240v to 12v Downlights

[Gnome]

Not 100% sure, only moved in a few days ago, haven't climbed in the roof yet.. Will check on the weekend when I get a chance.
Thanks.

Typically it will be separate transformers. The single large transformer is a very hard configuration to get correct with a CoC.

Updated my post above with some pics for reference.

 

[WesleyR]

Awesome, thank you for the advice, much appreciated.

 

[TheJman]

Hey,

My two cents worth - I had the 12v downlighters with the transformers - and as said by everyone, the usual is more the Wattage of the globe rather than the voltage that you have to worry about.

I went out and got the Phillips warm white 5w globes. The reason for choosing phillips is that I decided to not get an electrician in to remove the transformers and change the fitting to the GU10 fitting (they wanted an absolute fortune!)... so on doing a whole lot of research, I found that the phillips globes which can connect to a transformer (electric and wire-bound) were better suited than other globes.

The risk you have when connecting an LED to a transformer is that, because the globe draws a lot less power, the transformer may struggle to give the output to the globe, thus resulting in the globe flickering or not working at all. Phillips seem to have built a globe that manages to avoid this problem (or at least I haven't had any issues).

There is a bit of speculation as well that if you use LED lights connected to a transformer, you don't get the same power saving as with a 220v GU10 connection, because the transformer still consumes power - I can't confirm this...

So if your current set up is already GU10 connection, then you should definitely stick with it! Do a bit of research online and go check out as many places as you can that sell LED globes.

I can tell you from personal first hand experience, I have seen a drop in my electricity bill since replacing my 50 Watt downlighters with 5 Watt LED globes - had them in for about 2 years now and all still working great!

One warning, while "cool white" might look great, be aware, in a home, it's a very sterile stark look - so test it out before you buy 100 globes

I am currently waiting for LED globes that are bayonet to replace the 11 watt CFL globes I have - advantages (hopefully) being that I shouldn't have to replace them (replacing CFL's once a year at the moment) and also should be able to use a 6 Watt LED in place of the 11 watt CFL globe... if anyone has any advice on this, would be grateful!

 

[me_]

I went out and got the Phillips warm white 5w globes. The reason for choosing phillips is that I decided to not get an electrician in to remove the transformers and change the fitting to the GU10 fitting (they wanted an absolute fortune!)... so on doing a whole lot of research, I found that the phillips globes which can connect to a transformer (electric and wire-bound) were better suited than other globes.

You really don't need an electrician for this. It's a very simple switch. The GU10 fittings are usually just a different wire and cost about R10 each. You then pull the light and transformer out and detach the wires going into the transformer and connect the to the GU10 wires with connector block. Unless you have actual static light fittings, this really should be a quick, easy job to do yourself.

The risk you have when connecting an LED to a transformer is that, because the globe draws a lot less power, the transformer may struggle to give the output to the globe, thus resulting in the globe flickering or not working at all. Phillips seem to have built a globe that manages to avoid this problem (or at least I haven't had any issues).

It depends on the transformer. The electronic transformers are more efficient, but have a minimum wattage that must be drawn otherwise they won't switch on. The magnetic iron core transformers don't usually have a minimum wattage, but they are less efficient in general. Typically if you have the electronic transformers, you just need to run multiple lights off a single transformer - in your case with 5W globes, you would need a minimum of 4 to make up 20W minimum for most electronic transformers.
The only thing you need to note is that if you use thin 0.5mm cable, you need to have lights close by as there will be significant voltage drop.

One warning, while "cool white" might look great, be aware, in a home, it's a very sterile stark look - so test it out before you buy 100 globes

Definitely agree with this. The cool whites are usually cheaper and easier to come by, but they just make everything look cheap and take away from the warm feeling.

The other thing people often forget about is dimmers. There are a number of different types of dimmers that work with different types of lights. With GU10s it is easier as you can just get the standard LED dimmer modules. With MR16s, you also need to factor in the transformer type as different dimmer modules will work with magnetic vs electric transformers and these might not be ideal for the LEDs leading to flickering.

 

[heartbroken]

One warning, while "cool white" might look great, be aware, in a home, it's a very sterile stark look - so test it out before you buy 100 globes

I can confirm this sentiment! The cool white globes are very good in my kitchen and home office, but rubbish in bedrooms. Very clinical sterile light color, I can only use them in places where I 'work', in the bedrooms I replaced them with a warm white, which gives a nice cosy feeling.

 

[WesleyR]

Hi guys

Where would be the best place to buy 12v LED lights at decent prices?

 

[Gnome]

Honestly, my 2c:

Spotlights are horrible. Even with LEDs. They very narrow angles and they are expensive.

I had spotlights in my previous house and I had to have like 10 lights in a room to light it all up.

My new place I have ONE of these per room. I put a single 2000 lumens 30watt Comfort Light CFL in there and it lights that room up like a hot summers day (seriously, it is epic bright with these on. I've considered actually going a notch)

I would recommend people also consider if they should actually be using spotlights or if they can use normal lights.

LEDs are very harsh.

With CFLs you can get Warm White (Not too harsh) and Comfort light (Same colour as Incandescent which is very beautiful) which IMO are great.

I don't see myself ever going back to spotlights.

 

[The_Traveller]

Honestly, my 2c:

Spotlights are horrible. Even with LEDs. They very narrow angles and they are expensive.

I had spotlights in my previous house and I had to have like 10 lights in a room to light it all up.

My new place I have ONE of these per room. I put a single 2000 lumens 30watt Comfort Light CFL in there and it lights that room up like a hot summers day (seriously, it is epic bright with these on. I've considered actually going a notch)

I would recommend people also consider if they should actually be using spotlights or if they can use normal lights.

LEDs are very harsh.

With CFLs you can get Warm White (Not too harsh) and Comfort light (Same colour as Incandescent which is very beautiful) which IMO are great.

I don't see myself ever going back to spotlights.

Everything said above is false about LED spotlights .

Your experience is due to buying shyte.

 

[Username:]

Everything said above is false about LED spotlights .

Your experience is due to buying shyte.

If Gnome is referring to down lighters he should give them another bash, modern LED down lighter are amazing . Just make sure you order the one with the Lumens output, colour temperature and light spread angle for the application .