We get called out to a lot of properties still running halogen downlights, and the conversation about switching to LED comes up almost every time — usually because a lamp's just blown for the third time that year.
The numbers are worth knowing
A 50W halogen downlight can be replaced with a 5–6W LED giving the same light output. Run ten of those for four hours a day and you're looking at roughly £70 a year in electricity for halogen versus about £8 for LED, at typical UK rates. Across a whole house that adds up fast, and LED lamps last a lot longer too — commonly 15,000–25,000 hours against a halogen's 2,000–3,000.
The bit people don't think about: heat
Halogen lamps run hot — hot enough that we regularly find scorched cable insulation where wiring's been resting against the top of a fitting. It's one of the more common causes of lighting circuit faults we're called out to, and in the worst cases it's a fire risk, not just an inconvenience. LED fittings run cool enough that this basically isn't an issue.
Is it a straight swap?
Usually, yes — most standard downlight fittings will take an LED replacement lamp directly. Where it gets more involved is older fittings with transformers built for halogen loads, which sometimes need swapping out or bypassing for LED to work properly, especially with dimmers. We'll check what you've got and tell you straight whether it's a five-minute lamp swap or a proper fitting upgrade.
If you're fed up replacing halogen lamps every few months, get in touch and we'll price up switching the whole house or just the worst-affected rooms.