How do you replace halogen spots with LED?

If there is a separate GU10 halogen lamp in there, you simply unscrew it and put an LED lamp in. If there is an MR16 on 12 volts, the transformer has to go — it does not work with LED. And if there is a dimmer on the circuit, you almost always need a new dimmer as well.

Step one: look at what is in there now

Twist the spot out of the holder and look at the base. You will see one of these three:

• Two thick pins with a thickened end — that is GU10, on 230 volts. The easiest situation.
• Two thin straight pins — that is MR16 or GU5.3, on 12 volts. A transformer goes with it.
• No lamp, everything fixed in place — then it is already a fixture with an integrated LED and there is nothing to replace.

GU10: the easy route

A GU10 halogen lamp runs on mains voltage and has no transformer. You twist it out, put a GU10 LED in, done. The fixture itself can stay where it is.

Do check the holder, though. Old fixtures sometimes have discolored or burnt contacts from years of halogen heat. If there is soot on them, replace the whole fixture — with a Privo at €11.95 or a Plano at €9.95, for example.

MR16 on 12 volts: the transformer is the problem

At 12 volts there is a transformer above the ceiling stepping 230 volts down to 12. A halogen transformer like that needs a minimum load, often 20 watts or more. Replace four 35-watt halogen spots with 5-watt LEDs and the load drops from 140 to 20 watts, so the transformer engages irregularly. The result: flickering, or spots that only come on after a few seconds.

Two solutions:

• Switch to 230 volts. Take the transformer out, run mains voltage straight to the spot, and fit a 230V fixture such as the Lesto or the Quaro. This is the tidy solution and saves you trouble later.
• An LED driver in place of the transformer. That works, but it has to match the number of spots. Our 20-watt 12V driver feeds a maximum of six spots, the 40-watt version a maximum of ten.

The dimmer usually goes too

This is the mistake made most often. A halogen dimmer only starts working from 20 to 40 watts. Six LED spots of 5 watts come to 30 watts — just barely, and in practice flickering or humming.

Replace it with an LED dimmer that has a low lower limit. Our LED dimmer 0.5-250W at €21.95 and the 0.5-160W at €24.95 both start at half a watt, so a single spot is enough to keep them stable. They are trailing edge dimmers (R.C.); check whether the driver in your new spot supports that type. More on this in the dimmer guide.

Recalculate your light

Do not do it blindly one for one. Our Quaro gives 400 lumens at 6 watts and the Ferro 600 lumens at 6 watts. That is a difference of half again between two spots that look almost identical from below. So look at the number of lumens, not at the wattage you were used to.

While you are at it, settle your color temperature too. Halogen sat around 2700K; if you want to keep the same feel, set a CCT spot to 2700K. If you want it fresher, go to 3000K.

Work with the power off

Switch off the circuit at the fuse box, not just the light switch. If you remove a transformer, check that no loose 12V wiring is left hanging. If you are unsure about the wiring, have an electrician do it.

You will find the replacements in the recessed spotlights collection; dimmers and drivers are with the accessories.