LED Home Lighting

The Limitations of Halogen and LED Spot Lights

While it is fairly straightforward to replace halogen spot lights used as down lighters and for display with equivalent 12v LED spotlights since the purpose of the application is to emit bright directional light which LED lamps are intrinsically best at doing, it is not presently so simple to replace ordinary incandescent light bulbs with equivalent LED light bulbs.

The reason is exactly the same reason that 12v LED spot lights make a good replacement for halogen spotlights - the light is very focused rather than the diffuse scattered illumination one normally gets with regular GLS (General Lighting Service) lamps.

This is not to say that LED home lighting cannot replace a typical 40w table lamp bulb for example, but the existing products are still not ideal as replacements. The usual objections are brightness, light “color” and cost - though even with these more expensive types of LED the upfront purchase price is a false indicator of the true cost of home LED lighting compared to conventional lighting solutions.

In fact, there are the excellent EvoLux LED globes that compete head on with a regular 100w incandescent bulb AND can provide built in dimmer capabilities. But even though these will still save you much money over the years, the present purchase price is somewhat above what many would consider.

However, there is a good, simple, cost-effective interim solution available for those who don’t want to commit fully to LED home lighting yet (though they will have to sooner than many realize) but who also want to begin saving energy while waiting for the technology to fully mature over the next couple of years.

Halogen Powered Standard Light Bulbs

Having replaced your mains GU10 and 12v dichroic MR16 halogen spot lights with equivalent 12v LED spotlight substitutes, consider installing halogen replacement bulbs for those common or garden GLS light bulbs you have fitted in standard and ceiling lamps - typically anything that uses some form of lampshade and throws light in all directions.

Halogen capsules packaged inside standard light bulb casings have been around for a while, but were once something of a speciality.

Now however, many if not most DIY and hardware supplies, carry ranges of halogen powered light bulbs that use regular bayonet and screw type fittings in different sizes and wattages.

These look like normal light bulbs in every way, the difference being a halogen capsule (similar to a halogen desk lamp bulb) is embedded inside instead of a simple filament.

They also shine exactly like a regular GSL bulb, though perhaps slightly more bright and crisp. You could easily substitute a standard 40w light bulb with a 28w halogen equivalent - in fact you might even get away with replacing a 60w bulb since the light from the halogen substitute is that bit sharper.

But the best bit is that although these halogen bulbs cost (at present) nearly 50% more than the equivalent GSL fitting, they last two to three times as long (quite a lot longer that that in fact if used in conjunction with a soft-start dimmer switch) and consume upto a third less electricity. While these savings are clearly not even close to what most LED home lighting is capable of delivering, they are still significant since the primary cost of providing domestic lighting is the energy used to run it and the replacement costs of the bulbs.

The key to home lighting efficiency is a) reduce the operating cost (i.e. use less power) and b) reduce the frequency of replacement. The optimum solution of course is full LED home lighting where you are looking at reducing power consumption AND increasing bulb lifespan BOTH by a factor of at least 20.

But as an intermediate step on the inevitable path to full LED home lighting, converting to halogen replacements for normal GSL light bulbs has much to commend it.

It’s a simple DIY job that any one can do and the cost savings will easily outweigh the purchase cost - even if you march straight down to your local DIY or hardware store right now and throw away existing, perfectly serviceable GLS bulbs BEFORE they actually need replacing.

Remember, the cost of lighting is the running cost - NOT the purchase cost. Buy whatever costs the least to run (which ultimately is LED home lighting of course). The sooner you start using low energy consumption lighting the more money you will save. It’s no more complicated than that.