Hello from New member

[Deleted member 79988]

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]

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]

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.