Articles Related to: 12v
How To Fit Kitchen Down Lights
The thing is that all LED light bulbs are inherently low voltage; it's just that the "mains" powered ones are designed with an integral LED driver (transformer), thereby saving you the trouble of figuring out the correct type of transformer for LED light bulbs. Not that you cannot opt for separate 12v transformer(s) and low voltage LED lights if you want to (for some situations, boats and caravans being obvious examples, you only have access to 12 volts anyway). It's just an extra complication which is easily avoided in most cases.
As regards the many reasons for choosing LED over incandescent lighting, I don't have the inclination to reiterate them here, but if you're ... Can You Mix ‘n Match Transformers With LED Lights?
Just because whatever transformer you happen to have in your hand converts from say 230 volts to 12 volts does not mean it is suitable for driving whatever 12 volt application you had in mind (your LED lights in this case).
Take a look at a few transformers and you will notice that aside from specifying PRI=230V SEC=12v, meaning obviously that it is a step down transformer that is designed to convert from main to low voltage, there are some other bits of information. Specifically there will be a figure for amperes, so expect to find something like 0.65A or 3500mA (milli-amps so equivalent ... Still Using Halogen Lamps? Are You Mad?
The example figures above pretty much spell it out: the savings from switching to LED work out at over £100 per year for just TEN (admittedly high use) light bulbs.
Sure, it's going to cost you six times what you normally expect to pay in order to buy an LED retrofit GU10 (or 12v MR16 if low voltage floats your boat), but the longer you hold out on biting the bullet the more it just keeps on costing you. ... What To Look For When Buying LED Spotlights
In fact, you may want to consider replacing existing low voltage lighting with mains powered GU10 LED bulbs since (unlike incandescent lighting where the higher current on low voltage systems creates brighter light) there is very little visible difference between mains powered and 12v LED lights. The LED light bulbs themselves already contain an integral driver so there is not really anything much to be gained using low voltage MR16 LED lamps apart from ... Review of LED Replacements For Standard Light Bulbs
As a general rule you're likely to be OK with an old style slide/rotate switch and get nowhere with an electronic push/touch type dimmer. However, even if the light dims nicely some dimmer switches can cause the light bulbs to buzz (though I've know this to also happen with regular incandescent halogen lamps too, particularly when 12v transformers are present).
That said, they are getting a whole lot better on this front and the best advice I can offer for the moment therefore ...
