£30 and a bit of soldering....

Discussion in 'Off-Topic Discussion' started by Fat Controller, Nov 8, 2015.

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  1. Ian Taylor

    Ian Taylor Total Gardener

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    I've fitted 2 new security lights on our house both led, the one on the front is 10watt and the one on the back is 20watt, both in place of 500watt halogen, so should be saving some money. Also fitted 2 x 3watt downlighters in our bedroom bay window when we re decorated
     
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      Ian Taylor, Nov 15, 2015
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    • HarryS

      HarryS Eternally Optimistic Gardener

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      @Ian Taylor , do you get a good "flood" light on the LED security light ?
      I know the LED street light they have fitted around here don't seem to spread the light like the sodium bulbs (if they still used sodium bulbs ).
       
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        HarryS, Nov 15, 2015
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      • Ian Taylor

        Ian Taylor Total Gardener

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        @HarryS we find ours ok they really light up our front drive and back garden, only thing is you can't change the led when it goes you have to fit a new unit. they sell them in B&Q, Screwfix, ours have pir's on
         
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          Ian Taylor, Nov 15, 2015
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        • Fat Controller

          Fat Controller 'Cuddly' Scottish Admin! Staff Member

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          Depending on the fittings, in many cases it is simply a case of changing the bulbs. GU10 (below) are the most common 240v downlighters, and there is a vast choice of LED equivalents available that simply pop into the existing socket.

          gu10.jpg

          If they are MR16's (smaller version of the GU10 with two straight pins instead of the posts on the connector), then they are already low voltage lights and there would be little or no energy saving from changing as the switch-mode power supply that runs them would simply have to dissipate the energy that was not being used by the bulb - so in all likelihood, the power supply would run hotter and still use the same amount of electricity.
           
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            Fat Controller, Nov 15, 2015
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          • ARMANDII

            ARMANDII Low Flying Administrator Staff Member

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            That's because the LED lantern is designed to point the light downwards and into a specific area , Harry, rather that upwards and outwards like the old, energy hungry and inefficient, sodium lamps, so hopefully we'll have less light pollution.:coffee::snork:
             
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              ARMANDII, Nov 15, 2015
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            • CanadianLori

              CanadianLori Total Gardener

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              I put those type of lights in both greenhouses. They are powered by a battery which in turn is charged by solar panels.

              I got the kind that also flash and other annoying things, course I only usd the annoying stuff when the hillbillies next door start doing silly things....:heehee:
               
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                CanadianLori, Nov 15, 2015
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              • clueless1

                clueless1 member... yep, that's what I am:)

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                It's a long, long time since I studied electronics, but my understanding is that a switched mode psu doesn't have to dissipate energy not used by the load. That would be a linear regulator, rarely used nowadays.

                A linear regulator effectively is a potential divider, with the load as one half and a massive great transistor with a big heat sink as the other half, and a zenner diode maintaining constant voltage at the base. When the load reduces, the transistor effectively increases resistance to match. That variable resistance generates heat, which is wasted energy.

                A switched mode psu uses a capacitor to smooth the output, and the transistor is either fully on, to top up the charge in the capacitor, or fully off when the charge is sufficient to maintain the output voltage at that instant. The advantage being that no energy is wasted, because a fully on transistor is close to zero resistance, and a fully off one is close to infinite. In either state, virtually no energy has to be discarded as heat.
                 
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                  clueless1, Nov 15, 2015
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                • shiney

                  shiney President, Grumpy Old Men's Club Staff Member

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                  Ours are two straight pins :blue thumb:. Thanks for the info :love30:

                  My inner Scrooge feels happier now. :heehee:
                   
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                    shiney, Nov 16, 2015
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                  • shiney

                    shiney President, Grumpy Old Men's Club Staff Member

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                    Oh dear!!

                    Inner Scrooge is sad again! :sad:

                    But capital outlay would not be worth it. :noidea:
                     
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                      shiney, Nov 16, 2015
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                    • Jimcub

                      Jimcub Gardener

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                      I find 5 watt in cool White is very bright, warm White is a more a Amber light and not as bright.
                      You can get converters to make almost any fitting to a gu10
                       
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                        Jimcub, Nov 16, 2015
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                      • ARMANDII

                        ARMANDII Low Flying Administrator Staff Member

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                        Make up your financial mind, Shiney:doh::dunno::whistle::heehee:
                         
                        ARMANDII, Nov 16, 2015
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                      • shiney

                        shiney President, Grumpy Old Men's Club Staff Member

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                        I have made up my mind! :old: It's, I don't know what to do or think. :noidea:
                         
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                          shiney, Nov 16, 2015
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                        • clueless1

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                          If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
                           
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                            clueless1, Nov 16, 2015
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                          • Fat Controller

                            Fat Controller 'Cuddly' Scottish Admin! Staff Member

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                            You are correct, of course - I was thinking of linear supplies and not switched mode - - however, in the case of switched mode power supplies, they are designed to operate with a minimum load, and a continued insufficient load will lead to their demise; very roughly, swapping from halogen to LED bulbs sees the load reduce to a tenth that the PSU was designed for and the only way to ensure continued reliable and safe operation is to apply an additional resistive load to balance things up - - this resistive load will generally only dissipate the energy (usually heat), but that means that ultimately the expected power savings are to some degree negated.

                            When we moved into this house, we discovered that the prior tenants had been running the three ceiling lights with only one or two of the six bulbs working - - the result was three cooked power supplies, that may well have been switched mode, but the resulting damage saw them dissipating energy through heat (and a bit of smoke too)
                             
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                              Fat Controller, Nov 16, 2015
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                            • Jimcub

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                              Quite right if I have a 3 or 4 lamp fitting it always has all bulbs fitted, as you overload the rest in the fitting
                               
                              Jimcub, Nov 16, 2015
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