What to do with your MR16s while you are waiting for the LED lamps to come down in price:
MR16 lamps are used a lot in commercial display and restaurant lighting, and in some residential apps. MR16’s look like little car headlights, and are about two inches in diameter.
They provide a brilliant white halogen light, and are mostly used in 12volt systems. Many people mistakenly think halogens save energy, because they are low voltage. But a 50 watt MR16 in a 12 volt system consumes 50 watts. Then you need a transformer to step 120 volts to 12volts and some energy is lost to heat in the transformer. Add to this the heat coming from the lamp itself, and about 90% of the energy becomes heat waste. But now you can replace this energy hog with a newer, more energy efficient lamp, the MR IR16. The IR stands for infrared, and has these characteristics as GE describes:
'HIR stands for Halogen-IR. An IR (infrared) coating is placed on the filament tube of some of our halogen lamps. This multiple layer coating not only absorbs UV but also re-directs IR (heat) back onto the filament. By re-directing the IR back to the filament, the lamp produces more light for the same amount of energy and the amount of heat generated by the lamp is reduced when compared to standard Halogen products. Therefore HIR saves money by lowering UV emissions, reducing energy costs, and lessening A/C loads.'
Sweet.
Sylvania makes the same thing: the Tru-Aim IR, and you can save money and energy by substituting a standard 50watt MR16 with a 37watt Tru-Aim IR to get about the same luminous intensity. The IR lamps cost a few bucks more each, but the gain in efficiency is considerable: 35 – 40%! Many suppliers and electricians are unaware of this product, so special order them, or get them at Lightology or other lighting suppliers.