5Pack Philips Halogen 12V MR16 50W GU5.3 36D 4000Hrs Dimmable Halogen Dichroic 58845100

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Halogen is one of the primary technologies used in spotlighting, partly due to the fantastic choice of products available. Another reason for its popularity is its superb colour rendering. A halogen bulb includes all colours of the visible spectrum in its light, which means colour is displayed with more consistency than is possible in LED or fluorescent technologies. Energy-saving halogen bulbs are available as an economical alternative to incandescent GLS bulbs, candles, ‘R’ reflectors, globes, and golf balls because halogen typically has twice the lifespan of an incandescent equivalent. Types of Halogen Bulbs & Their Uses Low voltage (but not low energy) bulbs recessed into ceilings (known as ‘ down-lighters‘) and walls. These are usually MR16 bulbs, and they have a hidden transformer that steps down from mains 230 voltage to the 12 volts of the bulbs. They are also called ‘reflectors’ because they give directional light.

This is a low voltage MR16 GU5.3 50W halogen light bulb offering a warm white light (3000K) and having a 2500h lamp life. This involves additional costs, more time and more messing about - which nobody wants. Another consideration is that if you do plan to dim them, you're going to need to ensure that the LED, the transformer and the dimmer switch are all compatible with each other. The Varilight YT transformers combined with the Varilight V-Pro dimmer switches are compatible, as are the Philips MR16 LEDs. A winning combination! But you've now spent more on these items than you would with options 2 and 3. Option 2 - Convert to GU10 LEDHigh-powered specialist halogen capsules are also available for applications such as theatre, TV, film, or projector lighting. Uses at a Glance Bulb Style Hz AC from a wound transformer ( not an SMPS ) has a sine wave without sudden / instant / high frequency changes of voltage and AC/DC LED current drivers can operate on this smoothly varying supply without becoming unstable. One advantage of low-voltage spotlights is their sharper, brighter quality of light over their mains-voltage counterparts. In addition to display lighting, low voltage halogen spotlights are common in downlights and wire lighting systems. If that pulsing or otherwise varying "12 volt" supply is used to feed a constant currrent driver feeding a controlled current into the LED element of a lamp there is the risk that the pulsed supply will cause the current driver to operate in an unstable manner and hence be unable to properly control the current it is supplying through the LED. Bulbs that are put in open mounts, typically GU10 mounts. These are normally found in kitchens, on spotlight ceiling bars, or ceiling plates. Although popular, they are not necessarily the most practical, as they cast shadows and generate a lot of heat. However, it is possible to buy compact-fluorescent (‘low energy’) bulbs to replace these, giving a more energy-efficient and less directional light. For an even more energy efficient solution you can also fit LED replacements. For more information, please see our Ultimate Guide to Buying LED.

With the ban on halogen now firmly in place from 2016, there are still lots of halogen and incandescent lamps out there wasting energy and draining the earths resources. These energy hungry relics from a distant past need to get upgraded to LED. LED is 90% more efficient and lasts for 10 times longer. There are a 3 main options of upgrading from halogen to LED, choosing the right option for you depends on the type of downlights and halogen lamps you've currently got. Halogen capsules are used in applications such as caravan lighting, boat lighting, pelmet lighting, or desk lighting. They come in low-voltage G4 or GY6.35 types, or a mains-voltage G9 format. The suffixed numbers in their names are based on the distance in millimetres between their two pin centres. Energy-saving halogen technology is widely used in retrofit products designed to replace incandescent bulbs, many of which have been phased out by recent EU legislation. Halogen technology produces a marginally cooler, brighter-looking light than the old technology, and is better than incandescent light at rendering short wavelength colours (i.e. violets and blues). This is easy and now straightforward to do because LED GU10 lamps can be swapped straight over without any wiring or transformers to consider. Here are some options for you to consider if you're replacing your 50W halogen GU10s: Halogen lamps, like traditional incandescent lamps, use a tungsten filament, but they’re also filled with a small amount of halogen gas (such as iodine or bromine) in a capsule. Keep reading to learn more. How Do Halogens Work?Aurora Ice 5W GU10 - Available in dimmable and non dimmable, it has a nice wide beam angle of 60 degrees The LED bulb is one or more LED's with some sort of current limiting device called a driver, this is built into the bulb, not normally a stand alone unit, you can get stand alone drivers often rated around 320 mA with a voltage which varies from often 12 to 50 volt, point is a driver controls current not voltage, in the main a bulb has the driver built in, and needs a fixed voltage often 12 volt or 230 volt. The problem is as the user we have no idea what type of driver is inside the bulb. It is high frequency changes in the supply voltage that make the LED current drivers operate in an unstable manner.

The power supply to LED bulbs can be one of a few devices, the old wire wound transformer will likely power LED lights for years with no problem, if designed for AC, many LED bulbs are marked 50/60 Hz, the switch mode power supply is likely not 50 Hz so no idea what the long term effect would be, however one designed for an output of 0 - 105 VA will likely work OK, however one designed for 35 - 105 with a LED below 35 watt will likely shut itself down. The DC power supply is not the answer either, although you can get DC bulbs rated 10 - 36 volt, in the main the bulbs are designed for AC, likely they will work with DC but in real terms it's just a guess. Halogen bulbs are available in a variety of different types and styles, each suited for a different use. Mains-Voltage Halogen Spotlights Unlike mains-voltage halogens, all low voltage halogen lamps require a 12V transformer, which is used to step down mains-voltage to individual or multiple low voltage bulbs, depending on maximum load. Linear Halogens

The G9 is the most compact mains-voltage halogen bulb available, and because it requires no 12V transformer it’s widely used in extremely small light fittings.