We have a Holiday Rambler fifth wheel permanently parked in a campground near Chautauqua Lake. Electricity costs are quite high in Western New York. So I am always trying to save from our electricity bill.We use shore power 100% of the time! unless there is an electrical outage which is very infrequent. We have several indoor light bulbs that need replaced. They are 1141's and they are very cheap. Amazon has LED replacements for the 1141 in the $10 range.All I have read on LED's is increased battery life. If I purchase LED's for the high use lights, would I ever see an electricity payback?I am fearful that the I would never offset the cost of the LED bulbs with lower electricity.How cost beneficial are LED's when you are on shore/campground power?

Unfortunately, this will require some math. We'll need to know how much you pay per kwh, how many bulbs you burn and how long per day, the wattage of those bulbs vs the wattage of the LEDs.The simple version is that LED's burn about 0.1 of the power of the incans. That, in and of itself, doesn't help much in the cost savings unless we know how much light you actually burn.

We pay ~$.12kwh hour. The bulbs are 1141's and I estimate an average of two bulbs are on for two hours per day.

The short answer is nothing you will notice. Not a cost effective move. They are great in many ways but since you run through the power converter any savings would be barely noticable at best.

I don't know the wattage of 1141s.

Google says:1141-USA bulb specifications:category: Miniaturevolt: 12.8amp: 1.44watt: 18.4base: BA15s- Single Contact Candelabra Bayonet (or S.C.Bayonet)

LED light bulbs and electricity savings question

32 Replies

RGar974417
Explorer
Apr 17, 2014
If u want to save money,stop using shore power 100% of the time,Your rig has gas to run the fridge,water heater and furnace,you can run the lights off battery power for several days.Your water pump works off 12 volts.Why do you need shore power 100% of the time?As to the LEDs,they tend to last 50,000 hours on average,they use alot less current than incadescent lamps and give off less heat.So over the 50,000 hours you will make up what you paid for them and then some.
2oldman
Explorer II
Apr 16, 2014
The other nice thing about LEDs is they don't get nearly as hot as incans. Those incans can get hot enough to melt plastic. My porch light fixture got really hot. Scary.
Horizon170
Explorer
Apr 16, 2014
Since we don't do a lot of boondocking I can't justify the price of LED's for every application. I wouldn't mind trying a couple though, if they are priced right and bright enough.
cKarlGo
Explorer
Apr 16, 2014
dahkota wrote:
2oldman wrote:
donandmax wrote:
You wont be able to see as well with LED lights. There just not bright enough for us.
You will not see well with *some* LEDs.

X2. The bright white I purchased to put over the couch is blinding. I have three lights there but have only installed one (left the other two empty). I would swear it can be seen from space. The one installed over the stove is very dim but that is directly due to the cover. In the four regular rv lights (overhead domes), the new LEDs are much brighter than the old bulbs. Got them all on Amazon...

I put some of the cheapo Walmart fluorescents like that in my front porch light at the house.

My neighbors across the street all have great tans now.
tenbear
Explorer
Apr 16, 2014
2oldman wrote:
donandmax wrote:
You wont be able to see as well with LED lights. There just not bright enough for us.
You will not see well with *some* LEDs.

X I lost count. There are many different LED lights. Some are brighter than others. The 5050 LED is brighter than the 3528 (1210) LED. The more LEDs, the brighter. There can be a big variation between sellers.
Generally, the more current it draws, the brighter the light.

Always buy one or two to check them out before you buy many. Can be big differences in brightness and color regardless of what the ad says.
sh410
Explorer
Apr 16, 2014
If you are running the frig and water heater on electric, they will be the biggest consumer in addition to power converter which is running all of the 12V draws
OldRadios
Explorer
Apr 16, 2014
dahkota wrote:
2oldman wrote:
donandmax wrote:
You wont be able to see as well with LED lights. There just not bright enough for us.
You will not see well with *some* LEDs.

X2. The bright white I purchased to put over the couch is blinding. I have three lights there but have only installed one (left the other two empty). I would swear it can be seen from space. The one installed over the stove is very dim but that is directly due to the cover. In the four regular rv lights (overhead domes), the new LEDs are much brighter than the old bulbs. Got them all on Amazon...

X3 Not all LEDs are the same. The closest ones I have found to the original incandescents were the Natural white 280 Lumens I purchased. They are actually a little brighter. My wife noticed the better lighting the first time she turned them on.

The other thing to remember is to make sure they are made for RVs. They should have a stated voltage range of at least 12V to 24V. Don't buy them if they are only rated for 12V.
dahkota
Explorer
Apr 16, 2014
2oldman wrote:
donandmax wrote:
You wont be able to see as well with LED lights. There just not bright enough for us.
You will not see well with *some* LEDs.

X2. The bright white I purchased to put over the couch is blinding. I have three lights there but have only installed one (left the other two empty). I would swear it can be seen from space. The one installed over the stove is very dim but that is directly due to the cover. In the four regular rv lights (overhead domes), the new LEDs are much brighter than the old bulbs. Got them all on Amazon...
2oldman
Explorer II
Apr 16, 2014
donandmax wrote:
You wont be able to see as well with LED lights. There just not bright enough for us.
You will not see well with *some* LEDs.
maggybeck
Explorer
Apr 16, 2014
We we replaced our RV lights with LED some months ago. I can't speak to the electricity savings issue but I can tell you that LEDs are MUCH brighter than the old lights. Don't know how the poster thought they were not good enough for reading. We need to use fewer lights on in the evening and sure the light over my chair is much better for reading.

Maggy