Converting to LED

It is hard to quote an equivalent as the light does not shine in the same direction, in the main a tungsten bulb emits light in all directions other than the base which clearly casts a shadow, where the LED often has a large base so does not shine in that direction at all. So with a white ceiling if the LED has base at bottom it seems to light better than base at top as it reflects light from the ceiling giving an even light in all directions, use a holder where base is at the top and the spread is not as good (assuming white ceiling) but direct light is better.

I did not move direct tungsten to LED and I also swapped the lights from two BA22d fittings, to six BA22d fittings and then ten E14 (SES) fittings, so started with 200W tungsten, then 240W tungsten, then 66W compact fluorescent, then 80W compact fluorescent (not bright enough) then 30W LED (OK for all be reading with) and not 50W LED which seem much brighter than anything before, however sitting down to read about the same as the original 200W tungsten however moved from 2 bulbs to 10 bulbs as although 10 in two fittings of 5 each, the spread is far better as more bulbs.

The same seems to be repeated with other rooms as around ¼ of the watts with LED to tungsten. However it also required changes to central heating with a programmable thermostat so air temperature is raised in the evening as not getting radiated heat from the lights.

So your looking for around 12W however with reasonable priced bulbs I suspect your not going to find that with an SES (E14) base bulb, around 5W seems to be the norm, so either swap to BA22d or ES (E27) or double up on the holders, well likely you with need one which takes 3 bulbs, since the LED control gear needs to keep cool, having a lamp holder which keeps base to bottom is better is there is a light ceiling to reflect the light, clearly if a dark ceiling then this will not work.

I find big advantage of LED bulbs is they don't fail very often, I have only replaced LED bulbs because the originals I selected were two small, however I have replaced an LED strip light (replaced a fluorescent tube) which had a very short life around 18 months where the fluorescent would typically last 5 years, so you can pick up bad ones every so often. When I moved to CFL I used expensive Philips bulbs, which had a very short life, so now use cheap LED Home Bargains or B&M Bargains are normal outlets I use. Not one LED bulb from either has ever failed for me.
 
If its a nice chandelier they may look rubbish, clear lamps may look better.
Bare in mind not Leds are dimmable and not all Dimmers are compatible with Dimmable Leds.


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