IKEA sees the (LED) light!

I’ve been flogging LED lighting systems for a couple of years now. Some time ago I did a project that involved a large number of AC LEDs. Most LEDs run on 12 volt DC power but there are a couple of manufacturers who put out AC power LEDs, including the little MR16s we bought from Seoul Semiconductor - the Acriche LEDs.

The advantage is that they don’t require a separate transformer (or driver) and can be dimmed steplessly.

I grabbed one from the warehouse and after an hour or so of tinkering transformed my IKEA uplight’s spotlamp. This uplight has a branch which contains an E14 bulb - when it first came out, people used incandescent spotlamps which were tremendously hot. Soon after, they switched to cold cathode or compact fluorescents and I had a 7 watt unit in mine.

As the AC power MR16s have a GU10 base, I had to take apart the IKEA lamp and replace the E14 base with a GU10 one. This was done easily enough and even though I could not screw the new base into the lamp unit, the wire, when pulled and secured, keeps the base snug in the back of the spotlamp unit.

As the LEDs use 240 volt AC power but employ a GU10 base which can typically be for either 12 volt DC or 240 V AC, I thought it best to mark this clearly.

The Acriche 3W light gives a very good colour, not unlike that of the halogen it typically replaces, but cooler and flatter which is perfect for near use. Besides, I like how the bulb looks when seated in the lampholder - the fins of the heatsink make the whole look interesting when switched off.

Besides, I now enjoy a host of other LED light benefits including a lifespan 15 times that of halogens and 6 times that of cold cathode, power consumption of about a tenth of halogens and half of cold cathode, and also the feeling I've just done something rather clever.

I still have to modify the uplight section and might use some MR16s there as well. I’ve run out of Acriche ones so may try an array of Revolite ones or perhaps some LED modules. Will keep you posted.

Incidentally we have another of the same lights in the hall and I will likely switch that to an on/off foot switch rather than a dimmer and use the same E27 fittings that are in place. I’ve got some non-dimmable E27s sitting in the warehouse which I can use.