Three Different Lighting Types for Interior Boat Lighting

Incandescent Light
Of the three major lighting types to use for your boat’s interior cabin lighting, incandescent bulbs are likely the most common. Used for decades both on and off the water, incandescent bulbs are the kind you’re most used to seeing in typical house lamps. Incandescent lighting is warm, subtle, and effective, though it is quite inefficient. If you’re trying to save battery power on your boat, you may want to avoid using incandescent bulbs. They use up to 90% of their available energy expending it as heat, which is a huge waste of power considering that the heat is completely unnecessary. However, if you do a lot of filming or picture taking in the interior cabin, you may want to stick with incandescent light, as fluorescent light and other harsher lighting types can be problematic for overall picture quality.

Fluorescent Light
Highly efficient and energy saving, fluorescent lights in many ways are perfect for lighting up the interior cabins on yachts and other boats. Unfortunately, fluorescent lights are a camera operator’s nightmare, so don’t use these if you don’t want overexposed, off-colored video or film when capturing images onboard. Though you’ll save money compared to incandescent bulbs, fluorescent tubes do have one other major disadvantage: fluorescent lights must be in their typical tube shape, as altering the shape of the lamp also alters the efficiency of the piece. So if you want to use different lamp types, using fluorescents might be an issue.

LED Light
Unlike fluorescent lamps, LED lights don’t lose efficiency depending on the shape of the lamp or bulb. And LEDs are quite efficient compared to incandescent lights as well, though their initial expense is notably higher. If you plan on keeping your current boat or yacht around for years down the road, certainly switch to LED lights. Over time, the money they save you on energy will outweigh the initial investment you made to purchase the components in the first place. Plus, LEDs look ultramodern, so your boat’s cabin will look aesthetically pleasing once these bulbs are installed.