[Closed] LED dimmable spotlights - what type and where from

Get mains voltage, not 12v - more straight-forward and no transformer to blow. Warm lights for living rooms, cool for bathrooms. Look for a wide beam so less pools of light.

ledhut are the place to buy from.

No idea why you'd want low voltage but you're wrong.
240v dimmable 5w gu10 from led hut. Yes you can buy cheaper but their kit just works and they back it with a big warranty.
Make sure you get the right dimmer switch (trailing edge and should control about 10 LEDs.)

All LEDs are Low voltage - with 240v stuff you have a "transformer" or voltage rectifier in each bulb. Packing all that gubbins and heat into a very small package will likely lead to much shorter life than LEDs could achieve.

If you w ant to do it properly look for lamps with separate constant current drivers.

Packing all that gubbins and heat into a very small package will likely lead to much shorter life than LEDs could achieve

Watch this thread and I will report back as soon as one does. You might want to get a coffee.

But the extra cost and hassle of transformers is just not worth it for me.
I've changed about 60 12v halogens here to 240v gu10 LEDs and the state of some of the (11 year old) transformer cables was enough to convince me that they were a safety hazzard. A number of them were like this:
[img] https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/MM7xCRmVVYztw6j2WXYiIB-WUranpsKLwxWsKiJp1rc=w430-h575-no [/img]

Hmmmm. Not as simple as I thought. I think the reason it was suggested we get transformer LED (by the bloke doing the ceiling) was the very tight space in which the lights are to be fitted. Old house, low ceilings, only the depth of a joist to fit everything in to. The current crappy fittings heat up way too much and cause one or more of the normal bulbs to blow on near enough a monthly basis, so we're trying to minimise this as much as possible.

If it's a tight space, surely getting rid of the transformer is a good thing, no?.

I had the exact same issue, 12v halogens in a flat roof extension, was forever replacing bulbs. Went 240v GU10 - brilliant thus far.

You can get heat-shielded fittings - look for those.

And another reason to use 240v over 12v is the fittings - the silly pin fittings on 12v are rubbish compared to the twist fit of 240v.

Edit: http://www.screwfix.com/p/aurora-fire-rated-fixed-led-downlight-ip20-white-4-5w/37398

LEDs run way cooler though.

Agreed but if a tight space you may as well be safe rather than burn your house down.

Watch out if you've got DAB radio, ours no longer functions in the rooms with LED lights in. 'Proper' LED's from LED hut, not ebay. Going to have to go for an external aerial which will wipe out 5 years of electricity saving. 🙄

My experience:
Our LEDs run cool, can hold in my hand no probs.
20 LEDs in room with DAB and no issues - you can return ledhut stuff for any reason you like so you can almost try before you buy.
LEDs easily fit into our existing lght fittings - latter are cheap to replace anyway.
(Soft start on dimmer is cool!)
Obviously Ymmv

Right-ho. 240v it is then.

Cheers folks!

Those burnt cables are a result of heat from the halogens and the cables being too close to the hot bulb. Nothing to do with the transformer per se. That said, I've always thought gu10s were safer than 12v because of that risk though if they're fitted properly that wouldn't have happened.

Having a separate driver for an LED spreads the heat - LEDs don't like running hot. There's no such thing as a 240v led - you're simply miniaturising the driver ("transformer") and putting it a bulb shaped package. LEDs should last 20 years or more - 18 moths isn't really much of a test.

That said, 240v led bulb replace,ends are easy and cheap enough that you can replace them when they fail (and the replacements will likely be cheaper/better)

Not cheap but you will need to change/adapt your existing fittings. 8)
http://www.qvsdirect.com/fire-stop-7w-sharp-cob-led-90-minute-fire-rated-downlight-white