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Need to replace the little spot light bulbs at our cafe/shop but which to go for energy savers or LED. What I am asking really is which will last the longest and also cost less to run.

Some analysis.

LED Lamp Whole life cost
30,000 hrs x 9W at 7.9p/kWh = £21.33
+ £40 capital cost = £61.33

Incadscent Lamp Whole life cost
1100 hrs x 100W at 7.9p/kWh = £8.69
ratio of Incadscent vs. LED lamp life = 27.3
£8.69x 27.3 = £237.23
+ £0.5 x 27.3 = £13.65
WLC = £ 250.88

CFL Whole life cost
12,000 hrs x 20W at 7.9p/kWh = £18.96
ratio of CFL vs. LED lamp life = 2.5
£18.96 x 2.5 = £47.4
+ £3 x 2.5 = £7.5
WLC = £54.9

Looks like a CFL is most economical. LED light is also not as good as CFL although there is a new generation of LED on the way.

Andy Hamilton wrote:Need to replace the little spot light bulbs at our cafe/shop but which to go for energy savers or LED. What I am asking really is which will last the longest and also cost less to run.

If you want to try some led versions of the GU10s then pm me as I have some I can send to you to try before you buy. I was disapointed in a whole room setting but for close up or spot work they might be ok.

Big Al

Mythbusters ran a huge test and LED lights came out top and were the cheapest too!

Andy Hamilton wrote:Need to replace the little spot light bulbs at our cafe/shop but which to go for energy savers or LED. What I am asking really is which will last the longest and also cost less to run.

Are they G4s?

I got some warm white 9-LED arrays from ebay which work great in those desk lamp thingies.. not so sure about spots though

what fittings are the ones you have now ?

and how many are you after? buying in bulk helps with the price.

you need quite a few from what I remember.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Full-Spectrum-M ... B000VT2IIM

My understanding is that LEDS last 10 times longer than cfls AND they cost less to run. Ours run from a car battery at the moment.

The big factor for me is that LEDs do not contain mercury, so they win hands down
The light needs getting used to though; as they are pretty directional rather than whatever the opposite of that is

starchild wrote:My understanding is that LEDS last 10 times longer than cfls AND they cost less to run. Ours run from a car battery at the moment.

The big factor for me is that LEDs do not contain mercury, so they win hands down
The light needs getting used to though; as they are pretty directional rather than whatever the opposite of that is

Omni directional.

Non directional?

you two are clearly better bought up than I, i was thinking along the lines of it had a big spread

We use both and the LEDs certainly use less power than an equivalent CFL but they are not ideal for many applications. We have warm white ones in the bedroom, cool white as spotlights in the kitchen and they are ideal but for lighting in the living room I think even the warm ones would be a bit harsh so we stick with the CFLs I think it all depends on the setting but the technology is improving daily.

Cheers, Paul

TheGoodEarth wrote:Non directional?

Diffuse lighting/ ambient lighting