Such A Pain To Shop For Led Down Lights?!

[joey8 2]

For LED PLC light, LED Downlights, LED Circular Lights, LED MR16 and others,

you may want to try http://ai-ledlight.com, they are experts for home users.

So far, several of my friends bought from them because their prices are reasonable

and their LED lights are made in Singapore, so far they are happy and no complaints

from them. Hope this helps.

[vex 0]

recently i chose led lights because they emit very little heat, consumes less energy, and is not glaring, as compared to halogen lights. these benefits alone are enough to justify the higher cost. after all, the amount in question is not in the thousands, and we are talking about long term usage here. few hundred dollars is a good investment for good lighting.

[eunice123 0]

Some of my friends are currently using LED downlights from VTX Solutions. Very slim and even light output. Can call up 96526095 to find out more

[JamalKrumme 0]

went about choosing my LED flexible led strip lights with the initial headache you are faced with.led strip lights

LED Light Bars

Edited May 4, 2012 by JamalKrumme

[samuelloh 0]

Anyone can PM me good and cheap LED bulb supplier? I bought my lights from Catalogue.com.sg but they don't sell bulbs leh...

I need E27 and E14 LED bulbs. China one also can but which brand is longer lasting? Share your lohbangs pls!

Samuel

[kkah 0]

Hi sforshor, can share the distributor contact details to me as well?

[Nanachan7 1]

For LED lightings, better to get from shops with good warranty one. My friend got one from one of the shop at Geylang at $22 per piece. End up within 6 months, 3 out of 10 spoil liao. Even though still under the 1 year warranty. She don't have the time and energy to keep going down Geylang and also to replace the downlights is no joke!

So end up she found House of Chandelier who provide 2 years onsite warranty. I also got my lights from them too. It's been more than 6 months, my 23 downlights all still going strong. My friend on also all still good. So better to go for warranty then those super cheap ones. Don't end up like my friend who end up spending alot more money!

[BrillianceJK 0]

For LED light bulb supplier, can check out Brilliance Brooo. An international brand and does large-scale commercial projects.

Retail side have stock for MR16 and E27 lights.
Message me with your email address I can forward the product catalogue + pricing to you.

[Shawn Leo 0]

Hi guys,

To hopefully solve all your LED lighting questions and theories, I'd like to put my 2 cents worth here:

A) Lighting Parameters

1. Watts - This is the power that the bulb/downlight/whatever is going to consume (It does not translate directly to brightness unlike the fluorescent bulbs)
2. Lumens / LM / Luminous Flux - This is the amount of light which the bulb/downlight/whatever is producing (this translates directly to the brightness of the bulb, and it can be compared product to product to determine the brightness)
3. Lumens/Watt - As above, it is just denoting the efficiency of the bulb/downlight/whatever stating how efficient the bulb is using the power. (This translates to how well the power is being used and determines the technology used)
4. CRI or Colour Rendering Index - CRI is the how well the bulb/downlight/whatever produces a colour of light relative to sunlight (in layman terms, the higher the CRI typically 75 and above, you can see true colour of an object, good for art and paintings and etc)
5. Colour Temperature - Do not confuse this with CRI, Colour Temperature is measured in KELVINS, It denotes what colour is your light , 2700K for warm white, 4000K for Cool White, 6500k for Daylight. ( As such, a 2700K bulb compared with its sister of 4000K bulb will not be as bright due to Colour Temperature affecting the LUMENS so the warmer your selection, the more lights you will need. Typically between 5-10% more)
6. Voltage - For lighting, there are typically 3 Voltages we use,

• 12V - which is used for the MR16 Spot light series. These require a driver to convert our mains power of 230V to 12V. A RELIABLE Driver is necessary to keep the Light going, else you will experience failure in a short term
• 24V- typically used in LED Strips in cove lighting and etc. Also requires a good driver to support it.
• 230V - Par16 or commonly know as GU10 bulbs also for spot lights, use 230V which is direct. There is no driver as the driver is inbuilt, you will need a GOOD BULB or you will face failure very quickly.

B) Drivers

1. There are lots of led lights in the market. EVERY SINGLE one of them requires a DRIVER, whether inbuilt, or external. All of them require a certain electrical circuit to convert our MAINS power from AC to DC to drive the LED.
2. WHY? because LEDs are all DC- which is direct current. LEDs are a DIODE and they only allow the current to flow in 1 direction. Therefore, the conversion is required.
3. Conclusion, get your driver from a reputable supplier, the failure of most LED products is in the Driver, LEDs themselves are solid state devices which have a low failure rate.
4. Yes, China Made LEDs, Downlights, Bulbs are cheap and compared to branded goods, they can be replaced several times over. But I believe, time is precious and we can spend it doing something else more worthy than changing a light.

C) Warranty

1. Everyone in the LED market is offering warranty, check with your supplier on what type of warranty they are offering

• ON SITE Warranty - Means the supplier will come to your place and change the light bulb for you when it is spoilt
• 1 to 1 Exchange - Means that you will have to remove the light and bring it to the supplier to exchange then return home to install it back

Warranty Guidelines:

Warranty based on Lumen Depreciation : This is the warranty if your light goes below a certain percentage when you first purchased the light. Commonly denoted by lumens against Burning Hours

Warranty based on Duration : This is the warranty if your light is not functional during the period of warranty - 1 year, 2 years 3 years etc.

Some suppliers will give a warranty of the combined above, Some only based on duration.

Ensure that you are clear on the warranty terms and conditions or else, when your light blows, you will have a headache.

D) Last but not least, Make, Quality and Thermal Design

1. Make - Typically known as brand, The 3 major manufacturers are Philips, Osram, GE, which GE being the originator of the light bulb (Thomas Edison). These 3 guys make about 70 to 80% of the worlds light bulbs, and they have been doing it for donkey years, especially with GE. Using an analogy, if a hawker cooks Char Kway Teow for 30 years everyday, he will get better at it ever since day 1 and till today, everyone flocks to a old signboard to have their Char Kway Teow cooked by this master because he has perfected his skill. Same goes with any other product, we all trust in their reputation and quality. Even if you receive a defective product, they will exchange it for you. (Try doing that with a non branded product, some work, some dont)

• Quality - Try holding a downlight or LED product, some may seem heavy, some are light - Well, the first question you should as is why? and most of the time, the dealer will not be able to answer you as they dont know what they are made of. Typically, the product should be made of Die Cast Aluminium, Aluminium sheets/fins with a plastic/glass lens or cover. Heavier ones are made from low grade metal or they have a super huge driver inside of it that is probably poorly designed. Weight should not be a factor of quality , but the materials used is important. Using Die Cast Aluminium, is lightweight and a great conductor of heat, those with low grade metal are going to be a far cry from the Die Cast Aluminium, and those made from plastic. is probably going to be worse, irregardless if whatever the dealer is going to say. We all know, metal is good conductor, plastic is bad. so please stay away from full plastic lamps

1. Thermal Design - The 3 major manufacturers spend millions and millions of dollars on research and development on these products, I dont deny that some of the designs are flawed but majority are fantastic. When you compare them to a China Made Product from a small little flatted factory, with 2 employees on R & D, the contrast is stark.

All in all, to summarise,

If your dealer knows what he is doing, he will be able to answer majority of your questions and recommend you a good lighting system to suit your home.

Happy shopping!

[KimmyVan 0]

For LED lightings, better to get from shops with good warranty one. My friend got one from one of the shop at Geylang at $22 per piece. End up within 6 months, 3 out of 10 spoil liao. Even though still under the 1 year warranty. She don't have the time and energy to keep going down Geylang and also to replace the downlights is no joke!

So end up she found House of Chandelier who provide 2 years onsite warranty. I also got my lights from them too. It's been more than 6 months, my 23 downlights all still going strong. My friend on also all still good. So better to go for warranty then those super cheap ones. Don't end up like my friend who end up spending alot more money!

Totally agree with Nana here. I'm one of those victims whom replaced all my downlights after moving in for only 3 months! I got my replacement from House of Chandelier too. I was attracted by their 2 years onsite warranty. It turned out to be a great decision. Here's an informative article *REMOVED* by them on downlights. Wished I've read this article before my reno then.

[llaacc 1]

Anyone bought LED lights from Yafen? There are some good reviews on her lights on some forums and her prices are really attractive. She went from an online shop to a physical shop and now even supplies other shops with LED lights!

[wroomwroom 5]

Anyone bought LED lights from Yafen? There are some good reviews on her lights on some forums and her prices are really attractive. She went from an online shop to a physical shop and now even supplies other shops with LED lights!

I bought my LED downlights from her (not sure if it is the same Yafen) and used them for around a year without any problems. I saw Yafen LED Lights on some internet forum and I googled Yafen LED Lights and found her. Her LEDs are from Taiwan so they are quite bright. Anyway, I still have 6 brand new 12W downlights (bought extra by mistake, no thanks to my reno contractor). If anyone is interested, I can sell at $7 each.

[KimmyVan 0]

I would recommend getting from House of Chandelier. As mentioned earlier, I'm a victim of buying cheap downlights and end up replacing them months later. As the Chinese like to say 便宜没好货, meaning anything cheap usually means lousy quality.

So far, I'm very happy with the downlights I got from House of Chandelier. I got more than 50 downlights from House of Chandelier to replace all my downlights, and that was more than a year ago. So far all are still going strong. Unlike my previous one which I got from one of the shop at Geylang. One by one started flickering after I moved in. Within a short 3 months. More than 10 pieces are either flickering or can't on. That's what triggered me to replace all my downlights. -.-!

[Mr Farmer 0]

can share some price examples pls? thank you

I would recommend getting from House of Chandelier. As mentioned earlier, I'm a victim of buying cheap downlights and end up replacing them months later. As the Chinese like to say 便宜没好货, meaning anything cheap usually means lousy quality.

So far, I'm very happy with the downlights I got from House of Chandelier. I got more than 50 downlights from House of Chandelier to replace all my downlights, and that was more than a year ago. So far all are still going strong. Unlike my previous one which I got from one of the shop at Geylang. One by one started flickering after I moved in. Within a short 3 months. More than 10 pieces are either flickering or can't on. That's what triggered me to replace all my downlights. -.-!

[llaacc 1]

wroomwroom- Thanks for your offer. I think it is the same Yafen LED Lights- yafen.sg located at Defu Lane. I need 34 units of 12W square downlights, 26m LED strips, 8 units of 4ft T5 LED tubes, 6 LED ceiling lights, 6 track lights and 2 1m tracks. I have visited her shop and many other light shops in Singapore and Yafen's quotation is the lowest and beats all the other shops by a large margin. I think her LED lights might possibly be the cheapest in Singapore. They are even cheaper than Taobao due to the high cost of Taobao's air freight . Quality wise, she claims that her lights are from China but the LEDs are from Taiwan, which explains why they are very bright and lasts longer. She also claims that she supplies LED lights to other light shops in Singapore, which might be true as I noticed that some light shops sell the exact same lights at much higher prices. I take all these claims with a pinch of salt, since all the light shops I visited claim that their lights are of high quality yada yada .

Edited August 5, 2015 by llaacc