12 Volt Quartz Halogen Spotlights

The stock lighting from Lazy Daze for the rear of the coach, and over the dinette is standard 15w? fluorescent fixtures. They are incredibly efficient in terms of producing the maximum amount of lumens for a given amount of wattage.

12 volt quartz halogen spotlightsHowever, there are times, when a more localized light source is desired. Either from the practical necessity of one partner wanting to read when sleeping in the rear couches converted to a King Size bed, or purely for the aesthetics of dining under incandescent spot lighting.

I initially researched small brass quartz halogen spotlights the type of which are frequently used in upscale boats and perhaps Born Free motorhomes. However, at about $80 per fixture, I soon looked elsewhere. Still, if money is no object, these fixtures are very appealing.

Home Depot provided a very cost effective alternative. At about $30 for 3, I bought the 10? watt 12 AC quartz halogen light fixtures. These were the same wattage as the fluorescent fixtures. While they do not provide the same volume of light, the quality of light is much improved for task lighting.

The bulbs don't care whether they are powered by 12 AC, or 12 DC so it was a simple manner to tap off the 12 volt source to the fluorescent lights and wire them in series with an external switch next to the speakers in the rear of the coach, and above the dinette. It is good wiring practice to fuse the connection where you take the 12v to avoid any possible problems in case of a short.

Nowadays, I would investigate whether anyone has used white LED's in reasonable fixture. If you are really concerned about saving power, they might be the answer, although I would expect that it would cost a lot more for comparable light output.

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