Stupid electrical/lighting question

Discussion in 'Bulletin Board' started by SuperTyke, Sep 7, 2020.

  1. SuperTyke

    SuperTyke Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Oct 12, 2005
    Messages:
    55,727
    Likes Received:
    29,864
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Style:
    Barnsley (full width)
    I've got a lamp that can hold 5 G9 bulbs in it and it says on it max 30w. Presumably that's 30w per bulb?
    Next question, if I change the bulbs to LED can I put in 5w LEDs which say they're the equivalent of 40w 'traditional' bulbs? As in does it matter that the equivalent wattage is higher than it says max or is it ok because the true wattage is lower?

    I told you it was stupid question.
     
  2. Red

    Red CB Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Mar 20, 2017
    Messages:
    6,666
    Likes Received:
    7,971
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Gender:
    Male
    Occupation:
    retired
    Location:
    hoyland common
    Style:
    Barnsley (full width)
    You are fine with the Led "s , total wattage for your fitting will only be 25 watts as opposed to the G9"s which could go up to 150 watts , led"s save you a fortune in power & money
     
    SuperTyke likes this.
  3. SuperTyke

    SuperTyke Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Oct 12, 2005
    Messages:
    55,727
    Likes Received:
    29,864
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Style:
    Barnsley (full width)
    Cheers, I thought that was the case but didn't know if I could only put the equivalent of 30w in old money in.
     
    Red CB likes this.
  4. Sparky

    Sparky Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Aug 8, 2011
    Messages:
    4,040
    Likes Received:
    3,598
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Gender:
    Male
    Style:
    Barnsley (full width)
    Be careful with the colour of the led's cool white can be a bit harsh
     
    SuperTyke likes this.
  5. Red

    Red CB Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Mar 20, 2017
    Messages:
    6,666
    Likes Received:
    7,971
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Gender:
    Male
    Occupation:
    retired
    Location:
    hoyland common
    Style:
    Barnsley (full width)
    No , you are fine
     
    SuperTyke likes this.
  6. SuperTyke

    SuperTyke Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Oct 12, 2005
    Messages:
    55,727
    Likes Received:
    29,864
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Style:
    Barnsley (full width)
    Yeah I wasn't sure which one is prefer. I do quite like cool white because it's clean but I like the warm because well it's warm. The standard bulbs I had were nice but not really bright enough so I'm hoping maybe warm light LEDs will give me more light overall for less power if I go for the slightly over wattage ones.
     
  7. Don

    Donny-Red Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Sep 1, 2018
    Messages:
    5,766
    Likes Received:
    7,785
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Gender:
    Male
    Style:
    Barnsley (full width)
    Yeah
    The 5w is the actual current draw, the 40w ‘equivalent’ is the light output.

    a word of warning, I replaced some tungsten lights with LED and they wouldn’t stay on because the current draw was so low the electronic controller switched off the power.

    I managed to get round that by wiring all 6 leds into one 12v controller (instead of one for each).
     
    SuperTyke likes this.
  8. Don

    Donny-Red Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Sep 1, 2018
    Messages:
    5,766
    Likes Received:
    7,785
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Gender:
    Male
    Style:
    Barnsley (full width)
    Some people hate the cool light - but I quite like it (and it might help to counteract SAD).
     
  9. Sparky

    Sparky Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Aug 8, 2011
    Messages:
    4,040
    Likes Received:
    3,598
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Gender:
    Male
    Style:
    Barnsley (full width)
    They never give out the stated light level, but they are a far superior lamp and much cheaper to run.
     
    SuperTyke likes this.
  10. jagzz88

    jagzz88 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Aug 13, 2012
    Messages:
    965
    Likes Received:
    846
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Occupation:
    Construction
    Location:
    Huddersfield
    Style:
    Barnsley (full width)
    Converted to led’s recently used cool light in kitchen, hallway & landings and warm light in bedrooms & living room
     
    SuperTyke and Red CB like this.
  11. Tek

    Tekkytyke Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jul 19, 2005
    Messages:
    7,376
    Likes Received:
    4,644
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Occupation:
    Retired
    Location:
    Italy
    Style:
    Barnsley Dark
    One problem I have found with LED bulbs is, in certain instances they can glow slightly even when the light switch is off due to the fact they require so little current. We have an outside pendant light in our loggia with an external switch and in extremely damp (foggy) conditions or after heavy prolonged rain there is sufficient' leakage' to provide enough power to loight the lamp. Our house wiring is OK (and less than 10 years old) with RCD 30m protection for personal safety as well as anti-surge lightning protection breaker for equipment protection.
    The other thing is just be aware that replacing halogen/tungsten on certain dimmable fittings does not always work. We replaced a 150w linear halogen lamp on a standard floor up-lighter unit with a dimmable LCD but it does not turn off without the addition of an in line two pole isolator (again due to slight leakage in the wiring /low current requirements to illuminate the lamp). The biggest problem though, is that the 'dimming' feature does not work It is either on or partly on . Apparently the 'ballast' on the potentiometer on older lamps is incorrect for dimmable LCDs. We need a new uplighter or revert back to the energy hungry Halogen bulb.

    Question/help for any sparkys out there. My ceilingpull switch broke for a kitchen light (albeit I have made a temporary repair)

    These are impossible to buy in Italy so I ordered from Amazon.it from a UK supplier Looks like I ordered the wrong one ...
    The existing one has COM...live input? and L1 L2 terminals (3 in all) The electrician here wired grey wire (supply) into COM , Live to lamp into L1 and the 2 blue wires (both supply and lamp) to L2. That seems odd but it works since metering shows the pull switch makes and breaks between COM and L1.
    My problem is the new one is single so only have L1 and L2 terminals. Given I have Live and neutral wires for lamp and COM and neutral for supply how can I wire up the lamp) Do I need live supply in L1 and live lamp in L2 and some choccy block to connect the two blue wires ( or use the separate Earth terminal to link them)
     
  12. Sparky

    Sparky Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Aug 8, 2011
    Messages:
    4,040
    Likes Received:
    3,598
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Gender:
    Male
    Style:
    Barnsley (full width)
    Thats it Live in L1 and switchwire...to light...in L2 neutrals together
     
    Tekkytyke likes this.
  13. Tek

    Tekkytyke Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jul 19, 2005
    Messages:
    7,376
    Likes Received:
    4,644
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Occupation:
    Retired
    Location:
    Italy
    Style:
    Barnsley Dark
    Ta! These days, at least if you get it wrong the system trips within milliseconds. In any case I was taught use back of hand never grasp wires if in doubt . Although I did ONC electrical engineering and electronics on a two year day release many years ago, I did not do it from the perspective of becoming an electrician, and whilst most of my class mates were apprentices who were doing 16th edition (as it was then)at teh same time I simply needed to get an understanding of the 3 phase soft patch lighting system in the theatre and also be able to PAT test stuff. Nowadays terms like 'leading' or 'lagging'(behind) relates more to athletic or cycling events for me. :) Respect to anyone who is a working electrician as I found ONC maths hard enough never mind HNC!
     
  14. Sparky

    Sparky Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Aug 8, 2011
    Messages:
    4,040
    Likes Received:
    3,598
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Gender:
    Male
    Style:
    Barnsley (full width)
    I started on the 14th edition, so I've done 14, 15, 16, 17and 18th editions and can honestly say the only time I've had a regs book open was in the classroom...ps they can shove the 19th up their jacksie.
     

Share This Page