How are you able to offer such low prices?
Lightbulbs Direct uses a “direct only”, low overhead business model. We have no retail premises and by using direct marketing and on-line ordering we keep our overheads as low as possible so that we can pass these savings on to our customers.
Which brands do you sell?
We only choose the top brands for all our products. These include household names such as Osram, Crompton, GE, Philips and Sylvania that we know, from personal experience, provide top quality, reliable and high-performance lamps.
We have specifically chosen not to sell “un-branded” lamps which although cheaper often turn out to be lower quality, short life (even as little as 2 weeks!!) and hence poor value for money.
What technologies do you sell?
Here at Lightbulbs Direct, we offer all types of lighting technology, from traditional incandescent, fluorescent tubes, and halogen lamps to energy-saving compact fluorescent and the latest in LED technology.
We also stock a number of specialist lamps such as High-Intensity Discharge lamps designed for illumination of large spaces to niche usage lamps such as Germicidal lamps used for water treatment, disinfection, sterilisation and food sanitation, Infrared heat lamps which have varying uses such as keeping food warm and animal husbandry and Ultraviolet lamps used for a variety of purposes such as glow in the dark blacklights, bug-zappers and more.
General FAQs
These terms are often interchangeable but “lamp” is really the generic term since this covers all sorts of lighting technology. See our glossary for further details of this and many other terms.
Halogen lamps and traditional incandescent lamps give off a large amount of heat, however, LED lamps and Compact fluorescents give out far less heat than traditional light bulbs, this makes them ideal for use with lampshades made of delicate materials that can be damaged by heat.
All lamps do however give off some heat and should not be used in a totally enclosed light fitting unless there is some way for the heat to escape.
Yes and no! Compact fluorescent lamps do generally have a much longer life than ordinary incandescent light bulbs but there are also many other types of “long life” light bulb, most of which do not also save energy.
Generally, a normal incandescent light bulb will have a rated life of around 1000hrs whereas compact fluorescent energy-saving light bulbs have a rated life of between 3,000 and 15,000 hours, modern LED lamps can have much greater rated life and range from 10,000 up to an incredible 50,000 hours.
FAQs about compact fluorescent (CFL) light bulbs
Yes, they do, but unlike early energy saver lamps, the latest designs generally include electronic rapid start circuitry to make the lamp light-up in less than 1 second with virtually no flickering.
Some older designs had quite a high “colour temperature” (see glossary) which may be perceived as “colder” but many energy-saving lamps now use a “warm white” coating to make the light very similar to a normal incandescent light bulb.
The latest compact fluorescent lamps “warm-up” very much faster than older designs, typically reaching 95% of their full light output in under a minute.
Again, with the latest designs, this need not happen. Many compact fluorescents are now so small that they are virtually the same size, or even smaller, than ordinary light bulbs. If the light bulb is visible, you can choose from one of the designs that use a decorative outer light bulb to cover the fluorescent tubes.
FAQs about halogen lamps
Halogen lamps are more energy-efficient than traditional incandescent lamps, saving an average of 30% energy. However, compact fluorescent (CFL) lamps can save as much as 50-80% energy over traditional incandescent lamps and the newer LED technology light bulbs often have an incredible energy-savings of 80% plus compared to traditional incandescent lamps.
Tungsten halogen light bulbs, tubes and capsules are made of quartz rather than ordinary glass so that they can operate at a much higher temperature. If the quartz envelope is contaminated with oils from your skin it tends to develop a hot spot in this area that can reduce the lifetime of the light bulb dramatically.
To prevent this, tungsten halogen lamps should be wrapped in tissue when you install them, removing the tissue once the lamp is firmly seated. If the capsule does get contaminated you can remove fingerprints with a tissue moistened with a solvent such as alcohol or methylated spirits.
FAQs about LED lamps
LED lamps are the most energy-efficient lamps currently available with incredible energy-savings of 80% plus compared to traditional incandescent lamps.
Yes and No! LED technology works very differently from more traditional lamps, while LED dimmable lamps are available, not all LED lamps are capable of being dimmed and some dimmers are incompatible with LED lamps read our guide on LED dimming.
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Hi I want to replace my double light switch with a dimmable one. The two lights I have are chandeliers with 6 bulbs in them. Would your dimmer switch work with these lights and can you advise what candle bulbs I would need to purchase please? I’m not sure how many lumens
My previous order for 10 x Eterna Fluorescent 16W 480mm T4 Tubes 3400K White states that these are no longer available. What can I order instead that would work with the fittings I have under the kitchen cupboards? Thanks.
We unfortunately no loner stock T4 tubes, but you may find other suppliers who have stock. We have found that people are switching over to integrated LED under cabinet lights which offer very long life spans and therefore rarely fail and need to be replaced.
where can i find the length of PLC-E tubes ? i want about 60cm.
60cm seems very long? What is the wattage?
I want to replace an old Crompton bulb 40 watt CE 157. Is there any modern led equivalent or do I have to throw my old bedside lamps away?
Hi. I’m replacing T5 tube in under cupboard kitchen lights and thought I’d replace starter as well. You are out of stock of FSU, so will FS125 be ok or will it blow the tube?
Sorry, but it won’t work, as it is designed for a tube that is larger than 70W. Unfortunately our FSU are not due in till begginning of October. Can you re-use your current starters in the meantime?
Hi, I want to replace my Flurorescent tubes with LED like for like versions. Do I need to replace the Fluorescent starter with a dummy starter? If so do you stock them?
Hi, each LED tube comes with a dummy starter in the box.
Hello I am interested in buying Eureka Lighting LED Party
Festoon Light (Set of 20 Lights)
I would like them to go all the way around my garden. How many sets can be joined together. And are the bulbs strong enough to hold the weather. I would like to leave them up all year round.
Hi Dawn, you can connect 3 sets of Eureka Festoons together (running off of 1 power supply), that would give you a lit-length of about 30-metres with 60 bulbs. The bulbs are plastic, so are less likely to break in windy weather and the cabling is IP44 rated which will stand up to British weather. They also have a 1-year warranty covered by the manufacturer if they happen to fail in that time.
I’m trying to find bulbs L1 9w
I’m looking for equivalent to a Phillips 1415 lumin bulb 80w/100
You’ll be looking at a 100W equivalent LED lightbulb. We have many choices, and also 125W, 150W and 200W if you want anything brighter.
Hi I need replacement bulbs for a Casa Houston ceiling light can’t find them anywhere
Hi Vivian, we don’t know anything about this light fitting, do you have a link to a website with it on?
In an overhead cluster I have a number of Compton Antique 40W ST64 Squirrel cage filament lamps. A couple have now blown. Can I replace just the blown ones with the new LED versions and mix them up or should I replace all the old for all new LED versions
If they are not on a dimmer switch, you can swap them over as you need. If they are on a dimmer switch the mix between incandescent and LED may lead to the LED bulbs not dimming properly. Either way, the LED ones do look slightly different, so for a consistent look, you would probably want to consider swapping them all out to LED at the same time.
Can I just replace a Phillips Energy saving bulb with an led bulb provided that the cap fitting is the Sam?
Is the Phillips Energy Saving bulb of the compact fluorescent push fit type? If so, then you may run into problems with the transformer compatibility with your current fitting. If the light bulb is a standard light bulb, then you can swap them out with no issues.
Hi
i am replacing a halogen 118mm R7 lamp. What is the difference between jacketed and bare heat lamp? Does it really use 300w or is that the equivalent? Is it possible to buy a CFL bulb that will fit?
A jacketed heat lamp has a cover around the lamp to prevent debris or water touching the hot R7 heat lamp contained within. This helps prevent the lamp from shattering due to thermal shock and also helps prevents fragments of glass from falling from the lamp in the event of the lamp shattering – this is especially useful if the heat lamp is to be used in catering purposes. However, your question about is it possible to buy a CFL lamp leads me to believe that you do not require a heat lamp as such. Are you looking for a standard halogen linear lamp, for example, to replace in a floodlight our parent and child floor lamp? These bulbs are now banned and we have very limited stock left. We do however stock LED replacement linear lamps, if that helps.
Hi, I currently have 6 spotlights in my living room ceiling. They are Diall MR16 1265, 12V, 28W (14W46), 320lm, 3000K, 36 degrees. Please could you tell me if you sell equivalent spotlights for these. I am not sure what the transformers are rated at (or even if there are transformers fitted) but just want to know what equivalent spotlights I could use safely without any safety issues. Thank you.
Without the transformer information it is difficult to say whether it is compatible with LED – however, the closest match to your halogen MR16 is this Ledvance 5W LED MR16 rated at 345lm.
Hi, I’ve filtered on ES E27 cap, dimmable, 6-10w, ideally the more traditional look rather than the new white half plastic looking bulbs, and warm white light, and the only options are really low on energy efficiency (Es and Fs). Is there a more energy efficient option that meets my criteria? Thanks!
Hi Dan, Even though they are labelled as E-F, this is due to new energy label regulations that has re-categorised the scale. LED lightbulbs are very energy efficient, though if you want the best energy performance, try our new A-rated Ultra-efficient light bulbs. Although these are warm white, they are slightly less yellow than standard warm white bulbs.
Hi. Do you know what tubes I should buy to fit the following light fitting? It says on the label Thorn Choke, G69594.4/GCJ30 1 x900mm 30 watt, 0.36A Cos (degree symbol?) 0.51, Delta t 65, tw130, 240V, 50Hz?
Hi Rosemary, The info you have supplied is what is written on the ballast inside the fitting. However, from the information I can pick out – I believe you need a 30W 3ft T8 tube.
Hello, could someone tell me what kind of lightbulb we need for this outdoor lamp? Thank you
Hi Remy, could be anything. Unfortunately the picture doesn’t help us identify the light bulbs type. You would need to access and open the fitting to find what type of light bulbs it requires.
I can see a number of T8 tubes on your website; but I can’t see the diameter of each of them. The tube I want to replace is 33mm in diameter, with a 9mm space between its two pins. Do any of your tubes match this specification? If not can one use a tube with a smaller diameter, if the space between the pins on that tube is 9mm?
Hi, the number in a ‘T’ tube relates to how many 1/8inch the diameter of a tube is. So a T8 = 8x 1/8ths of an inch, i.e. 1 inch which is approx 26mm. Using the same rule a 33mm diameter would be a T10 tube. We do not sell T10 tubes, but if you search the web for fluorescent T10 tubes, maybe you might find a seller that does stock them.
I’m looking for 60 and 40 w incandescent light bulbs. Where can I get them from ?
Hi Lisa, these light bulbs have been banned for a number of years now – you will find it hard to find them now. Time for you to swap out to LED I’m afraid.
Crompton Lamps Fluorescent 21″ T5 Tube 13W Halophosphate WhiteOIs there an LED replacement for these?? We’ve gone through 8 since last April! We have 5 in our kitchen….
Thank you…
P
Crompton haven’t released a 21″ LED version as of yet, and we have no other stockists who make an LED version of this lamp. One of the issues with T5 fluorescent lamps is that there is an electronic ballast in the fitting to control the igniting phase of a fluorescent tube – this is incompatible with LED tubes and the fitting would need to have this ballast removed by an electrician. The cost in doing so, is more expensive than just replacing the fitting with a fully integrated LED version for which we have various LED link light replacements. We still have plenty of fluorescent 21″ T5 tubes available – but they are getting banned from 1st February 2024 – so get replacements while you can.
I have purchased a 5 LED chandelier, the bulbs are G9 fitting. They still glow dim when switch off, I have read that the problem could be low quality bulbs and it has been suggested I change them for high quality ones, could you recommend a high quality make so I can eliminate this as a cause.
Hi Alan, we’ve come across this before – there is residual current running in your lighting circuit. And there will be just enough current to dimly light the G9’s. This current could be leaking into the lighting circuit through a faulty switch, or it can even be electromagnetically induced in the lighting circuit if the lighting circuit wires run parallel to your regular mains circuit wires. Yes, you could try a different G9 as it may not pick up on this residual current and may not light up, but generally G9’s have very simple circuitry in them due to the size limitation of the bulb so you may find they perform the same. Another fix would be to get an electrician to fit a resister into the circuit to eliminate this residual current.
Hi, can you supply me with two x two-pin bulbs to replace those in my AEG cooker hood please?
Hi Pauline, I suspect the bulb is a G9 type – you can confirm by measuring the distance between the pins – if it is 9mm it is certainly a G9.
I recently purchased Spa Cali square tiltable downlights. Do your LED GU10 daylight bulbs fit, they look quite different to the warm ones?
Hi Deborah, the body shape of our daylight GU10’s is slightly different to the warm white glass GU10’s we recommend. This makes them quite a tight fit in this downlight and they just don’t quite fit. Unfortunately we don’t offer another daylight coloured GU10 that would be suitable.
My wife has an eye condition and needs a bright light to read. At the moment she uses a R7s halogen 8550 lumens (118mm) in an uplighter with a dimmer switch although not used as a dimmer. Is there an LED equivalent please?
There is no LED equivalent on the market that even gets close to producing that much light. The brightest we have found is just 1750lm. I would stock up on 400W halogen linear R7s while you can as these lamps are now banned and we have limited stock left.
My kitchen lights are fluorescent T 5 tubes. I what to change them to LED. I can only see T8 will these fit?
No, T5 and T8 are completely different sized tubes. There is a lack of LED T5 replacements, because the driver/ballast type used in fluorescent T5 fittings are not suitable for LED tubes and would need bypassing by an electrician. We stock a small range of Fluorescent T5 Tubes but they are being banned from August 2023 so you may want to stock up while you can.
Hi
i have bedside touch lamps with three settings (low, medium, high). The incandescent E27 60w 96mm by 55mm clear bulbs that I’ve used in the past are no longer available as far as I can tell. Is there an LED equivalent I could use? Maybe a dimmable LED bulb. I tried a standard LED and that didn’t provide the graduated light settings.
andrew
Hi Andrew, our experience tells us that the dimmers in these type of touch lamps do not at all work well with LED lightbulbs. I’m afraid our option of non-led E27 lightbulbs is now very limited and we don’t stock anything that would be suitable.
Dear Sir
I have seen om UTube how to “destain” a yellow shower tray by using Hydrogen Peroxide (40Vol) from the Ladies Haidressing trade.
It really requires a UV bulb, but which one? please
Also, I have a (oddly) an anglepoise lamp also from the trade (My Wife) which would be ideal as it could be placed in the area of and “clamped in place”
It has a bayonet fitting but that’s easily sorted if you can help with the bulb please.
Thank you in anticipation and best regards
Richard
Is the “daylight” brightness brighter than warm white which appears “dingy” ?
Although ‘technically’ the same brightness when measured in lumens; the light appears brighter due to it’s blue-ish tone.
Hi, I’m wanting to know what problems if any I would have in replacing an old UVC bulb with a slightly higher wattage one? For instance a 15 or 16W tube. The ballast is marked 12W and the starter 4-65W, thanks
The reflector bulb I asked about is 80mm diameter. I don’t know if you got my last post sent via the reply button. Are you able to supply such a bulb?
Ha Valerie, the bulb you are looking for is known as an R80 – we have several R80 options available.
I can’t identify a bulb that has gone in my bathroom. I’m guessing it is old. The writing on it is barely legible but, I think, it says MS 1713621 60W. It is a mushroom shape with a flat top and is an Edison screw. Can you help? If it’s not available, is there a more modern bulb that would fit?
Can you measure the diameter across the face of the bulb – it sounds like a reflector; they generally come in measurements of either 39mm, 50mm, 64mm or 80mm.
Does a LED compatible dimmer use any additional power to that of the dimmable bulbs it is dimming?
Hi Stuart, as the dimmer is rapidly switching the power supply on/off, it will probably reduce energy consumption as the lights are dimmed.
i need help on which led bulb to use as im partially sighted and need day light bulbs but im unsure of what size can someone please help me
Hi Sharon, we sell a range of daylight light bulbs, but I feel you may be looking for something bright – our brightest is a 75W equivalent GLS – alternatively give our customer service team a ring on 01494 723 286.
Lyyt LED 20 LED Solar IP44 Security Lightcan these lights be switched on and off manually as needed and to save power?
Hi Georgina, these lights are solar powered, so they don’t consume any power?
Kitchen bulbs for underlighting
I’m interested in ordering some GX53 LED’s – are they C E certified? I couldn’t tell from the photos. Thank you
Yes, all our light bulbs are CE certified
Where have ” my light bulbs ” gone off your web site, it was great, just click in there, tick the ones I use and need and hey presto ? Now, have I got to trawl through every lightbulb, when I don’t really know which are which ?
Hi Rob, it has been replaced with the “Wish List” section on your account page.
i have been considering replacing my standard 6ft T8 70watt strip with a LED equivalent, but the original tube is a ‘SAD’ tube, are the LED equivalents also ‘SAD’ tubes..?
While not quite ‘SAD’ these 6ft LED tubes are daylight in colour.
Hi my light bulbs are too small how do i return them
View the Lightbulbs Direct return policy