LED Lights

[markopolo]

I think the 120 led bulbs will draw 600mA to 800mA which is still only approx 1/3 of incandescent 1156. I prefer LED's in the van because of the lower power consumption but also because they don't throw off as much heat as incandescent. I've had to sacrifice brightness in the past but these newer ones are much brighter.

I'll measure the current sometime today and post the result.

[markopolo]

I unplugged the van from grid power and turned on my Watt Meter(s). Battery at around 13 volts (still had surface charge).

Each 120 LED bulb draws approx .25A (250mA) so four bulbs draw 1 amp.
I put four 1141 incandescent bulbs in and got a reading of 3.8A so just under 1A per incandescent bulb.

So the new 120 light LED's draw approx 1/4 the current of the incandescent bulbs I had available.

These new LED's appear to be as bright as the incandescent bulbs to me. It's a very white light, not yellow so that might help the apparent brightness.

Edit:
Notes
As the battery voltage drops from use the amp draw would increase.
1141 incandescent rated 1.44 amp
1156 incandescent rated 2.10 amp

[Mike]

That's still an energy saving then, so that's OK. Only around $5 each isn't too bad for price. They've come down from when I bought mine. I think you can get LED replacement automotive bulbs at most truck stops now, whereas I had to order mine online when I got them, they were that rare around here.

The ones I have from 3+ years ago use (at best estimate) about 1/10 to 1/15 the power of the corresponding filament bulbs, and we have become used to the lower light level. I think we've come to prefer the lower light levels, but it depends on where we happen to be. We have other options for situations requiring more light when necessary.

[Davydd]

We have a dozen 3" round recessed puck ceiling lights in our B with the tiny 10W halogen bulbs.



When we first got the B the equivalent LEDs bulbs cost about 5 times as much. However, they have since come down in price and probably are no more than 50% as much if that. These are the replacement lamps...



You get similar light output at a 78% energy savings and considerably less heat. We have the same recessed pucks under our cabinets with the LED originally installed I assume because of the heat factor.

I've had two of my halogen lamps burn out so far. Now I am thinking of buying some LED lamps and start replacing them as they burn out or just go ahead and do it for all if it doesn't look good intermixed. It probably won't save on first cost but it should help with boondocking and battery savings.

Six of my ceiling lights are on a dimmer switch. What I don't know is will the LEDs work with the dimmer switch?

[Rok]

Hi Davydd,

Our new SE has LED lights on a dimmer switch, but I don't know if they are "special" LED lights to be able to do that, but my guess is that they are not since they look the same as the ones that aren't on the dimmer circuit. IIRC from looking for LED lights for our house (still too expensive to invest in), LED's are generally ok to dim. That is a feature touted of them over using CFL's, which in general are NOT dimmable.

I just Googled the question up (Are LED lights dimmable?) and it sounds like they usually are, but sometimes they aren't.

Probably not the definitive answer you are looking for, eh?

.............Rocky

[Mike]

Some info. No idea if it's accurate, but they sell them. I would expect that the Q&A section would be accurate, if they want to stay in business.
http://www.ledlight.com/LED-Information.aspx

[markopolo]

At first I thought yes the 12V LED's should be dimmable then I read a few sites ......... maybe yes, maybe no ....
Call or email Great West. They'll know the specs of the dimmer switch and whether special bulbs are needed.
I'd love to know the answer.

[Davydd]

I'll probably order an LED light and experiment, but I doubt I'll get around to it until June. Our B10 Rally will have hookups and in Indy I'll be hooked up at our sister's driveway so all in all probably will only have a day or two drycamping to worry about battery management. So, it is not a priority right now.

[markopolo]

Maybe check and compare heat at the dimmer switch first with the halogens and then with the LED's when you test it. Also, compare the heat from the LED's on the dimmer switch with the LED's not on the dimmer switch. Its not a guarantee of safety but might alert you of a problem.

[mkguitar]

hey a late reply ( cause I was searching posts for an answer..)

what calculating current loads use ohms law- there are online calculators

add up all your watts...enter 12 volts and the calculator will spit out the answer in amperes.

easy to remember that at 12 volts a 100 watt load is a 8.33 amp load

[Lou]

I am in Vancouver BC and have noticed that around here some of the RV dealers that have small stores (replacement parts, RV gadgets, etc) carry LED lights. We bought ours in the States so I haven't checked the prices.

[markopolo]

I was in a truck parts - big rig - store last week and saw a roll of LED lights with 3M tape backing. It might have been 30'. It could be cut. It was very thin and could make it easy to add indirect lighting inside an RV or add lights in cabinets etc.