Halogen Lightbulbs ... grrr ...

[NotQuiteCockney]

We have quite a few halogen spots in the house. The bulbs go a lot. I have three questions:

1. Has anyone tried the longer-life halogen bulbs? Do they seem to last longer? (there are eco ones, too, which sounds like a good idea)

1. Is there any chance someone will come up with LED lights or something more reliable that can go in these sockets?

1. Is it really better to change them all once one blows? Our architect seemed to think this meant you'd change them less often.

Get an electrician in. I know they are expensive but we had the same problem in our bedroom and he fixed it. Something to do with the transformer. No problem since one half years now no need to change them. yet!

Ah, some of these have the transformers built in, and some don't. Hmmm, we did have an electrician in to fiddle with some of the fittings a while back ... I'll keep an eye on how often the lights go, and see if that makes sense. I think they're going once a year or something, not that often, but they're a faff to fix.

Since I posted the OP, I've found LED lights that go in these sockets, and will give them a go - I worry the light won't be as good, and they're really expensive, but a lot more efficient, and meant to last much longer ...

some leds are much better than others. dh is obsessed and has replaced all bulbs. some with twinkly things or colour changing which is very pretty but can be a bit dim.

Are you making sure you don't touch the glass part of the bulb when you put them in? Easier said than done, I know, but you could use a teatowel or kitchen roll. DH (who is an electrician) says that the natural oil from finger tips, reduces the life of halogen bulbs.

Most of these halogen lights are the sealed unit kind - the actual halogen bulb is inside a bigger bulb, iyswim. The few that have actual tiny halogen bulbs for us to replace, yes, we're very careful (I thought they would catch fire if we didn't). Those aren't the ones that are blowing all the time, though.

I've only bought one of these LED lights, as a trial. I've only founds 'warm white' or 'cool white' for these fittings, I don't think I really want colour-changing in the loo!

i got so fed up with the led-induced darkness that I bought a new fitting with 5 bulbs for kitchen. dh has now replaced three of them with cool white which is ok, but two are something he calls 'mood lighting' ie dickensian gloom.

he claims to be saving a fortune but it really is no fun having to adjust them all depending on whether i am cooking or washing up. the light changers are really cool though, we've got a couple set up as plug in spotlights in living room.

The LED bulbs I'm finding are like £25 each! I'm sure you can save money in the long-term (because they use less electricity, and last forever), but not in the short!