| RSS Web Feed for Renewable Energy UK | REUK Shop | Directory | Bookmark Site | About Us  

Cree LED Spotlights



Cree LED Spotlights

Find out more about Cree LED spotlights - replace inefficient halogen bulbs

lighting | shopping | energy efficiency
Printer Friendly Version Print Article     

In our article LED Spotlights we introduced the advantages and disadvantages of LED spotlights compared with halogen bulbs. The main advantages of LED spotlights are that they use as little as 1/50th of the power of halogen bulbs, and they last for years rather than months. The disadvantage is that the light they produce is not as warm as that from halogens, they are quite poor at providing general room lighting, and they cannot be used with dimmable light switches.

Megaman spotlights provide equivalent light to halogens, but they use 7-11 Watts of power - compared to 1-1.5 for standard LED spotlights. In this article we will look at a compromise alternative: a 3W powered LED spotlights from Cree.

Cree LED Spotlights

Cree Inc is a leading semiconductor manufacturer which specialises in solid state (LED technology) lighting amongst other things. Rather than making spotlights with 20 to 80 small LEDs, their MR16 (12VDC) and GU10 (230VAC) spotlights are made up of three 1W powered super LEDs.

Cree 3x1W MR16 Low Voltage LED spotlight bulb
MR16 3x1W
Cree 3x1W GU10 Mains Powered LED spotlight bulb
GU10 3x1W

While the light given out by these Cree spotlights is still a lot whiter / cooler than that of halogens, it is not as blue as many cheaper LED spotlights, and it has a much wider beam (matching more closely that of halogens) and is therefore much more suitable for general whole room lighting. A 3x1W Cree spotlight in low voltage or mains voltage configuration is equivalent to a 35W halogen bulb, so these can be used as direct replacements for halogens in all applications.

The average life time of a Cree spotlight is from 30,000 to 50,000 hours - i.e. up to 6 years of continuous use.

Cree spotlight bulbs are also available in 1x5W (i.e one 5W LED bulb), 1x10W, and 7x1W (i.e. seven 1W LED bulbs) configurations offering LED spotlights suitable for all applications. Cool White and Warm White versions are available, but note that even the warm white is very white when compared to the almost yellow light of a halogen bulb.

Buy Cree LED Spotlight Bulbs

Cree spotlights are not cheap and they are not always easy to find in the UK. Therefore, the starting point for your search should be eBay. Click here to search all listings for Cree MR16 (12V), or look below for a list of the latest Cree GU10 (mains voltage) listings.



Article Last Modified: 14:33, 29th Jul 2008


Recommended Related Articles

People who read this article also enjoyed the following articles:

LED Spotlights
Find out about Energy Efficient LED spotlights
Article Last Modified: 14:31, 29th Jul 2008
lighting

Review of Megaman Energy Saving Lightbulbs
Find out more about the Megaman range of CFL energy saving lightbulbs
Article Last Modified: 10:53, 5th Sep 2008
lighting | energy efficiency | carbon | shopping

Shed and Garage Solar Lighting
Light your shed or garage with solar powered lighting
Article Last Modified: 14:03, 25th Sep 2008
lighting | solar

240V LED Light Bulbs
Find out more about 240 Volt LED lightbulbs and spotlights
Article Last Modified: 11:34, 20th Aug 2007
lighting

DIY 2kW Wind Turbine
Read about a home built 2kW wind turbine constructed from scrap
Article Last Modified: 08:46, 4th Oct 2007
wind | recycling

Pharox 240V LED Lightbulbs
New 240V LED lightbulbs which can be used in place of standard incandescents
Article Last Modified: 08:24, 23rd Feb 2007
lighting | news

How I Built A Wind Turbine
Read how a wind turbine was built for under US$150
Article Last Modified: 15:16, 19th Aug 2008
wind | education

Introduction to Water Wheels
Find out more about using the power of a waterwheel
Article Last Modified: 22:11, 11th Apr 2006
hydro

Micro Hydro Simplified Guide
A simple guide to small scale hydro power generation ideal for DIY
Article Last Modified: 09:00, 21st Aug 2007
hydro | education

MR11 and MR16 12v Spotlight Connectors
Wiring for 12 volt LED spotlights
Article Last Modified: 11:40, 31st Mar 2007
lighting

© 2006-2008 REUK - All Rights Reserved
Page Last Updated on 11th October 2008 at 09:50:05am

Latest
Articles


solarDAB Solar Powered DAB Radio
Find out more about the world's first solar powered DAB radio
shopping
09:49, 11th Oct 2008

Convert Digital Mains Timer To Low Voltage
Convert a cheap digital mains timer into a low voltage programmable timer relay
electronics
16:21, 5th Oct 2008

Simple Well Pump Controller
Find out how to automatically get water from the well into a header tank
water
11:52, 1st Oct 2008

Solar Powered Poultry Lighting
Put together a solar system to power poultry lighting - increase winter egg production
solar
10:05, 27th Sep 2008

Solar Powered Security Spotlight
Protect your home with a solar-powered motion-detecting security spotlight
solar
14:22, 25th Sep 2008

Shed and Garage Solar Lighting
Light your shed or garage with solar powered lighting
lighting
14:03, 25th Sep 2008

Wind Up Eco Media Player
Find out more about the Eco Media Player - the world's first windup video player from Trevor Baylis
shopping
12:55, 25th Sep 2008

Solargorilla Laptop Charger
Find out about the Solargorilla - a rugged solar powered laptop charger
shopping
12:55, 25th Sep 2008



REUK Shop

Popular Items


12 VOLT 3 WATT SOLAR PANEL
Waterproof 12 Volt 3 Watt Solar Panel - 199 x 136mm with fitted leads (fiberglass and resin).
£19.99 each.
Solar Power



EFERGY HOMECO2METER
efergy homeCO2meter wireless electricity monitor
£38.99 each.
Energy Saving



6V 250MA SOLAR PANEL
Waterproof 6 Volt 250 milliamp (1.5 Watt) Solar Panel - 130 x 135mm with fitted leads (fiberglass and resin)
£13.99 each.
Solar Power



300 WATT POWER INVERTER
Convert 12V DC battery power into 230 AC to power portable televisions, computers, video recorders etc. 300 Watt power rating - peak power 600 Watts
£29.99 each.
Renewable Energy System Parts



SOLAR PUMP CONTROLLER WITH RELAY
Solar water heating system microprocessor controlled circuit with fitted 10A relay
£25.99 each.
Complete Circuits



SUNSAVER 10A SOLAR CONTROLLER
10 Amp at 12 Volt solar charge controller - epoxy encapsulation, marine rated terminals
£35.99 each.
Solar Controllers