Lighting On A Boat
An insight into the different types of bulbs commonly used
Incandescent
These are the standard bulbs that most people are familiar with. Incandescent bulbs work by using electricity to heat a tungsten filament in the bulb until it glows.
The filament is either in a vacuum or in a mixture of argon / nitrogen gas. Most of the energy consumed by the bulb is given off as heat, causing it’s Lumens per Watt performance to be low.
Halogen bulbs last longer and also burn hotter than conventional incandescent bulbs, making them slightly more efficient.
Fluorescent
These bulbs work by passing a current through a tube filled with argon gas and mercury. Bulb life is very long, commonly known to last between 10,000 to 20,000 hours.
Fluorescent bulbs are also very energy efficient as they produce very little heat. They give a wide spread of light making them ideal for lighting large areas.
LED
Light Emitting Diodes (LED’s) are bulbs without a filament, that are low in power consumption and have a long life span. LED’s utilise up to 90% of the energy provided in the generation of light, whereas with some incandescent light bulbs, only around 20% of the electric current is used for production of light and the other 80% of the energy is wasted as heat.
LED’s have a lifespan of up to 70,000 hours, which is extremely high when compared with the standard incandescent bulbs that have a lifespan of only around 1,000 hours. So, once you install them, you won’t have to worry about replacing the bulbs for a very long time.
Another big advantage of an LED is that they don’t have a filament, meaning they are a lot more acceptable to vibrations, which makes them ideal for boating.
