New lights in my Man cupboard.

[DAPPH]

You may find it's a better light without diffusing it , perhaps a clear acrylic panel or even nothing would work better so long as you get the reflector set up right ..

The wattage :-
that will be a 5 mtr roll of LED at 60 watt with respect to the voltage applied.
That's why I asked about you using a transformer /driver or battery etc for them as 6 to 30 volts DC at 20 watts rating is a lot less energy in coloumbs ( electrons on the move per second ) used than 20 watts at 240 volts rating .

I'm not sure what these new super bright high energy ones draw but it is not much & obviously it alters with the adding of surface areas being used in each LED .

With the old ( Last century ) encapsulated LED's , if my memory serves me correct there was a 0.6 volt drop across each led in the circuit , though you could have them wired in series ,paralleled or a combination and have three or four circuits per length running from common buss-bar /rails .

 

[DAPPH]

That's interesting I have a similar issue with an outside light presently, fitted two week ago and only just noticed it. Those are super cheap but there seems to be a distinct and obvious difference in quality between the one I have here and some of those I see on the shelves of the DIY sheds

I have fitted some GU10 warm white 120deg floods in the kitchen, they give far better light than the 50W spotlights that came with the fittings, they were £18.99 for 10 from eBay. So far so good, I fitted them just before Christmas and they are on for about 8 hrs/day. Flip side of the coin I bought an led floodlight replacement bulb that won't work with the PIR?? It just stays on all the time.

Rig pig ,

Have you cleaned the contacts of the light with a fine abrasive cloth & gave the connector block terminal screws a tweek ? Quite often a " skin " of corrosion builds up on these parts and causes them to be high resistance , the LED replacement won't draw enough current to over come the resistance . You might also have to adjust the sensitivity & timer setting for some reason ( skin /film of crud again ?? ) ..moving the control screws about often clears it .

Finally :-
Have you tried to toggle the light ? Some PIR flood lights have this toggle facility so you can switch the light on manually and leave it on for long sessions .

Switch it off leave it to discharge for a few seconds then put it back on and then straight away turn it on & back off then back on.
If that toggle sequence does not work try & turn the light on & off quickly after about two minutes .

If the toggling works be aware that any big flicker on the incoming mains supply may cause the light to toggle again .

 

[3MPS]

They're on a transformer

 

[Rig Pig]

Rig pig ,

Have you cleaned the contacts of the light with a fine abrasive cloth & gave the connector block terminal screws a tweek ? Quite often a " skin " of corrosion builds up on these parts and causes them to be high resistance , the LED replacement won't draw enough current to over come the resistance . You might also have to adjust the sensitivity & timer setting for some reason ( skin /film of crud again ?? ) ..moving the control screws about often clears it .

Finally :-
Have you tried to toggle the light ? Some PIR flood lights have this toggle facility so you can switch the light on manually and leave it on for long sessions .

Switch it off leave it to discharge for a few seconds then put it back on and then straight away turn it on & back off then back on.
If that toggle sequence does not work try & turn the light on & off quickly after about two minutes .

If the toggling works be aware that any big flicker on the incoming mains supply may cause the light to toggle again .

Thanks for that I will have a look at it today and see if I can get it working.

 

[rtbcomp]

............
Have you tried to toggle the light ? Some PIR flood lights have this toggle facility so you can switch the light on manually and leave it on for long sessions .

...........

Good point - IIRC mine needs a 15 second pause.

 

[normspanners]

A mate fitted leds to his older pir's same thing, but one of his flashed on and off!, you have to check if they are compatible.

I have found this BTW read further down re pir's but I thought I would include the two way just in case.

Flashing Lamps When the Circuit is Off
This is a topic about which I am asked regularly - typically the flashing occurs on a two way switched circuit when the circuit is “off”.

The flashing is the result of capacitive coupling between the live and switched live strapper wires that run between two-way switches. Alternatively, the flashing may be the result of other stray leaked voltage.

The stray voltage causes a build-up of charge within the lamp components, which is then released when it reaches a level sufficient to overcome the impedance of the lamp circuitry. The result is a cycle of brief illuminations. These flashes are not a safety hazard, but are obviously not ideal.

Historically, this process also occurred on traditional filament lamps - but the stray voltage was not sufficient to light the bulb.

Suppressor Solution
First you should confirm the diagnosis: this is easy, simply replace one of the LED lamps with a filament bulb. The additional resistive load offers a dissipation route for the charge. In addition, with the switch off, you can usually check for a small voltage on the switched live wire. If the circuit has two-way switching, this voltage will be more apparent on one of the “off” configurations, rather than the other.

Adding a suppressor (or snubber) to the circuit between the switched live and neutral will solve the problem. The suppressor should be installed in parallel with the lamps, and as close to one of the lamps as possible (possibly within the fitting itself or ceiling rose).

This costs just a few pounds, a more expensive solution is to add a resistive load, which mimics the action of the parallel lamps.

Flashing with LED Lamps and PIR Sensors
Occasionally, electricians observe an LED lamp flashing when it is retro-fitted within a fitting containing a PIR sensor. Again, this is not a defective lamp, and rather the result of voltage leakage from the PIR sensor when the lamp is in the “Off” state. This cycle of energy build-up and discharge is enough to cause flashing.

The difficulty is with the design of the PIR sensor, most of which have been manufactured with a filament lamp in mind. At Kosnic, we have a range of complete fittings - comprising lamp, PIR and luminaire - which remove any of these headaches and maximise energy efficiency. However, retro-fitting is sometimes the only option. In this case, the electrician needs to understand the suitability of different PIR sensors.

PIR Sensor Suitability
Mechanically switching four-wire PIR sensors normally operate on an internal relay that has switch contacts isolated from the circuit of the PIR sensor and, as such, are unlikely to leak a voltage across the load and cause flashing.

The exception is sensors that use solid state switches: these operate by causing a change in state of the semi-conductor and so allowing the current to flow. As the switch contacts are not physically isolated from the PIR sensor circuitry, there is an increased risk of leaking voltage and subsequent flashing of the LED lamp. The risk diminishes in PIR sensors that are well made and that use quality components with good internal tolerances.

Two-wire PIR sensors are designed to replace wall switches and do not use a neutral conductor. Consequently, they will intentionally leak a small operational voltage across the load. When retro-fitting a LED lamp, the result can be flashing. However, many manufacturers are aware of this issue and supply a capacitive load to dissipate the leaked voltage.

PIR sensors in light fittings can be designed in any of the ways we’ve just described and, as such, may or may not cause flashing. The quality of the components is also an issue, as is the location. Outdoor fittings are more likely to get damp and give rise to leakage.

The solution is to use PIR sensors that you trust, and take advice from the manufacturer when designing new circuits that contain LED lamps.

Over the next year, we’ll see fewer incidences of flashing as manufacturers recognise the importance of supporting LED lamps. Even when retro-fitting - the case for cost savings and reductions in energy consumption mean that the few minutes taken to overcome any flashing delivers real rewards.

 

[awemawson]

Yes they are LEDs and they are bright! eBay item 400663854563 in warm white non dimmable 24 led, they are glass encapsulated - no live heatsink unlike some of the cheap ones.

Rig Pig many thanks for the recommendation. They arrived today, I've fitted them and they are dramatically better than the previous LED light we had in the kitchen. More to the point 'she' has given them her seal of approval.

 

[SmartWerks]

The light bulb industry was one of the first to bring in mandatory planned obselecence.

 

[DAPPH]

The light bulb industry was one of the first to bring in mandatory planned obselecence.

There is a fire station in the USA that has the same " duty" light on 24 /7 that was installed about 1923 , they moved it to new head quarters a few years ago .
It is almost a red neon glow but it is still a light bulb .

As EU rules deny householders the right to use traditional filament bulbs, the so-called 'Centennial Light' has been on almost constantly since 1901.

It holds pride of place in Fire Station 6, in Livermore, northern California.

The longest time the Guinness World Record-holding bulb has ever been turned off for is just a week.

Dangling above the fire engines, people come for hundreds and thousands of miles to see the diminutive symbol.


There is also a claim for that title for a bulb in Norway , but I don't think it is on 24/7