Hi there,

I have to tell you about a situation I had this afternoon.

It made me laugh and put a huge smile on my face but really it is quite a serious subject

One of my customers called me to tell me that the fittings he had received in the mail today were faulty. He went on to explain that for some strange reason the hole was not big enough for the GU10 CFL globe to fit into the housing and that the globe was sitting proud of the fitting. I asked him if he had removed the front twist lock and he assured me he had but it still wouldnt fit in. I said that it was very strange and to try the other 5 fittings we had supplied and see if they were any different but he told me that they were exactly the same and short of using a hammer they just would not fit in.

I assured him that if the fitting was faulty that my supplier for this fitting (Crompton Lighting) had extremely good customer service and one way or another we get the problem sorted out. In the interim I suggested he send me the photos of the fittings and the problem.

Here are the photos he sent.

The email that came with the pictures said “As per our telephone conversation earlier today all 6 are exactly the same. So either the globe is too big or the housing is too small. Or I have got something wrong? Please advise.”

This alarmed me. Here was a guy at home that got online and ordered some light fittings and thought he could fit them himself. So apart from trying to put the globe in from the wrong side of the fitting (the globe should be sitting on the rear of the twist lock face) this guy was obviously also going to do his own electrical work as well. In Australia any electrical work must only be done by a qualified electrician. Dont get me wrong there are some electricians that wouldnt know which way to put the globe in either but hopefully he has a good idea on how to wire it safely.

There are some things you can do yourself without getting into too much trouble hopefully. You can mark holes, drill the cut outs and even run some wire if you like but when it comes to attaching the wire to the mains power this job should only be done by trained professionals.

If the fitting is sold a DIY fitting then you dont need an electrician. But if you dont see DIY in the product description or on the box then do as much as you can and then call the sparky!!

Today I got quite a shock.

Crompton have just launched a new Energy Saving Halogen Globes that will give the other manufacturers a run for their money.

The range is small but they offer something for almost all lighting installations

Something that really impressed me was the MR16 12 Volt Energy Saving Halogen replacement. Two things absolutely blew me away. One was the amazing light output and second was the low cost.

They have released two 12V MR16 replacement versions, a VWFL (Very Wide Flood Light) 60 degree and also a WFL (Wide Flood Light) 36 degree

They use only 40 watts of power instead of the standard 50 watts so you get a 20% energy saving. This also means 20% less heat. The good think though is the technology inside the halogen capsule. Even though there is a 20% energy saving this doesnt mean you have less light. Quite to the contrary.

The new VWFL energy saver halogen puts out 1000 candelas and the WFL puts out 1800 candelas. This doesnt mean much unless you know what a standard bulb puts out. The standard halogens put out 720 candelas and 1450 candelas respectively. This means you actually getting a lot more light for less power consumption.

The Osram IRC equivalents offer a slightly better energy saving but sell for $13.75 each ($27.50 for a twin pack) whilst the Crompton MR16 Energy Saver is only $6.60 each ($65 for a 10 pack) which make it not much more than a quality standard globe.

This product gets my thumbs up!!

We have a outside coach light running a 60w low voltage light running of a HPM transformer, this has been operating for a number of years and we decided to upgrade the globe to a new compact fluro 12v 20watt globe.

When we replaced it it lit up well and we went inside. After we went out to look at this globe and it was off, I looked inside the lamp housing and a bad smell and hot base on the fluro globe.

We replaced it with the original globe and this worked ok ,so could you tell me what could be the problem.

The fluro globe has this on the box; HLDCSCT4/58-20W 12V 3000K B22. The transformer has this info; HPM CATRGL11 230-240 V 50Hz AC 150 Va max

Thank you for your help

Brian.

Everyone asks me for advice on what type of light fittings to install.

Sometimes they have already bought the lights, sometimes they have drilled the holes in the ceiling already, nearly everyone has a friend who is an electrician who “knows all about lights” but very rarely does anyone ever come to me and ask “what would you do if you were starting new?”.

In fact there have been only 2 people that didn’t have any commitment or prejudice to one style or another and both took my advice and are over the moon with the results. The sad thing is that I make less money putting customers into the right light fitting than I do putting them into the wrong one (what is wrong with me??)

Here is a picture of my dream light (click on it and it gets bigger)

Now a lot of people are scratching their heads wondering why this is so exciting. There are so many reasons to get excited about I dont know where to start.

They look good, they look modern and they arent big and bulky. They take a stock standard cheap CFL ES globe you can buy at Woolworths or Coles. They arent a fancy bulb that you need to get a bank loan to buy! You can put a 15 watt globe in there that will be the equivalent of a 75 watt globe so you get heaps of light! If you put a warm coloured compact fluro globe in there you wont even know that it is a fluorescent globe at all. They are cheap so the wife will love them! The main reason I love them is that these are the first design where someone has actually looked at the shape of a compact fluoro globe and wants to get the most light for the customer out of the fitting. You see the globe is mounted sideways. This means that you get the most light as possible where you need it. Other fittings have the globe in a upright position. This means all the light is going sideways!

They are available in white and satin chrome so will suit most interior designs. There is one negative though. The dimmable compact fluorescent globes currently available wont fit in them. This means you cant dim them. But hey, there are so many advantages these far outweigh the disadvantages (who’s to say dimmable globes won’t get smaller in size too and fit in later down the track)

Contact me if you want me to quote you on some

Good luck with your lighting in your home

Kind regards

Daniel

UPDATE: I have added these energy saving fittings to the site in single quantities. If you need 14 or more I might be able to squeeze the price little - Contact me

Good morning,
My inquiry is in regard to replacing my 40 halogen downlights with energy saving ones.

My question I guess is what do you recommend, as I require lighting that is very similar to the 50 watt halogens.

Do you have lights that do not heat up like the halogens, if I am replacing them, safety is a big issue, as I worry about halogens and the heat they generate. Hopefully you can guide in the right direction.

Cheers,
Pete

I have light fittings which take 3 candle globes. One fixture which is in the lounge room has a dimmer switch attached.

Could you let me know if there is an energy saving dimmable candle globe that can be used. If not what type of replacement dimmable energy saving globe would be appropriate?

I need some advice on what type of globes would be suitable. Possible your firm could supply them for me if there is anything suitable.