Dimmable LED

[Temp]

Got a room that has GU10 Halogen downright on a dimmer. Looking to replace the light fittings and dimmer with LEDs. I've left these as halogen because they aren't used a lot and when they are they need to be highly dimmable which halogen does really well. Elsewhere I've got trailing edge dimmers in several rooms. While they do work they still aren't great.

 

So has anyone got a  recommendation for a combination of LED Lights and a dimmer thats working well? I don't really care what standard the dimmer uses just after really good dimming, ideally down to a few percent without flicker. 

 

Is CCR the way to go?

Edited January 24, 2021 by Temp

[BMcN]

I have just installed these throughout the house.

 

They work perfectly with Knightsbridge trailing edge dimmer.  Dim right down to nothing more than a slight glow.

 

I ended up going with BG electrical sockets and they only do leading edge which is causing a flicker at maybe 20%.  I have ended up ordering the knightsbridge ones and some blank BG faceplates, which I will drill and install the trailing edge dimmers to.

 

Edit, sorry I just reread and see you are wanting to change the bulbs only so my reply probably not very relevent. ? 

Edited January 24, 2021 by BMcN

[TonyT]

I fit Megaman GU10 warm white

they are Dimmable with varilight dimmers.

 

https://www.varilight.co.uk

[wozza]

Varilight Pro dimmers are great for LEDs - you can get the modules so easy to fit in most faceplates.

 

I have some Enlite and Aurora complete downlights and some GU10 Bulbs in some fittings and they all dim well.

 

 

Edited January 24, 2021 by wozza

[MJNewton]

I've always been so disappointed with the performance of LEDs and whilst they've got a lot better over the years I still don't consider them anywhere near as good as halogen in terms of their dimmability, changing colour temperature when dimmed (which I like) and colour rendition. Of course, they win hands down in running costs so I've somewhat reluctantly gradually moved over to them.

 

Finding halogen-like GU10 replacements has been particularly difficult with disappointment after disappointment from brands I'd expect more from (eg Philips/Signify) but am pleased to say a few months ago my seemingly-eternal search concluded with the Civilight CL 5620 from well-lit. CRI of >95, dim-to-warm, anti-glare light source, built-in heatsink and a 3yr warranty. They're expensive at £13.98 each but, frankly, I got to the point where I couldn't really care less as I wanted high quality light output and nothing else was coming close. Hopefully they'll last longer than 3 years (they're rated at 25,000 hours, which is roughly 3 years of constant usage) otherwise the payback might be slim compared to the halogens they're replacing but we'll have to see. They're not perfect halogen replacements, but they're the best I've found at satisfying my requirements and subjective preferences - and they're good enough for me.

One thing that helped me take the risk was their 1yr 'money back guarantee'  which basically says if you don't like them you can return them within a year and get your money back. I happened to be discussing lighting on a DIY sub-forum on a car forum (like you do) and mentioned I was going to try these and wondered if anyone else had, and whether they'd had any experience of this guarantee. Much to my surprise the owner of the company happened to be on the same forum so he piped up and came across as really genuine and clearly *really* into quality lighting (that was why he'd set the company up - had basically gone through what I had but rather than just moan on forums decided to do something about it!). He said they offer that guarantee because the bulbs he sells are that good - they hardly get any returns so it's minimal risk for them. Incidentally, he too recommends the Varilight Pro (at least for non-smart control - he's more into pricey smart controllers) and these bulbs are completely stable even down to virtually zero output.

Edited January 24, 2021 by MJNewton

[Temp]

Interesting comments thanks. So far the dimmable bulbs I've tried have quite a high minimum brightness and flicker when multiples are used in an array of downlighters. Pretty sure I started out with a Varilight dimmer but perhaps more experimenting is needed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[MJNewton]

3 minutes ago, Temp said:

Interesting comments thanks. So far the dimmable bulbs I've tried have quite a high minimum brightness and flicker when multiples are used in an array of downlighters. Pretty sure I started out with a Varilight dimmer but perhaps more experimenting is needed.

 

For what it's worth mine's a bank of five and is fine (on a Varilight Pro with the default Mode 1 trailing edge). With Ikea Ledare's I have seen some flicker when multiples are used, but that aside they're not too bad a bulb with a CRI of 90 which is better than most, dim-to-warm and only £2.50 each! The flicker can usually be resolved by just tweaking the brightness level ever so slightly but life's too short for that.

Edited January 24, 2021 by MJNewton