Changing a halogen bulb is very easy. In order to save on your energy costs, you can replace a halogen bulb directly with an LED bulb. In addition, LED lights last on average around 25 times longer than a halogen bulb. There are various LED lamps that are suitable for replacing halogen lighting. Which ones they are, you can of course read in this blog. We will help you choose the right LED bulbs for replacing your halogen bulbs.
Why should u upgrade from halogen to LED?
The main advantage of converting from halogen to LED is better energy efficiency which also means savings in energy costs. LED technology is better for the environment too. You can read more about the differences between halogen and LED in our article Halogen VS LED. When switching from halogen to LED, it's important to take a few things into consideration to ensure you buy the right LED lighting product whether that's an LED bulb, an LED fixture, or any other type of LED lighting. Read on to find out what you need to know.
Gu10 LED Lights
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GU5.3 (MR16) LED Lights
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GU4 (MR11) LED Lights
G53 (AR111) LED Lights
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Halogen to LED conversion chart
Are you looking for a halogen to LED conversion chart? We will help you compare different lighting technologies like halogen and LED in one guide. You will find a handy overview that helps you to see all conversions at one glance on our Lumen to Watt page.
Check the base of your current halogen bulb
Undoubtedly, the first point to consider is the base of your current light. This way you immediately know how much Volt your current halogen lamp works on. The lamp base is suitable for either 12 Volt or 230 Volt (mains) and never for both.When switching to LED, it's important to choose a product that has the same base so that you can simply replace your old halogen light with an LED one.
The base (or cap) is the part of a light that connects it to a suitable fixture. E27 (aka Edison screw) is one of the most common bases for light bulbs, while GU10 is one of the most popular ones for spotlight bulbs. Perhaps you would like to replace a GU5.3 halogen with LED? Be aware that there are lots of different types of bases available so take care to choose the right one.
G9 LED Lights
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R7s LED Lights
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GU4 LED Lights
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Determine whether you need dimmable LED lamps
Being able to dim your lights comes in handy in all sorts of situations. It allows you to determine the amount of available light at any time so that you can easily match it to your requirements whenever you desire.
It's important to know that not all LED lights are dimmable. If you already have this feature with your current halogen lighting and you want to retain it, you'll need to make sure you buy LED lights that are dimmable. You should also be aware that there's no guarantee that your current dimmer will be compatible with a dimmable LED light. This is due to the difference in wattages between halogen and LED lights. If your current dimmer doesn't work, you should get a dimmer that's compatible with LED lights.
Buy LED dimmer
Determinethe required light output
In the past, people looked at the wattage of a bulb to determine the light output, but wattage is actually a measurement of how much energy a bulb uses rather than the amount of light it emits. Because LED bulbs are much more efficient, they use far less energy to produce the same amount of light as halogen bulbs, for instance.
That's why, when comparing a halogen light to an LED one, it's important to look at the number of lumens rather than the wattage. Lumen is the term used to describe the total amount of light emitted by a light source. If you want to get an idea of the number of lumens different rooms typically need, take a look at this blog about lumens per room.
Choose the beam angle
The beam angle of a light (expressed in degrees) specifies over what area its beam spreads. The smaller the beam angle, the more intense and directional the light will be, whereas a wider angle will result in a light that produces a softer, diffused beam. When buying new lights, make sure you choose the beam angle that's right for your situation. Narrow angles are used for accent lighting and wide angles are used for more general lighting. If you want to know more about this topic, read our blog on choosing the right beam angle.
Picke a color temperature
The last aspect to consider when buying a new bulb or light is the colour temperature. The colour temperature refers to the colour produced by the light. It's expressed in Kelvin (K) and this number defines the general colour of the light that varies from warm yellow to cool blue.Some of the most common colour temperatures are highlighted below:
- Extra warm white ~ 2700 ° K
- Warm white ~ 3000 ° K
- Cool white ~ 4000 ° K
- Daylight ~ 6500 ° K
How much money can I save by switching to LED?
LED lights are over 90% more energy-efficient than halogen lights. Divide the wattage of a halogen lamp by 10 and you know the maximum wattage of the LED lamp. If we assume 3000 hours of use per year and a KwH rate (electricity tariff) of 0.20, you will save over 27,- per bulb in energy costs. In this example, we are replacing a 50 Watt halogen lamp with a 5 Watt LED lamp.
Can i mix halogen and LED bulbs in one fixture?
In principle, you can mix halogen and LED bulbs in one fixture. Although it is better for your energy bill to immediately replace all halogen bulbs with LED, we can imagine that you still want to use the older halogen bulbs before saying goodbye to halogen! You can easily combine LED and halogen if they have the same voltage. Often you will see the difference in light output between halogen and LED. Especially when dimming with various wattages, the halogen bulbs will dim first, and only then the LED bulbs. With halogen lighting, make sure that you have always switched off the power beforehand. Let a halogen lamp cool down for more than half an hour and never touch it with your hands or fingers. This prevents burns.
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