LED Lights

Went to the new boat and took out bulbs for the anchor light and interior lights to see if I could find LED replacements.  I didn't bother with the steaming or deck lights, as there will typically only be used when under motor.  Because the boat is covered, I could not get to the nav lights (bow and stern).

The anchor light is a Perko unit with two 31mm festoon incandescent bulbs in it:

Cap and lenses removed

http://www.perko.com/images/catalog/pdf/Figs%201183%20to%201197%20Inst%20(1183INS1).pdf

Was able to get LED replacements for it with dual superbright cool white LEDs in each.  The current draw is a just 0.04A each.  The incandescent bulb I removed is rated at 10W (1.67A) each, so the LED replacements would use less than 0.64 amp hours vs 17.1 amp hours for an 8 hour overnight anchor.  The bulb I did removed was FUBARed, so it had to be replaced anyways  They were expensive at $20 each, but worth it for overnight anchoring. Made in China, so I can just imagine the markup!!!

The new boat has five interior overhead lights: two in the salon, two in the galley, and one in the head.  Each of these fixtures has two switches on it and three bulbs inside.  The one switch controls one of the bulbs, while the other switches the remaining two.  The bulbs are Ancor 12V wedge base interior bulbs, similar to what you would see in low voltage landscaping lights:

Ancor #520194 are rated for 0.27A (3.8W) and cost $2.49 for a pair.
This seems right, as I verified that each fixture was drawing 1A of power (0.27A x 3 bulbs).

A similar LED drop in replacement is $11 each.  Since there are 15 of these bulbs, replacing all is cost prohibitive (almost $200).  The LED replacements typically use 1W, so there is not a great electrical savings here, and they would not all be on at the same time.  There are lots of different colours (warm white, cool white, red, blue, etc).  There are also several varieties with 2/4/6/10 LEDs in them for more light.  Perhaps even go with a couple of red LEDs so that night vision is not affected when going below when underway.

There are also some brass reading lights in the salon and V-Birth, and well as some dome lights in the NAV table and rear cabin.  Think I really have to use the boat for a while to determine which interior lights are used the most.

Once I have the boat in water in Whitby, I will experiment.
Will also research some online suppliers.