LED lighting

[kellertx5er]

OK, I'm really gonna stir some of you up because I'm having a hard time understanding the LED craze. Being a professional EE, I understand those of you who dry camp gain additional battery capacity through the reduced wattage. Does EVERYONE who writes in about LEDs dry camp regularly? We never do.

Is it about lamp life? In my seven years of camping in two different trailers I have yet to replace even one conventional lamp which had burned out.

I really would like to get some honest feedback to find out if there is any benefit I can get from installing LED lighting.

[beemerphile1]

BubbaChris wrote:
We will be dry camping, but for us the daily benefit will be the reduced load on the converter. My wife is very sound aware and we've been limiting our traditional lighting at night to keep the fan from running.

So far we have 2 fixtures converted, will do most of the rest after the next trip (ordering snafu).

Easy fix, turn off the converter at night.

[MEXICOWANDERER]

My ex was so sound aware she could detect the flutter of banknotes rustling at 600 meters.

[BubbaChris]

We will be dry camping, but for us the daily benefit will be the reduced load on the converter. My wife is very sound aware and we've been limiting our traditional lighting at night to keep the fan from running.

So far we have 2 fixtures converted, will do most of the rest after the next trip (ordering snafu).

[MEXICOWANDERER]

kellertx5er wrote:
OK, I'm really gonna stir some of you up because I'm having a hard time understanding the LED craze. Being a professional EE, I understand those of you who dry camp gain additional battery capacity through the reduced wattage. Does EVERYONE who writes in about LEDs dry camp regularly? We never do.

Is it about lamp life? In my seven years of camping in two different trailers I have yet to replace even one conventional lamp which had burned out.

I really would like to get some honest feedback to find out if there is any benefit I can get from installing LED lighting.

From an MEE

Primary advantage: Choice of Kelvin light temperature
FALLACY: LED's are more efficient than CFL.
LIE: 99% of hyperbole offered by LED vendors.
Thermoelectric lighting wastes energy through heat.

[beemerphile1]

I switched 3 lights to LED and when dry camping we only use those lights.

LEDs do seem to be a craze. Many people are buying them only because they are following the herd and don't want to be left out.

The funniest situation is the people buying an LED replacement because they want brighter. Then they find that their $1.99 LED is half the lumen as the incandescent they replaced!

[JamesBr]

Well on my old bus I converted most 1141/1156 over to LED, and even going through all the trusted sources, they died on a regular basis and by the time I traded the bus in I was back to 1156 bulbs. I found even though the 1156 burned a little hotter, they greatly outlasted the 1141 bulbs.

The new trailer as I said is 80% LED. So far I have not had any issues with thost setups, but unlike trying to replace the bulb these are designed LED units. Their light is much softer and better shown then when I replaced incandecant with LED.

I agree that those who dry camp its well worth the work, heck even for the outside clearance and marker lights I think you benifit from LED. But if you do not dry camp (seriously I barely even overnight in a parking lot) then I do not see the use of spending the money on LED other then areas where you tend to have the light on a lot.

[tenbear]

We don't do a lot of dry camping but with our limited battery capacity the switch to LEDs and replacing the Magnetek converter with a PD9260, has been a great improvement. We don't have to run the genny anywhere near as much. I have in the past replaced several 1141 bulbs but so far have not replaced any LEDs, but I do carry spares.

[64thunderbolt]

I am planning on going all led cause I only dry camp. So batt usage is a great consideration.

[mthockeydad]

JamesBr wrote:
LED for dry camping I agree on. LED in general for long lasting, I cannot agree on (since I have had many 12v LED fail, way more then household.)

My new camper is about 80% LED. The rest is not. I figure it means they can use a smaller converter and if I do need to dry camp I have that benefit. Otherwise, I don't see much to it.

Sure, 12V LED might have more failures than household LED (I think this is what you're comparing?), but I have more 1141 failures than 12V LED.

It's not difficult to carry 1141 spares in case a 12V LED goes out.

[tpi]

I dry camp. I use LEDs. I see a lot of fellow RVers dry camp in places I go. I would not assume dry camping by RVs is unusual at all.

As posted the LEDs have some other smaller benefits such as cooler running fixtures, less energy consumption, and less load for the air conditioner. The 18 watt 1141 bulbs are inefficient even by incandescent standards and fully lit RV could draw 400 watts. A beauty of LEDs is the efficiency scales to even small lamp sizes. Incandescent and fluorescent lamps tend to get more efficient as they get larger.

Another minor plus: more lights are possible before the converter fan kicks in.

[Jayco23FB]

Personnaly I prefer the light from an LED over an incandensent bulb. You can choose diffent colors of white light (bright to soft). Another benfit is no heat so you wont burn a lens if the bulb gets too close to the lens, you can also increase light intensity without worrying about heat damage to the lens or socket.

[JamesBr]

LED for dry camping I agree on. LED in general for long lasting, I cannot agree on (since I have had many 12v LED fail, way more then household.)

My new camper is about 80% LED. The rest is not. I figure it means they can use a smaller converter and if I do need to dry camp I have that benefit. Otherwise, I don't see much to it.

A friend did change out his bathroom fixture for an LED one, but that's because that light is on so much the heat actually melted the original pancake housing.

[kellertx5er]

Good point regarding heat. Our A/C is marginal above 90 deg. outside, which is much of the year in TX.

[Dick_B]

Honest feedback. We have replaced several bulbs and carry spares but the main reason we are switching over to LED's is they don't get extremely hot when in use.