Cons and Pros of 12V Lighting

In the past few years, with the emergence and popularization of long-term energy-saving lighting, people are increasingly interested in low energy consumption or 12v lighting. 12-volt is often used in DC voltage, so is 24-volt. 48-volt is a bit less common but is still widely applied in today’s DC voltage applications. Then in AC applications (the electricity supplied by the power company), 120-volt is the standard in U.S. and North America, while 240-volt is the standard for almost the rest of the world.

I need to clarify that this article is about 12v lighting, which is one of low voltage lighting.

To properly understand the full benefits of low voltage lighting, we should start here: low voltage lighting is more of a tactical application than a budgetary or energy-saving one, though there may be moderate gains in these areas in certain instances.

Let’s dive into what low voltage lighting is, some typical applications of 12V lighting and the pros and cons of using this low voltage lighting.

What is 12v lighting (low voltage lighting)?

Low voltage lighting systems use a transformer to reduce normal line voltage (120 or 277 volts, usually) to 12 or 24 volts. It is often used in recessed, track, pendant, landscape, and display lighting applications, among some others. It is most useful when trying to deliver light to a tight, difficult-to-access area.

Main applications of 12v lights:

a Plant grow and vegetation lights

For the indoor farming purpose, 12 Volt LED lights are the popular choice because of their efficiency, durability, and the wide spectrum of lights needed for plants’ growth.

b Landscape lighting

The common usage of the low-voltage system in a landscape application is mainly due to safety concern.

c The flashlight 

What is the most famous, one of the oldest, and most widely used 12 volt lighting invented by men?

Although it will be hard to track with so many types and kinds and long history, arguably it will be the flashlight! Has been around since the late 1800s, the flashlight has undergone major transformations and nowadays, they mostly use 12 volt LED lights.

d Land vehicle

The usage of low-voltage lighting in land vehicles such as cars, RVs, buses and trains are obvious.
Due to that mobility and portability concern, most land vehicles utilized a 12-V battery system to power up its electricity. Besides lighting, the battery will also power up our windows, starting dynamo, and in newer cars even powering up the electronic lock of the door.

e Watercraft

Watercrafts can consist of any water-borne vehicle from ships and boats, yachts, and even submarine.
In a watercraft lighting application, the low-voltage system is important for both of its benefits:  mobility and safety. As a moving vehicle, the need for mobility is obvious. But, even when for example, AC line-voltage can have mobility with wireless transference or any other technology, low-voltage will still be a necessity in this application because of its direct contact with water.
Water as a powerful electrical conductor can increase the occurrence of lethal electrocution, making the safety of a low-voltage system highly beneficial in this application.

f Mining exploration lighting 

12 volt lighting is widely used in the mining industry, where the harsh condition often requires lights with mobility such as the flashlight, LED lantern, miner’s light (the one attached to the helmet), LED signal bar, and many other forms.

With a relatively bright and wide light produced for such power-efficient and mobile lighting, the 12 volt LED lighting are popular, especially during mining exploration phase.

g Stage and theatrical lighting

Theaters and Stages commonly used PAR (Parabolic Aluminium Reflector) lighting, where nowadays its 12 Volt variants are the most commonly used.This type of 12 volt lighting is commonly used because of its low cost and its ability to produce special effects such as pinpoint, precise spot lighting.

Top 3 advantages of a 12V LED lighting:

a More reliable: easy to be repaired and serviced
In 12V LED systems, the transformer and power supply are located away from the LEDs, typically in a cool and vented area. This improves the reliability of the electronics, and most significantly, allows for the faulty electronics to be repaired or replaced with ease. A faulty LED bulb is typically non-serviceable, meaning that a single faulty capacitor can mean a bulb must be thrown out even if all of the LEDs on the bulb are working fine. In a 12V LED system, faulty components can be replaced piecemeal, which can make repairs easier and reduce your total cost of ownership.

b Common voltage platform: no need for any additional transformers or power supplies

Many electrical systems operate on 12V DC, and you are probably already familiar with several of these. Many batteries for vehicles including boats and RVs operate on 12V DC, which makes using a 12V LED system a no-brainer for these applications, as there is no need for any additional transformers or power supplies to convert the voltage – your LED lights can be plugged in directly.
On the other hand, even if you are not going to be using batteries, you will still need to rely on power supply units. 12V is a very common voltage level primarily due to its common use in desktop computing. This makes power supplies readily and cheaply available and can help reduce your purchase costs.

c Safer: lower electric shock risk

When it comes to LED product safety, optical, shock and fire risk are often considered. Because 12V is a much lower voltage compared to line voltage (120/240V), it is more difficult for the electrical current to overcome the built-in resistance of human skin and other objects. This makes it safer for hobbyists who want to experiment with products such as LED strips. Generally, if you accidentally create a short circuit, you will not see any sparks or loud bangs that you would see with line voltage systems.

3 Disadvantages of a 12V LED lighting:

a Low electrical efficiency

With 12V systems, the lower voltage means more current must be supplied to compensate. For example, a 120V LED system will pull 1 Amp in a 120 Watt system, while a 12V LED system will need to pull 10 Amps to power the same 120 Watt system.

b Additional accessories, complexity and cost 

As we discussed above, a 12V LED system does not have transformer electronics built in. Instead, these transformers and power supplies must be purchased and installed separately. This can make it more difficult for the average consumer, and contribute to additional costs. This can be particularly true for lower volume installations and applications.

c Less products and options available

Despite the advantages we listed above, the majority of the world is based on line voltage. This means that most manufacturers will continue to design products around line voltage. LED lights have so many customization features such as color temperature, CRI, beam angle and brightness – most of which will unfortunately be available in line voltage options only. This means that if you are searching for 12V LED lights in particular, your selection will be more limited.

It’s clear that there are a lot of differing opinions when it comes to the advantages and disadvantages of low voltage lighting. Not sure if 12v is suitable, you can think according to your actual situation.