. Re: LED Downlights: to LED or not to LED, that is the questi 57Apr 27, 2011 12:20 pm @MrsGreen can you clarify "in the slab" If you are going to put 4 lights in a bedroom aim for something with a wider beam angle as most LED products are quite narrow to make up for less light. Most 3m x 3m rooms if find have 2x50w halogens this is usually heaps of light, in this case those 4x 7wor 9w would most likely be needed to reproduce the light output. If you are going to be dealing with an electrician then I would suggest looking at complete fittings. Price range should be $80-$100 and wattage should be 13W-16W but you would only need 2 per room instead of 4. The 7W gu10 mentioned above is 270-290 lumens, 50W/35W halogens are between 700-900 lumens its easy to do the maths. Re: LED Downlights: to LED or not to LED, that is the questi 58Apr 27, 2011 12:53 pm We own an electrical company (mining industry) so we will source our own materials whatever we end up going with. In the slab is our living room, the lights have to go into the slab of the first floor. The only other room with this issue is the dining room but i've got a fancy light for that so it's not an issue. Apart from the dining room and some recessed flouros in laundry and pantry, the rest of the house will be LED. Bedrooms are roughly 4x4 give or take (except the master is 6x6 but we will use 6 lights in there with wall mounted feature lights as well). I like to use 4 lights in the other 5 bedrooms just for the uniform look, especially with a central ceiling fan (and being so large, we aren't sure how we're going to set up the furniture yet). I wouldn't look at 7W for anything but 'small' feature lights. So in your opinion, would 4x 9W be enough light for a bedroom (I do like it quite bright, enough to use a mirror or read a book) or would you recommend using 4x 12-16W instead? My issue is if I go for a full light fitting, I need to find what that is not only quality but comes in a range of 9W-15W for use throughout the entire house, or i'm limited to one in particular. Re: LED Downlights: to LED or not to LED, that is the questi 59Apr 27, 2011 1:38 pm I can't speak for other companies but our light is 125mm high and we require 30mm clearance from any insulation, this would be the same for concrete. If you want it bright go for 4 lights, there is only $10-$15 between a branded 9W gu10 and our 16W so its not going to break the bank. Re: LED Downlights: to LED or not to LED, that is the questi 60Apr 27, 2011 2:08 pm think_wise I can't speak for other companies but our light is 125mm high and we require 30mm clearance from any insulation, this would be the same for concrete. If you want it bright go for 4 lights, there is only $10-$15 between a branded 9W gu10 and our 16W so its not going to break the bank. So would you use a 9W or 16W(thereabouts) if using 4? Not worried about the cost of them, as long as I don't have to go without lights (not only does hubby work away but getting him to change a light in his time off isn't the easiest of tasks). I looked at your site a while ago, there was a recessed round LED 'coming soon' from memory? It didn't have any details but visually looked the same as my recessed fluoros so I assumed for similar application, is that right? Is it available yet? We've got no idea about brands yet, just trying to sort out layout first. We mainly use MMEM who supply bright green, which a friend nearby is using- but the suppliers warned us about them flickering in WA. An independant lighting consultant pointed us in the direction of I think it was a 15W or 16W which I found at lighting city (not an all in one fixture)- which i'm okay with because I wouldn't mind using a mix of square and round light fittings. Very bright to look at though. I quite liked the setup at lighting city, they had different halogens and LEDs setup to compare the level and colour change of the lighting- a room with a bright red beanbag in it. The HIA contract, in the term & conditions section states that "Commencment" is deemed when the drainage is started or the piers are dug or the slab is formed up (incase… 2 6177 DIY, Home Maintenance & Repair But if it is a ground level open pit, then it is not a charged system. No surprises there. The pipes have obviously been altered and there would be a reason for this.… 3 31280 |