You don't need to be an 'investor' to invest in Singletrack: 6 days left: 95% of target - Find out more
Got a couple of rooms where there are a line of MR16 downlighters I want to replace with GU10 LED. One's a bathroom, where the lights aren't dimmable, the other's a lounge where they are.
Neither room has livable space above. Bathroom has a pull cord switch, lounge has dimmer. Not bothered about keeping the dimmer switch.
Both use transformers - the one above the bathroom has just packed in, hence the wish to swap.
Hard to work out exactly what I need. Bathroom has a ceiling rose which I'm assuming is between the switch and the transformer. Lounge has three rows, guessing it'll be a transformer for each row.
Do I take the transformers and existing fittings/bulbs etc out, replace with LED downlighters and connect them using the main lighting ring cable? Is it as simple as that?
Can you not just replace the halogen bulbs with MR16 led bulbs, I'm sure they exist?
Edit - missed the bit about the transformer packing in. But which will be cheaper/easier? Replace the transformer or all the sockets and rewiring.
Do I take the transformers and existing fittings/bulbs etc out, replace with LED downlighters and connect them using the main lighting ring cable? Is it as simple as that?
Yes. I did exactly that in my old business premises. Took a while doing 50.
These days I’d go for an all in one unit like the Collingwood h2
Are they (MR16) not a load more expensive and less efficient?
Font know about efficiency,but I just looked and Screwfix do a 5 pack of then for £8.
Got a dead transformer though, so figured it might make sense to make the switch over rather than replace it.
True, I guess it's down to ease of access and cost in replacing the transformer vs the sockets, etc.
I did exactly that bought some gu10 connectors from Amazon and kept the existing fittings and pulled out the transformers (one per bulb in my case) and wires straight in.
easy, less to go wrong…
https://singletrackmag.com/forum/topic/help-me-change-a-lightbulb/
Thread here about the pain of changing gu10 bulbs. Just fit better quality lights as to the ones I linked to in that thread
Check about fire rating of the new lamps. we’ve found that even though ours go into a loft they have to be either directly fire rated or have hoods fitted afterwards.
It's a fairly easy job, as long as whoever fitted the original downlights has left enough slack cable in the system for you to extract the transformer along with the light fitting, and you check the opening size required for the new ones matches the existing holes.
The original transformers will not work with the new lights, they'll flicker at seizure-inducing rates.
Nothing's ever simple is it? 🙂
So, up in the loft I can see the lighting ring cable going into the ceiling switch, and the cable from the switch to the transformer with plenty of slack - not much distance between switch and the lights (there's a line of 5).
Thinking I can replace the transformer and MR16 lampholders with GU10 lampholders with connection boxes, this type of thing - https://www.screwfix.com/p/lap-fastfix-gu10-light-fitting-connector-box/126kj. Then I won't need to mess with the fitting?
How do I connect these though, do I need some kind of junction box or are these meant to be connected to one another in series? Looks to me like they are - is it as simple as that?
Funny, I thought that running multiple MR16s off one transformer was not a thing...all mine had individual transformers.