Which dimmable LED downlight for home office?

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#1535441 19-Apr-2016 11:18

Adamanski:

We went for the Lanx Australis 13w warm white dimmable, and landed for < NZ$25 (NZ$23 from memory). Since we had to patch and paint the ceiling I got my sparkie to install surface mount sockets so I could plug then in and easily work around them. Really happy with these lights, good smooth dimming and no flicker, its a nice warm light and reasonably low profile.

Do they give them the required markings for installation in a house in NZ at all? That's what I find annoying with the limitless LED downlights, hes importing them but not getting them tested and labeled so you cant put them in a house becuase of building regs.

Richard rich.ms

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Adamanski

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#1535442 19-Apr-2016 11:20

Luckily we could use the dimmer that was already there, previously controlling 18 x 50w Halogens that we replaced with 6 x 13w LEDs, no flicker with dimming.

That option looks fine - do they have working units in store that you can view and test the dimming?

Adamanski

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#1535465 19-Apr-2016 11:25

richms:

Adamanski:

We went for the Lanx Australis 13w warm white dimmable, and landed for < NZ$25 (NZ$23 from memory). Since we had to patch and paint the ceiling I got my sparkie to install surface mount sockets so I could plug then in and easily work around them. Really happy with these lights, good smooth dimming and no flicker, its a nice warm light and reasonably low profile.

Do they give them the required markings for installation in a house in NZ at all? That's what I find annoying with the limitless LED downlights, hes importing them but not getting them tested and labeled so you cant put them in a house becuase of building regs.

They are SAA approved which is for Australia and NZ - I ran them by my sparkie first and he was more than happy to fit, but do check further if you're concerned.

olivernz

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#1535532 19-Apr-2016 12:28

Hi,

After doing a lot of testing with cheaper units I now swear by the Philips units (available at Bunnings).

http://www.philips.co.nz/c-p/610284066/recessed-spot-light <-- Dimmable

http://www.philips.co.nz/c-p/901122706/recessed-spot-light <-- absolutely love these. Sort of dimmable with a switch. does 100%, 50% and nightlight (ring). Is basically all you do with a dimmer anyway. Saves you $$$ having to install a dimmer and ideal brightness for a normal home.

I have 12 of the switchable ones and one of the dimmable (bought by error). All happy with all of them and really good lighting temp. Covered & abutted IC rated. A bit pricy but worth it all the way! I have the 4" ones installed.

Cheers Oliver

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#1535547 19-Apr-2016 12:45

I tried one philips dimmable, and it seemed ok, but then put 6 on a dimmer, and they had the worst uniformity I have seen at low brightnesses on the dimmer. And pulsated quite a bit as well. Tried 2 clipsal dimmers of different types, and a cheaie deta from bunnings and all were about the same for badness.

Richard rich.ms

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#1535554 19-Apr-2016 12:54

I like the idea of a known brand name, but at twice the price it's a bit more difficult to swallow, especially with Rich's comments.

richms

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#1535580 19-Apr-2016 13:08

I suspect that if you were to get a 3 wire dimmer that didnt get it's neutral and therefore timing feed thru the lamp that many of these problems would not happen. I am yet to find a cheap 3 wire knob dimmer for in a single wall plate. A couple of the electrical manufacturers do really expensive 1000w ones that need neutral, but they take a whole plate up for 1 circuit and are way overkill for 80 watts of LED.

Richard rich.ms

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#1535583 19-Apr-2016 13:10

richms:

I suspect that if you were to get a 3 wire dimmer that didnt get it's neutral and therefore timing feed thru the lamp that many of these problems would not happen. I am yet to find a cheap 3 wire knob dimmer for in a single wall plate. A couple of the electrical manufacturers do really expensive 1000w ones that need neutral, but they take a whole plate up for 1 circuit and are way overkill for 80 watts of LED.

Are you replying to someone?

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#1535585 19-Apr-2016 13:11

Once I saw how good they were, I was happy to pay the price (I tried about 6 other cheap models before). No idea where you live but I am south Wellington. If you want come by and look at them we could arrange that. These are the only LED downlights I've seen so far that actually match incandescent quality of light (not only colour but light dispersion and behaviour, which is an issue for LEDs). Admittedly I have not seen any other high price models. Ialso like the way they are built and actually have a good feeling about abutting and covering them (something I do wonder about with other models I've seen).

It depends on what you're after in the end.

richms

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#1535586 19-Apr-2016 13:11

timmmay:

Are you replying to someone?

No, just more to what I posted, but if I edited that since someone else has posted since then noone would scroll back up to read it.

Richard rich.ms

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#1535594 19-Apr-2016 13:20

olivernz:

Once I saw how good they were, I was happy to pay the price (I tried about 6 other cheap models before). No idea where you live but I am south Wellington. If you want come by and look at them we could arrange that. These are the only LED downlights I've seen so far that actually match incandescent quality of light (not only colour but light dispersion and behaviour, which is an issue for LEDs). Admittedly I have not seen any other high price models. Ialso like the way they are built and actually have a good feeling about abutting and covering them (something I do wonder about with other models I've seen).

It depends on what you're after in the end.

The LED downlights I already have in my bathroom, from Lighting Direct, are fantastic - better than CFL quality. Haven't tried cheaper ones. Appreciate the offer to see yours but I'm probably too lazy.

timmmay

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#1549125 10-May-2016 11:10

I ended up putting the Lons 10.5W downlight from Lighting Plus, with the non-dimmable driver. In my little 2.5 x 4.5 m home office it's REALLY BRIGHT - sitting under one, at the PC, there's a heck of a shine going on. Fortunately my electrician can swap them out to a dimmable driver for me.

There's a couple of dimmers at Mitre Ten, Goldair ($20) and HPM Linea ($100). Bunnings has the Deta for $30. None mention LED, but I guess that's why you need an LED driver which works out the details. Any suggestion why I should buy a $100 HPM push button dimmer instead of a $20 Goldaire dimmer?

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#1549162 10-May-2016 11:51

Just curious - when you buy these lights do you buy a spare fitting or two?

With a bog standard old lightbulb, if one blows you get another - any brand and plug it in - job done.

While I know an LED *should* last for a very long time - sometimes they dont.

If the whole light fitting is a unit you would find it hard to change the 'bulb' part - so presumably you would need a spare replacement. If you dont buy it from the start you probably wont be able to get a spare in 12 months time as they would have gone off the market.....

With CFLs - and I understand LEDs - they start to dim a little after a while - so replacing one might make the new one stand out a bit.

I am not trying to provoke anyone here - Would love to go all LED - and I really do like the look of those frosted/sealed downlights. Just curious how/what you plan for eventual failure.

Nothing is impossible for the man who doesn't have to do it himself - A. H. Weiler

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#1549168 10-May-2016 12:05

My bathroom has 5 LED fittings, 2 failed within 6 months and were replaced. I did consider buying a spare, but there are multiple models that will fit this cutout, so it's not a major concern. They all look much the same anyway.

richms

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#1549196 10-May-2016 12:20

There was a new osram dimmable at bunnings. only one they sell other than philips in 4000k. I got one to have a look at, rated CA 10.5w and just has a cable with a 2 pin plug from the top of the downlight housing which has no fins at all on it.

Its a diffuser type with no recess on it at all so will be too glary for low cielings but I'll give one a shot later and see how it goes.

Richard rich.ms

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