The transition of lighting from the traditional electrical sources such as incandescent, fluorescent and halogen is rapidly gathering momentum with the advent of LED or light emitting diode lighting technology.
The technology is not new, in fact it dates back to 1907. However, the major innovations making LED lighting both practicable and affordable have occurred very recently. Green and red LEDs have been available for many years but a relatively recent development in 1993 gave us a pure white LED. The implications are obvious.
Now the LED can be used for interior lighting, courtesy lighting, white navigation lighting and even floodlighting.
Progress in LED lighting technology has been rapid and it is now appropriate to consider installation of this form of lighting in preference to the older technologies. The cost of LED lighting has decreased considerably and nowadays is competitive with traditional rivals. It has many advantages.
High Efficiency: LEDs are very energy efficient and typically draw one tenth of the current required by an incandescent bulb.
Long Life Expectancy: Rated for service lives of 50-100,000 hours compared to 3,000 hours for an incandescent bulb. They do not burn out but gradually dim over their lifetime. They are solid state devices which means that they have no moving parts, filaments or fragile components.
Water and Weatherproof: Because the LEDs and their electronic drivers can be completely encapsulated, the whole package becomes waterproof. There is no need for contacts and maintenance such as changing lamps. So there is no more curse of corrosion in the electrical circuit.
Costs: At present the outlay for led lighting is slightly more than for incandescent or fluorescent, but prices have decreased. This cost is more than offset in reduced running costs, reduced wiring gauges, lower battery power, and much longer lifespan. Manufacturers are able to provide warranties of up to five years. The result is lower overall lifetime costs. Good quality, certified side, stern and anchor lights are now available at about $100. Bicolour and steaming lights are a bit more expensive, mast-top tricolour lights are still quite expensive, but the maintenance-free aspect is particularly beneficial in mast top lights.
Whilst the choice of interior lighting is purely subjective, navigation lighting must comply with the IMO Regulations for preventing Collisions at Sea (ColRegs). This is essential for safety and insurance reasons. Compliance is dependent not only on intensity to achieve the required range, but in getting illumination in the full arc required by regulations.
Why not fit LED light inserts into existing light fittings made for incandescent lights?
Changing the light source used for obtaining the ColRegs certification voids the certificate with possible legal and insurance implications if there is a collision. Not one manufacturer has been able to obtain certification of their traditional nav lights fitted with an LED insert!
You definitely can’t fit a white LED into a coloured nav light because the coloured lens relies on filtering a large portion of the light in order to change the light colour. The resultant loss in light intensity means the light will not be visible for the required distance.
Insert lamps don’t last, the fittings are not totally sealed, leading to corrosion problems. Insufficient heat sinking usually leads to premature failure, sometimes after a few hours. The same applies to some cheaper dedicated LED nav lights where LEDs are simply soldered to a PCB and not properly encapsulated.
Inserts are expensive, costing from $37 to $70 each. Two or three inserts will cost more than a certified, fully sealed, LED navigation light with a five year warranty. Nav lights are safety items. You wouldn’t fit cheap seat belts to your car, so don’t fit LED inserts into existing fittings. LED lighting is destined to soon render other types of lighting in boats obsolete.
*Gavin Sorrell of Professional Solar Designs Australia works in collaboration with Aquavolt Electric Boat Parts Tel: 02 9417 8455 email: .
