When selecting your LED bulb follow the guide below to ensure you obtain the correct type and lighting effect:

1. Select the correct bulb type, size and socket base

Firstly it is important that your new LED bulb is the correct shape for your existing housing and plugs in without modification. To assist you can refer to our page on LED bulb and socket types which contains illustrations of the various types of traditional globes. Clicking on the picture will take you to further LED-related information on that globe.

Once you have selected the appropriate bulb type and socket/base you can click on the appropriate section in our inline shop and/or click the relevant socket options.

Secondly you need to take note of the dimensions of the LED light which will be provided in one of the photo illustrations. Be sure to check that it will fit your existing fixtures. For example, some existing halogen downlight fixtures have partially enclosed housings which prevent the use of LED bulbs with large heat sinks. In such cases you will need to select one of our low profile LED bulbs.

2. Does my bulb need to be Dimmable?

If you require a dimmable LED bulb you should read our article on Dimmable LED Lights in the LED Buying Guide. You need to check various compatibility issues and consider trialling one of our dimmable LED bulbs in your house prior to purchasing large numbers. We also provide a flicker rating (less than 100%) such that some bulbs when dimmed may flicker occasionally for a number of minutes due to mains power fluctuations. If this is not acceptable then you will need to select a 100% flicker free dimmable LED bulb.

Alternatively if you have different lighting circuits you may want to select a range of lower power/brightness LED bulbs in combination with higher power/brighter LED bulbs as a more rudimentary way of adjusting the lighting levels in your home or office.

3. Selecting the correct power level

Each LED light bulb in our shop will have data referring to equivalent power rating. For example, 10W LED MR16 equivalent to a 50W Halogen, or 7W LED MR16 equivalent to a 35W halogen, and so on. Check the current power rating of the bulb you wish to replace and select the equivalent LED power rating.

To read more on LED power ratings and consumption please refer to our article in the section on Understanding LED lighting entitled Understanding LED Light Power and Efficiency in Lumens/Watt.

4. Selecting the correct light colour

Next you need to select the appropriate colour temperature or light colour, whether that be a warm white, natural white (daylight) or cool white (white light). You can read about selecting the best light colour for a specific room or application in the section under Understanding LED Lighting entitled “LED Light Colour Temperature”.

At this stage you should now be in a position to select the correct LED light bulb with the exception of Halogen and Par LED lighting which contain additional information on beam angle as discussed in the next section.

5a. Selecting suitable LED replacements for Halogen or PAR lighting

With halogen and PAR lighting there is an additional complication relating to beam angle and socket type in halogen lighting.

For most applications a 60° beam angle is more than adequate. However if you require a more focused beam type you can select narrower angle options. To find out more about beam angle please read our section under Understanding LED Lighting entitled “LED Optics, beam angle and angular intensity affecting beam spread”.

5b. Is my MR16 LED bulb compatible with my existing halogen electronic transformers?

For GU10 type sockets in halogen lighting there are no compatibility issues. However, if you require an MR16 or GU10 and want to use your existing electronic halogen transformer you will need to see if it is compatible or consider purchasing one of our dedicated 12V DC LED drivers. Each of the MR16 LED bulbs will have a compatibility chart which you can click on to see which electronic halogen transformers are compatible or not compatible. See if yours is on the list. Alternatively send us one of your electronic transformers and we will test it for you.

5c. Will you be using your existing downlight fixtures or replacing with new

If you choose to use your exisiting downlight fixtures, as mentioned you will need to measure inside the enclosure to ensure that the MR16 or GU10 bulb will fit. If your fixture has a semi-enclosed rear facia (see Figure below) then you may require our low profile MR16/GU10 bulbs. If your bulb has an open facia then any bulb will fit. 

Alternatively you may want to select one of our complete units from our LED Downlight section. If so you need to pay particular attention to the size of the cut out of your existing fixtures. Obviously you can make this cut out larger to fit new fixtures but not smaller. 

6. Installation of LED T8 tubes

Installation of our LED T8 tubes is relatively straightforward and will come with instructions. The procedure is simply to remove your old T8 fluorescent tube, remove the starter and replace with the LED fuse which comes with the new LED tube, and then plug in the new LED tube. Be careful to ensure the fixture is turned off as once the pins on the LED tube touch the sockets they will become live and potentially life threatening if the fixture is switched on and the pins are accidently touched during installation.

Finally, if you want to achieve maximum efficiency you will need to have an electrician remove the ballast from the fixture. The ballast consumes approximately 4W which is not a lot in residential applications.  

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