LED lighting upgrade

This strange looking device might not look much like a light bulb but this Sensibulb from Sailors Solutions is in fact an LED light source.

Whenever a group of cruisers get together invariably the talk will come around to conserving electrical power. When I first starting cruising we had a trailed log and a depth sounder that ran from an internal 9 volt cell. Things have moved on since those days and radar, unheard of on a cruiser in the ‘60s along with a plethora of other electronics are now commonplace. With each piece of new electrical gear that we bolt to our boats our demands on the batteries increase and we either have to increase our capacity for making electricity in the form of generators, solar and wind generators and so on or reduce our consumption.

One of the greatest innovations to come to the aid of cruisers has been the development of the Light Emitting Diode or LED for short. LED’s have been around for some years now but until recently their usable light output was restricted to them being used for indicator lights and other applications where the low light output was not an issue. Furthermore it took some years before an LED was available that produced white light. In recent years however the development of LED’s has progressed in leaps and bounds and the usable light output now available means that LED’s can seriously be considered as a replacement for tungsten filament light bulbs in many onboard applications. Indeed in recent years I have replaced just about all the bulbs on my boat with LED lights, which has made a huge difference in my onboard energy requirements. I like many was skeptical of the change to LED’s but last year finally went all out and changed my navigation lights to LED fixtures which are coast guard approved thus completing my change from incandescent to LED’s.

So what is an LED exactly?

A light emitting diode is a semiconductor which when supplied with electricity produces light, the exact physics of the workings of LED’s are unimportant to the average boat owner all that we have to worry about is that they work, if you want to find out more then there is ton of information on the Internet. What is important to the boat owner is that for a given light output an LED when compared with a regular light bulb uses less than a quarter of the power. Moreover the life expectancy of an LED ‘bulb’ is in the region of 50’000 hours virtually making them a fit and forget item.  There is no filament to break or burn out so you don’t need to carry a bunch of spare bulbs as I did for many years only to find that when I did need a spare I had every one except the one that I required. These two things on their own make them a no brainer but it gets better; LED’s produce very little heat compared to a standard light so the cabin stays cooler and thus running fans and air conditioners is either not required as often or they do not have to work as hard to keep the inside of the cabin comfortable as the outside temperature rises.
The caveat to all this good news is that LED light fittings are more expensive than traditional fixtures but the landscape is changing and the gap is narrowing and in a few years I predict the price difference will be virtually non-existent.

Changing to LED lighting can be in some cases as simple as swapping bulbs. This LED cluster is a direct replacement for a standard bulb found in many berth and dome lights. Costs vary but I found this one on line for around $7 from Superbright LEDs.

These Hatteras lights from Imtra are completely self contained, are dimmable and come in red, white and blue. The low profile, modest power requirements and low heat output make them an ideal installation into a cabin headliner. Installing these is simplicity in itself, a hole is drilled and after connecting up the cables the fitting is pressed into place; a surface mount version is also available.

Not all lights have to come from a marine store. These lights are manufactured for trucks, completely sealed they will even work underwater if necessary. I simply cut off the snap connector and wired them up to the boats electrical system.

Four of the truck lights provide ample nighttime light for chartwork. I once left these on for two weeks while the boat was unattended with no ill effects; the current draw for each one of these lamps is about 500 milliamps, small indeed.

Color Temperature

All light, either artificial or naturally occurring has what is known as a color temperature. This rather misleading term has nothing to do with how hot a bulb gets but rather the color of the light that is transmitted. Color temperature is measured in Kelvin with 5600K the temperature of midday daylight. Anything above this will appear colder and those with a lower number warmer. Thus most artificial light used for reading and other tasks will have a Kelvin rating in the 3000 to 4800 range, which is a good balance between warmth, and clarity and at the same time making the salon interior feel warm and inviting.

Comments

[James]

I have purchased a some LEDs with screw bases to replace my old bulbs. Love the energy saving! I’m seeing this on my electric bill already. I found the bulbs at www.LEDInsider.com. They were outstanding to deal with and I’ll be striking them up again for more bulbs soon (it seems the prices get lower and the quality and selection keep experiencing great so it’s worth going back every month or so for better). Check ‘em out.

[Mark]

More and more boaters are switching to LED lighting and I am starting to see builders of new boats fitting them as original equipment, it seems to be the smart way to go and I predict that in a few years all new boats will have them as standard.