LED spotlights or halogen GU10 fittings with retrofit LED bulbs?

[pootlebug]

We are in the middle of building work and having spotlights fitted to new space. I said I wanted LEDs and the builder has suggested fitting halogen fittings that take retrofit LED bulbs like this www.simplyled.co.uk/GU10-NxtGen-LED-Dimmable-22-piece-SMD-5050-390-Lumens-50-watts-equiv_A11CDY.aspx?nh=0

Is there any advantage of 'real' LED fittings as opposed to these retrofit ones? Either in terms of light quality, cost to run, or how long the bulbs last? The LED fittings tend to be significantly higher cost. Wondering if anyone has experience of both.

[vodkaanddietirnbru]

made it a clicky link for you

[pootlebug]

Thank you! Now just need to find someone who knows :)

[discrete]

I replaced all the bulbs on my fittings with LEDs similar to the one you linked to and it's worked just fine.

The fitting is just a connection to the mains really! so long as it looks OK and is decent quality it doesn't matter whether it is packaged with an LED to start out with or not!

AFAIK you shouldn't put a halogen into an LED fitting as it will not have been installed to allow for the excess heat a halogen bulb will produce, but the reverse does not apply.

Light quality depends only on the LED bulbs, and they do vary enormously in quality. And I mean enormously.

[daniellao]

I did the same thing. I got mine from this site - www.decoledlight.co.uk/search.asp?types=%2ALED+Spotlights+%3E+LED+GU10. Was simply a case of swapping them over.

[Ponks]

discrete, can you recommend any decent LED bulbs? We had our kitchen done just over a year ago with LED spotlights, had hoped the bulbs would last years but several of them have already given up. They are so expensive that I would like to get a good bulb to replace them. Any ideas?

[ChaosTrulyReigns]

Andy, may I guess where you work?

[lazydog]

We have quite a few Energizer brand LED bulbs in our place and our electrics are pretty old/poor... Ordinary incandescent and cfl bulbs don't last at all - we're lucky if we get a year out of either type - but these ones are still going strong after more than 2yrs. Not really a long test period, I know, but they're certainly doing better than their predecessors.

[lazydog]

Doh! Zombie thread...

[AndyYork1]

Not that I work for the company. Just thought my experience will be appreciated on the forum as I can clearly see other users posting company details of companies they recommend.

[lazydog]

I know!! You've made such a wide and varied contribution to these boards that you couldn't possibly be a spammer. Oh, wait...