In the process of reconstructing my RV for four-season, off-grid use, I've been converting all the lighting to more efficient options. So let's look at the before and after.
Before, the trailer was equipped with your standard incandescent 18 watt 921 style bulbs in all it's fixtures. Most fixtures had two bulbs each.
After, is a mix of LED and CFL lighting. As you can see, a few lights have been removed, and wattage has been cut by 69%, while total lumens is still 96% of before. (note a few lights have even been eliminated as they weren't needed)
The 13 watt CFLs do the grunt work, at about 700 lumens each, for main ceiling lights. Combinations of 2 and 3 watt LED lamps handle the rest of the lighting. (at 160 and 210 lumens each respectively)
More on the LED lights. The wafer style multi-element LEDs shown below are incredible. The amount of light that emanates from these seems almost impossible for the given wattage. I hope they hold up over the long run.
This is one of the 3 watt, 15 LED units. (by the way, the light reflected is coming from the 2 watt models in the undercabinet light I installed earlier) I modified the units for the standard wedge base.
And here is an undoctored photo of a pair of the 3 watt LEDs lit. It's very close to, if not the same as, the pair of 18 watt bulbs it replaced. The color is very good too.
For the dining table, I put up a small, three lamp chandelier. I originally installed three 13w CFLs, but that pushed wattage above the original 36 watts, and really, it was way too bright. So, I just received tonight some LED bulbs (Sunmia clear cone) which look more like conventional lamps. They are also 3 watts, and 210 lumens each. That will be brighter than the original two 921 bulbs, at 17% the power. Color temperature is a bit higher than I like, (3200K) but I think it'll be fine. I can't wait to see how they look. They aren't cheap though, at $27 a piece.
One incadecent light has remained though. The bath vanity light is still powered by a pair of 921 bulbs. So far I can't find anything that I like which makes sufficient quality light at the mirror. A CFL bulb would be OK, but I can't find a fixture I'd like to use with them, so for now, the old bulbs have survived the change-over.
Back to cost. The CFLs are like $9 ea., the wafer LEDs are $9 and $10 each, and those Sunmia bulbs at $27, and a waterproof LED lamp for the shower at a whopping $63, I got about $260 in bulbs alone. But getting back to "it's easier (and cheaper) to conserve than it is to produce", by having cut my power usage by two thirds, I can reduce the amount of required solar panels, batteries, etc. Production savings far out-weigh the cost of the lamps.
Finally, modern, efficient lighting with aesthetically acceptable light are a reality. Now, just got to wait for the costs to come down to be truly viable for the mainstream market.
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