GU10 LED Fitting
1st Jun 2023
Bulbs which use the GU10 fitting (a more recent version of the MR16), operate at mains voltage. They are often used in stylish down lighters fitted in many bathrooms and kitchens, both in the home and in commercial situations such as hotels. Find the perfect LED bulb for your lights on the GU10 LED page of our website.
As these LED light bulbs use mains voltage, they don’t need a separate transformer or driver. In fact, each bulb has its own built-in driver. This makes them a direct and simple replacement for other GU10 bulbs. The two-pin style fitting means a GU10 LED bulb just needs a push and a twist to seat it securely in its holder.
Most GU10 bulbs are either Halogen, CFL (Compact Fluorescent Lamp) or LED, usually with a wattage of 35W or 50W (or the equivalent light output).
Halogen bulbs, a variation on the ordinary incandescent bulb, is the oldest of the three types. Ease of manufacturing and high volumes make halogen bulbs the cheapest to buy. However, they use by far the most energy and operate at very high temperatures: this results in a relatively short bulb life.
CFL bulbs use the same technology as the familiar strip light tubes. They are more expensive to manufacture and buy, but use less power and create less heat than halogen and other incandescent bulbs. Although the technical challenges of producing small CFL bulbs have been overcome, their life expectancy has been found to be somewhat inconsistent.
Other problems include the slow build up to full output, and the 20% to 30% reduction in output as they age. CFLs are also the least environmental friendly bulbs as they contain mercury vapour – this escapes into the atmosphere if the bulb is broken.
LED light bulbs are the newest in lighting technology and are still the most expensive. However, their efficiency continues to improve while the costs come down. LED light bulbs use the least amount of energy for any given light output, producing a lot less heat in the process.
You can expect an LED light to last three times longer than a CFL bulb, and thirty times longer than a halogen bulb.
LED light bulbs are the future of lighting in an energy conscious world. We have a huge selection of LED light bulbs here.