We always used LED light bulbs in our house because of electric bill savings, but are they worth it in an RV? LED lights are popular because they last longer (up to 40x as long!), are more energy efficient, perform better in the cold, and emit less heat. But we still weren’t sure if in small spaces it’s worth the switch- so we put it to the test!
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How much more energy efficient are LED lights in an RV?
We used a Kill A Watt Electricity Usage Monitor to compare amperage and wattage on our RV before and after switching from incandescent to LED bulbs. We started with just changing the 16 bulbs in the 9 classic dome light fixtures.
We first took a reading with the lights all off and got 34 watts.
With the old bulbs all turned on, we clocked in at 397 watts and 4.66 amps on the meter.
After changing to LED bulbs, with all lights on, we measured 110 watts and 1.45 amps. That’s a 72% decrease in wattage and 69% decrease in amperage!
Even though we always camp places where electricity is included in the site fee, it’s not just the monetary cost that makes this switch worth it. This is 3.21 amps that can be allocated towards other things in the RV. For us, the most important is our reptile heater and UV light, which maxes around 150 watts- the difference between bulb types is almost double that!
Do LED lights really emit less heat?
We knew anecdotally that LEDs are cooler bulbs, but wanted to test it out ourselves. We used a surface thermometer to compare an old bulb and a new LED bulb.
For a control, we took a reading of the RV wall. This day it was 75° F.
Our old bulb read as 119° F, while the new LED bulb was only 81°. When you multiply that 38° difference across 16 bulbs in just the dome lights, that’s 608°.
Next we were excited to test the difference in our bedroom reading lights. With the old bulbs, these lights got HOT- like uncomfortable to turn off levels of hot.
The old bulbs read as a whopping 203° F -ouch! The new LED bulb was only 88°. We will definitely notice that 115° difference right over our heads, and now actually be able to adjust the lights when they’re on.
So, is it worth switching your RV to LED lights?
We say yes! To us, the difference in energy efficiency and heat were enough to make the change worth it. The fact that the bulbs will also last longer than the old ones is also a great perk. We used the Bonlux 1383 bulbs in the bedroom lights and AOICANKI T10 RV Interior Bulbs in the dome lights throughout the rest of the RV. Our total cost was just over $26- so definitely a worthwhile investment!
