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RGB LED cove lighting...

01/31/2009 11:56 AM

I was wondering what you fellers knew about RGB LED lighting systems

I have a project with about 80 feet of cove that would do well to be lit by something really cool..

it's on a curve.. (round)

not into fiber edge lighting.

I'd be happy to do a little of the solder work if it meant i could afford to use the higher power .. 1Watt?? 5 Watt?? RGBS...

its a big dome bassically...

.. oh.. any it would be nice to incorporate a pure white into the design..

.. of course.. dim ability.. programmability.. functionality and .. well.. it all desirable..

.. the 'tray' it will fit into is almost 2" deep and nearly 7" wide... by about 80 feet... so space is not an issue

.. and.. yeah.. I'm googling away too.. but thought i would ask.. should ask.

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#1

Re: RGB LED cove lighting...

01/31/2009 11:08 PM

www.ledsmagazine.com

read a few back issues and e-mail a few advertisers.

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#2

Re: RGB LED cove lighting...

02/02/2009 3:16 PM

TRY LEDTRONICS CO. IN TORRANCE, CA. USA.

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#4
In reply to #2

Re: RGB LED cove lighting...

02/07/2009 7:49 PM

seconded

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#3

Re: RGB LED cove lighting...

02/06/2009 6:26 PM

JE, What I would suggest is to use RGB LED lighting that is controllable through DMX protocol, and use another set of LED for your white. You have a choice between Cool and Warm white, and I recommend the two be separated because of as follows:

The RGB "white" is not a true white, and because it is a mixture of RGB, the reflections and or light is not "pure". I have gone through this in some restaurants here in new york and I resolved it by adding the separate system so they can have the best of both worlds. It is of the utmost importance for my clients to achieve the correct balance of light in order to create an extremely flexible decor and vibe.

Make sure that your environment, which includes the colors you choose to paint the ceiling and walls, helps you and not hinders you.

DMX protocol allows you to make custom colors, have color changing programs, strobing, slow fades, and any static color you wish at any time. Once you choose your LED lighting fixtures, you will control all values and parameters from a host controller, and there are variations of them to choose from. Some controllers give you limited flexability, but it depends on what your intentions are and if you realize the full potential of their control.

Dimming however, is usually problematic with most LEDs because their design usually allows them to be 20-30% "dimmable", although there are new items on the market that are fully dimmable. So some fixtures will not do the dimming you probably expect, and certainly not to the level usually associated with any incandescent light. The level of dimming may be tolerable depending on your application, how much of this light is ambient, and how much of it is part of the core lighting system you already have.

LED lighting is usually more costly, and that is, of course the most important factor I usually encounter, cost. Upstart costs are everything, but the low power draw is undeniable.

Also expect (generally) that you may need more LED lighting per say than your average incandescent or fluorescent lighting but I admit that over the last four years, I have seen such a noticeable advance in LED tech that I am very pleased with it. They have LED fluorescents now, high power LEDs, you name it. I have been using LED replacement MR-16s for a while now too.

Take a look here, and click on the associated photos for a few examples: http://www.csoulpro.com/New.html

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#5
In reply to #3

Re: RGB LED cove lighting...

02/07/2009 8:23 PM

This is definitely a good answer, I recommend checking the LEDtronics website as they have a good selection of dimmable LED's and lots of helpful info: http://www.ledtronics.com/

I would like to add, when you figure the total cost of this type of system don't forget about cooling costs. Any light generates heat, incandescents create more heat then light, fluorescents are better but LED's are definitely the king of low heat lighting.

I don't have the paperwork on it any more but a few years back I did a cost analysis of replacing all the incandescent Par 38 audience lighting in a theater with LED's, My cost per lamp estimate at that time was about $60 and we were looking at a total of around 400 lamps... While I don't have the specific data anymore, the gyst of it was that the LED's would pay for themselves in under 7 years just in electricity (including cooling); they had a 10 year warranty and were expected to last closer to 20 years, so not only would they save a boat load of electricity but we would also have had significant labor savings which would have further shortened the 'pay off' interval.

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#6
In reply to #3

Re: RGB LED cove lighting...

02/07/2009 8:27 PM

I forgot to mention, DMX has been around a long time, there are many options for control systems and it is a very stable and very flexible protocol. Most of my familiarity with DMX is for theatrical systems and you don't want to spend that kind of money but there are plenty of affordable choices out there

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