LED kitchen spotlights - warning

had a learning experience today, thought I'd share as may be useful for someone.

This morning I popped into my local DIY store and bought some LED MR16 bulbs to replace my legacy MR16 (GU 5.3) 50w 12v bulbs.



I was looking forward to brighter, cooler and cheaper to run lighting, I replaced all the kitchen spotlights (not a cheap project),

I flicked the switch and my smile vanished as I was confronted with buzzing and flickering.

so a bit of tinterweb research was called for ....

I transpires that the transformers used to step the mains AC voltage down to 12V. for the halogen incandescent filaments are not a good match for LEDs. The most common are electronic low-voltage transformers (ELVT), really this is not a transformer but a switching-converter circuit that was designed for a heavy resistive load. Hence, replacing a 50w bulb with a far lighter load with negative impedance (LED light), can result in flickering light, audible buzzing, or a complete failure to start up.

Therefore, one needs a newer electronic transformer that is specifically suitable for LED lighting.

So I'll be sticking with my old 50w energy gobbling bulbs, until such time I care to take the floorboards up in two bedrooms inorder to access the kitchen spot-lights, and in the event that this did ever occur, I wouldn't fit MR16's but would directly wire in 240v GU10's :dry:



Oh ... it took some doing but after standing my ground I did get my money back from the DIY store for returning the bulbs.

Thanks that's some useful information, did let my wife read your article :evil: and that gave me less work to do :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: !!!

Yeah they always forget to tell you what else you need :woohoo:

Halford if you pull the bulb holder out gently isn't the little transformer attached to it? :silly:

Daniel30 wrote: ...... if you pull the bulb holder out gently isn't the little transformer attached to it? :silly:

doh :S

now you mention it,
think this is what's up there



hopefully there's enough play to drop the fitting out,

just hope it doesn't drop any of the ceiling out with it,

will wait until the missus is out and have the vacuum standing by, some filler and white paint

:whistle:

I realise it is no consolation for you but we had a positive experience doing the same. Each of our rooms when we moved in was fitted with up to 12 x M16 Tungsten 12volt bulbs.

With the family having no clue about electricity bills, this amounted to over 300Watts per room. I did what you did and replaced every one with an LED which took each room down to 48Watts.

Mine all worked first time. Mine were all Philips branded LEDs although I noticed last week that "NEXT" own brand were considerably cheaper.

Fingers crossed Halford
I have 13 in my kitchen the bloke before us must have been addicted to them only 5 work at the moment and that's bright enough :woohoo: I will be changing them when I do the kitchen up but there are so many better things to be spending my money on eh Jimny lovers!!!!?!!! :woohoo: :woohoo: :evil:

Mud tyres, roof rack, winch blah blah blah :evil: :evil: