franks
Member
Im looking at lighting for a weekender cabin, i have 24v DC and 1.8kwatt 240ac sinwave inverter. looking at 3 15w CFL or 12 LED downlights aprox 2w each.
Looking at the best light output vs watts comsumed, LEDs down lights(can be DC direct connect) or mains voltage compact fluros (via inverter)
would like thoughts or comments on this subject
Regards
Frank
G'day Frank,
I use both types you mention plus standard 600mm and 1200mm long flouro tubes around my house.
I am on grid but have a battery backed solar system with DC/AC inverter to run essential services such as lighting, adsl, cordless phone etc during a blackout.
Generally I use 12V LED lighting for emergency locations such as stairwells and under the house. These run 24/7 and use negligible power. Compact flouros, also 12 or 24V are used in locations where longer term brighter lighting is needed ie the floor lamp I'm sitting under while typing this.
For the brightest light requirements I use standard long flouros with built in 12 or 24V DC/AC inverters to work under or light a big area. These use much less power than the same size flouro running thru an AC inverter like your 1.8kW one. At low power load levels your big inverter will be very inefficient running LED and flouro lights unfortunately.
I also have some very efficient AC LED and 23W floodlight replacements made by Mirrabella in locations where it's too hard or inconvenient to run DC circuits. The 20 Led 240VAC white light uses about 1 watt and can be left on indefinitely. It lights up my small computer room sufficiently to type and get about but not well enough to read with my eyes anyway.
Sticking with DC for lights also gives you a backup if the inverter goes belly up during the night.
Brian
ghostgum
Member
You are looking for LED lights with 50 lumens per watt or better.
I agree with rockabye that you should try to use DC lights rather than going through the AC inverter.
At about 2W you can get MR16 replacements. Above this you really need to replace the whole fitting to an integrated one with LED and heatsink.
One shop with an assortment of LED lights and bulb replacements is
http://www.ledshoponline.com/led_lightbar.htm
Some of these can run on 24V.
For 12V fluoro, a popular camping light is the BurnBrite VersaLite
http://www.burnbrite.com/
You can get 12V compact fluoros. I think I bought mine from Jaycar, but I can't find it in the catalogue.
I've just bought some 12V LED replacement globes that suit the halogen downlight fitting that's so common. They use 15 LEDS and measured 60ma ie .75W. For 24V systems you could place 2 in series. They are pretty good but at $15 each a bit pricey. They should last many years though. They are made by Mirrabella and I got them at Coles.
springtide
Member
Typical transformers run around 96% efficiency so possibly as low as 2 watts lost.
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