In most cases though we find people are much better off replacing the fitting and the LED bulbs (so swap MR16 bulbs with new GU10 fitting and GU10 LED bulbs). For example, if you're powering four 4W MR16 bulbs for a total of 16W, then you'll need a 20W transformer to produce a sufficient amount of power (and the subsequent 20% wattage deficit). Do you have an LED Driver that needs to be replaced? Many LED drivers are equipped with 0-10V dimming. Count the amount of bulbs you need to change before heading out … This will require an AC/DC transformer for in home use, but makes wiring the strips through the house a lot safer. Wattage and power You can't compare the wattage of LED and other types of bulbs directly - that's because LEDs use a lot less electricity. In order to switch to LEDs, you will need to find a way to switch that 12VAC to direct current and output a steady and safe current to your LED replacement. For this reason, if you have a light running on a 12-volt power supply, you need a series of about three LED lights running fully. Therefore, consider replacing your current power supply with one designed for LED lighting. If you’re talking about dimming the actual LED chips, then you need to work back from that to the driver to a compatible dimmer. 12 volt LED lights – The LED strip lights need 12VDC power input to run. For a transformer that controls more than one bulb, you would add up the voltage of each bulb to find out the total voltage. If your LED bulbs fall within the transformer’s voltage range, you do not need to replace the transformer. If you already have an old fixture than it most likely will have a 12VAC transformer. If you’re planning to upgrade the lights in your home or business to energy-saving LEDs here are some important facts about LED downlights and how they will work in your fittings: Transformers and LED downlights. If not, you have a choice: change your choice of LED bulb, or change the voltage. Which means halogen transformers provide a lot more power than LED lights need. How to Size a Transformer for Landscape Lights. Type C – Driver, not ballast for LED. In other cases, you need … If you don’t have tubes that are compatible, then you will need an LED driver. I went to bunnings as well as a lighting shop and they said I can just swap them out with the LED bulbs. If you have low voltage halogen bulbs installed with a transformer, the first thing you need to do before replacing Halogen MR16s with LEDs is to find the transformer’s maximum load. I need some help (I have no clue about all of these at all). Giving an Example with White LED Lights. Contact LEDified for a thorough review of your lighting situation. Before installing MR16 LED light bulbs into your MR16 light fixture, make sure the power supply can properly handle the correct load of LED light … Option 1. You need to check to determine what your system uses. Only other problem I've had with LEDs is that the cone of light has a much smaller angle that it covers. Halogens do get hot. It all depends on what you've got. Even more good news for you: if you have a fluorescent fixture designed for T12 tubes, you don't need to change out the tombstone when you convert to LED. The short answer is generally yes. LED light bulbs generally have extremely low wattage, like 3 watts each. Thanks for the info , do you know what brands you bought? LED or halogen: LED are pricey, especially if you want dimmable ones, and even the ‘warm tone’ lights don’t give a very nice light. The friend changed from MR16 to GU10 lights. You should be able to find this on the body of the transformer itself, in the form of a ‘VA’ number. As has been said, shop around and make sure you buy from a supplier that accepts returns because you will need to experiment. If your LED bulbs fall within the transformer’s voltage range, you do not need to replace the transformer. I’m not convinced that the technology is quite ‘there’ yet for domestic applications. The only transformer it has for this particular model (QuickFit – Better Homes & Garden) is rated 35watts. FAQ - Magnetic vs. Electronic Transformers for MR16 LEDs. This is called a Type C application, with a tube and driver that work together. Because they operate on AC rather than DC you don't need to use a special LED driver. for more information on that.) This article assumes you are considering retrofitting existing low voltage halogen downlights with LED MR16 lights (MR16 lights are also known as GU5.3 sometimes). But a friend (who has recently switched to LED from halogen downlights) and a relative both said I should swap out the whole transformer. ... you can figure out what size of low-voltage transformer you need. Then you must check to make sure your LED bulbs use the same voltage. For a transformer that controls more than one bulb, you would add up the voltage of each bulb to find out the total voltage. So how do you tell if you need to change the transformers?