What is a GU10 lamp holder?

GU10 is the common lamp holder for spotlights and track lighting. Unlike an E27 bulb, you do not screw it in: you insert the two pins and turn the bulb a quarter turn to lock it in place. Which light source you need depends on the lamp holder in your fitting, which is always listed in the product details.

Two choices that make the difference

With a GU10 bulb, it comes down to two things: the light colour and the beam angle. The light colour determines the atmosphere, while the beam angle determines where the light falls. The second choice is often overlooked, even though it makes a big difference with spotlights: the same bulb with a different beam angle can give you a completely different result. Choose warm white for the living room and bedroom, cool white for the kitchen, bathroom and workspace, a narrow beam angle to highlight a specific area, a wide beam angle for general lighting, dimmable for smooth dimming with an external dimmer, 3-step dimmable for dimming without a dimmer, and dim-to-warm if you want the light to become warmer as you dim it.

How many spotlights do you need?

That depends partly on the beam angle. If you choose narrow beams to highlight specific areas, you need more spotlights to light a room evenly. With wider beams, each spotlight covers a larger area. A common mistake in the kitchen is positioning spotlights too far back, so they mainly light the back of your head rather than the worktop.

Smart and for outdoors too

If you want to switch individual spotlights on a 1-phase track on and off, you can do this with smart GU10 bulbs. If you use a spotlight outdoors or in a damp space, pay attention to the protection rating of the fitting. Looking for a larger spotlight bulb? Take a look at our AR111 bulbs.