Adventures in lighting (Or tek-monkey does LEDs)

[tek-monkey]

So as not to keep filling the Dressy Dress Shop thread with lighting posts I thought I'd make a separate one here to chronicle the trials and tribulations of my attempts at LED lighting. First off, where do I currently stand?

After trialing numerous cheap LED bulbs for chandeliers I have ended up using LED filament bulbs. They are not the cheapest but they give by far the closest equivalent to an old style incandescent bulb. I ended up using these, as spotted by LLFC. £15 for 4 with a 3 year warranty:
http://www.screwfix.com/p/lap-candle-led-lamps-ses-4w-pack-of-4/3733h

Window lighting has been via rolls of LEDs, some of which stick better than others. The small window uses 2835s and the large windows use 5630s, the latter using over twice the energy but over twice the brightness too (approx 12w/m vs 5w/m). The reason for the brighter ones is to see into the shop better at night, the other window is onto a store room so has a curtain close by negating the need for as bright lights. The 5630s have fallen down twice, I ended up using superglue. Here is an image of them at night, the camera compensated a bit and gave them a bluish tint that isn't as blatant in real life:

I also lit up a cupboard using similar LEDs but in a rigid aluminium package, as can be seen here:

 

[tek-monkey]

So, today the new toys arrived. Same as the short rigid strips above but 1m long, the plan was to put them under the shelves to light up the dresses. We tested one and its bright, very bright considering the power draw (says 18w, and as its 72 LEDs that seems about right). The only problem is they are so bright that when put under the shelves they instead cast shadows over half the dresses making things look worse

I've had a play and I suspect I can rig something for the ceiling, hiding the strips behind the beams by mounting them on the ceiling, hopefully by making a 45 degree bracket. The light output from this looks promising, although I ordered 20 of them and will now only use 8 by the look of it. Oh well, at the end of this job I may have an LED sale of all the kit I bought and didn't use!

I also seem to have blown several fuses today when swapping over power supplies to test these lights, and the cupboard lights no longer function. Thats a job for when I finish this evening

 

[tek-monkey]

Anyone know how to turn transparent plastic a bit opaque? The 1m lights are great but if you look right at them they are a bit glaring, I'd like to lessen it a bit.

 

[Gramaisc]

Just sanding it down a bit can have quite an effect - or run a black felt pen over the front of the LEDs...?

 

[tek-monkey]

Sandpaper may be the way. I don't want to obscure the light as such more diffuse it, although I'm hoping not many will be inclined to look up there anyway.

 

[Gramaisc]

Sanding it will reduce the transmission a bit, but taking the "sharpness" off the output also reduces the perception of the brightness.

 

[tek-monkey]

I wonder how much different the COB style lights will be? Rather than seeing single LEDs the whole thing lights up like one big one, a bit like the filament bulbs do. Just ordered a few to find out, will take a month to arrive but for 60p each I thought worth a go - and they're even waterproof apparently!

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/1pai...me-Driving-Running-Fog-Light/32322595475.html

I've used this site a few times now, can be hit and miss but you always get stuff a lot cheaper than the UK. Its like a Chinese Amazon, but with so many people selling the same stuff can be hard to navigate. If you order now though you can get some great stocking fillers for xmas, maybe I should start another thread - Adventures in Chinese Tat?

 

[tek-monkey]

Decided to use one of the 1m LED strips I've over ordered to put a light in the loft, daisy chained it to a spare 50cm I also had and now my loft is like daylight! Only needed the shorter one as a truss obscured the far end.

 

[biccies]

If you're still looking to diffuse the LED you could try a gel. Gels are usually used in traditional theatre lighting to get different colours but you can also get rolls of gel that don't change the colour and just diffuse the light a little bit. Although, I suspect it'd be a bit tricky to attach it to the light strip in a tidy way.
https://www.stagedepot.co.uk/lighting/lighting-gel

 

[Gramaisc]

You might try the 'invisible' Scotch Magic Tape - that is self-adhesive, obviously, and has a frosted finish.

 

[tek-monkey]

I have now rigged up 2 strips in the attic and another 2 in the cupboard under the stairs, both complete overkill for the job in hand! For the under stairs I just ran a plug socket already in there up to the right hand side of the door, then plugged in the 12v adapter there. I use the plug switch as a light switch effectively, save going out and buying new parts!

Before:

After:

 

[age'd parent]

Sorry but no pics again, just a grey no entry sign.

 

[tek-monkey]

Hmm, do you need to be signed into google perhaps?

 

[Gramaisc]

Hmm, do you need to be signed into google perhaps?

I am, but I still can't see them....

 

[tek-monkey]

Bah! Can anyone see this?

https://photos.google.com/album/AF1QipNR3trClEiFoQvw67mXz2c52_aeQASGuaUTJP1q

 

[proactive]

Bah! Can anyone see this?

https://photos.google.com/album/AF1QipNR3trClEiFoQvw67mXz2c52_aeQASGuaUTJP1q

No.

I get an error 403 notification.

 

[Gramaisc]

Same here - perhaps, if you just send us the negatives...

 

[Lucy]

I can't see the link, but can see the pictures you posted earlier.

 

[Carole]

I have now rigged up 2 strips in the attic and another 2 in the cupboard under the stairs, both complete overkill for the job in hand! For the under stairs I just ran a plug socket already in there up to the right hand side of the door, then plugged in the 12v adapter there. I use the plug switch as a light switch effectively, save going out and buying new parts!

Before:

After:

I can just see little tiny squares with blue question marks in them.

 

[Gramaisc]

5W GU10s in Lidl at 2 for £7.