12V lighting

[Brewman]

I'm building my mom a tiny house for my mom but it doesn't have 120V ran to it yet. I have a small solar system I put together with a 12V 280ah battery. I'm looking for BRIGHT 12V lighting as she is losing her eyesight. Everything Ive found so far is not very bright. I'm hoping you guys have some suggestions.

Dan

 

[BentleyJ]

Take a look at the MR16 12V LED bulbs and fixtures. Some of the fixtures are designed for 120V so they have the 12V step down transformer built in. You don't need that so just make sure to check the description before purchasing.

For conventional E26 screw in bulbs there are many choices. https://www.amazon.com/Voltage-Equi...4wNCIsInFzcCI6IjQuODQifQ==&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1

 

[Brewman]

Take a look at the MR16 12V LED bulbs and fixtures. Some of the fixtures are designed for 120V so they have the 12V step down transformer built in. You don't need that so just make sure to check the description before purchasing.

For conventional E26 screw in bulbs there are many choices. https://www.amazon.com/Voltage-Equivalent-12volt-Battery-Interior-Lighting/dp/B07HB7CX3N/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?gclid=Cj0KCQjw166aBhDEARIsAMEyZh7wBu8ELtIjjOUgWGz9CCmGf9EBVVc0wuo3WvN5LH9BI05mbsUV2c0aAmQqEALw_wcB&hvadid=616858466325&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=1014327&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=16381722518944352797&hvtargid=kwd-75330333980&hydadcr=8432_13573162&keywords=12v+e26+led+bulb&qid=1665962086&qu=eyJxc2MiOiI1LjMzIiwicXNhIjoiNS4wNCIsInFzcCI6IjQuODQifQ==&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1

Thank you so much.

Dan

 

[John Frum]

I'm building my mom a tiny house for my mom but it doesn't have 120V ran to it yet. I have a small solar system I put together with a 12V 280ah battery. I'm looking for BRIGHT 12V lighting as she is losing her eyesight. Everything Ive found so far is not very bright. I'm hoping you guys have some suggestions.

Dan

I have cataracts and all the other aged related eye problems.
For me placement is probably as important as lumens.
I have the lights tweaked in the kitchen to put the light on the place where I use a sharp knife.
My work area is the same.
I think its called task lighting.
The idea is to light up the thing I need to see without getting too much halo effect.
Contrast is important too.
So black for the things I don't need to see and a contrasting color for the things I do need to see.

 

[OzSolar]

What about a small pure sine wave inverter like the 250VA ~$125 Victron Phoenix. You'd have your pick of AC lighting and I bet you could run all the lighting in the house off it.

edit: if I knew of a good 12v LED light I'd mention it.

 

[Substrate]

I highly recommend using an inverter to drive standard led-bulbs and fixtures like in a normal house. Perhaps use the lowest wattage ac led bulbs you can actually live with. If the *only* thing you are using the inverter for is standard interior led lighting, you might be able to save money here with less expensive msw inverters, rather than using the psw types. Save the psw inverters for the normal electronics around the place. My msw inverters are dedicated solely to lighting.

It's a psychological thing. The color-temps and so forth of 12v dc bulbs, is a constant reminder you are living in an emergency / battery situation, and not a normal one.

In an emergency, I've found that camping-style color temps from dc lighting just added to the stress psychologically, so when I lose power, I just run from an inverter to the existing ac led-bulb lighting as usual. Well, I might swap the bulb out for a lower wattage one during the event.

 

[Brewman]

The only issue with the inverter is the constant draw from it when not in use. My mom won't be able to turn on and off the inverter I have, so Pure DC is best as I can wire it to a wall switch that she can use. It won't be long until the house has AC power. She is not in it full time as well, right now, it's just when we visit the property that we are building our and her house.

Dan

 

[OzSolar]

The only issue with the inverter is the constant draw from it when not in use.

That can be a major problem but believe the Phoenix has a search function (ECO mode?).

 

[DarrylG]

In my house I ran several 12 volt LED lighting strips. You can get them in all sorts of white colors as well as RGB ones. I personally like the "4000k Cool Light." I put some of my strips on moulding located on a wall about 12" below the ceiling facing up. The reflection off the ceiling provides a very nice lighting. Some of them are located on the ceiling facing straight down if I need maximum lighting and it is not an area where I could be looking at the bulbs. I two of the strips I put on dimmers as well.

I bought these: https://www.ebay.com/itm/363061001821

 

[Tomthumb62]

t's a psychological thing. The color-temps and so forth of 12v dc bulbs, is a constant reminder you are living in an emergency / battery situation, and not a normal one.

I got some inexpensive CTO gel sheets (color temperature orange). Now the 12v lamps I have are marketed as “warm white” but they’re nothing close to the warm glow of halogen or incandescent. The CTO film fixes that.

I just cut and taped a bit of film onto the bulb with a small circle piece at the end. I don’t have any before and after photos, but perhaps you can see the color come through in these photos. The actual color isn’t nearly as orange as the photos appear. My guess is about 2100-2400K. I believe I used the lightest colored gel in the set for this effect. Music for my eyes! No more harsh lighting!

 

[Substrate]

Careful Tom - if one isn't careful, during an outage with weird lighting, one can make mistakes.

Witness this solar enthusiast fumbling in the dark, and making decisions while under stress. Normal lighting like what you are used to relieves that stress:

Trying to shut down a failing inverter apparently. Not a good time to read the manual.

... running and ducking ...

 

[curiouscarbon]

White Flexible LED Strip Lights - LED Strip Lights & LED Bars | Super Bright LEDs

www.superbrightleds.com

i have bought and used led strands from this website before. did DIY LED driver. good results. mounted adhesive backed strip to an aluminum beam to dissipate heat.

they have some bright strands. be sure to check lumens per foot

 

[northjerseymike]

I put these in my greenhouse… Pretty bright! https://www.amazon.com/Nilight-1260lm-Driving-Lighting-Warranty/dp/B01KRV3PNA

 

[alfsauve]

I use SuperBrightLEDs web site for a lot of lighting needs. I just looked under Strips and Bars and there are 41 products. Maybe more under other categories.

 

[MattiFin]

Found this via budgetlightsforums
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32996343988.html?pdp_npi=2%40dis%21EUR%21€%2016%2C63%21€%2016%2C63%21%21%21%21%21%40210318c916662083923446549e9231%2110000015794134773%21sh

same seller has also other interesting offerings, like ultra high efficiency led strips.

 

[Checkthisout]

The only issue with the inverter is the constant draw from it when not in use. My mom won't be able to turn on and off the inverter I have, so Pure DC is best as I can wire it to a wall switch that she can use. It won't be long until the house has AC power. She is not in it full time as well, right now, it's just when we visit the property that we are building our and her house.

Dan

You can use 12V stuff like this. Just type 12V lighting into Amazon for endless choices.

https://www.amazon.com/Risestar-Lights-4-5inch-Interior-Lighting-3000-3500K/dp/B07TP78ZW1/ref=sxin_15_pa_sp_search_thematic_sspa?content-id=amzn1.sym.ae9d8cf2-e60a-48c3-8f54-59f521db650e%3Aamzn1.sym.ae9d8cf2-e60a-48c3-8f54-59f521db650e&crid=L09PH2YFG34N&cv_ct_cx=12v+lighting&keywords=12v+lighting&pd_rd_i=B07TP78ZW1&pd_rd_r=d4cf2ae4-98fe-4e19-85a9-fe8ec6d3c66a&pd_rd_w=W2DM0&pd_rd_wg=DEph2&pf_rd_p=ae9d8cf2-e60a-48c3-8f54-59f521db650e&pf_rd_r=3Z303EK85XY6R6K7SR66&qid=1666215325&qu=eyJxc2MiOiI1Ljk5IiwicXNhIjoiNS41NCIsInFzcCI6IjQuNzEifQ%3D%3D&sprefix=12v+lightin%2Caps%2C210&sr=1-1-5a852497-664a-4965-9a73-4752f518d12f-spons&psc=1

 

[Leeds]

12vdc has more options than any other voltage.

If you want bright, just choose a higher wattage. For example, a 10w 12vdc light (or string of lights) is REALLY bright.

 

[northjerseymike]

Lights installed from my post above. As you can see; lots of light! The two of them combined only consume around 20 watts.

 

[Risky Rob]

.

 

[Leeds]

These pavilion lights are (from memory) 20 or 30 watts and 12vdc.

More watts, more light.