Collection: FAQs

When using LED bulbs with dimmers that have been produced for conventional lamps - there can be a mismatch in technology, that can cause issues like flickering; Your existing dimmer may have been designed to dim high-power circuits, whereas LED lamps are low-power products. You should change your existing dimmer for a dimmer designed to work with LED.

1. Are you using a non-dimmable lamp with a dimming circuit?
   Using a non-dimmable LED bulb in a dimming circuit can cause damage to the LED bulb and/ or dimming circuit. Integral packaging and lamps are marked with text or an icon as non-dimmable or dimmable.
   
   
2. Your existing dimmer switch may be incompatible with the dimmable LED lamp you have purchased.
   A common reason is that the LED bulb power load is below the minimum load required by the dimmer. e.g a dimming circuit for a 60W bulb may be installed with a dimmer with a minimum load of 25W. A replacement LED bulb may only be 5-6W falling below the minimum level required by the dimmer.
   
   
3. Incompatible transformer.
   If you are using low-voltage lamps (MR16 12V Spotlight) your existing transformer may not be compatible with your LED lamp.

We would advise you to use a qualified electrician to make any changes to your electrical circuits.

The lifetime of a LED lamp is defined in hours. As with all types of lamp, the light output very slowly fades over time. LED lamps do not generally burnout they will still perform after their rated hours e.g 25,000 hours.

The lifetime is the figure stated when the light output is predicted to drop by a significant amount of the original light output where you may consider a replacement, this is partly due the the slow aging of the parts of the lamps such as refractors and other components. External factors such as heat, humidity, switching cycles and power supply will affect the lifetime of an LED lamp.

The longer life of LED means less time spent on lamp changes (important for hard-to-get-at areas) . Also it's great for the environment with less lamps, packaging and transport energy being used.

Switching cycles

All lamps including LED have a number of switching cycles. This is the minimum number of times the bulb can be switched ON and OFF before failure in normal use, lamps may go on to last longer. For a typical value of 12,500 the lamp can be switched ON and OFF once a day for a minimum of 34 years! (Environmental factors such as temperature can affect the value). In general, LED lamps for home or office use are not designed to be switched ON and OFF rapidly.

Mr-LED lamps can be used as direct replacements for most of your existing lamps. It's as quick and easy as replacing a conventional bulb.

All the common base types are available in the Mr-LED range, we are very retro-fit friendly.

The Mr-LED team have chosen our LED lamps very carefully, so that they are physically very close in physical dimensions to the traditional bulb shapes that they replace. They should blend in with your light fittings better than some CFL energy saving bulbs that can protrude and can look unsightly.

With LED lighting, especially spotlights you may have the option to choose the "light colour", known as " (Correlated) Colour Temperature (CCT)". Two examples are "Warm White" and "Cool White". There are no rules - the choice is about personal preference and use. CCT is expressed in Kelvin (K).

• A Warm White LED lamp will provide a traditional yellowish colour light, similar to conventional bulbs. This is the most popular choice (2700-3000K).
• A Cool White LED lamp will provide a modern, clean, bright light, that is slightly blue in colour (4000-5000K).

Fitting an LED bulb is the same as fitting any other bulb – but you will have to do it less often!

Before you change a bulb please ensure you have a similar LED replacement with the same base fitting, shape and light output.

Before changing or inspecting a bulb always turn OFF the power at the mains. Please take the necessary precautions if working at height. Wait for the current lamp to cool if required. Carefully remove the current lamp making sure you keep safe any clips or fittings. Fit the new LED lamp and switch the power ON and think about the energy savings you are making when compared to a conventional lighting. Sometimes a new light source may take a couple of days to get used to.

Lamps should be changed by a competent person. Please contact a qualified electrician if in doubt or to make any additions or changes to your circuit.

Dispose of old bulbs responsibly, especially CFL lamps that may contain mercury. Bulbs are not normally disposed of into the normal domestic or commercial waste stream, if in doubt check with your local authority.