LED vs FLUORESCENT

[GerryKiernan]

Originally Posted by wa8yxm

Regarding the first response.. He said the incandescent lamps draw about an amp ... 1141 and 1156 are closer to 2 amps, (just under and over).

I am interested in the power savings for florescent as well. and that is the question in the subject.

if anyone has the facts for a "Thin Light" Florcesent v/s an LED equivlent, I'd be interested.

Our motorhome has 1156 bulbs as the interior lighting. I have switched 4 lights[8 bulbs] over to 1156 LED bulbs from tmart. These are 19 diode bulbs. They seem a little low on light during the day, but are quite adequate for night time. The light is quite a bluish white. They also have 61 diode bulbs available, so I have ordered 6 of them to try out in the lights over the sink, bathroom, and head of the bed, to see how they work out.

Gerry

[Gocoffeer]

Gerry.... Like yourself. I am slowly getting my rig solar ready. I am preparing to buy round two of the install...Morningstar Mppt charger. This is almost a $600 install and will allow the batteries to be charged from the solar panels. I will use 2 ea 100w panels for my t-105 battery bank. I have already made the jump to 6v battery bank. Later I will go to the solar panel install and finally gather the most expensive parts...the inverters.

[wa8yxm]

I too am switching 1141/1156 lamps to LED, I have found a couple of decent ones out there. But my question h ad to do with Florcesent v/s LED. The last one I tried was an ECO-LED at 17 bucks, I think it is brighter than an 1141, Close if not brighter than a 1156. Runs cool, fraction of the current. I'm buying more soon. 17 bucks a pop though so I'm looking for lower cost alternatives to the EcoLed. The one I tried is a flat disc. (I also have a round 1141/1156 replacement in another fixture) Will have to play musical lamps and see how they compare.

And on that topic: Thanks to Mike and Mike who posted just exactly the kind of info I was looking for. Thank you.

[mel s]

Originally Posted by myredrace

Fluorescent light fixtures also have a ballast which consumes energy, and will probably be the instant start type.
Fluor. lamps operate on AC current and a DC ballast needs an inverter to convert to AC which reduces overall efficiency for 12 VDC use.

myredrace
What you said is true!

However a test with a meter will reveal that you get considerably more light, (with less amp draw), with a fluorescent light fixture than with a similar fixture using incandescent bulbs.

I have converted a few fluorescent, (and some incandescent), fixtures to LEDs, but I have yet to find LEDs that produce color and illumination that is satisfactory, (aka: comfortable to live with).

LEDs can be expensive.
Think about how few lights you actually need/use when on battery power, (while boondocking/dry camping).
IMO, it makes no sense to sacrifice decent lighting to draw less amps, (unless you have money to burn).

My 2 cents

Mel
'96 Safari

[Lifemember]

Thanks Gerry, that was some good prices on stuff with the free shipping.

Dan,

[hdossett]

Just to add my two cents. (For strip lights.)

There are different factors in play here.

The strip LEDs come in three flavors, 3528 (7 lm), 5050 (15 lm), and 5630 (21 lm). I have seen the 5630s specs listed at over 30 lm, but I don't think you will find these in strip lighting.

The 5050's are rated at two time the lumen(LM) over the 3528's
The 5630's are rated at about three time over the 3528's.
The wattage increases at about the same rate.

Because the LED's are directional, you will need less LM in the LED's. My celebrated eyeball tell me that 70 LM output will give you the same effective light as 100 LM of fluorescent. The fluorescent is omnidirectional and more of the light must be reflected and is lost. Most fixtures are 60 to 70 percent efficient.

Next, is the color temperature of the light, or Kelvin (K), and I think this is the most important, you can add more LEDs for more light, but you can't change the color without replacing them.

There are light color charts everywhere to explain this, but, for our needs, they are

Warm White (2700 to 3500K) running very yellow on the lower end, and is much like standard household lighting.

Neutral (4000K to 5000K), sometimes called natural is, well, neutral. A very good natural color rendering light source. Some rate it a noontime daylight. The fluorescent I removed were rated at 4100K but were called Cool White (CW). For most LEDs CW is well over 5000K. For most household lighting you only see two ratings, CW or WW (warm white)

Cool White (6000K +) That is where the blue starts the be evident. Some people, including me, consider this to be too harsh for regular lighting, but OK for some task lighting.

When I overhauled my fluorescent fixtures, I chose the 5630's in a neutral color (rated at 4500K). These came very close to the 4100K fluorescent tubes they replaced and unless you look directly at the fixtures, side by side, you would be hard pressed to notice a difference. With the LM per LED of the 5630s I was able to change to the strips on a length for length swap, using only two lengths of 24 LEDs each. The 5050 would require at least one more strip, and the 3528s five or six strips total for the same light output. I was able upgrade six fixtures with one 5M reel of the 5630s.

I also installed a voltage regulator to maintain a more constant 12V going to the LEDs, which help keep the LEDs happy.

You can see a little more in my post at

http://www.irv2.com/forums/f115/inex...-139025-3.html

OK, maybe that was a nickels worth, but I won't charge extra for it!

Happy lighting!

H.

[docj]

Originally Posted by Smitty77

I'll tag along with this thread too, as I'm into swapping out the fluorescents on some of our fixtures.

I can't recall where I read this, but on some board's thread one poster said he was getting but well with only on LED vs two fluorescents. These are T8 18" bulbs.

I've found two different bulbs: 1) 500 lumens 2) 700 lumens.

I suspect the single LED vs two fluorescents was with a single 700 lumens.

Any experiences that could be shared would be appreciated. How about it, anyone find they are getting by on a single 700 lumen bulb? About a $10 bump up from 500 to 700 versions of the T8 bulb, but still a good savings compared to two per fixture.

The Ming's seem to come in a Natural White color. I have not compared these to the Camco units, but I admit to having a sour taste in my wallet from a Camco Solar Panel fridge vent that went out after only 14 months of usage..

I have two area kitchen counter T5 fixtures, and have committed to the DW that I will get two LED bulbs per fixture, to maximize her lighting in this area.

Good thread, and TIA for any additional info sharing!

Be safe, have fun,
Smitty

I put two Mings into a 12" fluorescent fixture over a year ago and I am very pleased with them. I used the less expensive ones that are rated at ~300 lumens because I wanted to retain the symmetry of two bulbs in the fixture. Two of the 300's provide more light than the fluorescents did and the color temperature is very nice.

[GerryKiernan]

Originally Posted by Gocoffeer

Gerry.... Like yourself. I am slowly getting my rig solar ready. I am preparing to buy round two of the install...Morningstar Mppt charger. This is almost a $600 install and will allow the batteries to be charged from the solar panels. I will use 2 ea 100w panels for my t-105 battery bank. I have already made the jump to 6v battery bank. Later I will go to the solar panel install and finally gather the most expensive parts...the inverters.

I have a smaller 25 foot Triple E motorhome, so I don't think I will be going to inverters. I am in the process of setting up a 30watt solar panel for the batteries.

Gerry

[GerryKiernan]

Originally Posted by wa8yxm

I too am switching 1141/1156 lamps to LED, I have found a couple of decent ones out there. But my question h ad to do with Florcesent v/s LED. The last one I tried was an ECO-LED at 17 bucks, I think it is brighter than an 1141, Close if not brighter than a 1156. Runs cool, fraction of the current. I'm buying more soon. 17 bucks a pop though so I'm looking for lower cost alternatives to the EcoLed. The one I tried is a flat disc. (I also have a round 1141/1156 replacement in another fixture) Will have to play musical lamps and see how they compare.

And on that topic: Thanks to Mike and Mike who posted just exactly the kind of info I was looking for. Thank you.

The LED 1156 bulbs I have on order from Tmart are about $6 each. I think they are 61 diodes. When I get them and try them out I'll let everyone know what I think of them.
Gerry

[GerryKiernan]

Originally Posted by Lifemember

Thanks Gerry, that was some good prices on stuff with the free shipping.

Dan,

More than welcome. Glad to help out.

Gerry

[mel s]

Originally Posted by GerryKiernan

The LED 1156 bulbs I have on order from Tmart are about $6 each. I think they are 61 diodes. When I get them and try them out I'll let everyone know what I think of them.
Gerry

I'm sure you accidentally transposed the numbres.....The Tmart $5.96 1156 bulbs have 16 diodes, (not 61).

[GerryKiernan]

Originally Posted by mel stuplich

I'm sure you accidentally transposed the numbres.....The Tmart $5.96 1156 bulbs have 16 diodes, (not 61).

tmart actually has several sizes of LED 1156 bulbs. The first ones I ordered were 19 diodes, and I think I paid $2.84 each. The 16 diode bulbs were a little less. The ones I have on order now are about $6 each. I think[but may be wrong] that they have around 61 diodes. I am curious to see how they compare with the 19 diode bulbs. I was looking in a local Lordco Store [automotive] a couple of weeks ago and the LED bulbs started at $24.95, and went up from there.

Gerry

[mel s]

Originally Posted by GerryKiernan

tmart actually has several sizes of LED 1156 bulbs. The first ones I ordered were 19 diodes, and I think I paid $2.84 each. The 16 diode bulbs were a little less. The ones I have on order now are about $6 each. I think[but may be wrong] that they have around 61 diodes. I am curious to see how they compare with the 19 diode bulbs. I was looking in a local Lordco Store [automotive] a couple of weeks ago and the LED bulbs started at $24.95, and went up from there.

Gerry

Can you please post the p/n of the 61 diode bulbs you ordered?
Thanks
Mel

[GerryKiernan]

Originally Posted by mel stuplich

Can you please post the p/n of the 61 diode bulbs you ordered?
Thanks
Mel

Hi Mel

The only part number shown is 1156. But, if you go onto tmart's web site and enter 1156 led light bulbs in the search box it will bring up a wide selection of available bulbs. some are a bit pricey, but there are several which are pretty reasonable. You can select the item which seems most appropriate. The 19 diode bulbs are a little weak, which is why I am trying some bigger ones.

Gerry