Change to LED lighting

Paulmold wrote:so bright that you will only need one (2 max) to light entire van.....

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They’re also cool white, so won’t be conducive to a cosy evening with a wine or two. That’s often the case with these retrofit LED lamps designed to replace an (equally cold) fluorescent tube. If you’re looking for a warmer light you’ll most likely need to install new fittings.  

Cold and warm are subjective terms, and it’s the “colour temperature” of a lamp, specified in Kelvin (K), that determines this effect. If you’re looking for something that provides a warmer effect select a lamp with a colour temperature no greater than 3000K.  Cool white is typically 4000K and for comparison, a halogen lamp is around 2500K.

LED lighting is ideal for motorhomes, particularly if off-grid as it draws low current yet still provides good light output (specified in Lumens). However the market is flooded with poor quality products, often in cold white by default.  If a lamp doesn’t have a colour temperature or “K” figure specified, my advice is don’t buy it if you want a warmer, more atmospheric light colour.  

I despaired at the lighting AS had selected for our van, which was stark, cold and clinical. The lighting designer had clearly never spent an evening in a motorhome and I replaced all except the ceiling lights, which are only ever used if we’re looking for something in the depths of the van. I wrote about it here:

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A good place to start looking is Aten lighting (link below). I didn’t use their products in my project but they are well specified along the lines I’ve explained above and others on the forum have spoken well of them.

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Tim