Cheap energy-saver GU10 (spotlight) bulbs

[BTB 500]

Normal energy-saver bulbs have tumbled in price recently, but these

"GU10" bulbs have remained around £8-£9.

Maplin have them on special offer for £4.99 each at the moment:

http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=220698

Since they're typically used in fittings that have multiple bulbs (ceiling tracks etc.), that's quite a saving. No stock left online, but I just bought the six I needed from a local Maplin store ... they had plenty tucked away.

 

[ShinyF1]

Any 35W ones?

 

[Dieselman]

I'd be wary of Maplin stuff, it doesn't seem to last well. The best ones are Megaman, they work well and last 15,000hrs.

I've got some 9W (40w) spare if anyone wants any.

 

[BTB 500]

I'd be wary of Maplin stuff

These are Eveready, not Maplin own brand

 

[Dieselman]

Eveready 9w energy saving GU10

Specification:

Wattage (w): 9
Equivalent to: 45w
Colour Temp: 3500K
Volts: 220-240
Energy Label (Class): B
Height (mm): 76
Width (mm): 50
Approx Hours: 8000
Lampbase fitting: GU10
How much will this bulb save me?

Average Cost to run this bulb per year: £0.50
Total saving over life of this energy saving bulb: £23.25
*Figures are based on average running time of the 3 hours per day and bulb lasting 8,000hrs.

I always seem to have a problem getting people to understand the cost saving bit. It must be my maths..
I know someone who will save over £110 per year just in their kitchen, but won't use energy savers because they cost more to buy....

Head...Wall...

 

[Dieselman]

How does that work then..

Megaman 9w GU10 Compact Reflector (40w Halogen equivalent)

Specification

Wattage(W): 9
Energy Label (Class): A
Diameter (mm): 50
Length (mm): 76
Lifetime: 15,000h
Lampbase: GU10
How much this bulb save you?

Average Cost to run this bulb per year: £1.20
Average Saving over life of this energy saving bulb: £48.00
Total CO2 Emissions Reduced per year: 14.60kg
*Figures are based on average running time of the 3 hours per day and bulb lasting 15,000hrs.

Both lamps are 9w. One is 50p p.a. to run, one is £1.20 and is classed as more efficient.

Someone's telling porkies.

 

[BTB 500]

Presumably based on different assumptions about usage (hours per day). And/or what a kWh of electricity costs.

 

[Dieselman]

It must be cost per unit as the daily usage is 3 hrs.

 

[Sp!ke]

I tried these and found the light to be very harsh (like strip lighting) and also not focused like a spotlight should be.

The bulbs also didnt fit into some of my fittings and the worst bit is I bought six bulbs and all but two have blown within a year. I'd rate them at 1000 hours judging by real world experience.

Factor in the high price of the bulbs, short life span, mercury disposal problems and extra manufacturing costs... these should be labelled anything but 'energy savers'.

[edit] RE: Dieselmans comments. These bulbs didnt save me any money.

 

[Geezer]

I had 54 50W GU10s in my house.

I have replaced a substantial numberof the bulbs with Deltech 50,000 hours 22 LED bulbs at 1.8W each. Not suitable for every location, ie, kitchen and bathrooms but more than adequate for hallways, landings, etc. They do two types of white - normal and warm. The normal bulbs are a bit like moonlight in colour and IMO the warm ones are much better.

Don't ask me how much they cost - I got them through, erm, work!

 

[maddog]

I have 20 of these in my kitchen will i really notice a saving ??

20x £23.25 = £465 /7.3 years = £63pa/12 = £5.30 pm

At a cost of £5 each it will take me getting on for 2 years to see any savings

I havent noticed much of a saving since replacing my conventional bulbs with low energy ones and in fact i've already had to replace faulty low energy bulbs after less than 1 years occasional use

 

[franey]

I'd be wary of Maplin stuff, it doesn't seem to last well. The best ones are Megaman, they work well and last 15,000hrs.

I've got some 9W (40w) spare if anyone wants any.

Hi Dieselman.
I would like some of your sppare bbulbs, how much do you want for them, how many have you got?

Fanx.

 

[BTB 500]

We replaced all the incandescent bulbs in our house with low-energy equivalents 2 years ago (apart from the GU10s ), and have not had any fail. A complete mix of different brands/sizes/shapes/wattages, too.

 

[Iain]

Morrisons are doing energy saver bulbs (ES & BC) 49p each or 5 for 50p
Proper bargain!

 

[Piff]

I've got 19 GU10 50w in my kitchen and had considered replacing with the LED type when the prices for the bulbs dropped a bit
But, will LED's give off sufficient light?

 

[Sp!ke]

nope.

 

[BTB 500]

Well I've got the energy saver GU10s in now ... not great. Quite a 'bluish' light, and not as directional as the incandescent ones. But a quarter of the power consumption ...

One compromise might be to leave a single old style bulb in each fitting. We're going to leave them as they are for a couple of days anyway.

 

[Dieselman]

What's the colour rating and lumen output.?

Edit:
Found the rendering: Colour Temp: 3500K

 

[agatward]

I tried these in the two quad spot fittings in my kitchen and didn't like them - they still take a few minutes to reach full operating brightness and they also stick out from the front of the fitting. I guess they're really targetted at the in-ceiling fittings where the extra depth of the lamp doesn't matter too much. I've put the halogen lamps back in.

As for the rest of the house, energy saving all the way, using Philips or GE lamps - the GE ones are slightly better because they're instant-on, whereas the Philips ones seem to take a second or two to strike.

 

[TomTanderson]

I tried these and found the light to be very harsh (like strip lighting) and also not focused like a spotlight should be.

Not often I get chance to agree with Spike but here it comes!

All energy saver bulbs have a certain 'colour' and good bulbs will specify what that is on the box (amazing how many don't). The biggest problem though is that the energy saver GU10s have a much wider beam angle than normal GU10s. GU10s tend to get used where you want a focussed light and the amount of light that the energy save gives focussed in that area is a tiny fraction of a normal bulb. A normal GU10 has an angle of about 35-50 degrees, the energy savers we bought were 135 degrees. That meant the light at 2m was something like 5% of the normal light for an 'equivalent' bulb (this is all from memory - you can do the maths yourself ). There are no energy savers with a tight focussed beam (the technology doesn't lend itself to it), maybe someone will invent one, but until then there is no way I will try them again even though I use energy savers elsewhere and would love to save the energy costs and do my bit to look after the planet.