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 Topic: Converting Bulb Lighting to 12v SMD LEDs
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11/8/2011 at 12:45pm
Location: Shropshire
Outfit: Bailey Oklahoma 2003
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I usually go to CL sites without hook ups, and I changed all lights to SMD's to save battery power.
With ALL my old normal bulb lights on, I would consume 11.83 amps. On converstion to SMD units, I consume under 2 amps.
With 2 typical SMD units, only point 33 of an amp is used compared with 2 halogen bulbs which use up 1 point 6 amps, nearly 5 times as much!!
Staggering difference in power consumption - is it not?
Usually, no modification is required whatsoever to the caravan wiring and no additional electronics are required, and as long as the SMD type is 12 volts, the change over should be - remove bulb and replace with the SMD unit.
SMD is the name for surface mounted diodes or a name similar. There are many. Basically, what this means is that the SMD is flush mounted on to the circuit board. They are usually a yellow colour in appearance.
SMD is the relatively new type of LED with better performance all round than the 'old' type, which are noticeable by two pins sticking out of them. How to measure the light output of a particular bulbComparing the wattage to determine light output from bulbs etc., is no longer valid. Wattage is the amount of power used.
The best measurement of light output, and generally the accepted way, is the lumens measurement. This is a simple measurement of the light intensity as the human eye sees it.
The lumen is the measurement of the total light output from any type of light emitting device. (Sometimes called LUX)
Even this simple way of determining the total light output is not plain sailing as all that, and there are many other factors to be considered to obtain an accurate figure, but, to keep it simple, when choosing any type of bulb or SMD unit, look at the lumens figure.
Generally, when changing a halogen in a caravan, choose an SMD of 90 – 110 lumens for approx. the same brightness.
An example of a Halogen bulb and an SMD unit is :-
| Halogen | SMD | | 12v | 12v | | 10 watts | 1. 8 watts (Power consumption) | | 100 lumens | 90-100 lumens (Brightness) |
To translate the wattage into amps, divide the wattage figures by the voltage. Warm White or Bright White?This is measured in the Kelvin unit, and is usually called the colour temperature. 2800 to 3000K is warm white, and 5000K and above is bright white. Changing the bulb to SMDThis requires you to determine the wattage of the existing bulb. You will then have to look on E-Bay for that bulb and have a look at the specifications below the illustration to discover the lumens figure.
It is then a simple matter to look up SMD units and choose similar lumens.
I must stress here that there are many other factors to take into consideration, which I do not want to go into here. What type of bulb holder do you have?A very good place to see the different bulb holders is http://www.searolf.com/, click on the download PDF catalogue link, then scroll down to see the caravan types. This link is useful as well.
Both these sites show bulbs and bulb holders so you can identify the different types.
The simple way to obtain an SMD is to take one of the bulbs you want to replace to your local electric shop and ask them if they can get an SMD alternative. They should be able to, if they dont keep them in stock. Choose only SMD'sIf they are not SMD there is a chance they will not be able to stand any voltage above 12v. The SMD's don't get hot. You can handle them even though it has been on for over an hour, and they have a reported life of 50,000 hours.
Once you have identified the type of bulb holder you have (Eg G4 type), go on to E Bay and search for SMD G4, SMD 12v, SMD festoon or similar, and have a look for the SMD unit you require, eg. GU10 - G4 or SMD festoon (Festoon for car interior lights (Measure the length) - beneficial for light and power saving).
UK suppliers:
http://www.ledcentre.uk.com/
http://www.baddiethepirate.co.uk/index.htm
The cheapest SMD units are on E Bay from Hong Kong, (G4 - £2 each Inc postage (At time of writing)) and thats where I bought all mine, and they are good. UK prices are usually double or more, but have a good look around on the net.
For overhead G4 bulbs eg. Bailey Dome lights and flush mounted spot lights, choose a G4 SMD. There are SMD's that emit a bright white light, and those that emit a warm white light. I bought one of each to experiment with. So if you want the warm white SMDs then check specifically that is what you are ordering. Perhaps it might be advisable to choose the cold white type for dark or work areas and reading spots, and the warm white type for the lounge mood lights.
Click this ebay link to view an example of a bright white G4 SMD.
Cheap too - but you will have to wait a week or so from Hong Kong but some suppliers now stockpile in the UK with similar prices. Make sure you carry out a good search on E-Bay.
One note of advice. I have found the best way of fitting the above example is to insert the pins into the holder and then apply pressure to the bottom of the SMD near the base where the pins are, and bend the SMD to the right position. If you do it any other way, the solder joints are liable to break - which is not a problem if you are handy with a soldering iron. Some G4's have vertical pins on the back of the unit, so you will not have to bend any pins if the bulb holder is central.
SMD units usually have a full wave rectifier on it so its not polarity conscious, in other words, plug them in any way. There are some SMD’s that are not fitted with a rectifier. You can check to see if this small black recifier on the back of the SMD. If this is not present, it will mean that the SMD will only work when plugged in the correct way ie. Postive SMD to positive supply.
For those of you that want to modify or add overhead lighting in car or caravan, a dome light is a good modification which can be converted to SMD. Most halogen domes usually use the G4 SMD fitting ie 2 parallel pins.
You can see examples of dome lights by clicking on this ebay link What size you should fit?The simple answer to that is an SMD which fits the holder.
Thus, saying that, you can get different size SMD's to fit in the same holder. Again, just to make sure - visit your local electric shop or E-Bay and have a look. E-Bay maufacturers usually give the dimensions in their adverts.
As an addage - 12v. SMD lights will not work with a dimmer switch - YET - and for interest :- you can now buy 230v SMD LED's. I use them in my overhead spots in the kitchen. My energy saving bulbs kept burning out. They might have been energy saving, but it was costing a fortune to replace them - my SMD's last FAR longer and are cheaper to buy and run. Click here for expensive UK prices (£10 plus) and, as before - cheaper on E Bay from Hong Kong (£3.68 Inc postage) Fluorescent ConversionsI must also mention the fluorescent units that are generally found in vehicles. Strip lights have a power hungry transformer which wastes power. A twin Lumo fluorescent unit consumes 1.3 Amps in comparison to an SMD two unit which consumes point 33 of an amp. With roughly the same light output.
Click the thumbnails below for photographs of a converted twin fluorescent unit. Finally ... An SMD TorchAs an addage, most of us have a torch – which usually fails when we want it the most, so it’s a search for batteries – usually in the night – which are nearly dead anyway when we do find them! This ebay link is for a torch that does away with all this because it is solar powered. I can recommend this – the light source is an SMD. NotesEbay links work at time of publication.
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Mitsubishi Pajero 2.8 Auto Long Wheel Base
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11/8/2011 at 1:31pm
Location: tamworth staffs
Outfit: avondale highlight 505le
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just for clarity smd , surface mount device refers to the way the a component is mounted on a circuit board , and doesn't actually refer to the led , so just to be sure it is SMD LED'S you need to be looking for. :-)
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11/8/2011 at 2:40pm
Location: Lowestoft Suffolk
Outfit: Skoda Superb DSG + Elddis Affinity 550
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I did a search on Ultra LEDs for "G4" and this is what it came up with:
http://www.ultraleds.co.uk/advanced_search_result.php?keywords=g4&x=11&y=9
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11/8/2011 at 6:34pm
Location: None Entered
Outfit: Coachman Pastiche
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I recently changed all my halogen bulbs over. I got mine from this company in China on eBay by far the cheapest I could find.
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15/8/2011 at 9:23pm
Location: west mids
Outfit: Avondale Dart 510
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i have just put some strips up in my van
They are great!!!
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Courage is not the absence of fear, but the ability to carry on in spite of it.
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09/12/2012 at 10:04pm
Location: west midlands
Outfit: Swift Conqueror 630
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Ive started changing some of mine and I found the led for the reflective roof lights (downlighters) look brighter not dull as i expected as i had to get the disc shape ones...looking out for the 10w led for the others now and got them from abroad for a fraction of the price and came quickly.
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Coming home back to a caravan
2013
Whit week Kelpie Manorbier
July/Aug Carpenters Farm Isle of Wight
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12/12/2012 at 9:48pm
Location: chesterfield
Outfit: Mazda CX 5 Auto Amara 520 4
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How many normal bulbs do you have on 240 v?
assuming 240 v,to pull a current of 11.83 amps you will be using 2.6 kilowatts, at an average of 60 watts /bulb this would mean you have over 40 bulbs (if my basic calculations are correct Amps x Volts = Watts)
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12/12/2012 at 11:07pm
Location: West Mids
Outfit: Swift Ace Statesman & X-Trail 2.0
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Amara 520, I'm not sure to whom your addressing the question, but generally the replacement of lighting to LED's is for 12v circuits only; the purpose being to reduce consumption when off EHU and reliant on the battery for lighting.
Typical caravan halogen lights are rated 10w each, where as the LED replacements (certainly those I have anyway) are circa 0.6w
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Paul
Every day's a school day!
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13/12/2012 at 10:52am
Location: chesterfield
Outfit: Mazda CX 5 Auto Amara 520 4
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I was addressing my comment to Bailey Oklahoma and took "normal" to mean 240 v bulbs as LED lights can be used on 240 v circuits also.If 10w bulbs are used on a 12v circuit and 11.83amps are being pulled this means there are around 14 bulbs in use at the same time.Why would this be necessary?
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13/12/2012 at 1:20pm
Location: OLDHAM
Outfit: KYHAM XXL Sterling Eccles Emerald
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Family is the answer to that, Two awning lights, 3 lights in the bathroom 2 spots over the kitchen. 4 Spots over the seating each necessary to whom every sitting there.2 Main lights so not to trip over the dog. Pretty light in the drinks cabinet.
They can all find the on switch, but struggle to find the off switch. 
Yes we have changed to LEDs 
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Yesterday is already a dream and tomorrow is only a vision, but today well lived makes every yesterday a dream of happiness and every tomorrow a vision of hope.
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14/12/2012 at 7:02am
Location: None Entered
Outfit: Coachman Pastiche
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I dont think that it was suggested that all the bulbs were used at once anyway, just the potential that they could be. We have 15 bulbs in our caravan, but its rare to have more than 4 on for anything other than a few minutes. It's fair to day that between LED lighting and solar power caravanning has been transformed in recent years. It's a shame manufatureres don't cotton on and fit solar panels as standard instead of microwave ovens.
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