Replacing old house lights with LEDs

[Mbiallas]

Before ordering some of these buggers I wanted to make sure there are no issues with swapping out the old style with led lights. Any comments? My interior lights produce quite a bit of heat and my AC is already working overtime to cool the place down and my coach light may as well be a candle it's so dim.

[Tom_M1]

The light meter is part of the Physics Toolbox Sensor Suite app.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.chrystianvieyra.physicstoolboxsuite&hl=en

[Kayteg1]

Nice touch Tom with the meter.
Things you can't do with your android 🙂
I could not find luminosity app, but found multi-meter app with that instrument.
So just for the sake of it, I compared the 25 LED lamp in my bedroom with dining room chandelier, that is having 18 incandescent light bulbs at I think 60w each. So both 25W LED and 1080w incandescent give me the same 6000 lux at table level.
The main difference is that incandescent chandelier give me nice coverage in whole room, while LED drops the exposure drastically once you are out of the main beam.
I did play with it a bit more and wonder about accuracy as the readout jumps from 20 to 6000 with slight hand movement measuring daylight in the garden. Also seems 6380lux is end of the scale on my android.

[Tom_M1]

I recently converted my fluorescent fixtures to LEDs that I purchased on eBay. They consist of 15 5630 LED chips and have a G4 base that will plug into a G4 socket which is common for halogen bulbs. I had to adapt them for my use. Specs for the 5630 and 5730 are virtually identical.

Links:
20pcs White G4 15 5630 SMD LED Home Spotlight Spot Light Bulb

20-X-G4-Reading-Light-525-Lumen-15-SMD-5630-LED-Warm-White

Photos of my conversion:




The light output is a bit less than the two fluorescent tubes that were replaced.

[landyacht318]

I recommend looking for LEDs with 5730 chipsets.
Brighter, more efficient.

5050 chipsets could be, likely are, old stock.

According to here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SMD_LED_Module

5050s are a maximum of 75 lumens per watt

5730 are a maximum of 90 lumens per watt

I did buy some 3030 LEDs (130 lumens per watt) on a T10 base, and they were retina searingly bright, but did not last. They were for reverse lights, not the constant on duty in my RV.

I've not had one 5730 fail.

I bought 20 of these for 10$ back in May, different seller:

https://www.amazon.com/Cutequeen-10PCS-canbus-error-Lumens/dp/B01IJTAK9O/ref=sr_1_34?ie=UTF8&qid=147...

White, no blue, very bright, respond nicely to LED dimmer. Best LED bulbs I've found. Love them. 5730 chipsets

All my LEDs with 5050 chipsets are in some drawer never to be used again.

I will not be t10 LED shopping again.

[gotsmart]

When I decided to replace the ceiling fixtures in my MH with LEDs I looked at the retrofit LED panels and bulbs, similar to these, and decided to replace the fixtures with LED fixtures.


What many of the posters in this thread are talking about is the process of matching the LED to the fixture - to produce the quality of light that you want. With a bit of work it can be done. I came to realize that an incandescent fixture has a lens that is designed to work with an incandescent bulb, but not so much with an LED. In my opinion, LED needs an LED-specific lens.

I chose the wholesale replacement of each incandescent fixture with an LED fixture. Yes, one is looking at about $30+ USD per fixture whereas the retrofit LEDs are less than a third of the fixture cost in many instances. In my case, in my MH, I think it was worth it.

[wa8yxm]

I have done several partial upgrades. I have this advice.
WQhen you buy LED lamps start by buying just one or two from any supplier, also do a bit of research first (more on that at the end of this)
Make a note of the supplier and if you like 'em, order more.. If not, try a different product. My first order they were ****!!!!!!.. My second try was great but expensive.. My current ones are not as good as I'd like, but are still good.. To Excellent depending on the type of lamp I'm fixing.

The Research:
LED's have two factors you seriously need to pay attention to, Lux or Lumens or Candle power.. All related (Direct relationship) The more the brighter

Color and/or Color Tempeture

I LIke Daylight or Cool Light..... I do not care as much for Warm White. THIS is a personal preference, Many people like Warm White better.

As I'm sitting here I am looking at a Florcesent light that is Warm White. A bit on the Amber side for my taste.. And to my right is another that's been upgraded to "Daylight" LED's (Cool white) Nice, bright White. (my kitchen light). Again this is personal choice.

There is another thread around here (or perhaps on another forum) about lessons learned upgrading, IT contains a color temp chart.

The chart at This Link may be helpful, And yes they sell the lights but I am only recommending the chart which is at the top of the page. No recommendation as to their products either way, Never dealt with 'em found them with a web search.

[vermilye]

For those interested in more information about Color Temperature (the Kelvin rating of light sources) this Wikipedia article is fairly non technical & accurate.

It also includes basic information (and a link to further info) about CRI, which is a measurement of color accuracy of a source.

[tenbear]

I replaced all my incandescent bulbs with LED long ago. At that time there were many vendors on eBay, all claiming their LED lights were the best, but many were too dim, wrong color, etc. I had to buy a few different lights and pick what I liked. Sounds like this has changed somewhat.

You should be aware that RVs that came with incandescent lights were probably wired with no concern for polarity. Most LEDs are polarity sensitive, so if an LED light doesn't work, reverse the wires and see if that works.

Enjoy your LED lights.

[Mbiallas]

Thanks for all the info. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't going to goof up my electrical system but putting something like this in an older camper.

[coolmom42]

wcjeep wrote:
My wife is very particular about lighting. She prefers 2700k. She will put up with 3300k. 4000k and above is too much. Order a small amount and verify the light temperature is OK. I bought expensive led lighting. Zero problems. Not sure if your air conditioning will be affected by swapping to led.

I'm with your wife.

Reducing the heat load will help your AC run less, for sure.

[coolmom42]

MEXICOWANDERER wrote:
You might want to check several opinions regarding kelvin color temperature. OSRAM and EPISTAR are in agreement as is CREE.

A color temp of around 4.6K is equivalent to sunlight. Most folks do not illuminate enough at 4.6K and they get confused regarding sunlight. Pure 5K is as white as white gets. Newer automobiles have HID headlamps with 6.5K and if what I see at night is considered "white" I must have vision problems.

Anything above 3000 K is WAY too cold for my taste. I prefer 2700 K for the LEDs in my house, and 3000 is OK but not great in the trailer.

Look for the LUMEN output of the LED. That's what counts in brightness. Compare it to a standard or fluorescent bulb that you like. A package may tell you "equivalent to XX watts" but still check the LUMEN output.

LEDtrailerlights.com sells the LEDs with the same type base as the ones in your trailer, either the bayonet-style or twist-lock. If you have trouble choosing which you need, call them. They are very helpful.

[wcjeep]

My wife is very particular about lighting. She prefers 2700k. She will put up with 3300k. 4000k and above is too much. Order a small amount and verify the light temperature is OK. I bought expensive led lighting. Zero problems. Not sure if your air conditioning will be affected by swapping to led.

[jplante4]

Replaced all the DC puck incandescent lights with LEDs. Cooler and use less power.

[MEXICOWANDERER]

You might want to check several opinions regarding kelvin color temperature. OSRAM and EPISTAR are in agreement as is CREE.

A color temp of around 4.6K is equivalent to sunlight. Most folks do not illuminate enough at 4.6K and they get confused regarding sunlight. Pure 5K is as white as white gets. Newer automobiles have HID headlamps with 6.5K and if what I see at night is considered "white" I must have vision problems.