Article by Capt. Steve Katz
LED lighting
There is a reason we now see a huge selection of LED light bulbs at our local hardware store and internet shopping sites. LED lights produce the same light output as regular bulbs but use less electricity. Power companies like this and often subsidize the cost of the bulbs at stores in their service area. From a power company perspective, if they can get the consumer to use a little less electricity, that adds up to reduced demand that could otherwise cause them to need to build another power plant.
What does this have to do with our boats? Well the same is true for boaters; the reduced electrical load is a benefit to new boat builders and retrofits for existing boats. While the LED bulbs at your local hardware store may not be the type you need on your boat, there are many marine retailers selling LED replacement bulbs that fit the popular marine fixtures.
Many of these LED bulbs are also popular with the automotive sector and often match up with a marine fixture.
Let’s start with navigation lights. While there may not be a significant savings due to electrical loads, there is an advantage for the new LED navigation light fixtures. Most of the current LED navigation lights are enclosed in a one piece sealed unit, allowing the light to be fully waterproof. This style eliminates the cleaning of the contacts inside the fixture and bulb replacement that never seems to happen at a good time.
Installing replacement LED bulbs into a standard incandescent navigation fixture may not have any advantages and the light output may not meet requirements. A new LED fixture is a much better idea. Attwood marine warranty’s their LED navigation lights for 10 years, whether it actually lasts that long, we won’t know for a few more years, but it seems Attwood is confident enough to offer the warranty so maybe they do have a trouble free product.
Lopolight has a 5-year warranty, Hella LED navigation lights have a 7-year warranty and other manufactures have warranty periods beginning at one year. Combining a long warranty with the maintenance free sealed unit seems like a great justification to switch to LED navigation lights.
Lets move away from navigation lighting and get into interior lighting and courtesy lighting. There are many competitive products available to help you update your boat. Often there are two options; either replace the bulb or replace the fixture with one that already has a LED inside. In retrofit applications, installing LED replacement bulbs into existing fixtures is a cost effective way to convert to LED. Installing new LED fixtures is a good way to update an older boat or take advantage of the multicolor light options offered by many retailers.
While some might say, new LED bulbs cost more than standard bulbs, so why should I convert? The upgrade cost may not provide a great return-on-investment for all options, but there are other advantages to LED lighting.
LED bulbs have a low current draw (milli-amps vs. amps). For example, the popular G4 halogen two-pin bulb, which usually uses about 20 watts, can be replaced with a disc type LED bulb that only requires 2 watts of power for the same light output. This cuts your electricity usage by a factor of 10. Another advantage is that you could add close to 10 times the number of lights to an existing electrical circuit or add more wire length to an existing circuit without needing to upgrade the wire or circuit breaker. For new boat builders, they can use smaller size wire and circuit breakers for the same amount of light output. If you have an outboard powered boat and need a lot of lighting without draining your batteries or overloading the outboard’s alternator, converting to LED lighting is a great way to conserve electricity.
One of the biggest advantages for larger boats is that LED’s do not generate the enormous amount of heat as the small G4 bulb or other incandescent bulbs. LED bulbs get warm, but not as hot as a traditional G4 halogen, mainly because they are using 1/10 of the amount of electricity. This reduced heat output is a great way to help keep the boat cool in the summer months and reduce the amount of air conditioning required inside the boat.
LED lights can produce a bright white color or a yellow color, similar to traditional lighting – and yes, there are many more colors available. They can even change colors to the beat of the music. Traditional lighting is generally referred to as warm white (3000k) and cool white (5000k) that is the popular bright white option. Be sure to check the color output to be sure it meets your needs and it may be better to try a bulb or two before you convert your whole boat.
Modern LED bulbs turn on fast, giving almost instant light and can be controlled by a dimmer. Because there is not a tiny filament inside the LED fixture, they have a much higher tolerance to shock and vibration like we regularly experience in a boat.
A final advantage is their long life; LED’s are expected to last 5-10 times longer than traditional bulbs.
How do you decide to upgrade? Get one LED replacement bulb or one complete fixture and give it a try. With so many manufacturers and styles, there is certainly a bulb or fixture that will work in your boat.
Captain Steve Katz is the owner of Steve’s Marine Service and holds NMEA, AMEI and NMEA2000 certificates along with ABYC Master Technician certification and factory training from many manufacturers.
