I bought 40 of these recently and can vouch for the quality, would have preferred brushed stainless or chrome holders but was another $5 per unit, couldn't justify it. No warm white option either.
Compared them to a 12w ebay job (like this one http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/HOT-GU10-12W-LED-Light-Bulb-Spotl…) and these are definitely brighter, better looking beam too.
Free shipping over $150 as well.
Especially since gu-10 is not designed for LED, and so is a poor compromise for retro-fitting.
It makes zero sense to install new gu-10 fittings with the intention of using LEDs.
Please elaborate. I have over 90 x GU10 fittings in my 2 year old newbuild (pointless spec'ing anything other than LED at the time) and they all run LED no problem at all. Not having a go, just thought GU10 LEDs were fine so I'd like to know more about why they're not.
I like GU10 gimble as wel, all my leds are gu10 gimble, like the flexibility, mine comes as complete kit
Dedicated LED lamps have advantages
1 - heat. LEDs are more efficient and last longer if kept as cool as possible. gu-10 gets hot because of the small size (less heatsinking), and having the electronic built in close to the emitter.
2 - focus - many LEDs have a much broader beam due to the large emitter compared to a halogen filament. Large emitter needs a larger reflector than gu-10 allows.
(The whole point of downlights is often to provide task lighting.)
Dedicated LED fittings cost more, but tend to be much brighter, more efficient and long lasting.
http://theledstore.com.au/pages/led-lighting-is-mr16-gu10-or…
@manic: Yes, all very good points and I appreciate the response. Makes sense but I think the big difference here is that we only occasionally use our ceiling lights as we prefer the dimmer light output of floor & table lamps for extended periods (also all purposely LED but in all different formats). When we do use the GU10s while cleaning the house or in the bathroom or whatever they seem to be fine for that time. I admit we have had a few fail over the 2 years but nothing more than 4-5% which is completely acceptable for me… even at $17 per lamp. I swapped a few around to fill the spaces of the dud lamps then just went to Bunnings and bought their cheapie Mirabellas (I think) to put in the Laundry where I took the working LEDs as part of the swap-around. They were under $10ea (maybe only about $5 each) and work REALLY well, we were amazed and they're both still working fine to this day.
The GU10 LEDs work perfectly for us both in all our indoor & outdoor generic fittings and some of them are on for very extended periods (ie. front door entrance light) and we've never had a problem however on the flipside we don't use our ceiling LEDs anywhere near as much as floor or table lamps so I'd say it all comes down to personal preferences & expectations.
@SteveAndBelle:
Steve, I'm certainly not suggesting you change anything now. Just for people starting from a blank slate, gu-10 is not ideal. But it is still far better than halogen!
Very keen for manic's response and reasoning here!
Please 'enlighten' us?
I'm assuming he is talking about heat. These seem to have decent heatsinking, a lot better than the ebay one and don't get too warm.
sorry, missed that. Yes, heat is the big problem with gu-10. But mr-16 is only a little better.
I suspect Manic's problem with GU10s and LEDs not going together are mostly related to height/heatsink issues.
GU10 retro-fit LEDs tend to be limited in both diameter (to fit inside the old halogen gimbals/mounts) and height (due to cages & cable length). This means that their heatsinks are generally quite small and ineffective.
High-output LEDs require a large heatsink to keep the LED element's operating temperatures under control. Without a good heatsink, both light output and lifespan are curtailed.
You can get a much larger, low-profile heatsink and a nice big diffused lens if you do away with the gimbal entirely and use an all-in-one assembly like this: http://lucretiashop.com.au/lucretia-10w-dimmable-750-lumen-7…
That's not to say that GU10 LED retro-fits are useless - it's just that the form factor is inherently compromised. If you're replacing your light fittings anyway, you can avoid these compromises by using a luminaire that doesn't have those constraints.
@klaw81:
How good are those SMD-based lamps? (lots of small surface mount LEDs rather than one or a few high-power ones)
Obviously they give a broad/diffuse light. Does efficiency and reliability come close?
The old lamps with lots of 5mm LEDs were junk.
@klaw81: Agreed those would be much better I'm sure, but 3x the price is just out of my budget at the moment, even with a blank slate of a new house.
@manic: Short answer - very good.
I have replaced the GU10 halogen downlights in my lounge and kitchen with 10W SMD fittings that look similar to the one I linked above. I believe the ones I have are a 90 degree beam. They fit perfectly in the existing 90mm cutouts in the roof, and their light output is at least 20% more than the 50W halogens. I'm very happy with the reduced power usage and not having to replace them all the time, and my wife is thrilled with the improved illumination.
Elsewhere in the house, I've tried various GU10 LEDs for budget reasons. The expensive Lightmax ones (~$20 each) are quite decent and I would use them again. They're quite tall and have a large heatsink, but thankfully they fitted into the old mounts with no problems.
The cheap Mirabella ones (~$9 each) are pretty rubbish in comparison, and I'm annoyed because 2 of them have already failed in 6-7 months.
@groook: As somebody who cheaped out on light fittings for a new home, let me just say this - I have regretted it ever since and I have ended up replacing most of the fittings anyway. Do it once, and do it properly.
@klaw81:
Thanks, I might get a couple to try.
Is that 20% something you measured? Its probably a lot more than 20% if you can perceive it with your eyes. Maybe a better beam and colour.
I've used those 12V 5050 SMD strip lights for indirect lighting, and found some are a lot better than others.
What are these like for RFI?
ie rf interference to radio or TV reception?
Any known issues?
How long is a piece of string?
Unless you have quite few people saying they're crap, you'll never know until you install them in your premises under your conditions.
Biggest reason I've not yet gone LED!
Twice the length from one end to the middle… :-)
I have tried many MR16's but most cause issues, especially philips, nasty RFI on 12v iron core trannies.
GU10's are prone to cause interference, most items although with C tick are actually not compliant.
RFI free are 8w Nichia that i am using now in the house.
Anyone knows what the CRI is for these bulbs? I'm thinking replacing the GU10 CFLs in my kitchen. The warm-up time is annoying.
I bought nearly $900 worth of stuff from these guys (on their ebay store).
The couriers stole … sorry … lost the majority of the shipment and four months of stuffing around with no proactive communication from the seller before I got my goods. My money sat in their bank account the entire time and the one time they responded to my inquiries they talked about how put out they were and "they were trying to do the right thing by me".
They did eventually supply a replacement, but the service and communication was the worst I've ever experienced. Look at their ebay feedback and there's a bit of a "lack of service / communication" theme.
I will never buy from them again. If absolutely everything goes smoothly you should be fine. If somethings goes wrong (now or in the future)… good luck.
Man.. it's funny how the gimble with globe is cheaper than the globe. Probably worth buying this and throw away the gimble.