Should halogen spotlights be left in the 80's?

How embarrassing - to receive style advice from one's mother

I've got some in my kitchen though - on the plus side they give a very clear, bright light. On the downside, they are far from being energy-efficient (4 @ 50w on the ceiling, 2 @ 20w in the cooker hood), don't seem to last very long and cost a bloody fortune to replace.

Must ring my mum to see what she thinks...

Perhaps there's a reality-cum-game-cum-design TV show waiting to be made here: the changing rooms generation game?

Steve.

The new LED lights have a good press. Very low energy consumption, extremely compact and with a pleasant light. Present costs are rather high but expected to fall with greater demand and increased production. The light of tomorrow apparently.

Not to be confused with low budget, low energy, compact flourescent bulbs. Which I use throughout the house but would prefer not to.

Nime

Greetings Richard;

Fashion is bollocks (Versace said that I think?)

If the lights look good to you, and do the job - that's all that matters.

Happy listening.

John.

The guy I bought my lathe off last year is an electrical engineer, and he reckons the next thing is compact HID (metal halide) lighting. apparently he's been making ballasts for small ones. Nice light, and very efficient.

I was told that Metal Halide bulbs should not be switched on and off as you might normally do with a standard light bulb - a bit like a projector bulb, it aparently shortens it's life.
Once switched on, should be left on for the day (or night).
Very expensive bulbs too!
Mine are in a fan cooled enclosure too - not very practical in many applications!

Richard;

I'm not sure if halogen lamps generate crap on the mains. Those ghastly dimmable halogen uplighters certainly do.

I had quite a job to find a non-dimmable (normal bulb) uplighter.

John.

The bulbs don't generate noise, the dimmers do. If properly implemented, the dimmers don't make noise if they're either off or full-on either, but they tend to have powerful bulbs so full-on may not be the best option.

Damn! I fitted a dimmer switch too!

Was it one of the new digital "noiseless" ones ?

quote:

Originally posted by long-time-dead:
Was it one of the new digital "noiseless" ones ?

I doubt it. It was £10. It's the Matsui of dimmer switches.

Never mind halogen spots inside what about the ones in gardens that blind all the neighbours.

quote:

Originally posted by Steve Bull:
I've got some in my kitchen though <snip> they are far from being energy-efficient (4 @ 50w on the ceiling, 2 @ 20w in the cooker hood), don't seem to last very long and cost a bloody fortune to replace.

These are probably 12v DC lamps -- the energy they are using is whatever the transformer which powers them is drawing from the mains. If you have a few of these on the same circuit, they are better powered by, and star-wired from, a single transformer, which yours probably are. If you're getting short lamp life, chances are the transformer is incorrectly rated for the number and wattage of the lamps. If one lamp goes, it is important to replace it instantly, or the others get "over-volted" and die very quickly. We have about 8 of these things, and 2 lamps are from 1989 and still going.

The transformers may well put crap into the mains, however. Dimming 12v halogens is very tricky, and likely to increase the crap. The single halogen fittings which connect straight to the mains tend either to have an in-built transformer (and possibly also a dimmer) or use 240v AC halogen lamps. Either way, many seem to emply a rheostat to attenuate the mains input (if that's the right term), and therefore audibly buzz like a chainsaw when dimmed -- god knows what they do to your juice.

With all low-voltage lighting, we found commercial manufacturers and suppliers much more helpful, and also quite a bit cheaper, than the likes of Homebase, etc. I think you can still get a single, white flush downlighter for under a fiver, although the nicest ones are Guzzini, and cost a bit more, being cast alloy with upper fins rather than pressed.