Light fixtures

Francesca Knowles wrote:
I'm in the stone ages in my trailer so don't have an inverter- please excuse if this is a stupid question, but:

If one does have an inverter, can't any/all 110v fixtures be hooked up to operate through that when on 12v power?

There is no such thing as a stupid question.

Yes, you could power 120V lights via inverter.

However there are several issues in doing so.

If you want to light using 120V by changing to 120V fixtures in the ceiling and walls you would HAVE to "pull" new wiring rated for 120V usage. Really hard to do in most cases without having to cut some holes in the paneling and ceiling.

12V wiring used in RVs for lighting is not rated for use at 120V, it is low voltage wire. With low voltage wiring the wire is not required to be terminated in any work or junction boxes (unlike 120V electrical junctions). Not to mention there is no ground wire provisions.

Proper electrical boxes would need to be installed and the wiring would need to be done just as if you were doing it for your home to meet electric code standards.

If you didn't want to go to the hassle of running new wiring you CAN simply use some portable 120V lighting like floor and table top lamps. Then use CFL bulbs in those fixtures. The downside to this is you would need to find a way to "secure" the fixtures for traveling.

Using an inverter also introduces some power losses so you have to account for these losses concerning how much battery capacity you need. CFLs ARE more efficient than incadescents and I have to say.. LEDs, BUT adding in the inverter losses it does make LEDs rather close runner up in efficiency.