Can we dooby Tesco's GU10 bulbs? - with schematic

To dooby a bulb is when you reduce the power rating of an LED bulb to make it more efficient, cooler running and longer lasting. It's named after the infamous Dubai bulbs made by Philips for the Ruler of Dubai, who wanted the most efficient and longest lasting bulbs possible.

With modern linear regulator bulbs, all the main circuitry is usually on the LED PCB, making a slight modification easier.

This bulb was notable for not using much glue in its construction. The PCB was screwed in and the front lens was secured by a small dab of silicone at one side.

With some bulbs there's just a single resistor that makes them harder to hack than the ones with two in parallel, as the aluminium core PCBs are notoriously hard to solder on due to their fast heat dissipation. The easiest dooby is to check that two resistors are in parallel (they use two to allow finer tuning of the current), and then simply break one off completely, or crack the black top layer off.

In this case the power rating of the bulb started off at 3.5W and reduced to 1.2W with the 180 ohm resistor left in circuit, and 2.5W with the 82 ohm resistor left in circuit.
The intensity is reduced, but as LEDs are more efficient at lower power it still puts out plenty of light.

The 1.2W option would be ideal for an ambient light in the evenings or at night. It's power is so low that it could be left lit 24/7.

This task involves a device that operates at main voltage. The PCB should never be touched while the bulb is energised. The front lens should be fitted in normal use.


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