Completed DIY Cree security/eave lighting project

[asimba2]

The ones I used are not glass, I simply couldn't find anything of this size with anything but acrylic.

 

[Illum]

Notched some wood to hide the wiring.

is there some sort of tool to do this?
Best I can do is cut V shaped channels in pine and only with alot of patience and keeping the cutting points inside several scribed lines. those are really clean notches you have there... almost milled

 

[asimba2]

Looks great. I'm going to be needing a timer for a project I'm working on. What timer are you running?

Sorry, somehow I overlooked this question. Right now I am using a very basic Intermatic christmas light timer. In fact, here it is:

It is set with just one on time and one off per day. It works fine but if the power goes out it has no memory so when power is restored you're lights won't come on that night then they'll be out of sequence the entire time you're on vacation. (As luck would have it, that's when the power will go out.)

I am planning to get something like this:

You can find it for $16 at an unnamed large internet retailer of books and electronics. Best part is it is an astronomic timer so it automatically adjusts for those 3-4 minute changes in sunrise/sunset every day. And it's battery backup keeps its time while you're on vacation.

 

[Mike M]

is there some sort of tool to do this?
Best I can do is cut V shaped channels in pine and only with alot of patience and keeping the cutting points inside several scribed lines. those are really clean notches you have there... almost milled

I used my radial arm saw to make the cuts. A small table saw would have made it safer but where's the fun in that? The radial arm has a table with a fence. I just picked a distance in from the edge of the wood and cut. Anywhere was fine I just needed a meaty center ridge to nail the pieces to my cabinet under carriage.

 

[fmzip]

How many lights did you end up using in your project? Do you recall the specific Meanwel LPC driver? Was it LPC-60-1050 LPC-60-1400 LPC-60-1750?

 

[asimba2]

11 lights total. The driver is the LPC-20-350 model. Eleven or twelve 1 watt LEDs is about the max on that driver when you factor in the voltage drop for the length of wire I have.

If I could do it over again I would make one change--I would rotate the aluminum channel 90-degrees from its current position. The sides of the C-channel create a prominent line of light on the side of the house that would be softer if the channel were turned the other way. It's not a big deal for my house because you can't see the broad-side of the house from a distance, so I am nitpicking. It probably does help get the light to the ground, so who knows if it would be better the other way or not.

 

[fmzip]

11 lights total. The driver is the LPC-20-350 model. Eleven or twelve 1 watt LEDs is about the max on that driver when you factor in the voltage drop for the length of wire I have.

If I could do it over again I would make one change--I would rotate the aluminum channel 90-degrees from its current position. The sides of the C-channel create a prominent line of light on the side of the house that would be softer if the channel were turned the other way. It's not a big deal for my house because you can't see the broad-side of the house from a distance, so I am nitpicking. It probably does help get the light to the ground, so who knows if it would be better the other way or not.

Thanks for the info.

Did you just mount the driver on a rafter in the attic or did you enclose it in a metal box or mount it on a piece of metal? Looks like you used lamp cord or similar. Is that like 14 gauge wire?

Very inspirational, can't wait to get some components!

 

[asimba2]

Wire is solid core 18 gage. The driver does not get hot, so you can mount it pretty much anywhere that is free from excessive moisture. I was concerned about the driver getting too hot in my attic during the summer, so I decided not to put it there, although I'm sure it would be fine.

 

[asimba2]

I put the final touches on my exterior lighting with the addition of an LED landscape lighting kit. I usually build my own fixtures, but I wanted this project done this century. The kit included four LED path lights at 1/2 watt each and two LED spot lights at 2.5 watts each, the wire and a 45W transformer with photoeye and timer. I added a weatherproof outlet to the side of my home to keep the home's entryway devoid of unsightly transformers.

The photo is slightly overexposed, so the hotspots are not as noticeable in person.

The spot lights are illuminating the two trees (one of which is currently leafless, so not so exciting right now) and the path lights help define the rock steps during the day and provide light at night. The lighting kit uses Cree LEDs, so the color temperature complements my eave lighting nicely. The system has been installed for two nights now and three neighbors have complemented the lighting so far, which makes it a success in my book.

 

[fmzip]

nice work!

Can you provide more details on this "kit" you are referring to please?

 

[asimba2]

The landscape lighting kit is a Malibu brand LED kit I bought from the orange big box store (you know which one.) The LED in the spotlights are Cree XP-Gs, not sure what's in the path lights, but the entire kit has a nice warm white that matches the warm white Cree XR-Es I have as eave lights on the house.

 

[fmzip]

Thanks for the info.

Are we not supposed to mention stores/provide links?

Are those light cast metal or plastic.

Found some good info here on a DIY in progress:

http://board.homeseer.com/showthread.php?t=151028

 

[asimba2]

I wasn't sure if mentioning vendors was okay or not. The kit I purchased is all metal construction. I am also in the process of converting some old incandescent fixtures to Cree LED, however I purchased this kit anyways because it was inexpensive, came with 50' of wire, a nice 45W transformer with photoeye and timer (which is all the power I need for running LED stuff), as well as six nice fixtures for a reasonable price.

Thanks for the link; looks like a good read.

 

[asimba2]

I wanted to bump this thread and update some information I posted above. I had some issues with the Malibu LED landscape light set I bought. Within a very short time I went through three of the spotlights, they kept filling with water and shorting out due to sloppy fixture craftsmanship. The big orange box store reimbursed me for that portion of the kit and I bought a single $50 Malibu LED spotlight to replace the two $25 ones that failed. The $50 spotlight had the same fate. I was able to get my money back to buy something else. The Malibu transformer and the four path lights are still working, so I still have those.

I replaced the Malibu spot lights (at the base of the trees to illuminate the trunk) with some nice 3-LED bronze fixtures:

and added a bronze well light on two sides of the tree to illuminate the canopy.

I am pretty much done with the frontyard lighting. Between the DIY eave lights and the landscape lighting, Cessna's are going to start mistaking me for the airport if I add anything more, so my focus goes to the backyard now. I have some old incandescent fixtures I plan to convert to Cree LED and I will buy a couple more of the nice bronze spotlights to use on the backyard trees.

 

[thumblessprimate]

I like what you're doing. Did you get your bronze lights from the same big orange box store?

 

[asimba2]

Thanks. The bronze fixtures are Volt brand. The well lights are MR16-based and I used MSi MR16 LED replacement bulbs, which are 2700K, 44 degree optics and 300 lumens from 5 watts.