LED Lighting Means Superior Solar Power Performance
One of the most interesting things about LED lighting strips is that they do not organically run on normal AC household current. Instead, they are either 12 or 24 volt DC items that require a converter to run them through your household electrical supply. This makes them ideal candidates for all sorts of off-grid and RV usage.
Even better from an alternative energy standpoint is the fact that they are very low wattage items that produce a lot of illumination at a very minimal amperage draw. Since conservation is the first rule of going off-grid, this means that LED lighting strips can provide a much more useful and functional light source than almost anything else.
Because they are available in either 12 or 24-volt configurations, they can produce even more efficiencies to off-grid operations since they can take the 12 or 24-volt power as a direct feed off the battery bank rather than running it through an AC inverter– which consumes additional power in that DC/AC conversion process. In certain very remote locales, it may even make it possible to run small-scale solar installations without the additional cost of providing the expensive inverter for the system.
As for the use of LED lighting strips in RV applications, they are the perfect choice for retrofitting into an existing camping trailer or motor home since they can be installed practically anywhere without fear of overheating and causing fires in such compact spaces. This allows many older units to dispense with the hot, energy-grabbing 12-volt lighting systems with which they were originally provided.
New LED lights can provide an infinitely more adjustable source of illumination– one that can be dialed from very dim to stunning brightness as required. Plus, they use far less electricity. This cuts down on the gas-eating draw of additional generator time or heavier loads on the vehicle’s own charging system while it travels down the road. In other words, using less electricity means that you spend less money on charging your batteries back up. Likewise, batteries that do not get drained as deeply will last far longer than ones that are seriously discharged every night.
LED lighting strips are one of an off-gridders best friends.