To know if the added cost for L.E.D. lights is worth it, we will first re-visit an article I wrote in the early spring of this year.
Innovations to interior and exterior lighting for recreational vehicles strive to meet several needs, appropriate for the intended task, within an acceptable power consumption range and to look good, create an ambience. While there are additional requirements, these are probably the most common and apparent to the user. As far as being appropriate for the task at hand, the most common uses are providing light to see in, illumination for vehicle night operation and just plain designer accents. Power consumption for all but the vehicles moving lights, is a concern. Low wattage is required to extend the charge state of a battery, or battery bank, during non-electrical AC support such as shore power or generator. Designer accent lighting can be used indirectly in valances, rope lighting runs, and many other eye catching ideas.
Having adequate interior light for such chores as reading, cooking, etc., requires the use of more illumination. This in turn uses higher wattages resulting in the shortening of the charge state of the batteries. This has led to many coaches being equipped with fluorescent light fixtures for decades. These fluorescent lights provide a great deal of light with far less power usage when compared to incandescent lamps. Also halogen lighting has become very popular, though certainly not a power saver. These provide a bright focused lighting and are usually set up in groups with wattage of 10 or so at 12 volts per unit.
The newest innovation slowly finding its way to the recreational vehicle market is the L.E.D. (light emitting diode) lamp. These draw substantially less power than even fluorescent lights and can today, be found on some models used for tail and clearance lights. Additionally they are showing up in decorative rope lighting. There are many advantages to these types of lamps including a much longer service life than the regular incandescent bulb. Regular lamps generally have an expected life of around 1,000 to 2,000 hours, whereas many L.E.D. can provide anywhere from 30 to near 60 thousand hours or more. In brake light applications, they are noticeably faster to illuminate than traditional units. Also, unlike ballasts, in fluorescent light fixture, there is no R.F. (radio frequency) interference.
Recreational vehicle interior lights have not yet seen these superior lamps. When they do, they will offer a host of benefits. In ceiling lighting applications, where dimming may be desired, the L.E.D.s maintain the same color throughout all settings, unlike the yellowing out that we are used to with current light fixtures..
The only negative is the initial cost. L.E.D.s are expensive. For example, a 120 volt 3″ diameter face spot light, equal to about 80 watts or so, could cost over $50 compared to perhaps $1.99.each.
Looking at my own coach, I find that I have 51 ceiling halogens, each 10 watt. The fixtures are about 1.5″ in diameter while the lamps are the pin plug-in bulb type. There are two light levels achieved by switching them between 12 and 6 volt power. There are L.E.D. light replacements for the mini 12 volt halogen which are part number IMT-ILG4-21LED12VW at a cost of about $20 each.. That would run nearly $1020 to replace all 51 compared to about $1 each for the existing ones or about $51 total. If and when I can locate a fit, around $8 to $12 a unit, I will replace them. This is due to the extremely short life of the plug-in halogen lamps requiring a unit or two every month to be replaced and the challenge to accomlish this as the covers can be difficult to remove. So I could justify say $500 or so, but have a problem with over $1,000.
Decorative designer type lighting is becoming more popular in coaches and trailers of all price levels. Windows and ceilings are lit with rope, indirect and accent lighting. Some of this lighting is of the L.E.D. type as it offers a choice of compact configurations and soft illumination.
In all likelihood, if every light fixture and bulb were L.E.D. in a recreational vehicle, boondocking would benefit as house bank battery power would be extended substantially while the user enjoyed more lighting. The manufacturing cost however, would increase greatly; this is probably why we will not see this happen too soon. The 2009 Cadillac Escalade will be the first domestic made auto to offer L.E.D. headlamps on their top of the line Platinum addition. But, given time, as more applications appear for both automotive and household use, the price will inevitably come down.
Well, since this article was written, I’ve purchased a couple of these L.E.D. lamp replacements and tested them. They were to replace the halogen ceiling lights in my coach. These lights are controlled by a three position switch that is capable of supplying full power for bright operation, low power for a much softer light and of course, off. The lower power position actually supplies only 6 volts, and is wired accross the six volt batteries. The replacement L.E.D. lamps I used cost about $15 each.
The first mistake I made was ordering the white (cool) light output type. These were a vast contrast difference from the more yellow (warm) lamps that are used throughout the coach. I far prefer the more warm look of of the standard bulb and recommend staying with it instead of any whiter types available.
The second issue was it’s inability to dim in the 6 volt mode. L.E.D. lamps are designed for a specific voltage and will not operate at a lower power value. So, when the low setting was selected at the switch, lowering the voltage to just over six volts, the lamp went out. Thus, these L.E.D. lamps could only be used at full power in this particular coach set-up. The coach was an ’07 Newmar Essex, and this is the way the manufacturer had designed and built the lighting and control. This could be righted by re-wiring the low voltage side to the twelve volt output through a resistor module designed for such L.E.D. applications.
The product itself was certainly not disappointing as far as the illumination was concerned. It was easily as bright, if not brighter than the 10 watt halogen bulb it replaced. All of that with about a 1.3 watt power draw, or one sixth of that of the halogen. This is an ideal product for a boondocking application for a motor home, trailer or boat.
What about the cost? After all it is anywhere from five to ten times more expensive than using the conventional halogen bulbs. Well, first it will out last the halogen by fifty to one hundred times. In fact it will probably out last any rig you use them in. Secondly, if we look at the boondocking application, it is apparent that lighting is the major consumer of stored battery power. By reducing the wattage, or power needed, to one third of what was previously required, less recharge time is needed. This substantially reduces the time the generator is needed to run, which saves on both fuel and genset maintenance. Likewise the lower power draw cuts down on the frequency that the battery bank needs to be recharged. This reduction of frequency may lengthen the life span of the batteries. This is due to the fact that a battery’s life is dictated by the number of recharge cycles. So, I guess with all things considered, it probably is financially practical, even at the high prices they command.
I think we will see more and more of these appearing as standard equipment once the capital cost comes down.
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Led Lighting
LED light will pay for themselves in the long-run with a significantly greater lifespan compared to incandescent bulbs and a significantly lower power usage. I am talking about less than 20% of the power.
Carl
I purchased my mr16 led downlights at http://www.hero-ledstore.com six month ago.leds’ bright, so far so good, you may have a try.
Lug_Nut
Steve, Great! Thanks for posting this great deal.
Steve
http://cgi.ebay.com/G4-24-SMD-LED-Warm-White-Marine-Light-Bulb-Lamp-12-Volt-/300435545830?cmd=ViewItem&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item45f35a9ee6
Steve
Check out ebay for $2.11 each and free shipping. They claim 70-80 lumins.
Steve
Chris
Nice blog entry on LEDs. I found what probably is the LED you need and bought a few myself, and also upgraded to the recessed fixtures like your coach has.
It’s part way down the page (the LED module)
http://www.ledtrailerlights.com/other/RV-interior-flushmount.htm
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Lug_Nut
Hi Roger, MR16’s are usually halogen lamps with the reflector attached. Are these one you are speaking of, LED’s? You are right about the website being kind of difficult to manage.
Roger
Hi Lug
I have been looking at another site and found some MR16 bulbs for as low as $7 that look like they might work.
http://www.autolumination.com/
This site takes a little getting use to as you have to remember to scroll down to see all the info.
I usually start with the cross reference page
It will help if you confirm the Technical Specs (size bulb type number etc)
I have a Coachman Freelander 2130QB and while I have a generator would prefer to run off the coach battery if possible as this saves gas and keeps the noise down. With 12 volt LED lights I think I could run all night, if I had to, with all the lights I needed and not drain the singel coach battery I have.
Lug_Nut
Chris, Seeing you have had sucess with your choice, what part number, if you recall, worked well for you?
chris
I purchased the LED spot pictured above to replace those on my front porch. I use a dimmer and they work great. I also have a bulb type that does a great job.
In my rv, I am still using the auto LEDs but I am impressed with the amount of light they put out. The big plus is the boondocking opportunities they provide as the amount of energy used is almost nil.
Like I said, I changed out my three home porch lights and table lamps, and recently purchased three more spots for my kitchen. I can enjoy light and still receive the reduced energy bill benefits.
I am looking to replace all the lights in the new to me 40ft two bedroom rv I bought as our home for the next two years. We will be going solar with it.
Lug_Nut
Either way, Pete, it sound like you enjoy it.
Pete
The drawback, at least for me, is that it requires a certain knowledge of electrical stuff and, sigh, soldering. I won’t tell you how long it took me to regain whatever soldering skills I had fifty years ago, but it was the better part of a John Coltrane CD…
But once I got going, it was a pretty easy task.
Our Aussie friends are adventurous and creative, and their websites about rv-ing and boondocking are swell. I’m on a tight—very tight—budget and their tips are inspiring.
Lug_Nut
Pete, That link does have great information for LED light installation. I guess converting to LED can save fuel when boondocking due to less generator time needed. Thanks, Pete, for your input.
Pete
The web site: http://longlucas.bravehost.com/index.html (sorry, it’s not a hot link) has some excellent info on LEDs. I used the information to install some LEDs in our converted van (after ordering them from Deal Extreme in H.K.). Very happy with them. Cheap and reliable—and really nice not to need the generator every few nights!