Hello from New member

Deleted member 79988 · Jan 31, 2014

I understand a little about electrics but can only dabble in the basic, DIY jobs. The most I have ever done was to install a distribution box in my garden shed and fixed in power and lighting. External power had already been installed by a qualified Electrician to a junction box inside the shed.

Have recently gone through a house refurb. requiring Builders,Plumbers and Electricians, my claim to fame in this venture was the decorating. I was advised it would be good to install LED lighting, where practical, in existing downlighters plus a new lighting rack in the kitchen extension.

Realising this to be a saving on energy I agreed it was a good idea so had them do the work.

The LED's used were Aurora GU10 240v 6w non dimmable. However in the first 4 months all 4 have failed in the bathroom and were replaced under warranty as these LED's are guaranteed for 2 years. After 2 months 2 more have failed in the bathroom, which is annoying to say the least. As a stop gap I have replaced all 4 fittings with the original Halogens.

4 out of 13 have failed in the kitchen 3 downlighters and one in a 5 lamp rack. These have been replaced 4 months ago and at the moment are OK.

Am I unlucky or are LED's still in the early stages of technology and problems such as mine can be anticipated?

As far as the downlighters are concerned, I am aware there has to be space above the fitting in the ceiling void re heat dissipation. But as the bathroom fittings are a fully enclosed unit, is it possible this causes a build up of heat leading to the constant lamp failure I have experienced?

Any comments would be appreciated, but not too technical please.

Many Thanks

telectrix · Jan 31, 2014

you should not get excessive heat build up with LEDs. as long as they don't have insulation stuffed on them, they're pretty cool running, unlike halogens. aurora have a good name. i'd be incined to think there's am underlying problem with wiring or with the supply. get your spark back to investigate.

Deleted member 79988 · Jun 7, 2014

Conclusion to the above. After a couple more failures in the bathroom, I replaced the LED's with the original halogen lamps. 3 weeks later one halogen failed and I noticed the lens on one of the enclosures had cracked. This was enough for me, so I called the contractor back and we agreed he would replace all 6 fittings in the bathroom with a different style LED which did not have a lamp in an enclosure protected by a lens.

Cannot remember the name of the units supplied, but each LED has a 3 lamp effect, fits snugly into the ceiling and covered by an outer rim, no lens.

All wiring was checked plus surrounding cavity insulation and all ok. I am assuming the original installation of the bathroom downlights was not conducive to LED lamps being enclosed in a fitment with a protective lens. Possibly being a contributing factor to heat build up.

As for the failures in the kitchen it must have been one of those things as again all ok at present 5 months down the line.