Revamping lighting Qs

[MarionK]

I want to go off grid for a couple of nights. If I was on my own it wouldn't be a problem, but Mum is off to the loo an insane number of times including night time, when light is obviously needed. At home we just leave the bathroom light on all night, so she can see her way without having to wake anyone. ~She can't find the switches herself, and actually even if she could, the light going on/off would probably wake whoever was with her.
So, I need to change as much as possible to LED, and especially the 'bathroom' light. Any ideas how long the battery might last if a strip of LED is on all night?
Also any recommendations of suppliers for replacement bulbs would be appreciated. I have seen people recommending Aten but when I put a search in there for '1003 12V 15CP' I get a load of irrelevant finds.

 

[Lenny HB]

I wouldn't use strips unless only in short lengths better just to replace bulbs in existing lamps.
Aten are now competitive with cheap ebay stuff on a lot of bulbs and the quality is more reliable.

Post some photos of the lamps you want to fit LED's to them we may be able to advise.

 

[Reallyretired]

We also find nocturnal visits a must. In the mh and also at home we have a battery operated PIR light which gives adequate light for a pee, and without detecting further movement switches off after a few minutes. If you get left in the dark just wave at it. Batteries last a month or two, just replace or recharge.

 

[Riverbankannie]

We also use battery operated pir(motion detector light), you can get stuck on ones which are quite bright but we use a sort designed to hook over toilet rim, but hook it over the shower rail. Only one led bulb but sufficient at night.
You might need two, one outside washroom and one inside.

 

[MarionK]

I wouldn't use strips unless only in short lengths better just to replace bulbs in existing lamps.
Aten are now competitive with cheap ebay stuff on a lot of bulbs and the quality is more reliable.

Post some photos of the lamps you want to fit LED's to them we may be able to advise.

The bathroom light is a small fluorescent, old style, so presumably it's replacement would also be a strip.
I have realised that I'm going to have to take plenty of emergency back up lights anyway, so actually a better question than 'how long will the lights run off the battery?' is actually :- How do I know when I should stop discharging the battery? i.e. how do I know when it's 50% (?) discharged? Is there a gizmo out there, and what's it called?
I'm going to have another go at taking the cover off this one in a bit, and hopefully get a better pic.

In the meantime, the bulbs I have been able to access are, 1003 12V 15CP and 17833NARVA 10W 5G 12V.

I can't find how to get at the reading lights, they turn on by rocking them one way or the other.

Nor can I get the cover off the kitchen light. I'd actually like to replace the whole fitting at some point as the cover is a lot yellower than it shows in the photo. But that can wait.

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[huck999]

As an alternative to 12v lighting, we use these : Lights. Not too bright but sufficient for night time use.
They have daylight sensors so only activate in the dark. They stay on for about 30-40 seconds after 'seeing' you, but re-light with slightest movement.
They come with a stick-on magnetic strip so you can position them on any flat surface. Pull off to recharge from usb about every three weeks.
This is not a very good video, but give you the idea of use : Video

 

[The Wino]

I think a lot have taken the insides out of the strip light and fitted an led strip. The old fashioned strip lights have a transformer built in as the tube needs a high voltage to work. You can get a straight swap led equivalent for some but theres still some waste because of the transformer so it's better to swap out the lot. Another option if you can find a fitting that works is swap the whole lamp. There is a big difference in power use.

 

[MarionK]

Riverbankannie and Reallyretired (and huck999) I will get some as back-ups but Mum is confused enough already, but then again, she's almost certainly not going to remember where the toilet is anyway so she's going to wake my son regardless. I do think a nightlight of some sort is desirable tho. (For her sake not ours.)

 

[Lenny HB]

The bathroom light is a small fluorescent, old style, so presumably it's replacement would also be a strip.
I have realised that I'm going to have to take plenty of emergency back up lights anyway, so actually a better question than 'how long will the lights run off the battery?' is actually :- How do I know when I should stop discharging the battery? i.e. how do I know when it's 50% (?) discharged? Is there a gizmo out there, and what's it called?
I'm going to have another go at taking the cover off this one in a bit, and hopefully get a better pic.
View attachment 628860


In the meantime, the bulbs I have been able to access are, 1003 12V 15CP and 17833NARVA 10W 5G 12V.

View attachment 628862



I can't find how to get at the reading lights, they turn on by rocking them one way or the other.

View attachment 628864



Nor can I get the cover off the kitchen light. I'd actually like to replace the whole fitting at some point as the cover is a lot yellower than it shows in the photo. But that can wait.
View attachment 628865

The reason I said best not to use strips is because leaving them on all night will use more power.

The bulbs in your photos look like Ba9s & Ba15s fittings, plenty on the Aten site.

Aten Lighting

www.atenlighting.co.uk

 

[Riverbankannie]

Riverbankannie and Reallyretired (and huck999) I will get some as back-ups but Mum is confused enough already, but then again, she's almost certainly not going to remember where the toilet is anyway so she's going to wake my son regardless. I do think a nightlight of some sort is desirable tho. (For her sake not ours.)

If you can position one over the toilet door, it will come on as she gets up and moves and then hopefully she will see the door straight away. Have another inside, the batteries last for ages as they don’t use much power and automatically come on and off.

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[Raul]

I have a strip led light by the back door that consumes 2w. If I leave that on all night, the battery will hardly notice, The simple solution is a 250-300 stick on 12v strip led and be done. Leave it on all night, or fit a motion sensor near the door.

 

[MarionK]

If you can position one over the toilet door, it will come on as she gets up and moves and then hopefully she will see the door straight away. Have another inside, the batteries last for ages as they don’t use much power and automatically come on and off.

Even in daylight she is confused about where to go. One over the door might work, or she might not realise why the light is there. I guess it's a case of 'suck it and see'. Worth a shot anyway.

 

[autorouter]

As a rule of thumb, an LED bulb will use about 10 times less power than a standard filament bulb. So for example that 10W standard bulb can be replaced with a 1W LED bulb that will give out the same amount of light.

A fluorescent lamp is more efficient that a filament light, so to replace a 20W fluorescent strip you will need about 4W of LED to give out the same amount of light.

I replaced all our standard 10W bulbs with 2W LEDs, so twice the light output but five times less power consumption, and the whole place is brighter. I accept that may not be what everyone would like.

If you get an LED version of the small bulb in your picture, note that LEDs only work one way round, so if you plug it in and it doesn't work, take it out and reverse it.

 

[The Wino]

As a rule of thumb, an LED bulb will use about 10 times less power than a standard filament bulb. So for example that 10W standard bulb can be replaced with a 1W LED bulb that will give out the same amount of light.

A fluorescent lamp is more efficient that a filament light, so to replace a 20W fluorescent strip you will need about 4W of LED to give out the same amount of light.

I replaced all our standard 10W bulbs with 2W LEDs, so twice the light output but five times less power consumption, and the whole place is brighter. I accept that may not be what everyone would like.

When we had an earlier motorhome and swapped to LEDs the thing id recommend is go somewhere like Aten and get warm white as daylight or cool white is a bit harsh. I'd also go a bit lower on the "equivalent" power as it can end up being too bright. I do think a swap to led is certainly worthwhile.

 

[MarionK]

Well, some progress, I've managed to get the cover off the kitchen light, and as it's surface mounted it's straightforward to completely replace. Unfortunately the bathroom and the reading lights seem rock solid. I can't figure out how to remove them at all. They're also recess mounted so will be harder to match exactly or otherwise make a neat job of it, so I'm going to order a bunch of rechargeable PIR strip lights for the main hab area and bathroom. Getting them will also mean less pressure to find replacement bulbs, plus no worrying about the hab battery gettting too low, although I'd still like something that gives a decent indication of charge level. I already have a nightlight/torch/lantern, so that's the nightlight sorted. I don't really need a reading light so the tippy lights in the luton can wait too.
The PIR lights actually solve another problem, as I am a shorty and find it tricky to turn the hab lights on anyway!

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[autorouter]

I've never come across that type of reading light, but since no-one else has come up with anything can I suggest that the grey bezel around the switch looks like it should just pop off. I'd try a couple of flat scrapers to gently pry it off without exerting too much pressure at any point.

 

[The Wino]

I've never come across that type of reading light, but since no-one else has come up with anything can I suggest that the grey bezel around the switch looks like it should just pop off. I'd try a couple of flat scrapers to gently pry it off without exerting too much pressure at any point.

Must come off somehow!. Even if it doesn't come apart now it's going to have to once the bulb goes.

 

[autorouter]

Getting them will also mean less pressure to find replacement bulbs, plus no worrying about the hab battery gettting too low, although I'd still like something that gives a decent indication of charge level.

There are two basic types of battery monitor. The cheaper type is a simple voltage meter, which shows the battery voltage. That can be a reasonable indication of the state of charge if the battery is not being charged at the time, and the load is not very large. It is simple to fit, just needing a couple of thin wires to the battery positive and negative. If you are OK with a phone app and Bluetooth, then there are ones that fit next to the battery and send data to an app on the phone, which means you don't have to find somewhere for the display module to be mounted. To find the state of charge, look up the voltage on a scale like the one below.

The other type uses a 'shunt', which is usually wired into the negative terminal of the battery. As well as the voltage, it can measure the amps. Using an inbuilt chip to keep a count of the amps in and out of the battery, it can tell you the state of charge even when it's being charged or under load. This type is more expensive. Again, it's possible to get one that fits near the battery and displays to a phone app using Bluetooth, if you don't want to fit a separate display module.

 

[MarionK]

I was never a fan of Amazon or other similar sites, but I can't find PIR LED's anywhere else :S and now Amazon have locked me out of my account because I signed up for two step blah, and I no longer have the associated phone number. (and I can't remember my pw )