Choosing the right GU10 LED Spotlights

The GU10 LED light bulb replaces your existing bulbs easily and effortlessly. It saves energy while providing great lighting for pretty much most applications. They’re also known as PAR16 light bulbs and are best used in places where bright, direct light is needed.

GU10 stands for ‘general use’.
The ‘10’ refers to the 10 mm space between the two prongs, or legs of the bulb. GU10 LED light bulbs have a narrow base with a slightly wider aperture.
Sizes are 50mm diameter and up to 75mm in length.
They can usually retrofit into any existing halogen fitting.
Energy use is far lower than halogen equivalents with bulbs generally using 10x less energy.
Most commonly, GU10 LED’s are used for ambient lighting requirements but due to a wide range of colour temperatures and beam angles, can easily be used for task lighting in kitchens and bathrooms.
Spotlight GU10’s can sometimes be confused with integrated downlights where the entire bulb and fitting is supplied. Spotlights are cheaper and work with any type of compatible fixture.
Bulbs range in temperature from 2700k extra warm white through to 6500K daylight.
Lifespan for domestic applications is around 15,000 hours. For retail and industrial use, this ranges from 25,000 to 50,000 hours.
Colour rendering is >80 in most cases but some manufacturers ranges now offer almost sunlight quality rendering of colour.
You will need a specific water resistant bulb for some bathroom applications.
GU10 LED’s do not have a fire rating. However, there is usually a fitting around the GU10, making it fire rated.

We have produced a series of mini guides to help you choose the right GU10. Each guide is a 4-5 minute read and should give you enough information to get your purchase correct.

Selecting by Specification: Colour Temperatures & Rendering

You can choose from different colour outputs measured in Kelvins.

Extra Warm White (2700k)
Warm white (3000K – 3500K)
Cool white (3500K – 4500K)
Daylight (4500K – 7000K)

Identifying the right colour temperature largely depends on whether you are using the LED’s for Task, Ambient or Accent lighting.

If colour rendering is crucial to you – and it will be if you are buying spotlights to showcase colour in items such as clothing, shoes, jewellery & cars - you will need to pay attention to the colour rendering rating of the spotlights you are buying.

We discuss all this and much more in our quick read guide. Read our quick read guide here – Choosing the best LED GU10’s by colour

Seleting by specification: Wattages & Lumens

In general, the higher the wattage of bulb, the more lumen output will be produced.

Lumens	LED Wattage
220 - 400 lm	2 – 6W
400- 600 lm	6 – 8 W
600 - 1100 lm	10 – 12 W

It pays to shop around because some bulbs can produce outstanding lumen outputs without pushing up energy consumption. Osram for example have some great 6W bulbs that produce a whopping 575 lumens.

If you would like to learn a little more and see our top picks for 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 & 8 Watt bulbs, take a look at our quick read guide here – Choosing the best LED GU10’s by Wattage

Mini Guides: The best Halogen Replacements

One of the most common requirements for LED’s is to replace existing halogen fittings.

Halogen GU10	LED GU10
30 W	3 W
40 W	4 - 6 W
60 W	6 - 8 W
75 W	8 W
100 W	12 W

The above conversion table provides useful guidance but, if you want to learn more, including fitment advice and see our most popular bulbs, read our guide – Selecting the best halogen GU10 spotlight replacements.

Mini Guides: Selecting brands

We tend to stock the best quality suppliers including Philips, Sylvania & Osram along with less well known but quality offerings from JCB, Energizer and GE. We have produced mini guides so you can quickly see the most popular bulbs supplied by these industry heavyweights.

Philips Lighting – Our most popular GU10 LEDs from the Master and CorePro range
Osram Lighting – Our most popular GU10 LEDs from the PARATHOM range.
Sylvania Lighting – Our most popular GU10 LEDs from the REFLED ES50 range

Kitchens

Our kitchen GU10 guide covers pretty much everything from colour temperature, to fire ratings, beam angles and everything in between. Get our top kitchen picks too- read our guide here.

Bathrooms

In the bathroom, your main consideration is which zone the bulbs will be used. Each zone requires different safety standards based on how much water resistance it can withstand. Once you have figured that out, you will need an idea of how many lumens you might need and which colour temperature will best suit your lighting plan. Read our guide here.

Outdoor & Garden

Are you planning new garden features? Maybe a few spikes to showcase your new patio and garden furniture? Or perhaps some ambient lighting to help relax around your new hot tub? Check out our garden lighting guide – we only really cover spotlights here but we have some general tips that can support wider lighting projects.

Cost Comparison: LED spotlight versus Halogen spotlight

https://www.thegreenage.co.uk/article/cost-comparison-led-spotlight-versus-halogen-spotlight/

Understanding Colour Temperatures

https://www.lampshoponline.com/advice/guide-led-colour-temperatures

Why shop with Lampshoponline?

**Table: Why Shop with Lamshoponline**
USP	LampShopOnline
TOP BRANDS ONLY	We only stock the best brands on the market and bring these to you at great prices with bulk discounts available for trade and larger home orders.
QUANTITY	Purchase as many or as few as you wish with savings when you buy in bulk. Amazon for example may require you to buy in bulk which may not be practical given the wide range of colour temperature, IP rating and beam angle differences around the home.
STOCK AVAILABILITY	We carry large stocks at all times.
DELIVERY & RETURNS	£2.96 delivery. Free delivery over £40. 30 day returns policy.
REVIEWS	We have over 10,000 customer reviews and are rated Excellent. 90% of our customers recommend us.
GREAT LOCATION	Our warehouse and entire customer service team is located in Yorkshire.
PACKAGING	We are renowned for our excellence in product packing meaning your bulbs arrive in perfect condition.
GREATSHOPPING EXPERIENCE	We invest heavily in our shopping experience. We constantly ask for feedback from our customers to help us improve our store experience.
CHOOSE HOW TO PAY	We accept Credit & Debit Cards, Paypal, American Express and Amazon Pay.
TRADE ACCOUNT TERMS	We offer specific trade accounts for larger clients.
INDUSTRY EXPERTS	Our team are highly trained specialists and can answer most lighting questions.

Delivery & Returns

Delivery

Orders above £40 free delivery.
Bulk purchasing options apply to many products listed in our GU10 ranges.
Royal Mail Tracked 2nd Class Delivery Under 3ft - £2.96
Royal Mail Tracked 1st Class Delivery Under 3ft - £4.80

Returns

If you're not happy with your purchase you can return items to us within 30 days of receiving your order providing the goods are unused. To return your items, please e-mail sales@lampshoponline.com with your order number and we will send a returns number and return instructions to you.

Customer Service

LampShopOnline take pride in looking after our customers and endeavor to reply to every query. It can take up to 48 hours for a reply, however we typically respond within a couple of hours Monday to Fridays.

Tel: 0113 8876270

sales@lampshoponline.com

accounts@lampshoponline.com

Choosing the right GU10 LED Spotlights

GU10 LED Quick Facts

Mini Guides: Helping You Buy Correctly