Go brighter and save (DC) power

Marine electronics and navigation guru, Errol Cain has supervised the installation of marine electronic systems into thousands of luxury cruisers in his 21 years experience.  This issue Errol will discuss how boat owners can save power by replacing halogen globes with LED.

Every boat owner and captain knows the importance of onboard power whether it is a 30' cabin cruiser, 70' game boat or super yacht. In keeping with our philosophy of ‘boating should be simple and pleasurable’, R Electronics have sourced a replacement for one of the most power draining onboard items - the halogen light globe.

R Electronics managing director Errol Cain said most modern vessels had either 12v or 24v, 10w or 20w halogen lighting which could be draining on the house supply.

“Typically a 50' boat will run about 20 10w lights at night while at anchor. This equates to almost 17amps on 12v or just over 8amps on a 24v system per hour. Turn on all the boats lights at once and you are somewhere over the 50amp mark for one hours running,” Errol said.

“The solution is to change all those halogen globes with LED replacements.

Gone are the days when LEDs gave you some never before seen funky colour that was hard on the eyes. Today's LEDs are a very close match to the warm white of a halogen globe with only a fraction of the current draw.

"Our choice is the 9 LED Ultra High Bright fitting which draws 1.8w or 0.15amp, so for 20 lights, this would only draw three amps, significantly less than the 17amps drawn from 20 10w halogens. They are also equivalent to a 20w halogen and have a 120 degree beam so you get brighter light with very little battery drain.”

R Electronics import these fittings direct from the manufacturer and pass on all the savings to you, the customer. They are available through your nearest R Marine dealer. If you want to save your batteries, give R Electronics a call today. The fitting slips straight into where the halogen is currently seated and a whole boat can be changed in less than an hour.

For more information, Please call your nearest Dealer or R Electronics. +61 7 5561 7900 or email to ecain@relectronics.com.au

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