Two years ago I wrote a couple of articles on LED lighting (Afloat May’08 & Jun’08). I thought it might be interesting to have a look at developments since then.
In 2008 all looked good with the possible exception of customers having reservations about LEDs which I unkindly suggested had the ambience of a State Rail toilet block. More and more products offer warm white LED lights as an alternative to the clinical white LED light, which is much better for cabin ambience.
Manufacturers are working hard to overcome the limitations created by the fact that the output from LEDs is quite focussed. New light fittings use reflectors or a multitude of carefully directed LEDs to achieve a good spread of light.
There are also now much improved products that cater for the replacement of incandescent lamps in original sockets. These nowadays use surface mount diodes (SMDs) which have a very high light output relative to their cost. SMDs are mounted onto circuit boards and look like small yellowish square blocks – they no longer are rounded glass ‘bulbs’. PCBs with a number of these SMDs are fitted to bases that fit into the holders of light fittings designed to use incandescent lights such as bayonet, festoon, G4 halogen and dichroic halogen lamps.
As incandescent light sources generally radiate light in all directions, the orientation of the incandescent lamp in the fitting is usually not important. However, when fitting LED replacements, one must ensure that the SMDs will face outward once inserted into the lamp holder, due to the directional nature of LED light. Manufacturers have catered for this by e.g. designing replacements for G4 quartz lamps with the contact pins optionally facing to the back or to the side of the PCB. The latest products to have come onto the market can even be dimmed.
Prices for replacement lamps have been falling rapidly as more and more manufacturers have entered the market, helped along by the strength of the Aussie dollar. The cost effectiveness of bulb replacement is obvious, but the jury is still out on the longevity of the products. We have been selling these products for about two years and have thus far not had any complaints about their durability. However, they will never be as good as a dedicated light fitting designed specifically to use LEDs with optimised light output and spread, heat sinking for durability and full encapsulation to make then fully water and moisture proof.
As for navigation lights, here too prices have been reduced. Whereas a tricolour/anchor combination light could not be bought for much less than $800 two years ago, a top quality, certified light with a seven year warranty is now available for $550. Given the durability of LEDs, don’t even contemplate buying any navigation lights that the manufacturer hasn’t got the confidence of warranting for at least five years.
When it comes to fitting LED replacements into navigation lights designed and certified for incandescent lamps, we get into a very grey area.
I have yet to see that the substitution of an incandescent bulb by a LED replacement definitively complies with ColRegs 72. In fact not one manufacturer has been able to just fit LEDs into the existing light and get them certified. One can only infer that it is not possible to meet the requirements by doing just that.
Yet the authorities have not made any rulings in this regard. At a recent seminar on navigation lights, a NSW maritime boating officer said that it is left to the boating officers to judge whether in their opinion the lights are adequate. How this results in a consistent standard is not known. It must be noted that a representative of the insurance industry at that meeting said that the insurance companies will insist that lights are certified to be fully compliant, even if some authorities may not.
The bottom line is that you should be very wary of fitting anything but fully certified lights. If you wish to use LED replacements, check with your state authority and your insurance company before doing so. A case of buyer beware!
*Gavin Sorrell works in collaboration with Aquavolt Electric Boat Parts.
Tel: 02 9417 8455 www.aquavolt.com.au
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