[loz]

They cost a lot to buy - compared to normal bulbs
They don't give off as much light - but are getting better

But they are supposed to last a very long time - offsetting the cost.

However, I recently had 2 out of 4 LED GU10 bulbs fail less than a year after I had installed them in our porch. I would guess around a 1000 hrs of use.
One failed completely, the other had dead LEDs but some still working.

TLC happily replaced them, but discussing why they failed given the supposed 30,000 hr life that is claimed, I was told "that is continuous usage. If you turn them off and on then the life is shortened like any bulb".

Is that true? I thought the turning off and on caused expansion because of heat in normal bulbs, but would that be true of an LED too?

[johntheexpat]

If it is true then we should be told!
As for the quality of light, I rather like it, pleasantly white. I have set up a bedside light that illuminates whatever I'm reading in bed but it is focused on the book and doesn't really bathe the whole room in light.
The quantity is not really useful for general lighting at the moment, but is great for picking out fixtures or paintings, etc. Lidl did a range for a while, which was not too expensive, but very limited stocks which ran out quickly and have never been back. Another French DIY store did a range in packs of three and when they discovered how popular they were, doubled the price. As for the future, well they tell us the next generation will be much brighter......

[robh2002]

You appear to be using those GU10's with many individual LEDs mounted inside. I use the Luxeon based GU10 which contain a single high output device (obtained from ebay).

Mine are used in the bathroom which has little natural light and are on and off many, many times a day and none have failed in over a year. One reason the multi LED types you have might be inherently less reliable is because of the number of joints required - two for each LED - rather then just two overall for the Luxeons. Just a thought.

Try the Luxeon based ones - so far so good.

[loz]

Actually I have some warm white LED's now as well as the cooler white variety.

Still not as bright as a normal bulb, but they fit in better with the other lights.

I have some high up in our gallery over the hall as you cannot change the bulbs otherwise without getting a big ladder out, so I wanted something that would last a long time. Now I am not so confident.

But we leave them on all evening just consuming 1w or so, and at least when we switch other lights on in the hall or landing then they are the same colour

[loz]

Originally Posted by robhowell

You appear to be using those GU10's with many individual LEDs mounted inside. I use the Luxeon based GU10 which contain a single high output device (obtained from ebay).

Mine are used in the bathroom which has little natural light and are on and off many, many times a day and none have failed in over a year. One reason the multi LED types you have might be inherently less reliable is because of the number of joints required - two for each LED - rather then just two overall for the Luxeons. Just a thought.

Try the Luxeon based ones - so far so good.

you could be right, with a dozen or more individual LEDs I guess there is simply more opportunity for failure.

However, the single luxeon types are more expensive.

From a cost point of view it is hard to justify a £10 odd LED GU10 over a 50p regular one...

If you can be confident you can fit them once and forget I suppose it would be worth it.

However, I do like being able to leave lights on (in certain places) without feeling guilty about it...

[Phil57]

Not LED, but.............Low energy GU10 bulbs are available.
On offer late last year-earlier this year B&Q sold packs of three downlighters with low energy GU10 bulbs for about £12, the same packs are now on offer for £5

[KelvinS1965]

I bought four of those B&Q packs while they were a fiver each, but a couple of them have failed already. Luckily the bathroom they are in only has room for 8 non class 1 fittings so I have a few spares. I can see me replacing them all over the next year.

I did find some 12volt low energy bulbs at a place called Ecostreet in a garden centre near Oxford. The low voltage type seem harder to come by, but they were £15 each with a single lamp inside (though very bright and a less 'cold' colour light than the LEDs have). Handy for replacing my hall and landing lights as they are all 12 volt type fittings...but certainly not cheap, they were supposed to last 40 years IIRC.

[DOBLY]

Slightly off-topic, but this is interesting and relevant to this forum (particularly the LED lighting section).