Well folks in preparation of installing our new solar panel system in the next couple of weeks we decided to switch all of our incandesent bulbs both 12V and 110V with LEDs. All I can say is WOW....what a difference in both quality of light, heat and power consumption. The LEDs took all of 30 minutes to change out and we noticed the difference right away. Just the fact that the converter does not kick on when we have all the lights turned on tells you something. Since one of the reasons for putting the solar system in our rig is to be able to reduce our overall grid tied electric and have the ability to do unlimited boondocking, the switching to LEDs fit right in as it will cut down the amperage draw on the batteries thus reserving more amps for other items. Here is where we got ours....www.filamentfree.com Their service was great and delivered as promised. Once I get the new solar panel system up and running I will post a link to the install photos and overall system specs.
Edit by moderator: Activated link. Terry
-- Edited by Terry and Jo on Monday 27th of May 2013 10:02:08 PM
MarkS said
10:41 PM May 25, 2013
I have changed two lights in the house with 9 watt LEDs equivalent to 60 watt bulbs. I love them. They are cool and bright..
WestWardHo said
04:14 PM May 26, 2013
Our new Trilogy came with all LEDs inside and out. We love them really notice the no heat output which was an issue in warm weather in our Big Country (although we had put LEDs in the fixtures we used most often). As we were driving out of LA a couple of weeks ago, and we know all of us RV'ers HATE driving in LA, Jesse really noticed how the big LED light strips on the outside rear gave great notice for lane changes. Seems with this tall rig and those lights people let us change. He'd put the turn signal on, counted to 10 and the let him change whether they wanted to or not!
Les and Sue, really interesting to me the difference you've already seen.
Sherry
bjoyce said
04:37 PM May 26, 2013
We replaced some 18" fluorescent bulbs with LED equivalents last month and are now thinking of getting some of Thin Lite's replacement fixtures for most of the rest. The fixtures come with two brightness settings and are only a little more than the cost of two LED bulbs, since we have dual bulb fixtures. The LEDs are brighter and use half the electricity of the less bright fluorescent tubes. The two LEDs are about 2100 lumens compared to about 1600 lumens for the two fluorescents.
Suppliers for the Thin Lite fixtures are http://www.solarseller.com/thin_lite_led_lighting_low_voltage_dc_12_and_24_volt.htm and http://www.solar-electric.com/ledlifi.html (I think this is where Cherie got them for the Technomadia bus.) You just have to determine what model Thin Lite fixtures you already have, or equivalent. We have ST Lighting fixtures, which are no longer in business as near as we can tell. But a Thin Lite LED742P will fit the same hole as our 12" fixtures and a Thin Lite LED746P will fix the same hole as our 18" fixtures.
There are many suppliers of replacement 12 volt incandescent bulbs, just make sure they are regulated to handle at least 10 to 15 volts, so they will last. This is mostly a problem with LED strips, the cheap ones are not regulated and will burn out quickly in an RV.
mjlitz said
05:43 AM May 28, 2013
We changed out our LCD TV to LED and what an incredible difference in the amperage.
Gone in a flash said
12:04 PM May 28, 2013
Great info Now to figure out which LED I need... lol
Well folks in preparation of installing our new solar panel system in the next couple of weeks we decided to switch all of our incandesent bulbs both 12V and 110V with LEDs. All I can say is WOW....what a difference in both quality of light, heat and power consumption. The LEDs took all of 30 minutes to change out and we noticed the difference right away. Just the fact that the converter does not kick on when we have all the lights turned on tells you something. Since one of the reasons for putting the solar system in our rig is to be able to reduce our overall grid tied electric and have the ability to do unlimited boondocking, the switching to LEDs fit right in as it will cut down the amperage draw on the batteries thus reserving more amps for other items. Here is where we got ours....www.filamentfree.com Their service was great and delivered as promised. Once I get the new solar panel system up and running I will post a link to the install photos and overall system specs.
Edit by moderator: Activated link. Terry
-- Edited by Terry and Jo on Monday 27th of May 2013 10:02:08 PM
Les and Sue, really interesting to me the difference you've already seen.
Sherry
We replaced some 18" fluorescent bulbs with LED equivalents last month and are now thinking of getting some of Thin Lite's replacement fixtures for most of the rest. The fixtures come with two brightness settings and are only a little more than the cost of two LED bulbs, since we have dual bulb fixtures. The LEDs are brighter and use half the electricity of the less bright fluorescent tubes. The two LEDs are about 2100 lumens compared to about 1600 lumens for the two fluorescents.
Suppliers for the Thin Lite fixtures are http://www.solarseller.com/thin_lite_led_lighting_low_voltage_dc_12_and_24_volt.htm and http://www.solar-electric.com/ledlifi.html (I think this is where Cherie got them for the Technomadia bus.) You just have to determine what model Thin Lite fixtures you already have, or equivalent. We have ST Lighting fixtures, which are no longer in business as near as we can tell. But a Thin Lite LED742P will fit the same hole as our 12" fixtures and a Thin Lite LED746P will fix the same hole as our 18" fixtures.
There are many suppliers of replacement 12 volt incandescent bulbs, just make sure they are regulated to handle at least 10 to 15 volts, so they will last. This is mostly a problem with LED strips, the cheap ones are not regulated and will burn out quickly in an RV.
Now to figure out which LED I need... lol