5 w Luxeons

I'd like to make a unit to have in the house for power outages, which are common here in the Adirondacks. I've got Colemans and Kerolamps and all that but I was thinking of a deepcycle battery with a car radio and some small lights attached to it. I considered some 12v RV lights, but, I'm wondering about these 5w Luxeons advertized here. Would thay be suitable/preferrable? Is there anything special about a fivture to hold the light and driver, ie must it function as a heat sink or whatever? Keep it simple guys I'm new at this........

Hi Tom, and welcome to the forum.

5 watt luxeons make a lot of heat and require a substantial amount of heatsinking for continuous duty. Also, they aren't available as "fixtures"- just in a limited number of commercial flashlights and as components. Some members have played with home lighting, but it requires a fair amount of *creativity,* not to mention good soldering skills /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif . While Luxeon lighting has a major coolfactor here, I *suspect* that RV fluorescents are a much better and possibly more efficient alternative. (Ducking for cover /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif )

Larry

Actually tvodrd, I totally agree with you.

Tom, you'd be better off (if you're looking for efficiency) to get some 12V based flourescent fixtures. These will provide much more light per unit power than any LED, and will be easier to rig up as an emergency light.

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