A few people have asked me recently why they should convert their downlights over to L.E.Ds. There seems to be some confusion as to why they have such high energy bills, but only have 12v downlights. Lighting is only one factor to consider, to reduce your bills you need to become more efficient in the way you consume power, i.e. washing machine, air con, water heater etc. But for now lets look at your lighting. The answer is low voltage lights do not offer any savings on your power bill. Your power bill is worked out in Watts or Megawatts, which is a combination of current (amps) and voltage (volts). If you have 6 x 50w downlights in your kitchen, that is 6 x 50w no matter how you look at it, whether they are 12v or 240v, they still draw 50w. So in total your kitchen is using 300w. L.E.D's are far more efficient in the way that heat is used and lost compared to halogen's. In a typical GU10 L.E.D, it will loose up to 80% less heat, which means it will draw less power, but still put out a similar amount of light. So your kitchen is now drawing around 6 x 9w (or so) which is closer to 60w in total. Multiply this across your entire house, and on a typical residence with say 20 downlights, that is an enormous saving of 820w! L.E.D's are safer too. House fires due to heat from downlight's is a major concern of mine. I have lost count of the times I have witnessed downlights and their transformers completely covered by insulation, or touching timber. This is not only illegal but very dangerous. The new wiring rules make it very hard to install halogen downlights, as they now require heat hoods which are tall and bulky. If you have limited space in your ceiling this can often be impossible. L.E.D's do not require the same clearances. Although the initial cost of L.E.D globes is significantly higher, the savings in the long run are enormous. The life of the globe is thousands of hours, compared to hundreds, and your lighting bill reductions will have the conversion paid off in no time. Sound good? Get in touch and I will be more than happy to go through it with you and suggest a new lighting layout. Earth Neutral