Which LEDs for under cabinet lighting should I get? DIY

I want to make some under cabinet lighting and wonder which LEDs to get?

I see the Bridgelux 241 LED looks nice.

I need something warm for basic task lighting in the kitchen.



Next what do I mount them too? What glue do I use?

Will power supplies from cell phones work? I can also find 12V ones if the voltage is too low?



Thanks

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11-25-2010 10:35 AM #2 Ken_McE


Reference: http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?298498-Under-the-Counter-MX-3-LED-lighting-)
and: http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?291708-Under-Cabinet-LED-(Inspired-LED)


what do I mount them too?

I would suggest a sheet or strip of copper or aluminum.
Last edited by Ken_McE; 11-25-2010 at 10:59 AM.

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11-25-2010 11:35 AM #3 jacknife

I just Completed a kitchen . I installed Kichler undercounter lights . They also have a high,-- low-- switch on the unit.. Which is cool ,
So you can controll the light from light switch ----- and you can go to the light itself and click it to be on a high setting or a low . I dont know what bulbis in it ; but They are very functional and very cool..

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11-25-2010 07:12 PM #4 ken2400

Yes that is what I was thinking copper or al
I was thinking 3W would be good too keep the heat down.

Thanks

Ken_McE said:

Reference: http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?298498-Under-the-Counter-MX-3-LED-lighting-)
and: http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?291708-Under-Cabinet-LED-(Inspired-LED)

what do I mount them too?

I would suggest a sheet or strip of copper or aluminum.

Click to expand...

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11-25-2010 10:02 PM #5 blasterman

I'm using a bunch of Bridgelux 241's for a project right now, and the color and intensity are stunning.

However, they throw lot of heat, and you'll need a big, chunky heat sink to handle them. I'm using 3x1 C-channel and barely keeping in my thermal envelope, and that's with nothing flush mounted agains't the top.

I'd stick with 3watts, and even then 350mA might work better. Rebels, Crees, etc.

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11-26-2010 02:46 PM #6 ken2400

Where should I get LED's from?
I want to keep price down BUT don't want to wait 3 weeks for Long distance shipping IE Ebay Chinna.

Any ideas? Is there a group buy?

Thanks

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11-26-2010 05:47 PM #7 blasterman

If you're in the U.S. warm-white rebels from LedSupply is a highly recommended option. Shipping is quick. The Rebels have fantastic color and should be more than adequate at 350mA. Running them at 700mA really depends on your heat sink and how it's mounted. Thermal adhesive tape is probably the easiest option for mounting LED stars.

Buy a dedicated LED power supply. You can find Mean Well LPC's for less than $20.

Even if shipping was quick Chinese warms and neutrals are typically pretty lousy in terms of color tyically ranging from warm green to warm purple.

The Bridgelux 241 need about 45 square inches of heat-sink per emitter, and that's an *open* heat sink. If it's mounted flush, which is typically the case in your situation, then one side of the heatsink gets wasted and it need to be even bigger. That's why I'm steering you away from them. I'm building some lights now using 3x1 C-channel, but they will be floating in the air so I can make it work.

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11-28-2010 09:09 AM #8 ken2400

Is there a video or group of pictures that can show and talk about how to mount LEDs to heat sinks?

Also I have a number of brand name cell phone power chargers that output 5V.
Could I use them to drive one of these LED's at say 300ma using a resistor? Some say 500mw 5v others say 800mw 5v. I have other supplies that are 12V.
Thanks

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11-29-2010 01:56 PM #9 ken2400

Thanks blasterman.
How large (sq inches) of a heat sink should I use for the if I run the Rebels at 350mA?
I am going to order 4 of the ones you listed.

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11-29-2010 02:34 PM #10 blasterman

Typical Cree and Rebel stars require very little heat-sink area when run at 350mA.

7-8sq inches per emitter should be more than adequate at 350mA and run it basically forever. This may seem like a lot, but it's just a piece of metal 1x3.5". At 700mA you'll want 2.5x the area.

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11-29-2010 03:53 PM #11 ken2400

What about motion detectors? For now I don't mind them coming on in the daytime.
So I plan on mounting them using screws and a non conductive washer.

I did my part for cyber Monday. I ordered 4 LED's
Thanks

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12-02-2010 07:19 PM #12 ken2400

http://www.instructables.com/id/Practical-LED-Lighting-for-Fun-and-Profit/step2/Build-the-heat-sink/
Thought this heat sink was a little small?

Pictures of what I made 150 ma drive so far.

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/r0LEcrDENbR0igKU_Te9cQ?feat=directlink
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/NWqHATyTXDWvkpropjy-tg?feat=directlink

(Missing picture - LEDninja)

Last edited by ken2400; 12-02-2010 at 07:22 PM.

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12-07-2010 09:16 PM #13 ken2400

I mounted a second LED and now drive them both at 300ma. I have them hooked up in series with 10 ohm resisters.
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/Boa3TyQGEl_qHcnrGeR_BA?feat=directlink
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/wiRMqfMbfznjhtawAOQiCg?feat=directlink

Is this the safest way?
Is there a better way to post pictures on candlepowerforums?

Thanks

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12-08-2010 06:46 AM #14 mds82

is that a resistor i see in there? you should probably get a constant current power supply for this. I'm not sure how many lights you are planning to use, and what your power source is, but there are a variety of ways you can wire it up. Lets say you want to run 10 LED's in series with a 12v power supply. you can user the LEDDynamics BoostPuck for that. If you are only using a few 3 LED's with a 12v input, then you can use a LEDDynamics BuckPuck

Check out http://LEDSupply.com for the different power supplies.

How many LED's are you running and what is your input voltage.

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12-08-2010 07:47 PM #15 ken2400

It is a Nokia 5.7 800ma power supply
I thought about putting the LED in series and check the draw at each LED.
Each LED is seeing 3V after a 11 ohm resister.

Thanks

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12-09-2010 10:23 AM #16 mds82

OK, so that power supply is capable of about 4-5 watts max. How many LED's are you looking to power?

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12-10-2010 11:10 PM #17 John N

ken2400 said:

It is a Nokia 5.7 800ma power supply
I thought about putting the LED in series and check the draw at each LED.
Each LED is seeing 3V after a 11 ohm resister.

Thanks

Click to expand...

I'm also interested in this resistor approach. My kitchen under cabinets are powered by a big (600w) power supply that basically provides a power bus, to which 10w halogen bulbs tap. The whole thing is on a dimmer.

Seems like this is just screaming to replace each bulb with a resistor LED pair and heat sinking. If tuned to be bright at 12v, I can just adjust the dimmer to desired brightness.

How do I figure out what resistor I need? Suggestions on LEDs to use? I was kinga thinkng XP-Gs since I like them and am familiar with Cutter's part numbers for them.

Thoughts?

Thanks,

-john

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12-11-2010 07:19 AM #18 mds82

Hi John, that's good you already have the power supply, but using resistors is going to be a bad idea. You can google "led resistor calculator" and find out which resistors you will need. Just be aware though that the resistors will get very very hot and also waste a lot of energy. A constant current power supply is really what you need, and some of them offer dimming features as well

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12-11-2010 07:34 AM #19 ken2400

Two for now. Maybe three BUT if I go to three I think I would need a larger power supply.
I was thinking of putting these two in series and see how much they power they draw BUT thought if one burned out it might take the other with it?
I am using a meter to get a voltage and ma reading.

Thanks

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12-19-2010 09:30 AM #20 Dino2010

If you have decorative tile or something you want to accent the hotter halogen is the way to go. If your looking for the work lighting the rope/led low voltage lights are the way. I ve done many a tile back splash so I ve seen both in action. Its personal thing but I don t care for the florescent lights because most ( not all) you can see. GL

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12-26-2010 10:27 AM #21 QCI

I have bought the LED strips from Ikea and they work well for me. There are a number of types available. Go to the Ikea web site and do a search on LED Lights.

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12-26-2010 06:10 PM #22 cwloo

John,

You could try using the LM317 as current regulation and re-use the power supply is the power supply output as DC.
Check out the link how to use LM317 http://www.reuk.co.uk/Using-The-LM31...D-Lighting.htm

I just bought a bunch of LM317 to start a project with a Meanwell 24v power supply.

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12-26-2010 09:56 PM #23 ken2400

Anyone else use the LM317? The power supplies I have should put out a regulated voltage.

Thanks

Quality of light (excellent CRI and full spectrum) is very important to me. Unfortunately, incandescent under-cabinet strip lighting uses low wattages of bulbs, and this tends to make the light very dull and yellowish.

I have been thinking about the idea of combining a blue electroluminescent strip with xenon strip lighting. Used right next to eachother, the two light sources should combine to give a nice soft white light illuminating the surface below. The blue emission from electroluminescent has a much wider frequency bandwidth than the narrow blue frequency spike from an LED, so it should complement the spectrum of the more red-shifted incandescent nicely. (Such a combination would give both a much better spectrum, and be more cost effective per lumen than just using a white electroluminescent strip).

Here is a picture of blue electroluminescent tape being used in a kitchen: http://www.lighttape.co.uk/gallery/Kitchen Light Tape Underlighting.jpg

Combine blue with something on the blackbody and you will pull the white point below the black body towards blue ... i.e. purple.