the light change - RV-Dreams Community Forum

brightdaisy · RV-Dreams Community Member

the light change

ticat900 · RV-Dreams Family Member

brightdaisy wrote:
Hi
We had an argue with my husband about the light in our trailer. He considers that the light should be cheap. I think that LED lamps are more effective and I like the light from them. I want to choose a nice fixture with warm light color. Who can give recommendations about the lumens?

what do u mean by ** He considers that the light should be cheap** ?? what position is this light for? how big of an area? is it for general viewing? reading? cooking? all?

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=LED+RV+light+fixtures

lots of choices out there heres a link to direct replacement fixtures etc

brightdaisy · RV-Dreams Community Member

I liked the LED ceiling fixture with natural white color. Well, maybe these lamps are not so bad. I plan to add one lamp to my kitchen area.
And something for reading.. (we don't watch TV)

My husband thinks that inexpensive items also can be quality. Maybe it is a good option for indoor light.
We need to fix something for outdoor light. I liked this model www.mrosupply.com/lighting/lighting-fixtures/sensor-light-fixtures/1431490_stl360_rab-lighting/

But I do not know how our battery will operate then.. Possibly if we stop at parks with hookups, it will be useful.

NJTroy · RV-Dreams Community Member

I'm not sure exactly what cheap light would be either, but my take is if you are starting from scratch you do the things that are hard to change later right. So number and positioning of lights is important, as is underlying quality. You don't want to get a few months out and find that you don't have sufficient lighting to be comfortable and the lights you have you want to last. If however you are upgrading a used trailer, I understand the question better. If it's LED bulbs you are considering, they are expensive and can vary in quality. In that case, I'd replace slowly, starting in places where improved lighting will make the most difference, like kitchen and reading areas and wait for areas where it doesn't really matter so much.

Sushidog · RV-Dreams Family Member

1,000 watts is a lot of current draw (and a lot of light output) making it only useful if you have hook-ups. Do you really need this much light? It will truly blind the bears (and your neighbors.)

If you are looking for outside light for boondocking look for a LED lantern with D batteries that can be easily replaced with rechargeable batteries if needed. A variable output light is handy to save on battery power and to not be as obnoxious to other campers when less light is needed. I suggest to finding one with at least 500 lumen output on high, but some find 300 lumens acceptable to read by.

I recently purchased an inexpensive 600 lumen one like this: www.nebotools.com/prod_details.php

If you require less light, here is an inexpensive 300 lumen one: www.amazon.com/Lighting-Resistant-Lanterns-Emergencies-Hurricanes/dp/B0078ZTWP4/ref=pd_sim_468_2%2C160_&refRID=1ZXWH7D5VCQ3CAGP68R7

Shop around, as I think I paid about $30 on Amazon for it. Rechargeable batteries are available everywhere, but I recommend these: www.amazon.com/EBL-Pack-000mAh-Rechargeable-Batteries/dp/B0148675HW/ref=pd_sim_23_8%2C160_&refRID=02Q54HDHZVHZVDJ2BECS

If looking to replace your inside bulbs in your existing fixtures, there are many inexpensive ones available, just be sure you get one with a built in buck driver. This is a device which will protect your LED bulbs from over-volting when your house batteries are being recharged. They display a voltage range of operation like 10-15 volts rather than a fixed voltage, like 12v. LEDs are much more efficient than your standard incandescent, halogen and even fluorescent bulbs plus they last 50 times as long, so they save you money in the long run (the cheapest replacement alternative, if that's what appeals to your husband). Amazon has a nice selection available at decent prices.

Chip

Terry and Jo · RV-Dreams Family Member

Angela,

First of all, welcome to the RV Dreams forums. I think you will find the folks here to be very helpful with questions, advice, and encouragement. Keep in mind that there are no "dumb" questions. The only "dumb" ones are those that don't get asked, and the questioner ends up with an expensive or time consuming mistake.

As for lighting, our 2010 Mobile Suites came with both LED ceiling lights and halogen bulbs. The halogen bulbs kept burning out on us, so we finally got around to replacing the halogens with LED's. I suspect that getting the LED's would save money over the cost of replacing halogens over a period of time.

Also, with regards to lights, there are three things to consider with them. Wattage and lumens has already been mentioned, but another important aspect of lighting is the Kelvin temperature of the lights. Kelvin temperature is important if one REALLY wants their lighting to be as close to natural as possible. For instance, my wife does sewing and embroidery, and it is important to have as natural light as possible to match colors of thread with the fabric. If you've ever taken a product to the window of a store to get an idea of the true color of the product, you know what I mean when I say it is important.

The link below will take you to "Google Images" and a bunch of charts regarding the Kelvin temperatures. Note that at the top, there are three different categories for LED's, Photography, and Scale. We try to get as close to 4000 to 5000 on the scale for natural light.

Kelvin Temperature Charts

Terry