LED lighting,12volt household/marine ?

That's what I needed to know. Based on the size of my boat and the loads expected 12 volts makes more sense.

Thanks Terry and CDK.

MIA

 

I'm in the progress of building a sailboat interior and thinking about using (chargeable) battery powered LED lamps (bike- or headlamps maybe) for interior lighting. They could also easily be removed and used as flashlights. I'd also run as much other electronics with rechargeable batteries (GPS etc). The advantages would be less wiring and a more flexible system. An obvious downside would be the constant switching of batteries and charging them.

Thoughts about other advantages/disadvantages?

 

frasco

Sounds like a pain to me to always be charging light fixtures.

On a small boat without an electrical system, like a 18' weekender it makes sense. But on a larger boat with a 12 volt system I would wire them into the panel.

 

Constant Current Protection

You should read this article on the Marinebeam website on constant current protection before choosing LED lights for your boat. I am not associated with these guys at all and I can not endorse there products. This is just good information I came across while doing research on the subject.

 

I understand the desire not to confuse people with too much technical jargon. But I could handle a bit more than that....

 

LED's are semiconductors that produce light by moving electrons from a N-type (negative) material to a P-type (positive) material. The P-type material has positively-charged gaps called holes. Current causes electrons to flow from the N-type material into the holes of the P-type material. When this happens, energy is released in the form of light. If too much current is applied, especially if it spikes, it can cause erosion of the holes in the P-type material. This greatly shortens the life of the LED and can cause premature failure of the LED.

Every time you start your motor, charge your batteries with solar panels or any of number of other things, it causes extra current to flow through your boats electrical system. If this spike in current reaches the N-P junction of your LED's it will cause erosion of the P-type material. Constant current protection keeps the current flow constant preventing premature erosion of the P-type material.