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

LED Spotlights



LED Spotlights

Find out about Energy Efficient LED spotlights

lighting
Printer Friendly Version Print Article     

12V LED Spotlights

At present it is recommended that all old style incandescent light bulbs are replaced with Compact Fluorescent Light (CFL) bulbs. A typical CFL has a lifetime many times that of an incandescent bulb, and consumes only 20% of the energy. LED bulbs offer enormous electricity consumption reductions, but suffer from one problem - the light from an LED is very directional and so (at present) they are most suited to be used exclusively as spot lights. If you want to use LED spotlights for general room lighting, it is usually best to leave some halogen bulbs in the circuit to ensure overall light levels in the room are maintained.

Halogen Bulb from a Spotlight

Replacing Halogen Spotlight Bulbs with LEDs

During the last 10-15 years, halogen spotlights have become more and more popular in British homes. Halogen bulbs (pictured above) are typically available in low voltage 6V or 12V (supplied with adapter) and high voltage 240V versions with 20-50 Watt power ratings.

Replacement 12V LED spotlights are now available and becoming more and more economical to purchase. Dichroic Halogen bulbs start at around £1 each and last for 2,000 hours - LED spotlights are priced as low as £4 each and will last 80,000 to 100,000 hours! The total power consumption for an LED spotlight is an ultra-low 1-2 Watt for a bulb offering similar light levels to a power hungry halogen bulb.

LED Spotlight Options

240V LED Spotlight

LED Spotlights are available in a range of optical beam angles from 6 to 25 degrees, so you can choose how intense a spotlight you require - narrow beam for a dedicated reading light, wide beam for more diffuse mood lighting. They come in industry standard fittings: MR16, and GU10 so you can very simply replace all the spotlight bulbs in your home and start saving on your electricity bill each month.

Buy LED Spotlights


Buy MR16 and GU10 LED spotlight bulbs from eBay

Currently, one of the cheapest places to purchase LED spotlights is eBay. A huge range of different colours and light intensities are available from as little as £3.50 including postage. Click here to search eBay now for MR16 LED (12 VDC or 12 VAC), and here for GU10 LED (mains powered 110/240 VAC).

NEW 12V LED spotlights (pictured at the top of this article) and MR16 ceramic bulb holders are now available from the REUK Shop.

240 Volt White LED Spotlight Bulb (GU10)

NEW Pure brilliant white 240 Volt LED spotlight bulbs (pictured above) are also available in the REUK Shop. These 1 Watt rated bulbs with GU10 fitting can be used as a direct replacement for 240 Volt halogen spotlights (except in dimmer circuits)

In situations where these low-voltage and mains-voltage LED spotlights are not always bright enough (e.g. for general room lighting), consider Cree LED spotlights which are spotlights made up of one or more 1+ Watt LED bulbs, or Megaman dimmerable CFL spotlight bulbs.

12V LED Spotlights and Renewable Energy

12 Volt LED Spotlights are being used more and more in off-grid renewable energy situations where an array of solar panels, or a wind turbine, is charging a 12 volt battery bank with power. Using 12 volt appliances, devices, and lighting costs a little more up front, but there are no energy losses caused by having to step up voltage to 240V AC using an inefficient power inverter if you use 12 volts throughout. A typical power inverter burns up around 50 Watts of power just converting DC from the batteries to AC - enough power to light fifty 12 volt LED spotlights.
nb. This only works well if the battery bank is close to the site where you intend to use the stored power or there are voltage losses over the cables.

Click here to read about how to set up Shed and Garage Solar Lighting with 12V LED spotlights.
Article Last Modified: 14:31, 29th Jul 2008

Comment on this Article

If you have any comments on this article, please email them to neil@reuk.co.uk.


Recommended Related Articles

People who read this article also enjoyed the following articles:

Shed and Garage Solar Lighting
Light your shed or garage with solar powered lighting
Article Last Modified: 16:47, 12th Nov 2008
lighting | solar

Cree LED Spotlights
Find out more about Cree LED spotlights - replace inefficient halogen bulbs
Article Last Modified: 14:33, 29th Jul 2008
lighting | shopping | energy efficiency

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

Pharox 240V LED Lightbulbs
New 240V LED lightbulbs which can be used in place of standard incandescents
Article Last Modified: 09:41, 4th Jan 2010
lighting | news

Ways to Save Electricity
Find out how you can save electricity in your home - help the environment and save money.
Article Last Modified: 11:39, 14th Nov 2009
energy efficiency | general

240V LED Light Bulbs
Find out more about 240 Volt LED lightbulbs and spotlights
Article Last Modified: 16:26, 11th Apr 2009
lighting

Dimmable Energy Saving Lightbulbs
Find out more about low energy light bulbs which can be used with standard dimmer switches
Article Last Modified: 14:29, 16th Feb 2008
lighting | energy efficiency | general | shopping

Benefits of CFL Lighting
Understand the benefits of Compact Flourescent Lighting (CFL).
Article Last Modified: 16:46, 21st Feb 2007
lighting | energy efficiency

Put Together an REUK Solar Lighting Kit
Full construction plans for solar powered shed or garage lighting using LED spotlights
Article Last Modified: 14:36, 25th Apr 2007
solar | lighting | electric circuit

© 2006-2010 REUK - All Rights Reserved
Page Last Updated on 6th February 2010 at 11:36:54am

Latest
Articles


Feed in Tariff
Find out more about feed in tariffs - the amount you can be paid for exporting renewable electricity to the National Grid
solar
11:36, 6th Feb 2010

LM2940 12V 1A Low Dropout Regulator
Find out how to use an LM2940 to efficiently regulate voltage
electric circuit
09:07, 30th Jan 2010

Amperor 12 Volt LCD TFT Stabiliser
A 12V regulator for use with flat screen televisions and more
shopping
09:03, 30th Jan 2010

Water Two Greywater Diverter Review
The REUK review of the Water Two greywater diverter.
water
14:41, 6th Jan 2010

Wattson Energy Meter
Find out more about the Wattson Energy Meter from DIY Kyoto
shopping
09:37, 5th Jan 2010

Pharox 240V LED Lightbulbs
New 240V LED lightbulbs which can be used in place of standard incandescents
lighting
09:41, 4th Jan 2010

Three Gorges Dam
Learn about the world's largest dam and hydro electric project
hydro
08:49, 4th Jan 2010

Freeloader Pico
Buy the new economical Freeloader Pico solar charger
solar
12:37, 8th Dec 2009



REUK Shop

Popular Items


REUK SUPER TIMER
User programmable 12V powered 10A rated repeating relay timer. 1 second to 99 hours ON and OFF times
£19.99 each.
Complete Circuits



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



12 VOLT 5 WATT SOLAR PANEL
Waterproof 12 Volt 5 Watt Solar Panel with aluminium frame - 290mm x 205mm x 17mm with fitted 5m leads
£33.99 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



CONVERTED PROGRAMMABLE DIGITAL TIMER RELAY
Mains powered programmable timer converted to low voltage with relay board
£21.99 each.
Renewable Energy System Parts



12 VOLT REGULATOR
Supply a fixed 12.0 Volt DC to your devices (up to 1 Amp output)
£4.99 each.
Complete Circuits



MR16 CERAMIC BULB HOLDER
Bulb holder for 12 Volt LED spotlight bulbs
£1.39 each.
Energy Efficient Lighting