by ericmark »
Fri Feb 19, 2016 11:20 am
I will have a good guess. The power supply is a switch mode or pulse width modulated really two names for same thing, and it works by altering the mark/space ratio, the problem is they have a minimum and well as maximum output and likely min = 20W i.e. one bulb and max 100W i.e. all bulbs. 5 x 2.2 = 11W which is below the minimum output. It may work with 4W LED lamps but there is more than simply output. The LED as the words suggest are diodes so require DC, there is clearly some rectifier to make the AC into DC inside the bulb but the wave form out of the voltage regulator is unlikely a sine wave and also unlikely 50 Hz so adding the electronic components within the bulb can do all sorts, it could build a transmitter and could cause all sorts of spikes causing TV and radio interference. Also with such a unknown supply life of the bulbs is unknown.
I tried so G5.2 MR16 12 volt LED's in my case with a real transformer but the LED's lasted just 6 months, yet all my low voltage LED's (230vac) are running without a single failure.
For small low voltage (230vac) bulb type lamps the LED works well, for extra low voltage (12 volt) it is rather hit and miss, also for the larger lamps LED has very little advantage of fluorescent lamps an LED gives around 60 to 100 lumen per watt, and fluorescent is 80 to 95 lumen per watt as a tube or single fold in the tube, but with multi-folds it goes down to 40 lumen per watt, however some colour changing LED go down to 20 lumen per watt.
In the main the LED its self is very good, but something has to convert constant voltage into constant current and with very cheap units that device is a simple resistor so as a unit rather poor lumen per watt.
I have also found the colour temperature of LED lamps is rather high 2700K to 3000K which makes one think they are brighter than they really are. Great walking around the room but try reading a book and you realise not enough light.
