LED bulbs

[dave2010]

Really bummed off about LED lights. Bought a batch recently, and they all flicker. Had a similar set not too long ago which were good - though in fairness they may have been mixed in with other lights. I suspect that the problem is that the wiring includes a transformer for halogen lights, which are effectively no longer obtainable.

I have seen this problem twice recently. In one case the light ensemble would be a pain to rejig - very much a bespoke unit. If my suspicion about the transformer is correct, then to get that to work with the new lights the unit [heavy and large suspended from beams in the ceiling] would really have to be lowered to fit a different transformer, then the whole thing put back up again with new LED lights. In the other case, which is a complete light fitting with three lights, probably containing its own transformer, but wired directly into the 230/240V lighting cirguit in the ceiling, my hunch is that the light unit itself needs to be discarded and replaced with something similar.

Maybe this is the price of progress, but the LED lights bought from Amazon were sold as "halogen replacements" - MR16 - clearly not quite. Mixing these in with similar MR16 LEDs - but with a yellower light in one case reduces/eliminates the flicker, but then the light is not quite so good. Not sure about the integrated light fitting with just three lights.

Could probably get money back from Amazon - but it's a pain anyway. We just want the lights to work!

[struth]

yup even if they are halogen erplacement types that work with a tx, they often are still not perfect and flicker.. its to do with thresholds.. best replace them if you cant pick up some halogen ones.. you sometimes see them

[CageyH]

I have replaced halogens with LEDs in my bathroom, and they do not flicker.
They have been in there for a few years now. LightingEver (LE) brand. They work for me.

[dave2010]

I have replaced halogens with LEDs in my bathroom, and they do not flicker.
They have been in there for a few years now. LightingEver (LE) brand. They work for me.The previous set - same make from Amazon - were OK. Had two batches (one of same make, one of different make) which do flicker.

One decision is whether to ask for a refund or complete replacement, or just accept that some work - but it's not good.

I don't particularly like halogen ones - they get too hot, and can cause problems with the fittings, but they don't usually flicker.
The ones I particularly want are the bright very white ones - but I suspect that having more than three at once on the same transformer causes the problem.

In one case the flickr is not pleasant but manageable. In the other [the 3 bulb fitting] case the flicker is intolerable.

[Sherwood]

Last year I bought some LED bulbs on Amazon. They are 12w Cool White but equivalent to 100w conventional bulb. They do not require any warm up time and are at full brightness on switch on. No flicker of any sort and really bright. I have one in my home office with a Chinese style paper lampshade. Really, really bright and only 12w.

[Firebottle]

It could be that your fitting/transformer is an electronic transformer.
These have minimum power levels as well as maximum to work properly.

Substituting all LED could put you under the minimum level. You could try fitting one halogen with the others LED, if you have one.

[Barry]

All the lights in my house are now LED types, with I presume a built-in transformer (they are quite heavy). Some of them were bought from a supermarket, and I found that with a couple of them, a short time after switching on would drop in brightness. All that did so were made in China. It was very annoying

So I bought a dozen or so new LED bulbs from Amazon (probably still made in China), and all behave themselves: instant start, no flicker, and no change in brightness. They are all "100W" but actually consume 15W.

[dave2010]

I notice that Amazon have some LED lights similar to the ones I bought, but dimmable. I wonder if they might work any better - though I'm not at all sure. I also had some dimmable LED lights recently which I wanted for a bedside lamp which has a touch dimmer. Those worked OK at full power, but when dimmed they made a noise - so not really good for a bedroom. I had a refund for those. The incandescant bulb has gone back in!

[Sherwood]

These were the ones I bought.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07Y9KBQDG/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1