Into the darkness

The cost-effectiveness of LED lamps depends mainly on their design and construction.

LED's have to run cool to give the quoted hours life and therefore getting rid of the heat they produce is paramount so heat sinks are really necessary for any lamp that produces a usable output.

Ceiling mounted GU10's are the biggest problem as people stuff insulation around them so even with a good heat sink they often cannot dissipate the heat fast enough and the LED starts to degrade and the output will drop over time.

Unless the light output efficiency can be improved (ie heat generation reduced) GU10 replacements are unlikely to be truly cost-effective.

The issue of LED life span is very well explained in the context of the Dubai light bulb by bigclive on youtube. I always prise out the lens/ difuser on LEDs to aid cooling, you also get more light ! Noel

Biggest problem for me was the tiny puck-shaped power unit reducing 240V for a couple of LED spots that a "professional electrician" buried in the roof insulation. When they failed I discovered that it had undergone a "loud brown smell" event, fortunately not setting the house on fire in the process! This was the same guy who installed new consumer units and pronounced there was an earth fault on the lighting circuit which he'd have to come back and fix. Next day there was no hot water - he had wired the immersion heater to the lighting so when the time switch turned it on the breaker tripped.

I have quite a collection of duff GU10 LEDs waiting to find a use for them. In every case the actual LEDs are OK it is the driving electronics that have failed. Just recently took a Morrisons GU10 LED apart. Difficult to see the point of using heat sink compound between the aluminium of the LED base and the plastic outer shell of the lamp.

Peter

And, in the interests of not adding further to global warming, it will be soon illegal to strike a match and light a candle!

Luminoius watches and alarm clocks will not be allowed because of the radio activity of the coating.

Anyone considering going into business breeding Glow worms?

Howard