Please note: As of 1st February 2023, FREE Lighting upgrades are no longer available for Victorian homes. This is in accordance with the Victorian Energy Upgrades program (VEU).
If you’re planning to upgrade the lights in your home or business to energy-saving LEDs here are some important facts about LED downlights and how they will work in your fittings:
Transformers and LED downlights
MR16 halogen downlights require a transformer for each globe.
Most transformers/drivers installed with halogen downlights are rated as either 50 or 60 watts (or VA). This means that they are rated to supply lamps that draw up to 50 or 60 watts more than the energy they consume to energise themselves. In other words, they are designed to be connected to a single 35w or 50w halogen lamp. They can be either a magnetic transformer or an electronic driver. The magnetic transformers are a true transformer and consume between 5 to 15 watts to energise themselves. Therefore a 50w halogen lamp connected via a magnetic transformer will present an aggregate load of between 55 watts and 65 watts.
So, if your home or business uses MR16 halogen downlights you will have many transformers in your ceiling. We assess all transformers for compatibility with our LEDs before an upgrade and if they’re not compatible with our MR16s, as eligible with the Victorian Energy Upgrades program (previously VEET) you will not be eligible for a free upgrade and will need to upgrade to our premium IC rated downlights. IC rated downlights remove the need for a transformer thereby creating a more efficient circuit. Unfortunately, these upgrades aren’t fully subsidised by the VEU program and there is a cost per fitting, although some of the cost is subsidised.
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Smaller wattage considerations
Electronic drivers do not use a transformer to reduce the voltage to 12 volts and only require between 1 and 5 watts to energise themselves. Therefore a 50w halogen lamp connected via an electronic driver will present an aggregate load of between 51 watts and 55 watts.
Some electronic drivers are not designed to supply small wattages and are therefore unsuitable for LED downlights. Therefore it is imperative that the installer ensures that the particular brand and model of the existing driver is included in the acceptable drivers list that is published by the LED manufacturer. Our installers will always check this and will not install LEDs on drivers that are not compatible with the lamps we install.
What’s the effect of swapping out 50w halogen downlights with 6w LED lamps?
If you have replaced your 50w halogen downlights with a 6w LED lamp and the lamps are connected to magnetic transformers, the total load of the new lamp combination will be between 11 and 21 watts each. If they are connected to electronic drivers the total load of the new lamp combination will be between 7 and 11 watts each. The difference between the before and after in each scenario is simply equivalent to the difference in wattage between the original halogen lamp and the new LED lamp (ie 44 watts in this example).
The Advantage of IC Rated modular LED Downlights
IC Rated modular downlights do not require a transformer/driver as they are connected directly to a power supply. Therefore replacing halogen downlights with IC Rated modular downlights will save additional energy that would otherwise be consumed in the transformer/driver (i.e. between 1 and 15 watts each). Installing IC Rated modular downlights also removes another potential source of failure in the supply chain as the transformers/drivers will eventually fail over time and require an electrician to replace it.
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Installation with ceiling insulation
The wiring rules require that a specified distance must be maintained between halogen downlights and ceiling insulation and wood structure in the ceiling. This is not required for LED lamps if the manufacturer states their products can safely be installed in contact with ceiling insulation. As LED downlights run at a relatively low temperature they are not able to combust any materials. Therefore most LED manufacturers state that their downlights can be installed in contact with ceiling insulation. As a result you can fill the ceiling insulation holes around downlights when the halogens are replaced by LEDs provided you do not ever reinstall halogen lights in the fittings.
Keep in mind that halogen downlights reach temperatures of around 300°c and LEDs reach temperatures of around 30°c.
Accurate installation of LEDs
Downlights are usually recessing into the ceiling but can also be fitted into ceiling-mounted tracks or luminaires. Many LED downlights have ventilation holes around the outside to assist the heat management of the LED chip. These holes will allow a very small volume of air to circulate because this is what they are designed to do. Some LED downlights do not require ventilation holes such as the new Ecomatters lamps we are now installing.
Our LEDs are installed by certified electricians. This is to ensure they’re installed safely and to a high standard. We have great reviews to back up this claim.
Why Use LEDs?
LEDs are instantly bright, don’t get hot to generate light, they can last for decades, they never ‘flicker’, the light is more evenly distributed and never dulls over time, contain NO toxic elements and can reduce your lighting energy demands by 86% and save you hundreds on your energy bills.
Please rest assured that in all circumstances you are achieving significant energy savings by replacing any variation of halogen downlights with any variation of LED downlights. In any case, it is worthwhile you being thoroughly and professionally assessed by one of our qualified, A-grade professional electricians. Our electricians always provide a quality assessment and present an ID badge upon arrival at their appointments. Get in touch with us today to book your assessment and to see if you can take advantage of the savings.
You can find out more information about the LED upgrade here:
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Post update: Please note that as of September 2019 downlight upgrades in Sydney will now incur a $33 call-out fee irrespective and will require a minimum of 20 downlights.
Please note: As of 1st February 2023, FREE Lighting upgrades are no longer available for Victorian homes. This is in accordance with the Victorian Energy Upgrades program (VEU).
