UKC

I'm putting together my plans to convert a van into a camper and have come to lighting. Now, there are lots of sites that sell different 12v lights but I can't seem to find much information on about how many watts you would need in total to light the back of something about transit sized. Can anyone give me any advice on this?
(assuming that white LED lighting is used rather than halogen).

In reply to henwardian: Have a look at Ikea's LEDBERG lights, the colour doesn't hurt your eyes like some led's and they're cheap. I have 2 sets in a Renault Master and they provide more than enough. One set is split to light the seating area and bed while the other illuminates the hob and sink. You could probably get away with a single set most of the time.

In reply to henwardian:

We have 2 sets of those "sets of 4 round discs" Ikea lights which are probably the one mentioned below, and that's plenty for our mwb transit. We have 4 in the roof and 2 under each set of overhead cupboards (or will do when I build the last set!) as reading lights. Instructions online somewhere as to how to rig them in.

In reply to henwardian:

Ikea is a very expensive way of going about this. If you can use a soldering iron I would go for a combination of simple 12v downlights from screwfix but replace the halogen bulb with an LED one off ebay.

Then for mood and ambient lighting go for LED strips which are low power and easy to install and look good. Lot's of colours available and you can put them anywhere. You can even get flashing ones operated from a remote control.


See here:

Check out ebay as this site doesn't let you post links to it.


My set up uses about 12-14W on ambient and about 20W with other stuff switched on. I also have other lights and total installed power is about 60W but most of that is for fun.

I have installed a voltmeter and ammeter and done all the wiring myself. Zig units and so on are a total rip off and you can build your own system and make it better for a lower price.

Here is my van. youtube.com/watch?v=yaPMeKBkpYI&

In reply to henwardian:

This stuff is very good around cabinets

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Flexiable-KITCHENS-LIGHTING-RESTAURANTS-DELIVERY/dp...

B&q decking lights are also great in the roof- about £40 for ten

In reply to Saor Alba:

How much do you reckon your rig cost then? I know the ikea option came in under half the price of buying the same sort of stuff on eBay/campervan online shops. Any time I've looked at led bulbs to replace some of our bulbs at home they've always looked very expensive per bulb.

In reply to Saor Alba:


Even cheaper - buy some nice chrome 240v downlighters from screwfix (These are much cheaper than 12v ones as there is no transformer).
eg. http://www.screwfix.com/p/lap-fixed-round-mains-voltage-downlight-brushed-c...


Throw away the 240v internal and buy some MR16 connectors.
eg. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ceramic-MR16-MR11-Voltage-Lampholders/dp/B00664QSXC - First link after googling for 'MR16 connector'. You can get cheaper btw.

Then, as you say, buy some MR16 LED spots from China on Ebay. WE bought 'daylight' LEDs for the kitchen & bathroom in our van and 'soft' LEDs for the eating / sleeping area.

You can pretty much stick enough of them in the van to blind you for less than the price of one 'campervan' LED light from a specialist shop.

In reply to AJM:

Just checked back on my spreadsheet form when I did the conversion a couple of years ago.

10 Posh chrome LED lamps

Screwfix, pack of 10 (240v) downlighters : £39
Lyon lighting, MR16 leads (2x packs of 6), :£6
Ebay, 6 Warmlight & 6 Daylight, 60LED MR16 spots : £38

total: £83
£6.90 per light fitting.

In reply to interdit:

ps. How big is the van? My 10 lights light up a LWB Sprinter like the spaceship from Close Encounters!

They are all individually switched and we don't have them all on at the same time.

In reply to AJM:

About £40 I think and that was for 4 downlights and about 25 metres of led strips and the controller.

In reply to henwardian: Thanks guys, lots of useful advice here. I've seen quite a few reasonably priced LED units, like here:
http://www.brightlightz.co.uk/categories/led-ceiling-lights

And I do very much like the idea of having some strips of coloured lighting on different switches all over the place for a laugh, especially as it seems you can get 1 meter strips for about a fiver.

I don't want to spend too much money but I think when I'm only talking about saving a few quid (and time is also an issue with this conversion), I don't think it is worth buying light fittings, light innards and light bulbs separately and then mixing and matching.

It's very useful to see how many watts other people have put in as well. Thanks.

In reply to Saor Alba:

£40 was what the Ikea rig cost us too, plus a few quid for the extra wires etc. So not a massive amount in it price wise.

In reply to henwardian:

I've just installed 8 x 12v led lights into the roof lining - low profile G4 stainless downlights that came with 20w halogen bulbs. The total for 8 was £24 with postage.

Replaced the bulbs with ebay item number 370795669457 - £8 for 10 led modules!
They run at less than 1w each and its very bright inside even with only 4 switched on.

In reply to DP:
Have a look at Ikea's LEDBERG lights.

- do you run these off 12v then?

In reply to henwardian:

Cool white is just horrid, go warm white.

Neil

In reply to henwardian: Ikea dioder lights are my recommendation. Very shallow (~5mm) so don't stick out and can be run off 12v just by removing the plug. 1 box contains 4 lights which is enough for my t4. Don't forget to use a 12v regulator for whichever 12v lighting setup you use to stop them blowing.

In reply to henwardian:
I got my light from homebase in the sale, just led under kitchen cupboard lights, came pre wired to link them together and about £5 each, only needed 2 in the end to light the van brightly. Dont use much power at all.

In reply to WyeValleyClimber: Yes, I run them straight off 12v. I think they're the same as the Dioder that McGuiness mentions only the Dioder's have a cable connecting the units while the Ledberg clip together.

In reply to henwardian:

if your in essex i have a 12v battery that you can have for nothing, its only a 44ah one but it holds a decent charge. its not actually a leisue battery but it wokrs just as well i use one in my awning.

Al

In reply to alanlgm:

Thank you for the offer Al but I will be in Edinburgh when I'm putting the van together so I'm a bit far off.

In reply to McGuinness: Aha, that is very useful to know. I didn't even know a thing such as a regulator existed but thanks to your post, I know what one is, what it does and where to buy it

In reply to henwardian:

http://www.reuk.co.uk/buy-12-VOLT-REGULATOR.htm

I've got this on a set of coloured Ikea dioders (thinking of changing to white tbh, but the kids like the changing colours)... Works fine, just take out the transformer gubbins and put this in the little box instead and connect to 12V supply - simple!

Here's a pic..

http://www.vwt4forum.co.uk/picture.php?albumid=14517&pictureid=92851