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Topic: LED upgrade (Read 2491 times) previous topic - next topic

Re: LED upgrade

Reply #40 –
Amps are equal to watts divided by volts.
amp = watt / volt

Your batteries (simply put) can put out so many amp for so many hours (amp-hours)

A 10 watt halogen bulb at 12 volts draws 0.83 amps.  If you have 12 lamps on then you are drawing 10 amps.  If they are on for three hours that is 30 amp-hours.  Maybe your battery capacity is 500 amp-hours.  You can see how it uses up battery capacity.

Everything else is using battery power as well.  The refrigerator, the radio, the air compressor, the level system, the LP and carbon monoxide detectors, the water pump, the furnace, the bathroom fan, the furnaces and more.  It all adds up.

If you replace the 10 watt halogen lamps with LEDs that draw 3 watts then those 10 lamps will use only 9 amp-hours instead of 30.  Lighting is something you can use less of or use more efficient sources.  It is probably the easiest thing on which you can have a big impact.

We like them.

Roger

Re: LED upgrade

Reply #41 –
Some bright LED florescent lamp replacements use about the same measured amps as original florescent and the back side circuits put out quite a bit of heat, but they are much brighter. Heat comes from 'over driving' the LED's to make them bright.

So I don't assume all LED replacements use a lot less current. I have even seen some amp/watt current specifications that are understated when metered.

We have LED lamps where we want brighter lights, but still prefer cool-white fluorescents in some places where soft is preferred.

Re: LED upgrade

Reply #42 –
So, it sounds like the improvement over florecescnets wouldn't be that much in the power savings department, but it may be better in the longevity. We'll see how long the florecscents last.

My '98 u270 only has 2 halogens that I can think of: the map light, and the one light shining on the bathroom sink from the bottom of the vanity. There are 4 valence lights (is that the right term???), 3 vanity  round bulbs, 3 floor lights including the steps, and of course all the storage bay lights that are incandescent--and all these are hardly used.

Just don't use halogens while boondocking and replace them with LED when they burn out sounds like my plan!

Re: LED upgrade

Reply #43 –
Here's something else to add to your plan, a Bogart Electronics Trimetric battery monitor.

I bought a Trimetric 2020 on eBay a couple of years ago, and finally got a round to installing it a few months ago.  I wish I hadn't waited so long.  One glance tells me exactly how many Amps are being consumed. Turn something on or off, check again, and know instantly how much power it is using.  The remaining battery percentage is also useful, that way I know if I need to run the generator or plug in before taking the batteries into the danger zone below 50% of full capacity.

Without the Trimetric, I wouldn't know how wasteful my inverter is.  Turn it on, and watch 10A being drawn from the battery.  And this is without actually turning on anything.  Just the 26" Sony Trinitron TV on standby, the satellite receiver, the VCR on standby, the Bose, the Bose clock radio, and the microwave on standby.

Re: LED upgrade

Reply #44 –
 Krush, just put your finger nails behind the wood frame and pull down. These are only held up with the cheap plastic spring grips. When you put them back just be sure you have them centre as you can have the too far one way and will fall out when hitting a bump!!
I have replaced all lights with LED, way better than original, and less power used-believe it.
JohnH

Re: LED upgrade

Reply #45 –
Tom,

I added a switch into the 110v circuit that provides power to the TV, the Bose up front and the DVD player. No need to have that stuff on standby. 

Another amp burner is the Base base speaker (in ours, under the kitchen).  It is plugged into a 110v outlet and draws up to 3 amps.  That could be up to 30 amps via the inverter from 12v to 120v.  Another place for a switch.  There is a box plugged into the outlet that the Bose base box plugs into that cuts the power if it doesn't have a 12v powered line (same kind of thing that makes your TV not  work while driving).  I am not sure where the 12v line is powered. Another thing using 12 volts all or most of the time. 

Roger
 

Re: LED upgrade

Reply #46 –
Quote from: Tom Lang –
I plan to buy this one:

New G4 AC/DC 12V 5050 3528 5730 SMD LED Car Boat Light Pure/Warm White Bulb Lamp

By checking other sellers for specs and looking at the photos, I believe this is 300 lumens using 1.7 watts of power and has a switching regulator for efficiency and a capacitor to reduce ripple (flicker).

I like those too, wasn't sure if they would fit your fixture or not.
I have some of those and they work well.