Track Lighting - Replacing Halogen with LED

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Maglor

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My collection room is lit almost exclusively with track lighting:


I have 3 tracks like the one on the left below, and I plan to add a 4th soon:


16.jpg




These things use a lot of energy, they don't last very long, and they make the room really HOT!!! :monkey4


I would like to make the switch to LED's and I would like any input or suggestions that may apply.


I think the track-light halogen style LED's that you can find at Menards or Home Depot are not nearly as bright as a regular halogen, and the white is very cool. I would like to get some LED bulbs/lamps that are as bright as my halogens and more warm in tone.


Right now, this looks like my best bet:


[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UX0-ieQITSo"]YouTube - LED MR16 vs GU10 - Part 1 of 2[/ame]


I have the GU10 style.^^^



Here is a demo of "pure white" vs. "warm white":


[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YoE_amGqWc&feature=related"]YouTube - LED Bulbs - Warm White vs Pure White part 2 of 2[/ame]


The "warm white" looks about like halogen or incandescent in tone.

The ones I need are $16.95 per bulb from this seller: https://leddistributors.3dcartstores.com/led_bulbs.html




Here is another seller: https://www.ledtronics.com/Products/ProductsDetails.aspx?WP=M507K906

No idea why they're more than twice the price here. :dunno




Anyway, any comments or suggestions? Has anyone had experience with making this switch?


Thanks! :duff
 
that is still a very expensive way to convert to LED so not sure how many would have done that at this point :p

oh these guys have some cheaper ones but their shipping is incl but takes 3-4 weeks to finally arrive
https://s.dealextreme.com/search/gu10+led
 
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Woah, those are way cheaper. Thanks for the link. :)


Regarding the expense: They last for 50,000 I think. And only use 3 watts.


Add that to the reduction in heat and I think it's well worth the price.
 
True
But if each bulb ends up $20 and you need 16 of those I rather get new shelves and Ikea dioders :D


:borg:
 
Keep in mind this is how I light my room, it's not just to accent the figures. I need it to be track lighting.


Also, it will be 12 bulbs at the absolute maximum, and the link you gave had them at $7 each with free shipping.

That's only $84, and I will pretty much never need to buy bulbs again.


Now the only question is: will they be bright enough?
 
Keep in mind this is how I light my room, it's not just to accent the figures. I need it to be track lighting.


Also, it will be 12 bulbs at the absolute maximum, and the link you gave had them at $7 each with free shipping.

That's only $84, and I will pretty much never need to buy bulbs again.


Now the only question is: will they be bright enough?

yes tell me ones you get them :D
 
Are halogen lights really that bad for statues?

I'm looking at the display cabinet to buy and they have three 50W Halogen lights in them at the top.
Would that be an issue? is 50w too much?
 
Are halogen lights really that bad for statues?

All direct light is damaging to bright colors and plastics over time. Bright colors will fade in strong light. Injection molded plastic contains release agents that yellow from exposure to light, especially UV. This is why old white plastic toys get dingy yellow.

Conventional wisdom is LED lighting is less damaging over time and the side benefit is it's better for your energy bill. The LEDs also produce better looking light than florescent bulbs.
 
My biggest complaint with Halogen is the heat.

My biggest complaint with LED's is temperature (as in color temperature - they are too blue).

So I will soon be buying a ton of "warm" LED's. They are basically regular LEDs with a orange color over each little lens.

I'll let you all know how I like them when they arrive.
 
My biggest complaint with Halogen is the heat.

My biggest complaint with LED's is temperature (as in color temperature - they are too blue).

So I will soon be buying a ton of "warm" LED's. They are basically regular LEDs with a orange color over each little lens.

I'll let you all know how I like them when they arrive.

But if you get low wattage halogen so they run just as hot?
 
They're crap. :(

These are the "warm" LED's that I bought: [ame]https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006N5SCOM[/ame]

The description says that they are dimmable. They are not, so I hope to return them at their expense.




Anyway, here's a comparison with an ordinary halogen bulb:


Warm LED on left, halogen on right:

IMG_5096.jpg






Halogen on left, warm LED on right:

IMG_5098.jpg






Halogen:

IMG_5102.jpg






Warm LED:

IMG_5101.jpg



As you can see the 9W LED produces a similar brightness which I didn't expect, but the color is downright sickly. :sick




Now I'm wondering if I could get used to regular cool LED's if I had them throughout the room...
 
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I realize that I'm pretty much talking to myself in this thread, but I'd like to try and bring this thing to a conclusion. LED is becoming much easier to find in stores so I have been experimenting more. I have it narrowed down to these two:


From Menards:

FEIT.jpg




From Home Depot:

Philips.jpg



Both of these claim to be 3000K in color, which isn't as warm as a "soft white", but nowhere near as cold as a "daylight" bulb. It's really a great color. Just from looking at them all day, my halogen bulbs look downright nasty by comparison. Both bulbs are right around $23 each. I've come to terms with the fact that you get what you pay for with LED's. Cheap ones just look like crap, and I hear they don't last as long as advertised.


I've tried taking pictures of the two of these lit to compare, but I just can't get them to show up the way they look in person. Ultimately I think I prefer the Philips, for the following reasons:

  1. The color is consistent throughout the range of dimming. With the FEIT bulb it seemed to get a little greenish in tone when it was dimmed, which I really don't like. It was very subtle, but it was there.
  2. I think I prefer the color of the Philips even at full brightness. This is the only area where I'm slightly unsure, as both of them are nice. I like that there isn't even a hint of green with the Philips. I think the FEIT is a little warmer, but it's just not quite as natural looking as the Philips.
  3. Uses only 4 watts as opposed to 5, which means it's the cooler (less heat, which was the whole reason for doing this) of the 2. It's not as bright as the FEIT (200 lumens as opposed to 260). A little more brightness would be nice, but not a deal breaker when it's for accent lighting.
  4. It comes on almost instantly. The FEIT comes on a half a second later, which feels like a long time when you're walking into a room.
  5. It can be dimmed all the way down to nothing - nice and smooth. The FEIT, on the other hand dims down to about 1/3 brightness and then just shuts off.
  6. The Philips is a nicer looking bulb. It matches my fixtures very well and it has no visible writing on it when screwed in, unlike the FEIT.



So, yeah. Pretty sure I've made my choice. Gonna get 12 of the Philips Dimmable GU10 LED's.

That's an investment of about $275. :horror


BUT, they supposedly last 22.8 years! :rock

More importantly, it wont be so freaking hot in my collection room. :lol
 
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I'm very interested in how this all turns out for you since I'll be switching to track lighting in my collection room soon.
 
I'll definitely keep the thread posted, but this is somewhat a matter of personal preference. And it is a big investment.
 
Bought 2 more of the Philips bulbs. Gonna try and show an approximation of how they look. I haven't been able to take a picture that shows the temperature accurately, but hopefully you can get an idea. I took these pictures during the day so you can see the daylight coming in from the window. You all know what daylight looks like so hopefully that gives you a point of reference.

Here are two shots of the same thing with the White Balance set two different ways:


IMG_8118.jpg





IMG_8119.jpg



Again, neither of those is accurate. The first is cooler than reality and the second is warmer. Truth is somewhere in between, but again, if you compare to the light coming from the window (which is shining on the ceiling) you can see that it's much warmer than daylight.



Here's a pic where I attempted color correction:


IMG_8127.jpg



Still not perfect, but closer. The light on the ceiling is daylight, and the light on the Inception shelf is from the LED. I think it's a very nice color, and it's consistent throughout the dimming range. I've actually gotten so used to the LED light that the halogens on my other fixtures look downright nasty by comparison.


For those that want to know exactly what I'm using, it's this track lighting set: https://www.menards.com/main/lighti.../ring-3-head-track-light/p-1374779-c-7490.htm

With these bulbs: https://www.homedepot.com/buy/4-watt-35w-ambient-led-gu10-light-bulb-349934.html


They look like they were made for each other. :)


IMG_8124.jpg





IMG_8126.jpg
 
IMG_8490.jpg



9 plus 3 = 12.

I actually bought 2 more after this as spares. Big investment, but they look so great. And the room is soooo much cooler.


Now the only problem is finding a dimmer that works with 4w LEDs. I've tried 2 now that don't dim unless I keep one of my halogens plugged in. My old dimmer didn't work and a new Lutron dimmer designed for LEDs didn't either. I called Lutron and they said it's only rated to work with bulbs as low as 6w.


Waiting to hear back from Philips directly. They are supposed to be providing me with a list of dimmers that will work.


Soon this odyssey will come to a conclusion. :pray:
 
I bought the same lights from Home Depot, but they had a two pack for $32 CAD instead of the $22 each.

I bought them and I love them, i had to buy 4 two packs. the light is cooler and there is next to no heat.

love them.


IMG_8490.jpg



9 plus 3 = 12.

I actually bought 2 more after this as spares. Big investment, but they look so great. And the room is soooo much cooler.


Now the only problem is finding a dimmer that works with 4w LEDs. I've tried 2 now that don't dim unless I keep one of my halogens plugged in. My old dimmer didn't work and a new Lutron dimmer designed for LEDs didn't either. I called Lutron and they said it's only rated to work with bulbs as low as 6w.


Waiting to hear back from Philips directly. They are supposed to be providing me with a list of dimmers that will work.


Soon this odyssey will come to a conclusion. :pray:
 
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