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buckybuck
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# Posted: 7 Jan 2015 08:31am
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Are any of you using anything like this for off-grid lighting?
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I see these 12 volt warm white light strips listed as up to 10 watts on eBay for only a couple of dollars at most. I'm curious about benefits/drawbacks to using these COB LED light strips as compared to 12 volt LED bulbs.
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groingo
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# Posted: 7 Jan 2015 10:38am - Edited by: groingo
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10 watts is a lot for an LED, I use Feit LED effect bulbs for use in a 110 volt ceiling fan that just screw into a conventional outlet and produce light equal to a 40 watt incandescent while drawing less than 2 watts for 6 dollars each from bed bath and beyond.
You can get even more light out of them by removing the bulb cover
and should be used with a pure sine wave inverter.
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buckybuck
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# Posted: 8 Jan 2015 09:13am
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Well, I took one for the team and bought a couple of these COB LED light strips for a whooping 87 cents each, including shipping from China. (Wintertime ennui).
My biggest source of confusion with these COB (Chip On Board, whatever that means) light strips is what's involved in wiring them up. I looked on YouTube--there's all sorts of videos there ranging from videos made by guys with British accents showing how they mounted the light strips onto massive heat sinks salvaged from old military radios, soldered the light strips to home-made LED drivers, and monitored the current with Fluke multimeters, to videos made by guys in white tee shirts who peeled the adhesive off the backs of the light strips, stuck them to a car's plastic bumper, spliced the light strip's wiring onto the closest available car wiring, and then showing how blinding the lights are to oncoming motorists.
The light strips are obviously intended mainly for vehicle use; fortunately, they are readily available in warmer color temperatures also. I'm thinking something along the lines of using them in mason jar wall scones. I'll let you know what I find out after they arrive.
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old243
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# Posted: 8 Jan 2015 10:36am
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There was some discussion , about replacing the lights in rv's with these type of led lights . Take the existing incandescent lamp out , stick the board in the fixture and wire it up to socket. Don't think they were 10 w 12 v though. I replaced a incandescent bulb in my rv with a cob type led bulb.3 watt. It is harsh daylight heat, thought it would make a good reading light, think I prefer the original. The big benefit is very little heat and low current draw. There should be two leads on your boards. The current has to pass through the led diodes in the correct direction , just reverse the leads if they don't light. Have fun with your project . Let us know it wirks out old243
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buckybuck
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# Posted: 8 Jan 2015 11:03am
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Just for clarification, I didn't get the 10 w light strips. The ones I got are either .5 w or 1 w each. It wasn't exactly clear in the description. Besides, in my experience, the Chinese tend to be a little optimistic when it comes to measuring wattage.
I had already replaced all my incandescent bulbs with LED bulbs (the corncob type, not COB). I like that my battery lasts much longer with them, but like you, I don't care for the harsh, white light. And there's something about the single-point bright light from LED bulbs that I can't stand. I'm curious to see if these warm white light strips help alleviate both complaints.
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Truecabin
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# Posted: 11 Jan 2015 03:16pm
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most multimeters can measure low amperage why don't you measure the battery voltage and the amps of this cob light then you know the watts
the watts is amps x volts
for example if it is .05amps then .05a x 12.7v is .635 watts.
i would because i just have to know and i would like to know your measurement of those lights they look useful and low cost
i have some 5 watt cob lights on my atv, i could find a contact lens on the ground they are so bright but they are 6000K not nice cabin light
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buckybuck
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# Posted: 8 Feb 2015 05:18pm - Edited by: buckybuck
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My COB lights arrived yesterday. Truecabin, according to my Harbor Freight multimeter, they're .07 amps, so I guess around .889 watts.
They're about 1 1/4" in length and mounted on an aluminum strip which I guess acts as a heat sink. I ran one for a half hour last night and it didn't get at all warm. They've got a peel-off adhesive strip under the aluminum.
I like the lights. They've definitely got a warmer light than the LED bulbs I've been using. I tried to take some photos; unfortunately, like with all LEDs, it's hard to take a representative photo because it's such a bright, point-specific light source. If you squint your eyes or really stop down your camera a lot, you can see the COB light strip actually has six distinct LEDs in it. The individual LEDs are hard to see if you're just staring at the strip, but like any LED, it's not much fun to stare directly at it for any length of time anyway.
The image shows one of the 28-LED corn cob lights I've been using compared to one of the COB lights I just got. I like them; I'll figure out something to do with them. If you're a 12 volt-only off-gridder, they're definitely something to consider.
About what they look like
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Camera way stopped down; shows it's really six LEDs
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creeky
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# Posted: 8 Feb 2015 06:14pm
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great price. your winter blahs paid off nicely.
as I see online, the cobs are smaller led chips directly mounted to the heat sink. smaller chips means less heat and have a higher lumen per watt ratio. I saw one claiming over 200 lumens per watt. houzzah. or bs. one or the other.
from my experience with corn cob lights in the rv. as always, the warm white is preferable for task/living light. the brighter blue light (maximum lumen per watt) for outdoor use, hallways, stairs ...
I really liked the corn cob type in the rv in warm white. easy to read by. good to work by. and saved a lot of power.
better tech for off grid life. score.
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old243
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# Posted: 9 Feb 2015 05:51pm
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Creeky, I put a cob type I think 3w but 5000 heat( daylight ) , as I stated in an earlier post.But would rather have cool white , 3500 heat. I replaced a , 1104 incand bulb , think that is the right number. Wanted to use as a reading light in my rv. Do you know what the wattage of your cw cobs lights are, and do you like them as a reading lamp. Thanks old243
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creeky
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# Posted: 9 Feb 2015 06:49pm
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old243. i used? 2700s or warm white. they were (this is 4 years ago) 1156 auto / RV replacements. 10 bucks each in 2010.
they were perfect for reading writing and 'rithmetic. if your looking for rv lights for games and what not. that's the temp.
i spent a few hundred hours reading under 2 of them on the couch ... so it comes creeky approved. lol.
i never tested the w. 3-5w? i replaced incandescent rv bulbs, so I knew they used less power than those. and after you swap out 30 of them and figure 10 watts a bulb savings per hour ... heck i used to leave the outdoor lights on all night. and that was with a "puny" 2 battery solar system.
sold the rv two years back. or i'd post a pic.
and for other folks, I see rv 12v fixtures (no bulbs) in the discount auto stores all the time. cheap. fixtures can be expensive, so if you wanted to do 12v cabin lighting that might be a good place to start.
when buying bulbs watch for bulbs that handle varied voltages. you want bulbs that will handle at least 11 to 16v... so you don't explode them when the batts are charging.
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TranquilMan
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# Posted: 18 Feb 2015 06:16pm
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I love my new LED bulbs. My cabin is off-grid, 12 VDC solar. As things grew, I thought I was going to have to upgrade my solar system. Then LED bulbs came along and saved the day. It is amazing how much light you get from a 3W warm white bulb.
On the light strips - you can buy LED light strips by the foot, 12 VDC, hard white, warm white and colours. They are dimable and used a lot in cabinets or under kitchen cabinets. Check out Lee Valley Tools.
I like the tip about checking out discount auto part stores for fixtures.
- TranquilMan
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rayyy
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# Posted: 20 Feb 2015 05:58pm
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I use 12 volt dc cob led light bulbs throughout my place and I am very pleased with them.I get a full 75 watts of light out of a 13 watt,201 led bulb hooked to my 12 volt battery bank.(warm white)People come to visit me and can't believe I am off the grid.It is very puzzeling to them.Flip the switch and you have light.Just like they do at there homes on the grid. love it!
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