LIGHTING SCHOOL

LED G9 Lamps

These LED versions are designed as energy saving replacements for the original tungsten halogen filament lamps.   

These filament lamps were typically 25 – 50W whereas the LED versions are more often 2 – 4W. As a reminder, these G9 lamps have two, flat pin electrical contacts and run directly off the 230V mains supply.

An important point to consider when buying these LED lamps is the direction the light is emitted. A filament lights all the way round whereas these LEDs can emit light quite strongly in one direction but not in another. Some LEDs are mounted back to back on a flat circuit board which emits a lot of light in the 0°/180° plane but hardly anything in the 90°/270° direction or out of the front end of the lamp. Look at your light fitting to see where you want the direction of light to go.

Another aspect that might be important is the number of times you can switch it on and off. This is known as a switching cycle.  This can be important where the lamp is switched several times a day. Lamps controlled by movement sensors switch on and off much more frequently than a typical on in the morning and off in the evening regime.

There is a huge number of suppliers of LED versions of G9 lamps. We have chosen some of the better known names but the list is by no means complete. To make the comparisons similar, we have chosen non-dimmable lamps which are either 2,700K or 3,000K.

When comparing these lamps with an original incandescent one, it is worth remembering that a filament type G9 often produces striations and uneven uniformity when illuminating  a smooth surface. Many of the LED versions produced better results.