Led Downlights - Advice Needed

[atrecord 0]

Hi all,

Am sourcing for lightings for my new place and need some advice on LED downlights.

ID has recommended ~37 downlights for the whole house, and am considering whether to get the cheaper/traditional PLC or energy-saving E27, or to invest more on LEDs.

Just started going to a few shops last weekend, plus had one supplier went over to our place to quote us, and was told:

- normal PLC $35 per piece (inside got i think 2 tubes)

- for LED downlights, the tube is in-built and if the light is spoilt, will have to change the whole light fitting (c.f. to the PLC one where can only change the tube). It's also 3x more expensive and costs around $110 per piece. Can save a lot on the electricity bill but that's long-term and also depends on usage pattern.

- for T5 cove lights that are also recommended by ID, cost for 4ft one is abt $20 cheaper ones.

Then at one shop, was shown a LED tube that is suitable for the E27-type downlights. Was quoted $28 for a 2-tube energy-saving set, and if wanna change to LED, add 2x$30 = $88 for each 2-tube downlights.

Can anyone advise whether there are many choices for LED tubes for downlights (and not only those with the LED tubes integrated into the light fittings ones), and how much they will cost?

tks...

[Jiahor 0]

you can get LED downlight 12W below $100 without installation, im doing for my customer also. brightness same with 2X18W PLC downlight, they give 1 year warranty. Dont buy LED Tube, not bright enough and exp.

LED light downlight can last few year , if spoilt normally its the driver spoilt not the LED. normal PLC tube last one year or less.

Now they also got good 4ft LED tube can last longer than normal T5 tube , cost 2X but save your time & $ for replace T5 tube .

hope this help

[folwer 0]

i imported from HK via dealextreme.com, it's way cheaper. My idea is that given that I'll only turn on the lights when i am at home,i can monitor is something were to go wrong.

If you select the right LED bulb with the correct defuser it can actually be very bright....my maid was quite frustrated when i switch my washing area from PL to LED as it became glaring bright and she ends up without excuse for not washing the clothes properly.....

[666 0]

My 12w LED 5 inch downlight cost less than $25 incl driver...after using for few months, 1 blown. yeah...its the driver which is spoil not the fixture.

dun kena chop k.

[atrecord 0]

OK. thanks... Sounds like LED is not exactly a good/safe choice. Guess will stick with either PLC or E27 energy-saving type for now.

Would anyone be able to advise what is the normal price for a single-tube E27 downlight?

tks.

[folwer 0]

You can also have problem with plc lights....got 1 time I even have one from Phillips that blew after 6 months....

[fanyong7980 0]

Is those Philips downlight with 1 x 13w bright enough compare to those normal PLC wit 2 x 13w?

The salesperson told me 1 philips downlight with just 1 x 13w is same as normal PLC light with 2 x 13w.

Is that truth bro and sis here...seek yr advise.tks

[Erwinong 0]

Is those Philips downlight with 1 x 13w bright enough compare to those normal PLC wit 2 x 13w?

The salesperson told me 1 philips downlight with just 1 x 13w is same as normal PLC light with 2 x 13w.

Is that truth bro and sis here...seek yr advise.tks

Hi it depends. If you are talking about the typical single Philips with 3 or 4 LED bulbs inside, then there is no way that kind of wattage can fight PLC with 2 x 13W.

It's really sad, but I notice there are a good handful of salespeople who go round telling consumer lies. Maybe to cheat or their own ignorance.

But do note that you cant use watts to compare brightness. It is possible that an LED downlight that is rated lower wattage can produce more light than another LED of higher wattage. Yes, I know it's confusing. You got to see what kind of downlight you are talking about.

[folwer 0]

There is a lot of LED bulbs in the market. The one that is commonly available now in Singapore looks something like thing...

or

these although marketed as super bright LED are really not a bright as those CREE LED. Look at the picture here...

you will notice those CREE LED are flatter and have a yellow backing. If turn on, your eyes typically get hurts if you look at it....

for me, i super KS and got myself something like this:

and I got the electrician to modify my currently PLC light holder like this

to remove it's ballast and holder and swap with a e27 light holder. The good thing is that if the LED bulb does not work out, i can also switch back to those PLC with E27 holder....

the modified light set is about 70-80% of the original set, but consider that the original was powered a 2x18w PLC and this is just 1 LED 6w bulb....its a huge saving in electricity....

Do source around, because like PLC, not all LED is made equal.....

Edited November 7, 2011 by folwer

[Erwinong 0]

Folwer, thanks for sharing again!

But the big LED bulbs that you got are not sold here in the shops is it? The ones that are commonly shown to me by the shops are the smaller "super bright" LED ones in your earlier first 2 pictures above.

Did the electrician charge you extra for modifying the casing? I didn't know they do this. Thot should be done by the shop....

[folwer 0]

Yea, I got from oversea...I ordered one first test t out for months before I ordered the rest....

I suspect you can find them in sim lim towers as one or 2 shops got sell the components for the parts....These are call Cree led, quite new tech compared to traditional led, but I think it's gaining traction, so maybe a few years down the road, it will become common.

I don't know the bill the electrian charge me as it's hidden under the electric works under my main con.... but I think it should not cost much as connectors for e27 is quite cheap....the rest is just taking out the ballast and the old connectors.

Edited November 7, 2011 by folwer

[Erwinong 0]

Whoa, actually, I must say that looks like a heck lot of tiny LEDs there in 1 bulb! With just 1 such bulb, I must say it's super bright?! I hope you don't mind me asking, how much did it roughly cost you for just that 1 bulb?

Since you can fit into the E27, the driver is built into the whole LED bulb right?

Edited November 7, 2011 by Erwinong

[folwer 0]

I think USD$13 each....free shipping some more....but with cheap stuff, I do expect a bit of deflects, even though the supplier will refund those, but due to the price, i let it pass, I have basically 1 faulty out of the 17 units that i have.....

yeap, driver is built in to the LED bulb....for CREE lights, most implementation is to overdrive the LED which is what I don't like, you will have to depend a lot on the quality of the heatsink and driver to ensure that it can handle the extra load. The reason why i choose that setup is that with so many LED and the entire setup consuming only 6W, I think they are not overdriving the lights (of course i might be wrong)....so while not achieving 100% of its potential, it's still quite bright and I guess will last longer then a overdriven LED.....

[altis72 0]

Is those Philips downlight with 1 x 13w bright enough compare to those normal PLC wit 2 x 13w?

The salesperson told me 1 philips downlight with just 1 x 13w is same as normal PLC light with 2 x 13w.

Is that truth bro and sis here...seek yr advise.tks

I bought 14 Philips downlights (Genie E27 1x14W) from lighting.com.sg for $33 each and had them installed in my living and dining rooms. I was also afraid they would not be bright enough but I was finally convinced after the sales staff did a comparison of both the Philips downlights and the normal PLC 2 x 13w downlights. I was also impressed with the quality of the casing. You will find more information if you do a search for 'Philips downlights' in this forum.

Edited November 8, 2011 by altis72