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Dimmable LED downlights

Does what it says on the tin
MrsRonnie
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Dimmable LED downlights

#112800

Postby MrsRonnie » January 23rd, 2018, 1:52 pm

Hi All

My first post here, after quite a sabbatical from TMF. I have several questions about dimmable LED downlights/lamps.

I need to get 15 fire-rated downlights. 5 of them need to be dimmable, and the other 10 don't.

Looking on Screwfix (my go-to place, as they have a branch just round the corner), there is a limited selection of fire-rated, dimmable LED downlights but a rather larger selection on non-LED-specified downlights. The selection of GU10 lamps appears to be limited to LED-only (no halogens).

I'm a bit out of touch with lighting these days, so I'm getting a bit confused about what's on offer and what's actually required. For example, I have fitted a replacement LED GU10 lamp in one of my landing downlights, and it doesn't seem to be causing any problems (the downlights were installed more than 10 years ago, so I doubt they were LED-specific back then). In a nutshell:

1. Do I need a LED-specific downlight fitting , or are they all compatible with LED lamps anyway?

2. Do I need a dimmable downlight fitting, or is the term "dimmable" actually referring to the lamp that is supplied with the downlight?

With grateful TIA

Ronnie

krobaa
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Re: Dimmable LED downlights

#112809

Postby krobaa » January 23rd, 2018, 2:39 pm

I replaced all my standard bulbs with LED's 5 years ago using all the existing fittings. The only issue I had with the dimmable led's was the dimmer itself was not compatible with LED's and had to be replaced with a specialised one to stop them flickering.

bungeejumper
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Re: Dimmable LED downlights

#112818

Postby bungeejumper » January 23rd, 2018, 3:47 pm

No worries. I replaced my six low-voltage dimmable halogen downlighters with half a dozen dimmable 5 watt LEDs from LED Hut. Insanely cheap - I don't think the whole lot came to £45, all in. They worked fine with my existing dimmers. And all FIRE rated.

One thing you do need to pay attention to is the size of the holes in your present ceiling. Although you can get a collar that will cover up the gap if your new downlighter lamps are a smaller diameter than the old ones (and many are), you don't want to have the new ones bigger than the old holes. :D In my case, the discrepancy was solved by buying swivelling LED downlighters that were just that little bit bigger.

Fitting was a doddle. Zero to kitchen hero in 90 minutes. :lol:

BJ

csearle
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Re: Dimmable LED downlights

#112898

Postby csearle » January 23rd, 2018, 10:18 pm

Personally I tend to go for fire-rated GU10 fittings then get either dimmable (or non-dimmable) LED-GU10s to fit into them. Some dimmers are not compatible but changing them out is easy.

As BJ says the hole size is key if the ceiling is not being renewed. Holes can however be made bigger, either by drilling a piece of wood with the larger hole size and pressing this firmly onto the ceiling to guide the hole cutter or (rather elegantly) by screwing first the new larger hole saw, and subsequently the existing smaller sized hole saw onto the same arbour so using the smaller one to attain the centre.

Regards,
Chris

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Re: Dimmable LED downlights

#112927

Postby PetraM » January 24th, 2018, 5:57 am

MrsRonnie wrote:
1. Do I need a LED-specific downlight fitting , or are they all compatible with LED lamps anyway?

2. Do I need a dimmable downlight fitting, or is the term "dimmable" actually referring to the lamp that is supplied with the downlight?

With grateful TIA

Ronnie


1. "Standard" fitting types that take GU10 bulbs are all "LED compatible".

2. Because LEDs have expected 20 year lifespans, many downlights don't have bulbs - the LEDs are built in. If you're buying that type, you have to select dimmable or not at the start as they can't be modified later.

Remember you need an LED compatible dimmer switch - standard dimmers don't work with LEDs ( they might appear to work but can dramatically shorten the life of the bulbs).

Or an alternative is to buy bulbs that can be remote controlled - IKEA now have a range or there's Philips Hue. Switch them on at the wall once and leave them on, then control them with a remote, your phone or Alexa.

anniesdad
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Re: Dimmable LED downlights

#113042

Postby anniesdad » January 24th, 2018, 1:44 pm

Thus might help you or maybe not.

Just bought set of 3 led spots from b&q £48 I think

No need for dimmer switches as they come with a remote and you can dim them and change colour etc from the remote control.

MrsRonnie
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Re: Dimmable LED downlights

#120042

Postby MrsRonnie » February 24th, 2018, 7:48 am

Thanks for all the replies, and sorry for not coming back sooner (I went on holiday!).

Unfortunately, I'm too brain-addled to be able to decipher the replies to be of use to me, so let me try another way...

We have 3 banks of 5 downlights in the kitchen. Two banks are controlled by a standard switch, the third bank (over the dining table) is controlled with a dimmer switch. I want to replace all of them, as they are old and yellowed, and half the lights don't actually work.

I still want the dimmable lights, but I want LED lamps.

I am looking at these https://www.screwfix.com/p/lap-fixed-fi ... stid=37111 - they are listed as non-dimmable. Is it the lamps or the downlights themselves that are non-dimmable? If it's the lamps, then can I swap them out for dimmable LED lamps without any problems?

Alternatively, on the dimming side, I am looking at this downlight https://www.screwfix.com/p/robus-fixed- ... stid=35042 which states that it needs GU10 lamps - presumably these can be LED lamps if I want them to be?

I have noticed that the cutout is different on each of these lights, and I hadn't considered that, but if the questions above can be answered, I can then measure our cutout and search for the correct lights.

I wasn't aware that the dimmer switch needed to be LED compatible, but that's not a problem to replace.

Many thanks again

Ronnie

MrsRonnie
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Re: Dimmable LED downlights

#120044

Postby MrsRonnie » February 24th, 2018, 7:55 am

...and now I have noticed the Q&A section on the Screwfix site, where it is clear that the first downlight I linked to is not compatible with dimmer switches, so that answers that question.

csearle
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Re: Dimmable LED downlights

#120289

Postby csearle » February 25th, 2018, 11:52 am

MrsRonnie wrote:...and now I have noticed the Q&A section on the Screwfix site, where it is clear that the first downlight I linked to is not compatible with dimmer switches, so that answers that question.
I am not sure why the answer suggested the light fittings rather than the lamps are not dimmable. Unless I've missed something that makes no sense at all.

The fitting is just a metal can with a GU10 lampholder inside it. There is nothing in there to be incompatible with dimming, it is entirely down to the lamp that you put in it. So providing you choose a dimmable GU10 lamp that physically fits then it should be fine*.

Chris
* I am not aware that a dimmed LED lamp dissipates more heat then a non-dimmed one so I don't think the constricted body of the fitting would be an issue.

csearle
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Re: Dimmable LED downlights

#120291

Postby csearle » February 25th, 2018, 12:00 pm

MrsRonnie wrote:I have noticed that the cutout is different on each of these lights, and I hadn't considered that, but if the questions above can be answered, I can then measure our cutout and search for the correct lights.
Yes hole size is key. Ideally of course you'd choose fittings that fit in and cover up the existing holes, but there are ways of enlarging holes and adapters to make them smaller (although you'd need to make sure such an adapter allowed the use of a fire-rated fitting otherwise you'd be in neediing an expensive fire-rated hood).

Chris


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