MMMMM thanks for showing us these tubes Dave ,i didn't realize L E D s were just a straight swap ,i thought you had to buy the units complete , i will be swapping mine out now ,cheers . Greetings from Wales .
The old tubes were non-directional. You seem to be saying that the new ones have an 'up' and a 'down'. Therefore, properly fitted, the proportion of the LED pointing downwards should be higher.
Exactly. I agree it's marginal ... 6 to 10% based on my, admittedly limited, testing ... but there is a difference. I haven't taken one of these tubes apart, but from what I can see, they are essentially just a ribbon string of LEDs, stuck to the inner surface of the tube. Cheers, Chris
If your fittings have power factor correcting capacitors and you don't remove them they will NOT get any power saving. I bought dozens of similar tubes from TLC and several months later measured their consumption and found it was no lower. Challenging the claims on their web site TLC (after a bit of wrangling) sent their expert to my workshop and he confirmed my findings. It then took several emails to get their web site changed to reflect this issue which eventually they did.
Interesting! I mainly bought these down to the fact that Screwfix didn't have any fluorescents and I thought they were worth a try, rather than specifically on the energy consumption. Cheers, Chris
I recently saw a breakdown of all household electrical items and how much power they actually consume. I saw that LED's actually over time cost more. Switched on for a short time not a problem but for hours on end the power companies make more money. I cannot be the only person that has changed out more "long life" modern lamps than they ever did with the old filament lamps. All that nonsense of 60 watts equivalent and you need to get a head torch on to see what you are doing !!! There is no way on planet earth electricity companies are ever going to let the public have something that lasts forever and costs nothing. i.e. cars that last 50 years and run on fresh air. My wife had LED strip lights installed under the kitchen cabinets of which 1 strip died and I have replaced 3 transformers.
I'm certainly sceptical about the claimed lifetime for LED bulbs of various forms ... I've swapped more 'LED Candle' bulbs than I've had hot dinners ... but I think the problem lies in the fact that they're all churned out in China where (not always but a lot of the time) they use the cheapest components they can. Having said that, I have found an LED GU10 which works very well for us, as it has an above average brightness (660lm / 5.7W) so I don't need the head torch anymore 🤣. www.toolstation.com/integral-led-classic-gu10-dimmable-lamp/p36746 if you're interested. How you track lifetime though, beyond timing when you switch on and off, is the problem - but life's too short for all of that ... Cheers, Chris
Fitted 19 LED gu10 spots in our kitchen and utility 11 years ago. Have only had to replace 3 lamps in that time. Power consumption is a fraction of the old lamps that came with the fittings. Only disadvantage is the kitchen gets cold in the winter! All the lamps are Screwfix own brand. I fitted dimmable LED lamps in our daughter’s bedroom ten years ago. No failures yet, touch wood.
I'm afraid I disagree - it depends on your circumstances. Fine if you're comfortable doing a bit of electrical work yourself (done plenty of it myself), but if you have to pay a sparky to fit a new batten, you're talking anywhere from £50 to £100+, plus the cost of the batten (min. £40 to get 6000+ lumens based on Screwfix today). If you're unsure whether it will be suitable for your existing fitting, fine, then take advice. But each to their own. Cheers
@handyman-at-home While, to some extent, I agree. Manufacturers won't continue to make LED tubes when LED fittings are ready available. I used to work in the trade. Bite the bullet and replace your fitting
MMMMM thanks for showing us these tubes Dave ,i didn't realize L E D s were just a straight swap ,i thought you had to buy the units complete , i will be swapping mine out now ,cheers . Greetings from Wales .
Glad you found it useful. Chris
The old tubes were non-directional. You seem to be saying that the new ones have an 'up' and a 'down'. Therefore, properly fitted, the proportion of the LED pointing downwards should be higher.
Exactly. I agree it's marginal ... 6 to 10% based on my, admittedly limited, testing ... but there is a difference. I haven't taken one of these tubes apart, but from what I can see, they are essentially just a ribbon string of LEDs, stuck to the inner surface of the tube. Cheers, Chris
If your fittings have power factor correcting capacitors and you don't remove them they will NOT get any power saving. I bought dozens of similar tubes from TLC and several months later measured their consumption and found it was no lower. Challenging the claims on their web site TLC (after a bit of wrangling) sent their expert to my workshop and he confirmed my findings. It then took several emails to get their web site changed to reflect this issue which eventually they did.
Interesting! I mainly bought these down to the fact that Screwfix didn't have any fluorescents and I thought they were worth a try, rather than specifically on the energy consumption. Cheers, Chris
I recently saw a breakdown of all household electrical items and how much power they actually consume. I saw that LED's actually over time cost more. Switched on for a short time not a problem but for hours on end the power companies make more money. I cannot be the only person that has changed out more "long life" modern lamps than they ever did with the old filament lamps. All that nonsense of 60 watts equivalent and you need to get a head torch on to see what you are doing !!! There is no way on planet earth electricity companies are ever going to let the public have something that lasts forever and costs nothing. i.e. cars that last 50 years and run on fresh air. My wife had LED strip lights installed under the kitchen cabinets of which 1 strip died and I have replaced 3 transformers.
I'm certainly sceptical about the claimed lifetime for LED bulbs of various forms ... I've swapped more 'LED Candle' bulbs than I've had hot dinners ... but I think the problem lies in the fact that they're all churned out in China where (not always but a lot of the time) they use the cheapest components they can. Having said that, I have found an LED GU10 which works very well for us, as it has an above average brightness (660lm / 5.7W) so I don't need the head torch anymore 🤣. www.toolstation.com/integral-led-classic-gu10-dimmable-lamp/p36746 if you're interested. How you track lifetime though, beyond timing when you switch on and off, is the problem - but life's too short for all of that ...
Cheers, Chris
Fitted 19 LED gu10 spots in our kitchen and utility 11 years ago. Have only had to replace 3 lamps in that time. Power consumption is a fraction of the old lamps that came with the fittings. Only disadvantage is the kitchen gets cold in the winter! All the lamps are Screwfix own brand. I fitted dimmable LED lamps
in our daughter’s bedroom ten years ago. No failures yet, touch wood.
Madness. Replace the fitting with an LED one, and then you know it will work.
I'm afraid I disagree - it depends on your circumstances. Fine if you're comfortable doing a bit of electrical work yourself (done plenty of it myself), but if you have to pay a sparky to fit a new batten, you're talking anywhere from £50 to £100+, plus the cost of the batten (min. £40 to get 6000+ lumens based on Screwfix today). If you're unsure whether it will be suitable for your existing fitting, fine, then take advice. But each to their own. Cheers
@handyman-at-home While, to some extent, I agree. Manufacturers won't continue to make LED tubes when LED fittings are ready available. I used to work in the trade. Bite the bullet and replace your fitting
City electrical have a limited stock of old style tubes
Worth knowing. Thanks for the heads up.
Omg nearly 18 minutes to change 2 LED tubes. Lol
😂😂😂