Our Itasca Navion IQ motorhome is 9 years old now. The original lighting was 12v incandescent automotive bulbs.
A few years ago, I replaced much, but not all, of the incandescent lighting in the camper with the new LED lights that were available at the time. Most of the energy used in incandescent lights to make them glow is lost as heat. For the same brightness, today’s LED lighting uses less than 1/8 as much energy. This can make a difference on battery drain when you are boondocking away from utility connections.
Technological and manufacturing advances have resulted in LEDs that can produce brighter lights in a smaller package.
The 3 generations of lights used in our motorhome
The first set of LEDs that we used in the camper seemed a bit less bright than the original incandescent lights. The newest LEDs are definitely brighter. All of the photos below were taken with my camera in manual mode so that changes in light would not trigger an adjustment in the camera’s automatic settings. All four photos are unedited.
(above) Lighting, looking forward, before new LEDs installed. There was one incandescent reading light on over the chair. It showed up in the mirror on the left as well. There was also an incandescent light on in the shower.
(below) After new LED was installed. The lighting in the bathroom was changed out, including the incandescent bulb in the shower. The incandescent light over the chair is off.
Looking to the rear. (above) Before new LEDs installed in the motorhome. (below) After new LEDs installed.
The cost of the ten bulbs when I bought them was $13.99 with no cost for shipping and handling as we are Amazon Prime members.
I liked these so well that I will be ordering additional LED lights to replace most of the rest of the lights inside the motorhome.
