Fw: Re: Dichroic to Dimmable LED - Umm.....

[Gareth Cook <g@xxxxxxxxxx>]

For me, not having to buy lamp covers for the loft areas where they
are
all exposed and being able to then cover completely with insulation is
also a big win. With around 24 'holes' in the loft, I'd rather they all
got 'sealed'

G.



What is a worthwhile saving? If a 30% saving by simple lamp replacement is
worthwhile then change to the high-efficiency halogen versions of your
GU10
or MR16 lamps. You get all the benefits of halogen but with a reasonable
energy reduction and no messing with new fittings etc.



Unless you are going for "proper" dimmable fluorescent - high
frequency
dimmable ballasts using 0-10v, Dali, DSI or similar then I would not
bother
as the dimmable CFLs are just not good enough IMHO when you have been used
to dimmable halogens. Even the HF kit has it's issues, it generally cannot
be smoothly dimmed to off - it often has minimum dimmed level that then
drops to off although some ballasts from Helvar and others do dim to 1%
output. And with tri-phosphor coatings on the lamps the quality of light
is
good. However it is difficult to find fittings that look right in a
domestic
setting - most of the fittings are designed for commercial installations
so
are larger than you might want and often much deeper than standard
domestic
downlighters.



Neil B.



From: ukha_d@xxxxxxx [mailto:ukha_d@xxxxxxx] On Behalf Of
abovingdon
Sent: 14 January 2010 17:50
To: ukha_d@xxxxxxx
Subject: [ukha_d] Re: Dichroic to Dimmable LED - Umm.....






I'm following this thread with interest. I too want to dump my expensive
halogens for something cheaper to run but like others gave up on swapping
like for like.

So what are the options if we avoid trying to swap like for like, does
anyone have any suggestions for lighting a room while retaining control of
the scene and without requiring lots of 50w bulbs?

There are a number of multi-colour wall wash LED systems, there is
dimmable
CFL and we can still use the odd halogen in places. What if I add more
lamps
around or put some more complex lights in main rooms?

Andy.

--- In ukha_d@xxxxxxx <mailto:ukha_d%40yahoogroups.com>
, "Richard
\(lists account\)" <rich_lists@...> wrote:
>
> After seeing inside several of the available GU10 replacements when
they
> have died, there is no way I would be considering them dimming or not.
>
> Line voltage smoothed into 400v electrolytic caps, small smd resistors
> across the resulting 375v nominal voltage, nothing preventing the
board
> moving too close to the alu heatsink which is not grounded since it
has
none
> in the terminal - potential shock hazard there IMO.
>
> And thats before you even try to start dimming a constant current
supply
> that needs smoothing caps to eliminate flicker with a phase angle
dimmer.
>
> It's just not there yet. Even the G5.3 based 12v ones are a pain to
try
to
> control, and IMO as long as they try to be drop in replacements for
> incandescent lamps then they will suck for controlling them.
>
> Really there needs to be a current controlled power supply for them,
and
> someone could make one that has a phase angle dimming input like there
are
> dimmable CFL lamps, but that would need a different base to prevent
mixups
> with low voltage AC or DC fittings.
>
> Its great to want to save money and get a decent white light with LED,
but
> controlling it is something I have given up on for now. Even
electronic
> transformers make problems with LEDs because of the high frequency
that
they
> output messing with the rectifiers in some LED replacements.
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: ukha_d@xxxxxxx <mailto:ukha_d%40yahoogroups.com>
[mailto:ukha_d@xxxxxxx
<mailto:ukha_d%40yahoogroups.com>
] On
Behalf
> > Of Kenneth Watt
> > Sent: Wednesday, 13 January 2010 11:33 p.m.
> > To: ukha_d@xxxxxxx <mailto:ukha_d%40yahoogroups.com>
> > Subject: Re: [ukha_d] Dichroic to Dimmable LED - Umm.....
> >
> > Hi Gareth,
> >
> > I've been going down the same route and, although I'm still
waiting on
> > a couple to test, thus far the "dimmable drop-in
replacement" doesn't
> > work with the X10 modules.
> >
> > They will dim, they will ramp up and down within a certain range
but
> > they cut out at the upper and lower ends of the dimming range.
Apart
> > from which they produce horrendous line noise.
> >
> > So far I've tried both dimmable GU10 (2 versions, 1 the Cree LED)
and
a
> > liquid cooled LED SES fitting. I've also fitted a load of GU4 LED
> > replacements and, despite being advertised as a
"drop-in" replacement
> > for the standard bulbs, they do need pukka LED drivers fitted and
not
> > the halogen transformers or the LED bulbs have a nasty habit of
> > overheating and blowing themselves to bits, literally.
> >
> > They do not produce the same sort of light (different
temperature) or
> > as much light IMO as a standard bulb will.
> >
> > My advice is that they are fine as lights that you want to run
for
> > extended periods to see where you're going or for security
purposes
> > but, to have them as replacements for normal lamps totally... I
> > wouldn't advise it based on the current crop.
>





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