So instead of having a 3 way conversation with me, myself, and I, I actually was able to talk to another person. Our primary focus today was on giving Greg, the Boat Doctor, a general lay of the land since he'd last been on Harmony during the summer. We went over where to put batteries, bilge pumps, and switches. However, our biggest focus was on gathering data for wiring the lights, both inside the cabin and external navigation lights.
We have decided to go with an all LED set-up in order to require less energy and save a chunk (a nautical term referring to something larger than a bit) on wiring costs. We often don't consider the cost of the wiring when we look to either add a component or rewire something. However, the gauge of wire required for a long run can get fairly expensive.
For instance, Harmony's mast is about 55 feet high and roughly 25 feet or so from the circuit panel. In very simple terms that means a run (round trip) of about 160 feet of wire. With an incandescent bulb I might need to a 10 gauge wire costing $1.63 per foot for a total cost of $260.80. However, with an LED bulb I would need 160 feet of 16 gauge wire at $0.69 per foot or a total of $110.40. The net saving for that one wire run is $150.40!
Ok, now that is the savings for one 160 foot wire run for ONE bulb. On a typical mast, one would have an anchor tricolor, a steaming light, and a deck light. On Harmony we will have all of these, but they will be LEDs and they should require 3 wire runs. Remembering the savings from above, our using LEDs will net us a $450 for just the masthead wiring!
So, this type of savings is also possible relative to the other lighting runs. We will need running lights at both the bow and stern. The bow lights will require an approximate wire run of 60 feet for each light and the stern light will require a 40 foot run. Using the $0.94 per foot saving from the masthead example, our savings for the deck level running lights is another $150.40!
Within the cabin, we will use LEDs, as well. As I described in an earlier posting, we will have 3 categories of lights: Overhead, ambient, and courtesy. These lights will require wire runs, as well. Since the minimum gauge of wire we can use for ABYC standards is 16/2, we can use the same savings per foot as above.
Harmony is a big boat with a bow to stern length of about 43 feet. A stem to stern round trip is about 90 feet including the length needed to connect to the circuit panel. We will probably need to run port and starboard circuits for at least the overhead and ambient lights, and the courtesy can be on one circuit.
For the sake of discussion, we can assume that each category of lighting will require a 90 foot of wiring per circuit: 2 overhead circuits, 2 ambient circuits, and 1 courtesy circuit. Doing the math, that is 5 wire runs of about 90 feet each for a total length of wire of 450 feet. At $0.94 savings per foot, the net savings on the cabin light wiring is about $423.
Now, Greg, the Boat Doctor, will use his ABYC Master Technician's expertise to design an appropriate schematic for the wiring and that will determine just how much wire we really need. But, if I add up the estimated savings I calculated above, we are looking to reap $1,023 in potential savings with just the wiring.
Of course, the LED lights cost more than the regular incandescent bulbs. A rough calculation shows that the wiring savings basically covers the premium price for the LED lights. Now, what I haven't added into this cost/benefit discussion is the long term savings from bulb cost and fuel to charge the batteries to cover the extra amperage draw from the incandescent bulbs. Nickels and dimes, perhaps, but over the years they do add up to real dollars.
All in all, we are creating an minimal energy footprint which day in and day out save us money, make life on-board easier, and allow us to leave behind a more environmentally responsible wake.
Fair Winds and Following Seas!
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