Help needed in building led lights....

[scott011422]

Hey all, Im in the process of remodeling my kitchen. I am not however going to put the xenon lights back under the cabinets and the led fixtures for this purpous are all but usless. So I was thinking, Why not build my own?? Problem is I'm not sure how to power them. Do i just string enough along that I get to my voltage? Or is there a better way? I haven't done my led research yet, But lets say I use the led's that are in my Fenix p3d. Say they run on 3 volts unregulated... Just run sets of 4 hooked up to a 12v power supply? and what about the amperage and wattage? Ho to figure those out? I can build, wire manufacture just about anything, but powering hi-output leds is new to me. .. So what do you guys think???

 

[Mr Happy]

LED lighting fixtures are getting really common these days. Could be best to further research the options for fixed lighting installations since they may well be more suitable for purpose than emitters designed for flashlights.

I know of companies that sell and install LED lighting installations for parking lots and big box stores. If they can light those, there is certainly enough light for your kitchen.

To power sets of LEDs you typically wire a string of them in series and run them off a compatible constant current regulated power supply. Without researching it, I feel sure that mains powered LED driver modules are out there ready to wire up and plug in.

 

[LukeA]

A Microdriver4 or 9 running (4 or 9) warm white Crees in series at 350mA will be great. That's the best way. Running from a wall wart won't control current well, or be very efficient.

 

[SafetyBob]

Microdriver9 is a wonderful think. Been using it to power 4 Seoul P4's I got somewhere around 6 months ago in my kitchen. Wall wort thing didn't work very well. Was probably a combinations of things, but it blew everyone of my LED's. Replaced everything and used the Microdriver9.

Now with the Microdriver9....no problem. (did I mention they are on 15 hours a day...ok, night)

Testing Advance's Xitanium LED drivers to. Using them to drive 6 Seoul (I think P2's) which are 2.5 watt each and 3000K, so nice and warm. (Good prices at Mouser, but you need to know what to look for) Look very, very nice against the walnut panelling in my den. Using them in an uplight fixture.

LEDSupply.com had the cheapest price (by a significant margin) on the Xitanium drivers and they do carry the Microdrive4 and 9. The best part about the Microdriver is that at least the Microdriver9, you can select between 350mA or 700mA going to your LED's. Almost like two in one transformer and it is only a few dollars more than the Xitanium.

Good luck on your project!! Look at what some of us have done in the Fixed Lighting subforum in General Light Discussion under Beyond Flashlights. There are some good pictures and ideas there.

Bob E.

 

[zipplet]

I've had success using 12V white LED strips (I'll get some pictures up later) - all you need to power them is a 12V regulator of some sort (I'm using an LDO regulator because it runs from a marine lead acid).

Might be a bit dim for your tastes, though.