Installing LED Lights in our Supreme Getaway Caravan
Replacing your caravan lights with LED lights is a simple thing to do but it makes a big difference to power consumption and light brightness and colour. I replaced all of the interior and exterior 12v caravan lighting on our van with LEDs. If you’ve got a newer caravan then you probably already have LED lights instead of the old incandescent ones.
Difficulty Factor: 2/5
Time Taken: 2 hours
![12v Incandescent Bulb Holder Being Removed And 12v Led Panel Installed](https://www.followourtravels.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/12v-incandescent-bulb-holder-being-removed-and-12v-LED-panel-installed.jpg)
12v Incandescent Bulb Holder Being Removed And 12v Led Panel Installed
Big Power Saving With Caravan LED Lighting
Before replacing them I checked how many amps the old ones were drawing and it was 1.71 amps. After replacing I checked the LEDs and they were drawing 0.37 amps. Quite a saving if you have two or three lights on at the same time for about 6 hours or more a day. Particularly if you are camped up and have heavy cloud cover messing with your solar.
![Old Incandescent Bulb vs New LED Output Comparison](https://www.followourtravels.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/old-incandescent-bulb-vs-new-led-output-comparison.jpg)
Old Incandescent Bulb vs New LED Output Comparison
Cost Of Replacing Caravan LED Lighting
All up I replaced 5 x incandescent type globes at $5.69 a globe plus a halogen one where I had to swap the whole downlight for $24.99. Throw in $5.00 for a chocolate block connector. A tiny bit of silicone plus a handful of screws and the total cost was about $60.00.
![Items Purchased Off Ebay 5050 Led 48 And Chocolate Block Connector](https://www.followourtravels.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/items-purchased-off-ebay-5050-led-48-and-chocolate-block-connector.jpg)
Items Purchased Off Ebay 5050 Led 48 And Chocolate Block Connector
Joining The LED Lighting In Existing Caravan Lights
Initially I was going to solder the connections but I figured if I ever needed to replace one the choccy block would be easier to do if on the road. The choccy blocks are held in place with a screw. The LEDs are supposed to last 50,000 hours but you never know so I have a couple of spares. The little strips came with adhesive backing however the adhesive didn’t feel that sticky to me. I have used a dab of silicone to fix them in place.
![Fixed In Place With a Bit of Silicone](https://www.followourtravels.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/fixed-in-place-with-a-bit-of-silicone.jpg)
Fixed In Place With a Bit of Silicone
LED Lighting Light Comparison
The LEDs themselves are the 5050 cool white type, if anything they are a touch brighter than the incandescent bulbs they replaced.
![Old Incandescent Bulb (left) vs New LED Output (right) Comparison](https://www.followourtravels.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/old-incandescent-bulb-left-vs-new-led-output-right-comparison.jpg)
Old Incandescent Bulb (left) vs New LED Output (right) Comparison