PC GUIDE TO...The low-down on lighting

Good lighting makes all the difference to any caravan interior, but which type is best for you? Sammy Faircloth looks at options for upgrading

- SAMMY FAIRCLOTH

HAVE YOU EVER visited one of the national leisure vehicle shows and been wowed by the huge array of LED lights now available on the market?

I often find myself – just like a moth – drawn to them (1)!

Companies such as Leisure Lines/CAK Tanks (leisurelines. net) sometimes help customers to get a feel for LEDs by having a working display of products to assist buyers in choosing colour, style and function (2).

In a lot of older caravans, the interior lighting can seem rather dim. Some of these models still use halogen light bulbs.

In contrast, my newer van has fantastic lighting and at night, can be lit up like the Starship Enterprise (3)! But improving the lighting in your caravan is not a very difficult job and sometimes, can be as simple as changing a light bulb (4).

Halogen or LED?

Halogen bulbs (which are now being phased out of the market) are lightweight and low-cost, and offer instant brightness, but they can become extremely hot (a potential cause of burns) and are even capable of exploding.

The lamp is also sensitive to the oils in your skin; if you touch the bulb with your bare hands, it could rupture.

In contrast, the light-emitting diode or LED has a long lifetime (up to 100,000 hours), does not produce heat, is very robust and is cost-effective in the long run – you don’t have to change them so often (5). They also switch on rapidly, even when cold, and they are environment-friendly because they do not contain mercury. Some are lead-free.

Most importantly, they have a much lower power consumption – useful if caravanning off-grid.

Warm or cool?

Traditionally, LEDs had a ‘cool’ blue/white hue, which doesn’t appeal to some caravanners and can be a little blinding.

Now, manufacturers are developing a ‘warmer’ white/ orange LED. These tend to make a van seem more homely and warm – albeit with a slight loss of light intensity (6).