Help switching to led lights

logic_187

Hi all need some advice from people who have been through this. Currently i have halogen dimmable downlights in my living room. Absolutely reliable but i think its time to switch to led for some cost savings and prices arent silly as they used to be.  I have 3 rows, with each row on individual switch. Each bulb has its own osram 70/240 transformer which the specs rate at 20w to 70w.

Now i have been reading that it would be a case of just buying replacement led mr16 bulbs that are rated at the same watt?  Is that true? Has anyone actually tried this and what issues they found? I would like to be able to dim down fairly low without flicker. Now i don't want to go out and buy a set amoumt of bulbs and find that i have issues and can't return them.  

I will eventually be looking at using some kind of smart home lighting like lightwave rf etc.

I would rather try and work with what i have than spending loads over hauling my lights.

Any thoughts recommendations appreciated

neilball

Your initial issue is that the specs for Your transformers suggest a 20W minimum load, which will be too high for most single MR16 LED lamps. So if the transformers do not like the lack of load you would need to either re-wire so several lamps are fed from one transformer (making sure you use suitably rated cable for the LV side), or replace the transformers for lower rated models, or even swap the entire fitting for GU10 versions and avoid the need for transformers.

neilball

Many of the better dimmable lamps (such as Megaman) are now universal and can be dimmed using leading or trailing edge dimmers, so providing your dimmer and any transformers are happy with the low loads from LEDs then it is now much more straight forward. There are also load resistors available to add load to a circuit if dimmers need a minimum load not supplied by the lamps, but this adds a parasitic electrical load that simply wastes energy for the convenience of not needing to change the dimmer (or transformer if adding to the LV side). They are not particularly cheap though.

logic_187

Thanks all, i might try changing 1 at a time

John

Go to screwfix and you will get sorted quite easily.  
Their dimmable leds are reasonably priced. And a compatible varilight dimmer about £15. I switched out my final halogens a couple of weeks ago

noiseboy72

LEDs ideally want a constant current, controlled voltage input, so an unloaded transformer may not fulfill this objective.

As others have suggested, removing the transformers and running mains type fixtures is one solution, but your fittings may not be suitable and you would most probably also need to replace all the low voltage wiring as well.

I would have a look at something like this: Dimmable Driver/Transformer for use with LEDlite MR16 Lamps as a transformer replacement, coupled with a Varilite dimmer.

LED can mess up the power factor correction and cause harmonics on the mains supply. This can lead to odd effects on other transformers, so be aware if you have a mixture of LED and halogen on the same dimmer, as it may not operate as expected.

SteveCritten

There is a utility company when you join them they will replace all your bulbs to led and if not comparable will pay £100 towards an electrical changing them.

JUS

I did this in the kitchen recently. Turned out to be a right pain....and expensive

Changed the bulbs but then realised most of the transforms were 0-70w but not all. So had to change the 20-70w

Then had to replace the dimmer switch as my previous one wasn't led compatible.

Sounds easy but it was a right pain checking 14 transformers and having to switch back while I wait for the new switch to arrive [emoji849]then realising I had some dimmable transformers and some weren't!

I bought Liqoo bulbs from Amazon.

I found leds seem far more sensitive than halogens. I had transformers with exact same spec but different makes and the bulbs would flicker.

larkone

Why not convert them from MR16 to GU10 by changing to bulb holder inside the fitting, then you can ditch the transformer and buy cheaper dimmable GU10 bulbs.

10 GU10 Lamp Holder Base New Regulation Bulb Connector 240v GU10 Mains Holders: Amazon.co.uk: Kitchen & Home