Low Voltage Downlighters.

[new_spark]

Quick question on the life expectancy of the transformers. Customer has about 100 low volt dls and about 30 of them no longer work. They have been in since the house was built about 6 years ago. Is this an acceptable time or could there be an underlying problem??

Cheers Chaps

 

[pennywise]

IBL replacements and you won't go far wrong. 6yrs is a reasonable good life expectancy to be honest with average use and run time per day. obviously some have failed well before they've got you in.

 

[bugsy]

Depends on the quality of the transformers, are they dedicated ? have they installed correct lamps to match trannies?

 

[nickblake]

6 years is a good life , but there is no life expectancy really they could go after 1 week if the lamp shorts out, , how ever most transformers have short term short protection,they could last for years, the other thing to look at is the loading if the transformer has been loaded to its maximum then the life of the transformer could well be reduced ,due to it running hotter, where as a transformer thats over rated for the load ie: 105 va running a 35 watt load , then the transformer will run cooler and probable last longer , this also can depend on the amount of usage it gets 9 hours a day or just a few minuits here and there so realy , the other factor is the quality or transformer wether its electronic as most are or the wound transformer which weighes a ton , hope this helps

 

[new_spark]

Thanks, not sure not been round to have a look yet, just a phone conversation I'll update when I've had a look.

Cheers

 

[jeremy]

I try not to fit ELV downlights as there's something extra to go wrong. i tried typing something more but my fingers are p####d

 

[nickblake]

I try not to fit ELV downlights as there's something extra to go wrong. i tried typing something more but my fingers are p####d

agree with you on that one go for GU 10's if you have to replace any , also have a look at the ESC guide to down lights very informative

 

[pennywise]

In that case I'm putting money on the fact that quite a few of them are just lamps you'd be surprised how many well off people are incapable of changing lamps. We had one where we had to show the butler how to do them, still got a call every year to change them. It could be lampholders that are knackered as well as some trannies.

 

[pennywise]

agree with you on that one go for GU 10's if you have to replace any , also have a look at the ESC guide to down lights very informative

Only trouble with that is they give off a noticeably different light. I'm all for GU10 hate low voltage.

 

[nickblake]

thats a good point , they do , and your right about the lamp thing i bet it is the lamps

 

[bugsy]

Give merv a call -now that would be interesting

 

[pennywise]

He would be out every five minutes when he found another lamp gone "don't carry this type of lamp on the van madam" bill for 2.5k in the post

 

[new_spark]

In that case I'm putting money on the fact that quite a few of them are just lamps you'd be surprised how many well off people are incapable of changing lamps. We had one where we had to show the butler how to do them, still got a call every year to change them. It could be lampholders that are knackered as well as some trannies.

Thanks for the reply, customer reckons he's tried changing a few lamps and they still dont work so thats why i'm thinking its the trannies, also he's mentioned at looking at a low energy alternative, having not fitted any LED dls I'd imagine the cost of replacing the lot will be huge??
Any other suggestions on alternatives to GU10s?

 

[Marvo]

I've seen a CFL and LED direct replacements for GU10 halogen dichroic lamps. Might be a problem if the customer requires dimmable. I would check the colour rendering index and colour temperature against the originals as well.