30-12-2015, 09:59 AM
We have four R80 spotlights in our kitchen. When we moved in they were 100W each. I changed them for 60W versions with hardly any difference in the perceived light output. Three years ago I found R80 LED bulbs on Amazon and bought one to try it out. I compared halogen and LED side by side and noticed very little difference so bought 3 more and fitted them. There's a slight delay of a few hundred mS before the lights come on but with the power consumption down from 240W to 24W I can accept the delay. Although the bulbs were not cheap they paid for themselves after about 15 months. Virtually all the lights in our house are now LED although the one in the cupboard under the stairs is still CFL (free one from an electricity supplier) as it only gets about 2 hours use per year so not worth changing!
In our living room we have two light fittings with three bulbs in each. I fitted two CFLs in each with an incandescent bulb to provide some light while the CFLs were warming up. They are now all LED.
If you do replace any of the spotlight bulbs with LED make sure the ones you get have a domed diffuser as these give a better distribution of the light. I fitted some R50 bulbs with no diffuser in the kids bedrooms and as they appear to give a cone of light the corners of the room were permanently in the shadows. I replaced them with domed diffused ones and now the rooms are evenly illuminated.
Keith
In our living room we have two light fittings with three bulbs in each. I fitted two CFLs in each with an incandescent bulb to provide some light while the CFLs were warming up. They are now all LED.
If you do replace any of the spotlight bulbs with LED make sure the ones you get have a domed diffuser as these give a better distribution of the light. I fitted some R50 bulbs with no diffuser in the kids bedrooms and as they appear to give a cone of light the corners of the room were permanently in the shadows. I replaced them with domed diffused ones and now the rooms are evenly illuminated.
Keith
