Barbara,
I have a 12 volt lighting setup that I use with my Trimline Canopy and
Propanels. All the components were purchased at Lowes and Wal-Mart, and it
works extremely well. I use the propanel light bars, which look very
professional and put the LED bulbs just the right distance from the panels.
The most important, and expensive, part are the LED lights. After much
research and testing, I found the Sylvania Ultra Par20 LED bulbs ($27ea.
from Lowes) to have the best output, beam spread, and color. They are 3000K
bulbs and just a little cooler than a halogen bulb. I like the output much
better than the halogens. The Par20 bulbs are the smallest size to have
enough output and are 8 watt, 120 volt bulbs. I tested 5 other Par20 LEDs
and none of them were as good as the Sylvania bulbs. Some had cooler blue
output, one had a pinkest output, and others the beam spread was too wide
and not enough light reached the Propanels.
The batteries, cables, inverter, and charger were all purchased at Wal-Mart.
I am using (2) Group 27 deep cycle batteries ($79ea.), with 115 amp hours
each. I am using a 750 watt inverter ($40), although you only need 200 to
300 watts. I am using a 15/10/2 amp charger ($50), which will recharge both
batteries overnight (8 to 10 hours).
Based on this setup, and knowledge of deep cycle batteries, I can run (16)
LED lights and charge my phone for 8 to 9 hours. The batteries are
connected in parallel to give me 230 amp hours at 12 volts. All inverters
are about 85% efficient, so that needs to be factored in. A deep cycle
battery should never be drained below 50% charge, as that will greatly
reduce the life of the battery. If you are careful with your batteries they
will last for 4 to 5 years. If you repeatedly drain the batteries below
40%, then you will only get one season out of your batteries. At full
charge, off the charger for 2 to 3 hours, each battery should read 12.7 to
12.8 volts with no load for a battery in good condition. At 50% charge the
battery will read 12.05 to 12.1 volts with no load. The inverter I
purchased at Wal-Mart has a display that shows both the battery voltage and
current draw (in watts). This makes it real easy to monitor your batteries,
and not go below 50%.
The total cost for this setup will depend on the number of LED bulbs you
purchase. With my setup, (16) LED bulbs, inverter, charger, cables, and (2)
batteries, you are looking at around $740.00 (including tax). This does not
include the light bars, track light tracks and cans, etc. which would add
another $380 to $400.00.
The only components that you will ever have to replace are the batteries.
The LED bulbs are rated for 50,000 hours, basically lifetime for most of us.
I hope this helps.
Dan Mohr
<http://lightpainterphotography.com/> LightPainterPhotography.com
From: artshow_photo@yahoogroups.com [mailto:artshow_photo@yahoogroups.com]
On Behalf Of barbleephoto@sbcglobal.net
Sent: Wednesday, May 04, 2011 2:24 PM
To: artshow_photo@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [artshow_photo] Battery Operated Lighting System for Outdoor Show
I am going to be applying to some outdoor shows which do not provide
electricity. I assume from some discussions I have seen on the web that
there are systems that will light our photos nicely that can run off of a 12
volt battery. I am hopeful that some of you have may experience with this
sort of lighting and can refer me to some links where such systems can be
purchased. My pro panels are black, and on an overcast day, I am sure that
the work would not show well unless lit. I have read about LED lighting.
Does the color value of this sort of lighting work well with photography?
Thanks so much for your ideas!
Barbara
www.barbaraleephotography.com
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