after the manufacturing cost of making them, they then need to be stored, packaged, shipped, etc. - that also costs money.

£3 for a bulb that should last 15-25 years sounds like a deal to me. These save around 1kwh every 20 hours of use compared to halogen or incandescent, so about 12p. Therefore after 500 to 600 hours these have not only paid for themselves, but will still have another 14.5 years life left.

http://www.screwfix.com/p/lap-gls-led-lamps-white-bc-9w-5-pack/2330j

5 for £10 and I'm buying the Energiser ones from cash & carry at £2.25 each. Seems there's a lot of profit in these bulbs.

It really surprised me to find that all the old fluorescent type energy saving bulbs had been moved to a single bay and were now as expensive as the LED ones which have taken over. I assume that there was some kind of subsidy being applied in the past which has now been removed.

LED is marginally more energy efficient than the old one but has other benefits. They are instantly bright, and don't have to 'warm up', there's no flicker, and they are a good approximation to the shape of an incandescent bulb which designers have proved incapable of moving away from.

If you have the old type then I would say it isn't worth swapping them out just for the sake of it, wait until they fail & then change them for the LED ones.

I was surprised to find that they are now making LED tubes to replace the large fluorescent ones as well !

I was just thinking... What world are we living in where you have to spend £36 to get 12 60w bayonet bulbs (yes, I realise they are LED versions, but still !) And the best of it is, this is the offer price, not the regular price and seen as a deal on here . It's just crazy, the world's gone mad.

Do they have SES bulbs?

Any Bulb should not be more than a pound each IMO. These Bulbs are more than likely made in China, where they cost probably 5-10p to make taking in account the exchange rate. We get ripped here in Britain and it's very wrong.

Thats not SES. Thats ES.

I literally went to screwfix yesterday and the best cost/light LED bulb was these, installed 3 and they're great.

http://www.screwfix.com/p/lap-candle-led-lamp-white-ses-6w/1565g

aaa, just saw that you wanted small ES, i bought few for bedside lights from Poundshop and they are really good to be honest, cant go wrong for a pound.

http://www.screwfix.com/p/lap-gls-led-lamps-white-bc-9w-5-pack/2330j

5 for £10 and I'm buying the Energiser ones from cash & carry at £2.25 each. Seems there's a lot of profit in these bulbs.

It really surprised me to find that all the old fluorescent type energy saving bulbs had been moved to a single bay and were now as expensive as the LED ones which have taken over. I assume that there was some kind of subsidy being applied in the past which has now been removed.

LED is marginally more energy efficient than the old one but has other benefits. They are instantly bright, and don't have to 'warm up', there's no flicker, and they are a good approximation to the shape of an incandescent bulb which designers have proved incapable of moving away from.

If you have the old type then I would say it isn't worth swapping them out just for the sake of it, wait until they fail & then change them for the LED ones.

I was surprised to find that they are now making LED tubes to replace the large fluorescent ones as well !

Bought several of these when previously on offer.well constructed and correct output.worth paying slightly more for reliability/warranty.The best value seemed to be the vtac brand from home bargains, around a £1 for 40w SES-excellent quality and output.

£3 for a bulb that should last 15-25 years sounds like a deal to me. These save around 1kwh every 20 hours of use compared to halogen or incandescent, so about 12p. Therefore after 500 to 600 hours these have not only paid for themselves, but will still have another 14.5 years life left.

Screwfix selling 5 pack for a tenner.
I believe Screwfix are part of whatever group owns B&Q?

Led Filament bulbs have come down in price recently, which are A++ as opposed to A+, which means that a lower wattage bulb produces the same amount of light

http://www.toolstation.com/shop/Lighting/d220/LED+GLS+Lamps/sd3382/LED+Filament+GLS+Lamp/p60607

they also appear to give better light spread.
It may be better to spend a little bit extra on the bulb which uses less electricity, so saving you money in the long run.

Edit
The 9w B&Q bulb would be equivalent to the 6w led filament. 1/3 less electric

They don't last anywhere near that long though. When I first believed the hype, I paid about £5 each for some GU10 LEDs thinking the same as you, that they'll last years, they didn't. Five out of the six failed within 4 months. The remaining one, in less than six months. There's nothing wrong with the wiring, was checked thoroughly, so bought some more from a different brand. They didn't last either. False economy. Same with supposed everlasting LED decking lights that we bought over 10 years ago. They were rated at ip68 so were meant to withstand all kinds of potential ingress and cost a fortune at the time (again, I believed the hype) Most of the 40 installed had blown within 2 years and they were relatively sheltered too. Not worth this kind of outlay as far as I'm concerned.

If they only lasted a few months why didn't you return then under warranty? What brand were they?

Cheap Gu10s are notorious for failing early, but the Philips and osram ones are much better. I've had some osrams n my kitchen for a couple of years and not one failure, think they have a 3 or five year guarantee too, so will just take them back. I've used cheap ones too for 3 years, 4 out of 16 failed early but the rest are still going strong. At £2.50 each i still think they were worth it. I still would have had to replace halogens 2 or 3 times in that sort of time period.

And let's not forget all the electricity we are not shelling out on unnecessary heat. Savings galore in that department over the lifetime of a LED.

Nope if you hadn't noticed the powert companies ramped all the prices up tenfold whenthe first CFL bulbs came out to negate the massive fall in profits when everyone went over to them, that structure is still in place!

Had a totally different experience.
Replaced 6 GU10 50w lamps to 5w led.
4 years later still fine.
These were minisun branded similar to these:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B00RXHOUG8/ref=mp_s_a_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1468767051&sr=8-10&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=led+gu10+minisun

Used both cool and warm white in other areas,correct output for both.

Outdoor lighting is a different beast,temperature variations are greater which will have an effect.

just echo the 'don't last long thing' if you buy copies without much quality control then they won't last long. spent6 quid for 20 led bulbs each... after 3 years not one failure. when they changed the kitchen light Dutch from 500w to 50w that amounts a reasonable saving over the years :smiley:

oh that were Phillips brand but the way.

buy reliable means saving in long run.

£9 for a 9W 3 pack in wickes so the same price for 4 but cheaper for fewer.

Bayonet Cap http://www.wickes.co.uk/Philips-BC-LED-A-shape-Non-dimmable-Bulb-3-Pack-9W/p/147497

ES screw fits http://www.wickes.co.uk/Philips-ES-LED-A-shape-Non-dimmable-Bulb-3-Pack-9W/p/147498

Equivalent in whose opinion ?

Interesting story. I've been using LEDs around the home for quite a few years. I've also got LED striplighting, out of the 20 or so bulbs only 2 have failed in 6 years and two house moves. They were the b&q own brand specials that were cack. Personally I think you've been really unlucky. You are wiring them in on led drivers right????? I have wondered about the cost saving as well, but I like the idea that I'm not using much energy overall

I wouldn't call over £5 each for a bulb around 7 years ago, cheap and they were on offer at the time too. I can't remember the specific brand of one, but both sets were by recognised, reputable brands though, I think one was GEC. We're not the only ones who have had a bad experience with LEDs. Even with Philips and Osram. Read the comments on The Which article about LED failures and you'll see it's not just the cheaper brands that fail. As example, see the negative reviews on Amazon for this Philips LED ses bulb: Philips MyVision 929000200801 E14 SES 5 Watt Golf Ball Shape LED Bulb [Energy Class A]

See, this is where a little bit of knowledge can be dangerous.... GU10 bulbs are mains voltage and therefore don't require LED drivers. They are just a straight swap out from the standard halogens. Low voltage bulbs like MR11 or MR16s require you to swap out the existing transformer and replace it for an LED driver so they obviously weren't required in our case.

I hadn't noticed, and I think you are talking nonsense, I pay about 11p per kWh, which is probably lower than it was 10 years ago.

You need to wake up we have had power bills go through the roof for over 15 years now, almost year on year!