TorchBoy
Flashlight Enthusiast
I'm curious - did you have a huge amount of white marble up there or a coffin? :naughty: Either way, it sounds awesome.
12V lighting for off-the-grid cabin
- Thread starter keeth
- Start date
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Someone above mentioned having low voltage disconnect to keep from over-discharging the battery. That's important as deep discharges reduce the number of discharge cycles a battery will last. There are quite a few charge controllers, including some relatively affordable Morningstar ones, that have a "Load" output on them that can source 12VDC up to 10 amps or so and provide LVD protection for that Load connection. It might not be usable in your situation, but their SunLight models even have customizable lighting programs that uses the power input from the solar panel to queue up dusk to dawn lighting or on-at-sunset for 2 hours, or 4 hours, etc. Could be useful for outdoor or while-you're-away lighting.
Rogue_monkey
Enlightened
I will admit I skimmed most of the posts so if this was already discussed I apologize.
I've been running led ligting my house for over a year now and have a small simple system.
I've had to build all my own fixtures and bulbs. All i've used is 5mm leds. Now i know i could do what i've done with cree's and so on but what i've got works.
None of my lights are mounted in the ceilings. except for the basment and I've got low 7' ceilings down there. Gettin all the led light down from 10- 14' ceilings just doesn't make all that much sense to me. Yes i'd put flood lights up there to help and throw light down and help light the general area.but i'd rather have task lighting and lights for specific things. I'd rather go with under the counter lights in the kitchen desk and floor lamps for area lighting. llights just above and below the bed since its a loft bed. things like that Bring and put the light where you want it instead of just lighting the whole room with as bright of lights as you can make from the ceiling.
Also throw in some icans for when you need bright natural light and only use them when needed. you'll appreciate the change in lighting from time to time.
Just my two sense, take it as you will.
good luck with the project.
I've been running led ligting my house for over a year now and have a small simple system.
I've had to build all my own fixtures and bulbs. All i've used is 5mm leds. Now i know i could do what i've done with cree's and so on but what i've got works.
None of my lights are mounted in the ceilings. except for the basment and I've got low 7' ceilings down there. Gettin all the led light down from 10- 14' ceilings just doesn't make all that much sense to me. Yes i'd put flood lights up there to help and throw light down and help light the general area.but i'd rather have task lighting and lights for specific things. I'd rather go with under the counter lights in the kitchen desk and floor lamps for area lighting. llights just above and below the bed since its a loft bed. things like that Bring and put the light where you want it instead of just lighting the whole room with as bright of lights as you can make from the ceiling.
Also throw in some icans for when you need bright natural light and only use them when needed. you'll appreciate the change in lighting from time to time.
Just my two sense, take it as you will.
good luck with the project.
You could use automotive HID kits. They claim almost 100lm/W. I'm not sure about that, but they can't be too far from an LED's efficiency. Also, 35W worth of LEDs and driver hardware is likely far more costly than 35W worth of automotive HID. They're like $40-50 per pair on ebay, I think.
TorchBoy
Flashlight Enthusiast
Where is that claim made? 3200 lumens is a typical figure, or 91 lm/W. Include ballast efficiency and I don't see anyone being able to claim an automotive HID efficacy of 100 lm/W.
jawnn
Enlightened
12volt with edison base
I set up a track light with these low glare bulbs http://www.ledlight.com/par16-three-1-watt-led-light-12-volt-ac-dc-ncnr.aspx these are very bright, and good for taller ceilings than mine because they are focused with tighter beams. Not so good for swing arm lamps for reading.
I am still looking for bi-pin fixtures for the track, because I have several of them http://www.superbrightleds.com/cgi-bin/store/index.cgi?action=DispPage&category=MR16&Page2Disp=%2Fspecs%2FMR16-x48SMD.htm these have good dispersion (like a regular bulb) but shades are needed, like a swing arm lamp. They put out EMF that interferes with my radio. I use one cool and one warm to get neutral light on my drawing board.
ok even the newest LED I got has some EMF....so I put the antenna put side.
I just got the brightest light yet: it has a 6watt cree MC-E and lots of thin aluminum fins to sink the heat, and most of it made of plastic rather than the glass (even the difuser lens) or metal of the rest of them, making it lighter weight. Unfortunatly it's twice the price of some of the bipin 3 watt bulbs. But there doesn't seem to be any EMF...
This is the kind of light I was looking for a year ago. http://www.superbrightleds.com/cgi-bin/store/index.cgi?action=DispPage&Page2Disp=/specs/MR16-W6W.htm
I set up a track light with these low glare bulbs http://www.ledlight.com/par16-three-1-watt-led-light-12-volt-ac-dc-ncnr.aspx these are very bright, and good for taller ceilings than mine because they are focused with tighter beams. Not so good for swing arm lamps for reading.
I am still looking for bi-pin fixtures for the track, because I have several of them http://www.superbrightleds.com/cgi-bin/store/index.cgi?action=DispPage&category=MR16&Page2Disp=%2Fspecs%2FMR16-x48SMD.htm these have good dispersion (like a regular bulb) but shades are needed, like a swing arm lamp. They put out EMF that interferes with my radio. I use one cool and one warm to get neutral light on my drawing board.
ok even the newest LED I got has some EMF....so I put the antenna put side.
I just got the brightest light yet: it has a 6watt cree MC-E and lots of thin aluminum fins to sink the heat, and most of it made of plastic rather than the glass (even the difuser lens) or metal of the rest of them, making it lighter weight. Unfortunatly it's twice the price of some of the bipin 3 watt bulbs. But there doesn't seem to be any EMF...
This is the kind of light I was looking for a year ago. http://www.superbrightleds.com/cgi-bin/store/index.cgi?action=DispPage&Page2Disp=/specs/MR16-W6W.htm
Last edited:
jawnn
Enlightened
Trak Fixtures for LED lights
some MR16 bi pin trak fixtures
http://www.lightingfx.com/search.asp?keyword=+MR16,&search=GO
I got a new one that is realy bright
http://www.superbrightleds.com/cgi-bin/store/index.cgi?action=DispPage&Page2Disp=/specs/MR16-W6W.htm
some MR16 bi pin trak fixtures
http://www.lightingfx.com/search.asp?keyword=+MR16,&search=GO
I got a new one that is realy bright
http://www.superbrightleds.com/cgi-bin/store/index.cgi?action=DispPage&Page2Disp=/specs/MR16-W6W.htm
Re: Trak Fixtures for LED lights
I use a 5 metre strip of waterproof "5050" Warm White led lights when camping. I purchased it from Ebay for about $40. It has 60 led's per metre and is cuttable every 3 LED's so you make your own lengths. It is VERY bright, possibly too bright for camping as i have other campers come over to me and say "WHOA!! What are you using!?" It uses 2.6 amps for the whole 5 metres and i run them (and other items) from a deep cycle lead acid car/marine battery and charge the battery during the day with a 60w folding solar panel kit. This photo does not do the strip justice, it is much brighter:
This year i will be purchasing more solar panels, batteries & gear and this "5050" led lighting and setting up some 12v lighting in my garage and garden sheds at home. When that is successful i will be rigging up similar lighting around the house for exterior lighting, all to be run from solar. My solar regular i use can be set to automatically turn on the lights when the sun goes down for a set length of time, which will be good when we're away from home.
cheers
I use a 5 metre strip of waterproof "5050" Warm White led lights when camping. I purchased it from Ebay for about $40. It has 60 led's per metre and is cuttable every 3 LED's so you make your own lengths. It is VERY bright, possibly too bright for camping as i have other campers come over to me and say "WHOA!! What are you using!?" It uses 2.6 amps for the whole 5 metres and i run them (and other items) from a deep cycle lead acid car/marine battery and charge the battery during the day with a 60w folding solar panel kit. This photo does not do the strip justice, it is much brighter:
This year i will be purchasing more solar panels, batteries & gear and this "5050" led lighting and setting up some 12v lighting in my garage and garden sheds at home. When that is successful i will be rigging up similar lighting around the house for exterior lighting, all to be run from solar. My solar regular i use can be set to automatically turn on the lights when the sun goes down for a set length of time, which will be good when we're away from home.
cheers
Bmccue1964
Newly Enlightened
Re: Trak Fixtures for LED lights
OK, I know the last reply was some time ago, but I would suggest a simple 12 volt 15/24 watt CFL in about the 4,000K color temp range.
I have the 12 volt 15 watt CFL in a lamp in my living room that gets the most use and is positioned at the base of the stairs going upstairs. It is powered by a deep cycle battery in the basement bulkhead via a fused circuit. The battery is charged via a charge controller by a 45 watts PV array outside. It is obviously a costly method of providing light given the fact I do have grid power, but I like the fact that I have a charged 12 volt battery in the basement ready to go. The neat part was that the lights went out a few months ago and this light stayed on (of course) and provided the bulk of our needed illumination downstairs.
OK, I know the last reply was some time ago, but I would suggest a simple 12 volt 15/24 watt CFL in about the 4,000K color temp range.
I have the 12 volt 15 watt CFL in a lamp in my living room that gets the most use and is positioned at the base of the stairs going upstairs. It is powered by a deep cycle battery in the basement bulkhead via a fused circuit. The battery is charged via a charge controller by a 45 watts PV array outside. It is obviously a costly method of providing light given the fact I do have grid power, but I like the fact that I have a charged 12 volt battery in the basement ready to go. The neat part was that the lights went out a few months ago and this light stayed on (of course) and provided the bulk of our needed illumination downstairs.
Mark620
Enlightened
- Joined
- Feb 22, 2006
- Messages
- 326
Re: Trak Fixtures for LED lights
I made my own lights for a cabin.
I used a great big heat sink 4x4x3 with thermal controlled fan
then a 700 lumen bridgelux surrounded by 3 ea. 180 lumen cree,
on-off + dimmer on bridgelux and on-off on the crees (2 circuits)
I made my own lights for a cabin.
I used a great big heat sink 4x4x3 with thermal controlled fan
then a 700 lumen bridgelux surrounded by 3 ea. 180 lumen cree,
on-off + dimmer on bridgelux and on-off on the crees (2 circuits)
DaMeatMan
Newly Enlightened
I second the option 4 emitters evenly spaced along the ceiling. However i would use an aluminum strip instead of the mentioned steel. I've built my own under cabinet kitchen lighting using some older Cree 6000k MC-E emitters, and i was really surprised by the amount of light it put's out! Using bare emitters, evenly spaced will give you the best possible coverage and light output. Depending on if the glare bothers you, you can get pretty creative with different methods of diffusion.
The advantage to building your own "fixture" is that you can easily keep it on it's own 12v DC circuit, without having to worry about plugging a standard socket type bulb into mains. Also, by avoiding standard socket type bulbs, you really are going to have the most efficient use of power since you can now avoid inverters that are not very efficient.
Good luck on your project, and i hope you come back to update us with some pics when you've decided to implement something.
DaMeatMan
Newly Enlightened
I second the option 4 emitters evenly spaced along the ceiling. However i would use an aluminum strip instead of the mentioned steel. I've built my own under cabinet kitchen lighting using some older Cree 6000k MC-E emitters, and i was really surprised by the amount of light it put's out! Using bare emitters, evenly spaced will give you the best possible coverage and light output. Depending on if the glare bothers you, you can get pretty creative with different methods of diffusion.
The advantage to building your own "fixture" is that you can easily keep it on it's own 12v DC circuit, without having to worry about plugging a standard socket type bulb into mains. Also, by avoiding standard socket type bulbs, you really are going to have the most efficient use of power since you can now avoid inverters that are not very efficient.
Good luck on your project, and i hope you come back to update us with some pics when you've decided to implement something.
ilovewatermelon
Newly Enlightened
- Joined
- Oct 15, 2013
- Messages
- 5
This is a old thread , but i thought i'd give some input here , i bought low voltage light bulbs from a company that has a lot off different LEDs for off grid solar systems , i was skeptical at first , but the lights have been running for 14 to 18 hours a day non stop for 1 year now , and still very nice and bright with no issues ,''
i chose warm white to avoid that "bluish" tone , its pretty close to incandescent. I had used 12V CFLs before , but the voltage drop on start up was too hardcore , therefore i had to switch to LED , voltage drop became less of an issue. anyways ,
heres their site - [url]www.12vmonster.com [/URL] - you guys can check them out if you are interested.
heres the exact bulb i bought - http://www.12vmonster.com/products/ac-dc-12v-24v-6w-led-light-bulb-e26-screw-fitting-lamp-1
I fitted 4 regular edison fittings on top of my shed , and they are all still running strong
i chose warm white to avoid that "bluish" tone , its pretty close to incandescent. I had used 12V CFLs before , but the voltage drop on start up was too hardcore , therefore i had to switch to LED , voltage drop became less of an issue. anyways ,
heres their site - [url]www.12vmonster.com [/URL] - you guys can check them out if you are interested.
heres the exact bulb i bought - http://www.12vmonster.com/products/ac-dc-12v-24v-6w-led-light-bulb-e26-screw-fitting-lamp-1
I fitted 4 regular edison fittings on top of my shed , and they are all still running strong
