can someone explain LED lighting please

ChattingLil

ChattingLil

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Sorry to be hopeless about this, but I really don't understand what I would need to do to replace my current lighting with LED fittings.

Can't I just replace the current fittings with new fittings that take LED bulbs? such as this one for ie:
http://www.lights2go.co.uk/product/searchlight_9917cc_wall_led_reading_light/

I understand there is a difference between ac and dc, but don't understand what I would need to do to enable me to replace some or all of my current fittings. I can't really afford to replace them all at the same time, so it would be ideal if I can do them bit by bit. I also don't want to install lighting that is switched on and off by one switch. My current lighting is all controlled by on/off switches at each fitting.

can anyone explain in simple language?

thanks gurus.
 
ChattingLil said:
Can't I just replace the current fittings with new fittings that take LED bulbs?
Click to expand...

There isn't really such a thing as an "LED bulb" per se. LEDs don't blow or need changing, so there's no need for them to be removable. LED fittings (for nav lights or cabin lights) have the LEDs built right into them, and if you don't mind replacing the fittings then that's the way to go. New LED fittings will go straight onto your existing wiring, sharing it with old lights if you like. Some have switches on them, some don't. Ones that don't, if you really like the look of that fitting, you may be able to modify it or fit a separate switch nearby.

That above is the best way to do things, but obviously replacing all your light fittings has a cost. The cheaper option is to buy modules that fit into existing light fittings as if they were a bulb. There's usually a small piece of plastic circuit board with some LEDs on it, and contacts at the edge that mimic a bulb so that they fit into the existing fitting (usually; they're a different shape to a real bulb so may not work with a particularly tight-fitting light).

Pete
 
The light you have chosen appears to be from a retailer specialising in domestic lighting. Therefore it is almost certainly designed to work on mains power, i.e. 230v a.c.. Internally it will have some means of reducing the voltage to power the LEDs but even then they are unlikely to be working on 12v.

If you want to simply replace your boat's llight fittings with similar ones designed for LEDs then you need to look at items listed by chandlers or caravan fittings suppliers. These will normally be intended to connection to 12v d.c. although you may find a few intended for 24v.
 
Have you tried Boatlamps.co.uk they seem to have bulb to replace most of the jobbies found on boats

We recently replaced a load of our festoon bulbs with the 6 LED, much brighter, not quite as warming, but not surgically cold, much better to read by and the battery charger doesn't kick in with all the lights on :)

Off to buy some more soon
 
Another recommendation for boatlamps.co.uk. I replaced all my cabin lights with the various leds they have available as well as two spotlights. They are very helpful with recommendations and when two lamps I ordered were not in stock refunded my money straight away. It's made quite an apparent difference; I used to get the cooling fan running on the shore power unit almost immediately when we switched on any cabin lights. Now we can put them all on and it does not run at all.
 
Can someone explain - LED navigation lights

Sorry if I am jumping into this thread but I am looking at replacing the existing bulbs in my navigation lights with LEDs.

Research shows for a BAY 15d (twin contact, offset pins) as follows:

Boatlamps: power 3.2w cost £9.99

Aten Lighting: power 5.0w cost £19.99

Force 4: power 3.5w cost £47.95

Can anyone shed "light" on the difference between these LEDs being offered?
 
Probably the only difference is the price ;)


johna said:
Sorry if I am jumping into this thread but I am looking at replacing the existing bulbs in my navigation lights with LEDs.

Research shows for a BAY 15d (twin contact, offset pins) as follows:

Boatlamps: power 3.2w cost £9.99

Aten Lighting: power 5.0w cost £19.99

Force 4: power 3.5w cost £47.95

Can anyone shed "light" on the difference between these LEDs being offered?
Click to expand...
 
ChattingLil said:
Sorry to be hopeless about this, but I really don't understand what I would need to do to replace my current lighting with LED fittings.

Can't I just replace the current fittings with new fittings that take LED bulbs? such as this one for ie:
http://www.lights2go.co.uk/product/searchlight_9917cc_wall_led_reading_light/

I understand there is a difference between ac and dc, but don't understand what I would need to do to enable me to replace some or all of my current fittings. I can't really afford to replace them all at the same time, so it would be ideal if I can do them bit by bit. I also don't want to install lighting that is switched on and off by one switch. My current lighting is all controlled by on/off switches at each fitting.

can anyone explain in simple language?

thanks gurus.
Click to expand...

A few things come to mind when considering and comparing LED lamp products:

1. All competent LED lamp suppliers should define the design Lumen output of the lamps they sell. Suppliers who only quote power output and omit to mention the Lumen output may not actually understand the product they are selling!

2. The quality of LED lamps can vary considerably, a similar looking product can have a very different Lumen output one with another. Visually they look similar. High quality Cree and Epistar (LED manufacturers) lamps, for instance, can have a light output over 50% more than generic Chinese manufactured lamps for the same wattage. I mention this to demonstrate the fact that an LED lamp wattage in isolation is in fact meaningless. The best marine quality lamps should use quality LEDs.

3. A quality supplier will list both the Lumen output and lamp wattage at a declared voltage. Divide one by the other and you will get the 'Efficacy' of the lamp. This is expressed as Lumens/Watt. The higher the figure generally the better quality of lamp.

4. There is ongoing improvement in LED design with progress being made in light output of most LEDs. If boat-owners purchase complete fixtures they are unable to take advantage of these design improvements without having to change the whole fitting. Clearly this would be considerably more costly and inconvenient that just up grading and plugging in say a new G4 LED lamp.

5. Always ensure that electronically constant-current controlled lamps are used on boats. These are often rated as suitable for use on 10-30V DC supply. Cheaper LED lamps, often designed for motor vehicles and a fixed voltage, will at best have a reduced service life on a boat, at worst these can be a fire risk if excessive voltage is applied. Battery chargers when operating in equalising mode can apply 16v to boat installations. This will cause DOUBLE the normal operating current to flow in a lamp designed for 12v.

6. Check the warranty offered by a supplier. Some suppliers hide behind the fact that lamps are considered a consumable item and decline to offer any meaningful warranty.

Regards
 
A small word of warning regarding electronically controlled constant-voltage lamps - check with the supplier that they are adequately suppressed or resonate at a sufficiently low frequency to avoid interference with VHF and AM/FM radio. Buck regulators are particularly prone to this if the wrong type is applied.

Masthead LED lights can seriously effect radio and AIS transmission. Cabin lights can spoil your radio listening enjoyment. This is becoming less of a problem as manufacturing recognise and tackle it - but there are still some culprits around so it's worth checking.
 
Salty John said:
A small word of warning regarding electronically controlled constant-voltage lamps - check with the supplier that they are adequately suppressed or resonate at a sufficiently low frequency to avoid interference with VHF and AM/FM radio. Buck regulators are particularly prone to this if the wrong type is applied.

Masthead LED lights can seriously effect radio and AIS transmission. Cabin lights can spoil your radio listening enjoyment. This is becoming less of a problem as manufacturing recognise and tackle it - but there are still some culprits around so it's worth checking.
Click to expand...

John you make an excellent point and maybe I could add a little more.

Indeed the early early PWM current control circuits were pretty crude and the pc tracks on associated pcbs acted as very efficient antenna and radiated rf noise very effectively. The affect varied from manufacturer to manufacturer, generally the cheaper the lamp the bigger the problem. Over the years, as you say, the issue has become very much less of a problem as proper CE marked electronic products have to comply with quite stringent EMC regulations.

Today any reputable supplier will be able to produce to a customer a CE, EMC test report for LED lamps they supply. A seller is always responsible for taking reasonable steps to ensure that the product they sell meet this standard. Unfortunately, in my experience, some suppliers will have no idea what is being asked for and indicating that they don't actually know what they are selling! they should immediately be given short thrift. The problem is that the CE mark can be widely abused and simply printed on packaging. The mark is pretty meaningless unless sellers, have on file, the associated test reports that were the basis of the CE award.

This all sounds rather academic, unfortunately EMC problems are not always as obvious as static type noise on VHF or disturbance to the odd Archers transmission received on your radio. A more significant problem, I suggest, is that boat owners will have absolutely no idea that there is any problem with their cheap EBay purchased LED lamps as they quietly interfere with data movement around their vessel. With more and more sophisticated data being transmitted around the boat as well as AIS and and other digital communication systems operating concurrently the last thing one wants is LED bulbs producing problematic electronic noise into the circuits that can result in data corruption.

In summary its worth taking care to ensure that only proper CE compliant products are installed on a boat. A supplier should be able to readily supply you with evidence of compliance. If they can't simply go to a supplier who can. You are then pretty much guaranteed that no electronic interference will result from the use of LED lamps.

Regards
 
I bought some of these wall lights

http://www.force4.co.uk/944/Force-4-Opal-Berth-Light.html

And then removed the halogen lamps and replaced them with these

http://www.cp-lighting.co.uk/Philips-LED-G4-2-5W-12V-Very-Warm-White

I am really happy with the result because the Philips LED lamps are 2700K so a nice warm tone and have a really high colour rendering index. Best of all they are slightly brighter than the 10W halogen lamps they replace. In time I expect the efficacy of the lamps to improve so I will be able to reduce power consumption and also reduce in size.

I also replaced the downlights with these

http://www.timage.eu/Productimage.aspx?id=1152

These lamps are not cheap at all but you will get exactly what you pay for. The only thing I don't like is the Timage fittings are 3200K which is a bit too white, I prefer the 2700K colour.
 
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