You want to convert your halogen torchiere or uplighter to modern LED technology? Conventional ceiling floodlights with halogen bulbs provide a cozy light, but at the same time they are a drain on your electricity bill. In this article you will learn everything about modern LED bulbs for torchieres and uplights and how to choose the right one.
Convert halogen torchieres to LED
Torchieres provide a very cozy and glare-free light due to their indirect lighting. That is why the uplighter is a very popular light source in many living rooms and other spaces. Due to the often long burning time, the energy consumption with the old bulbs is not negligible. Fortunately, these can be easily replaced and converted to economical LED bulbs.
Many conventional torchieres come with a halogen rod with R7s base for the illuminant. Very compact floodlights sometimes also have a screw socket with a normal light bulb. In many cases, LED retrofitting is possible without any problems.
When is the conversion worthwhile?
Converting a torchiere to LED makes sense, of course, if the old bulb has just burned out anyway. But also to reduce energy consumption, it can be worthwhile to replace the old bulb with a modern LED.
Example calculation
A 150 watts halogen bulb generates annual energy costs of approx. 50 dollars with a daily burning time of 6 hours. An LED illuminant saves approx. 85% here. This means that the purchase costs are amortized very quickly.
What to look for in LED illuminants?
LED retrofitting is basically possible for many torchieres. But LED technology has become more complex compared to the old illuminants. Here you can find out what you should pay attention to when retrofitting your uplights.
Matching socket
Of course, the new LED bulb must fit into the socket of the existing torchiere. Many conventional uplights have an R7s socket for the bulb. Very compact or very old floodlights sometimes also have an E26 socket.
Lamp dimensions
R7s bulbs come in three standard lengths: 3 inch (78 mm), 4.7 inch (118 mm) and 7.4 inch (189 mm). Depending on the wattage of the old halogen rod, the different lengths are used. Here you should measure before converting the bulb.
Color temperature
Halogen rods usually have a color temperature between 2700 and 3000 Kelvin, which is called warm white, from 3500K as neutral white and from 5000K as daylight white. Choose the color temperature according to your own taste.
Dimmable light source
Many torchieres have a built-in dimmer. In that case, make sure that the LED replacement is also dimmable. This is true even if the dimmer is always set to 100%. Non-dimmable LED bulbs often flicker or remain completely dark.
LED bulbs for torchieres
Depending on the power of your torchiere you should choose a proper LED replacement. For this purpose, you can take the power rating of the previous halogen bulb as a basis. The power rating can usually be found on the bulb holder or on the old bulb itself.
Power rating as a guideline
The power rating of the old lamp should only be considered as a guide value in comparison to the LED replacement. In practice, a 15W LED bulb is usually just as bright as a 150W halogen bulb.
50 – 150 Watt Halogen LED Replacement
Many torchieres have a R7s halogen rod with a power rating between 50W and 150W installed. Here there are a variety of quality LED bulbs for easy replacement.
230 – 250 Watt Halogen LED Equivalent
This power class is common for quite bright torchieres. Here the choice becomes much smaller than in the previous power class. The reason for this is the high space requirement of the illuminant. To become this brightness, a large number of LEDs must be used. This requires a larger surface area than R7s illuminants usually have.
There are 30W R7s LED bulbs from Bonlux with corresponding space requirements. Here you should check before buying whether the bulb will fit in the lamp holder. If you use the torchiere mostly with dimmed brightness anyway, you can also use one of the previously mentioned LED bulbs with a lower power.
Replace 300W Halogen Lamp with LED
Some very bright torchieres have integrated halogen bulbs with 300W and more. This brightness is no problem for R7s halogen rods. For LED illuminants the design of the R7s base is problematic in order to accommodate very powerful LEDs with appropriate cooling. 300 Watt halogen power can currently not be replaced easily by LED.
There are 30W R7s LED bulbs from Bonlux with corresponding space requirements. However, these are somewhat darker than a 300W halogen rod. If you use the ceiling washer with dimmed brightness most of the time anyway, this light source can still be considered. Otherwise, the purchase of a new LED ceiling washer is a viable alternative.
Convert E26 torchiere to LED
Torchieres with E26 bulbs can be easily converted to LED. There is a wide range of proper LED bulbs for any desired brightness. A great option for this are the so-called WarmGlow LEDs from Philips. These lower the color temperature when dimmed and create a very warm cozy light.
Replace reading light with LED
Many torchieres have an integrated reading light. This can also be replaced with an LED. In most cases, halogen lamps with pin bases are installed here. Here you have to find out the base of your reading lamp to find a suitable LED bulb.
Modern LED torchieres
Not in all cases the conversion of your existing torchiere to modern LED technology is reasonable or possible. For many bright uplights, there is no equally bright LED replacement due to lack of space in the lamp tray. A torchiere already equipped with LEDs from factory-side has several advantages:
- LED technology enables novel lamp designs
- Long lifetime of the bulbs
- No compatibility problems with integrated dimmer
Conclusion
In many cases, halogen torchieres can be converted to LED with little effort. The above tips will help you to replace the old bulb with a proper LED variant. Only in the case of high power uplights, the LED retrofit is not so easy. Here the purchase of a modern LED torchiere is the best alternative.
