LED for candle simulation

[MrNaz]

My Mum has some really nice dinner lamps that are designed to be used for mood lighting in a lounge or at the dinner table. They are a very nice set of lamps that use half a dozen halogen bulbs with a dimmer (probably a pot) to allow use as proper lamps or mood lights.

I would like to replace the halogen bulbs with LEDs because
a) It would make the device low power enough to leave on permanently in low mode
b) It would save me having to run around every time one of those hard-to-find halogen bulbs blew.
c) Reading CPF has caused me to see a mod opportunity every time I see anything that lights up.

What LEDs would I use for this, and is it going to be still possible to use it for everything from room lighting to mood lighting? Can LEDs deliver such a variable light output?

Bear in mind that the halos give out a very nice warm orange fire-like glow when they are at a low setting, and the typical halogen white when they are in full. I doubt a single LED will be able to deliver both of these colours at different levels.

Honestly, given that the room is already well lit, I'd be happy to sacrifice the room lighting use of the light, if we could leave it in warm candle mode permanently. An LED putting out one candle worth of light shouldn't use more than a fraction of a watt.

Thoughts? Is this a project that is doable or am I trying to do something that is outside of current LED technology?

 

[balou]

For candle simulation, I'd go for amber leds, plus a flickering circuit.
That's whats used for those simulation candles targeted at retirement homes (or other places where open fire isn't permitted).

But you said you also wanted room light - well, you could either use two different LED types for candle mode and room lighting, or you could use RGB LEDs, but they aren't that bright compared to white LEDs.
Or RGB plus cool white, and then use red+white as room lighting , and mix amber/orange with the RGB led in candle mode.

 

[65535]

You might be able to pull it off with some clever LED mixing. A red led and a warm white led, put the red led on a constant voltage source and it should stay lit all the time. Have the warm white LED (SSC I'd think) on the dimmer. At full brightness you should get a slightly red tinged warm white light, and at lower modes the red will take over more and give you a redish beam. You'll have to play with different red and orange leds, mix and match until you get the look you want. A few pot adjustable driver will help you adjust levels of individual or pairs of leds to adjust color.