In the modern world, everything is constantly changing or changing. Lighting was no exception. If earlier everyone was happy with the lighting in the house, that he had a light bulb, and not a candle, then today the most popular source of lighting for modern apartments is LED bulbs. Such popularity can only be explained by the fact that this type of lighting perfectly complements the interior of the room and does not put pressure on the eyes of a person. In addition, LED lamps are an eternal source of illumination. It should be noted that such LED lighting is easily done by hand. You don't need to graduate from high school to do this.

In order for the lighting of the living space to be at the highest level, it is first necessary to find out the area of ​​​​the room in which the lighting will be produced. For a living space it is very important that its interior has not only beauty and practicality, but also comfort. And for this you need to clearly understand which lamps need to be selected for different rooms.

LED lighting in a small room

It should be noted that small rooms need to be visually expanded. LED lighting does the job just fine.

If your room does not have extra furniture, then such lighting can be done on the floor. Your task is the comfort of the room. To do this, you need to adjust the level of light supply of the room with a special device. The ceiling of the room should also be decorated with LED lights. They can be installed both in a strict and in a chaotic manner.

Do not overdo it with the supply of light in small rooms. Otherwise, you will get the "Christmas tree" effect. In your room, you can make contour lighting and supplement it with small lamps. Such a contrast perfectly copes with the task of comfort of the room.

LED bulbs can be used in the kitchen and bathroom. This type of lighting can make any room unusual.

Installation of LED lamps in medium-sized apartments

In such apartments there is an opportunity to bring your design ideas to life. If for a small room it is very important to visually expand the space, then for a medium-sized room a beautiful design is necessary. In order to perform LED lighting beautifully, it is necessary to take into account the overall style of the room.

A good option for this are medium-sized rooms will be geometric shapes that descend on thin suspensions from the ceiling and are edged with spotlights. In this case, the lighting brings tenderness and comfort to the room. You can also install white lamps and arrange them in the form of a circle or rectangle.

It should be noted that a suspended mirror ceiling is also an excellent option. It is illuminated by spotlights, which are located around the perimeter. In addition, with the help of such a ceiling, you can increase the size of the room if you install a ceiling with a cone effect. In a medium-sized room, you can easily experiment with the lights and their direction.

LED lamps in large rooms

These apartments are just a dream for every designer. But, you can also carry out your flight of design ideas if you have a large room. For such a room, it is necessary to choose LED lighting, the level of which can be changed. Thus, you can control the level of illumination of each lamp.

If the room has a fireplace, then LED lighting must be installed around the perimeter. Thus, you can emphasize the position of the fireplace in the room. This will add a few more points to your “comfort” piggy bank. In this case, LEDs with a soft and warm glow are selected. Also, in a large room, you can install the perimeter lighting of various levels of a suspended ceiling, which has an LED strip. The ribbon should be blue. Thus, when combined with the white light of a small lamp, it will create a unique effect.

Installation of LED lamps

Basically, these lamps are installed on the ceiling. This is necessary in order to use as few LED lamps as possible, but at the same time illuminate the largest possible area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe room. It should be noted that the lamps are installed in a class E base.

If a stretch ceiling is already installed in your apartment, then you can install spot LED lamps. Thus, you can hide the device itself and the wires. But this option for supplying light to the room is more suitable for large apartments. Since in such an apartment you need to make powerful lighting. In this case, it is assumed that the base will be different. After all, class E is too large. In this case, LED lighting must be carried out on special beams that are able to fix the entire structure.

It doesn't take much work to screw the lamp. In addition, this can be done with your own hands. Do-it-yourself LED lighting can also be done. To do this, you need to insert an LED lamp into the corresponding socket into the already made lamp.

It should also be noted that not every light bulb is rated for 220 volts. That is why, when making your choice in favor of LED lamps, this small nuance must be taken into account.

How to install a LED lamp with your own hands:

1. By installing lamps, you can make directional lighting. In this case, the lamps are not installed at the same angles. In this way, you can ensure that you use as few lamps as possible, but at the same time illuminate as much of the room as possible.
2. You can also supply LED light with powerful lamps in the center, and those lamps that have less power must be installed in the corners or around the perimeter. This way of installing LED lighting with your own hands will give the room an unusual atmosphere and complement the interior.

How to use LED lamps

It should be noted that this type of lamp also has its own rules regarding operation:

It is worth noting that if properly used LED lamps, they can last quite a lot. Thus, to install LED lighting with your own hands does not require a lot of skills. The main thing is that you have lamps of the right size and adapters that are already selected for the existing base cartridges. It should be noted that LED lamps heat up very quickly. That is why, when the light is on, you should not touch them with your hand. In addition, a special grill must be installed on the lamps, which is capable of cooling the lamps.

It should be noted that at the moment LED flashlights on the hand, on the fingers are becoming popular. Mostly they are used by stars at various parties or private events. But, such an innovation is already seeping into the common people. Basically, they help the driver to notice a pedestrian on the road at night. This is just one reason to use.

The spread of LED lighting in various areas of life is growing every day. It captures more and more new areas of application of domestic and industrial nature. But it all started only with emergency and local lighting. Now you can easily install LED lighting with your own hands, using it both for decorative purposes and as the main lighting.

LED strips are produced in rolls 5 m long, from 30 to 120 pieces of LEDs can be installed in each meter. It is not necessary to use all five meters. If you plan to illuminate a smaller area, you can cut it to the required length. If only anywhere, of course, you can’t cut. The multiplicity of cutting should be 3 LEDs, most often the places of possible cutting are indicated by the manufacturer.

LED strips can not be connected directly to the network, only to the power supply. To select a power supply of the required power, it is necessary to know the total power consumption of the entire tape used.

Here is an example of a calculation:

We purchased a SMD 3528 tape. Its length is 5 m, the operating voltage is 12 V, the number of LEDs per meter is 60 pieces, and the power consumption is 4.8 W/m. In other words, each meter of our tape consumes 4.8 watts. All these parameters are indicated on the tape itself or on the packaging.

The length of the area that we want to illuminate is 7 m. This means that one tape is not enough. We buy another cassette 5 m long and cut off 2 m from it, which we need.

Tape power consumption: P total = P m * L = 4.8 W / m * 7 m = 33.6 W;

Ptot is the total power consumption of the entire tape;

P m - power consumption of one meter of tape;

L is the length of the tape.

In total, the total power consumption of the tape was 33.6 watts. But to ensure the correct operation of the power supply, it is necessary to make a power reserve of 20%.

P \u003d P total * k s \u003d 33.6 W * 1.2 \u003d 40.32 W;

P is the required power of the power supply;

k s - safety factor (20% - in this case).

Now, according to the catalog of power supplies for LED strips, you need to choose one whose power is close to 40.32 W, but not lower.

LED downlight can be used in suspended ceilings

LEDs have already ceased to be used only as decorative lighting. New technologies for the production of heavy-duty LEDs make it possible to use them as headlights in a house or apartment, and even in production.

The calculation of LED lighting in this case is made taking into account SNiPs, SanPiNs and other regulatory documents in order to ensure comfortable conditions for staying, living or working in the room.

To calculate the number of LED fixtures and the distribution of illumination, you can use special programs that are freely available for download on the Internet, for example, DIALux.

If exact data is not needed, you can try to make the calculations yourself - in a semi-experimental way. First, we decide what we want to light, instead of which lamps we already have, we will use LEDs. Each task will require different fixtures: whether it be floor lighting, head lighting in a room, furniture or false ceiling lighting.

For calculations, we need only one parameter - the luminous flux. This is a kind of brightness, the intensity of light, measured in lumens (lm). The manufacturer must indicate the value of the luminous flux on their products, including LED lamps. We will make the calculation based on the fact that a 100 W incandescent lamp shines at approximately 1200 - 1300 Lm. For example, to replace a 60 W toilet light bulb, you will need to find an LED lamp with a light output of 600 - 700 Lm.

If the information on the package is not enough, you can perform calculations based on the power of the lamp. Most often, LED lamps consume from 5 watts to 12 watts. In this case, the approximate luminous flux per 1 W is 50 - 80 Lm. Maybe more, but we will take at least - 50. To illuminate a room with an area of ​​18 m 2, 2500 Lm is needed. We divide by the minimum possible luminous flux of 50 lm per 1 watt. We get 50 watts. This is exactly what the total power of LED lighting in the room should be. But how to choose: 10 lamps of 5 W each, scattered evenly throughout the room, or 4 powerful lamps of 12 W, it's up to you.

LED lighting design

It is better to entrust such an important aspect as design to professionals. And not only because it is their daily bread, but because they will have to face a number of difficulties. The project of electrical wiring and lighting of a house or apartment does not need to be changed, because the load on the network will not increase, but decrease. The complexity of LED lighting design is related to the technical and optical characteristics of LEDs. For example, light reflectance, light emission angle, operating temperature, luminous flux are extremely important, and nuances such as the color of walls and ceilings can drastically affect the comfort of lighting.

We mount with our own hands

We determine how long the area we want to illuminate with a tape. If it is more than 5 m, we buy the required number of cassettes and cut off the missing segment. A maximum of 15 m of tape (3 cassettes) can be used with one power supply.

Then solder the wires between the segments. We put contact tips on the ends of the wires to improve the quality of contact between the wire and the power supply. Insulate the wires with heat shrink tubing.

Glue the tape to the surface. To do this, remove the protective coating from the self-adhesive side and apply to the base.

It remains to connect to the power supply. And here there are several nuances:

1. If the power supply for the LED strip is not too high, you can connect it without any questions and hide it in the structure so that it is not visible.

Scheme: Connecting two LED strips with two power supplies

2. If we use a powerful tape of great length, for example, 10 m, it needs a 100 W power supply. It is very heavy and cannot be hidden in a false ceiling. Therefore, it would be more expedient to use two blocks of less power for two tapes.

Scheme: Parallel connection of two tapes to one power supply

3. If the length of the tape is long (10 m), while the power of the power supply is not too large, you can connect two tapes in parallel. This method has a number of advantages. The fact is that when current passes through a tape 10 m long, the first LEDs will always overheat too much, and the last ones, on the contrary, will warm up a little and, accordingly, will shine weakly. To avoid this, parallel connection to the power supply is advisable.

Scheme: Connecting a colored RBG LED strip through a controller

To connect a colored LED strip, the use of a controller is mandatory. It allows you to change colors, brightness and implements synchronous turning off and on of LEDs.

The controller has two terminals: the first is for connecting to the power supply, and the second is for color channels and a common wire. We connect the wires of the power supply to the controller, then we connect the tape to the latter.

If you connect two colored ribbons in parallel, you need to purchase a more powerful power supply and controller. Unfortunately, their weight is also too great to mount them in a false ceiling.

Installation of the LED lamp

Installation of the LED lamp does not require any special knowledge and actions. Almost all LED lamps are produced with standard sockets, which greatly simplifies the choice of lamp.

These lamps can be mounted on any surface. At least that's what the manufacturer claims. Consider the option of installing a lamp in a plasterboard partition.

Choose a place for installation. We drill a hole with a drill. We take the lamp, we stretch its wires into the hole, we slightly press the device to fix it.

We insert the necessary lamp into the lamp. We connect the connectors to the distribution block and connect the power.

Versatility and variability of application

LED strip can illuminate suspended ceilings and other indoor structures

LED strips are not yet used as the main lighting in the apartment, yet their power is not high enough. But to highlight the work surface in the kitchen, designate key places in the interior, decorative niches or decorate multi-level ceilings - these are tasks just for LED strips. Due to their flexibility, they can be laid on curved surfaces of almost any configuration.

To illuminate the ceiling, you can use LED strips and lamps

To illuminate the ceiling, you can use both tapes and LED lamps. The only difference is that the tape can only provide a decorative function, and the lamps can significantly illuminate the room or even serve as the main source of light.

The tapes are glued into the recess of the false ceiling in such a way that they are not visible to the naked eye, and are directed upwards to illuminate the surface of the ceiling. Luminaires are most often mounted in plasterboard false ceilings or Armstrong-type structures and directed downward into the space of the room.

Room lighting options

You can also use LED equipment for head lighting of the room.

To illuminate the room, LED lamps with lamps from 5 to 12 W are used. How to calculate the required number of fixtures and the luminous flux of each has already been described above. At the same time, there are lamps that are designed to replace the old incandescent lamps. Lamps can be installed both in chandeliers, sconces, and in the furniture body.

LED lighting in the kitchen: highlighting cabinets outside and inside, as well as the ceiling

With the help of LED equipment, you can illuminate the working area in the kitchen and places where people are most often located. To do this, you can use fixtures built into suspended ceilings. And to illuminate kitchen cabinets, you can use LED strip glued to the surface. If the lighting is thought out at the design stage, then, if desired, you can immediately order a kitchen set with places for lamps. Moreover, cabinets can be illuminated from the inside. For example, make sure that the backlight turns on only when the door is opened and turns off when it is closed.

LEDs in emergency systems

LED equipment is used in emergency and emergency lighting

Emergency or standby lighting is designed to illuminate rooms, buildings, vehicles, if there is a sudden power outage. In this case, it is powered by a generator. The power of LED lighting is so small that it can significantly save the budget of municipal enterprises where round-the-clock emergency lighting is required.

Industrial LED lighting is used in factories, parking lots, highways and other places

The use of LED equipment in industrial and industrial premises not only saves on electricity consumption, but provides numerous conveniences. Firstly, if an incandescent lamp fails, it is necessary to call a specialist and equipment to dismantle it or install a new one, since they are at an inaccessible height. If LED lamps are used, and their service life is at least 5 years, the need for replacement is extremely rare. In addition to premises, such lamps are used to illuminate embankments, parking lots, cottage settlements, motorways and roads.

LED lighting is only gaining momentum. It has a lot of advantages: cost-effectiveness, environmental friendliness, convenient radiation spectrum, durability, light is visible at a long distance, and, of course, design. In addition, the replacement and installation of LED lighting is extremely simple, you can do it yourself, without resorting to the help of specialists.

Most often, the LED strip is mounted on the ceiling, ceiling plinth or other places that can hide the mounting points of the LED strip. There is no consensus on which of the premises LED lighting can be installed in: in the kitchen, in the hallway, on the street ...

However, there are a number of limitations of a different kind, which are more related to the properties of LED lamps, and not to the physical possibility of their installation.

Photo 1 - LED strip

Before you install and connect, you need to make some approximate calculations and decide on some things, namely:

• whether there will be another, say, standard lighting in this room or not;
• installation of an LED strip (with your own hands or not - in this case it does not matter at all) requires the installation of additional fasteners, etc.;
• whether everything necessary for installation is available, if the installation will be done by hand.

The choice of lighting and its installation scheme

The rules for mounting this kind of lighting, for example, on an additionally installed profile, are quite simple, but before abandoning an ordinary lamp or chandelier, you should answer the following question for yourself: “what if the LEDs burn out or their power supply burns out?” Here we will assume that the resources of the LED backlight will last for a long time, regardless of what the installation scheme is.

Photo 2 - Tools and supplies for mounting the LED strip

In terms of the availability of the right tool and consumables, everything depends not only on the quality of the LED lamps themselves, but also on which installation scheme will be used in a particular case: you can assemble it “from the world by a string”, that is, at the moment when the installation of LEDs begins , collect everything suitable; or you can buy everything complete with sets of LED lamps, which in some cases is probably more reasonable.

In addition, you should calculate the amount of tape that will be needed to illuminate one room. Practice shows that 15 meters of LED tape correspond, with a fairly large share of approximation, in terms of luminous flux power to one ordinary 200 W incandescent lamp.

Photo 3 - Separately taken RGB LED on the tape

LED strip installation

Calculation of lighting and choice of lighting equipment

Installation of LED lighting for the ceiling of a room or a frequently used area in the kitchen begins with calculations of the power consumption of the tape.

For example, by packaging, in a store or on the manufacturer's website, you can find out how many watts 1 m of tape consumes, for example, 7 watts. If 15 m was purchased, then the total power consumption will be 7 X 15 = 105 watts (which is already less than a 200-watt light bulb!). When using SMD LEDs, both white and RGB, there are practically no deviations from the rated power consumption; however, it may be necessary to take into account the additional power consumed by the amplifiers.

Figure 1 - Connection diagram of an RGB tape with a control controller and an RGB amplifier

The fact is that with all the advantages of powerful LEDs, there is a visible attenuation of the glow of the tape with a distance from the source of electricity; this problem is “treated” solely by installing (and, of course, purchasing) amplifiers.

A normal working kit may also include an RGB controller (if it is an RGB tape) and a transformer. Controllers can operate with voltages from 12 to 24 V, and the input voltage of the step-down transformer is 220-230 V. The main indicator of the controller is its rated power - as a rule, it is somewhere around 180 watts, while the power consumption of the transformer is somewhere then 150 watts. The ideal scheme for calculating the required power looks something like this:

Tape power< Мощность трансформатора < Мощность контроллера (если он нужен)

The larger the gap between neighboring values ​​(within reasonable limits), the more reliable the operation of a particular section.

Installation of LED lighting

Installation of LED backlight begins with cutting the tape; at the same time, the tape is almost arbitrarily cut into 2, 3 or even 4 parts - it all depends on where it will be installed. Tape cuts are made in special areas. At all places where the tape is cut, it is necessary to clean the contacts of the channels for subsequent soldering with connecting wires.

The methods of connecting the prepared parts of the tape may be different, but in most cases it is not very convenient to use the connectors from the kit that comes with the tape - they should be replaced with more convenient ones, but their resistance (material) should be similar to the previous one.

Photo 4 - The LED strip is connected, it remains only to stick it in the right place

Further, the installation of LEDs that are already assembled into a single electrical circuit may require outside help, since it must be completely raised to the required height if it is above the ground, which will be problematic to do alone.

At this stage, you should be extremely careful with the tape, which is not adapted to strong mechanical stress and tensile stress.

Fastening the tape will be less problematic if there is a clean surface along the entire length of its fastening on panels or walls.

It is also important to periodically check the performance of the tape and, if any problems are noticed, fix them before the tape is installed in its permanent place.

The final step in the installation of the tape is the installation and masking of the wires and the transformer - in particular, the transformer indicator lights can give unwanted glare. In this case, there is a special overlay that closes the display panel, but does not prevent heat from being removed from the device.

When installing, any little things should be taken into account, for example, you should not install the tape close to the ceiling - the reflected light will be more evenly distributed throughout the space of the room. By the way, if you evenly place the tape around the entire perimeter of the room, then with artificial lighting there will be practically no shadows from people and objects - the light will fall evenly, as it were, from all sides.

Separately, it is worth mentioning the color gamut of the light of strip LEDs: white LEDs, even if combined with a dimmer, give not quite “white” light, which may not be entirely comfortable. In this regard, it is worth remembering what sunlight is (all the colors of the rainbow in one beam) and, as an option, consider purchasing RBG lamps, where the saturation can be adjusted.

Photo 5 - The color scheme of the LED strip

LED strip, installation (a video review of a simple assembly option can be viewed right here) tapes, connecting a power supply, selecting a power supply, etc. can be the main queries for finding materials that tell about the individual details of choosing and installing LED lighting in any place and premises.

VIDEO of a simple assembly option

Photo 6 - LED lighting in the interior

Installation of LED strip: the cost of installation and the strip itself

Of course, the price for different brands - LUNA, DELUX, FOTON, FERON, MAXUS, ARLIGHT - varies, among other things, depending on, for example, whether the tape is moisture resistant and what size of diodes it has; and here is how much professional installation of one linear meter costs, that is, without taking into account the cost of the LED lamps themselves, you can find out quickly enough in Kiev and Moscow:

• installation of 1 m in Kyiv - from 15 hryvnia
• installation of 1 m in Moscow - from 200 rubles

Most likely, such indoor lighting systems are fast installation systems, where the amount of work is relatively small, even if they are mounted on the ceiling or in other hard-to-reach places.

Artaveon LLC carries out lighting installation, including modern LED light sources:

• Installation of LED lamps (installation of a lamp with power cable laying);
• Installation of LED lamps and spotlights;
• Installation of LED strip;
• Installation of architectural and decorative lighting of any premises, buildings and structures;
• Replacement of fluorescent lamps with LED lamps;
• Installation of the lighting control system:

1. Motion sensors, light sensors, etc.
2. Controllers and remote controls.
3. Dimmers to control the brightness of lighting.
4. Timers.

Our company not only sells LED products, but also offers its installation.

Installation of LED-based lighting is a complex multi-stage task, the solution of which begins with the design. To develop the project, a detailed analysis of the object is carried out in order to select the most functional and financially advantageous solution. The type of installation is selected depending on the features of the object and the wishes of the customer: these can be built-in lamps that are installed in the ceiling or walls, or spectacular pendant lamps. We offer our customers all types of services related to the installation of lighting systems: replacement of conventional lamps and fluorescent lamps with LED ones, installation of lighting control systems, installation of architectural and decorative lighting of buildings and structures, installation of LED lamps and spotlights, etc.

Installation of LED lamps with power cable laying requires special knowledge and modern equipment. It is the quality of installation that largely determines the performance and safety of the lighting system, so you should not take risks by entrusting this work to specialists with a low level of qualification.

Replacing fluorescent lamps with LEDs

More and more consumers are abandoning traditional lighting fixtures, giving preference to modern energy-saving technologies. Of course, replacing conventional lamps with LED lamps is not very cheap, but these costs pay off in a short period of time due to energy savings.

Replacing fluorescent lamps with LEDs, which you can order from our company, will allow you to save much more and provide high quality lighting in your home or office. At the same time, LED lamps are more fireproof and environmentally friendly than fluorescent ones, since they do not heat up during operation and do not contain substances hazardous to health.

LED strip installation

Spectacular neon lighting will draw additional attention to your object and give the building an original appearance thanks to an unusual combination of shades and lighting effects.

Installing an LED strip will successfully solve this issue. LED strip is used for both outdoor and indoor lighting. The product is resistant to negative factors and is characterized by low power consumption, which makes it possible to reduce the cost of maintenance of the structure.

Name of works on installation of lighting	Unit	Cost of work
Installation of LED strip		from 200 rub.
Installing the power supply, controller		from 200 rub.
Installation of ceiling lighting with LED strip		from 250 rub.
Installation of step lighting with LED strip		from 400 rubles
Installation of step lighting with LED strip in an aluminum profile		from 500 rub.
Dismantling the LED strip installed in violation of technology
Mounting a small spotlight		from 1000 rub
Installation of a large spotlight		from 2000 rub
Installation of fixtures in the ceiling Armstrong
Installation of ceiling overhead lights
Installation of spotlights
The minimum cost of installing LED strip
Dismantling works		from 50% of the installation cost
Installation work warranty

Natural fuels suitable for mass energy production are gradually being depleted. Alternative energy is not developing fast enough and does not have time to make up for the lack of electricity for consumers, which inevitably leads to a constant increase in its cost. In such conditions, an alternative to expensive and inefficient incandescent lighting is needed.

The problem was partially solved by the so-called energy-saving lamps, which quickly gained popularity. However, their high price and insufficient durability did not allow them to become a lifesaver for everyone and enter every home.

Not so long ago, they had a worthy and much more efficient replacement - LEDs. Ease of use, ease of installation, energy efficiency, environmental friendliness, low cost - all this allows you to use LED lamps for indoor lighting in every home.

Initially, LEDs did not have the necessary parameters and were used only in the illumination of various devices or in low-power emergency systems. However, with the development of technology, they have increased their capabilities and are now widely used in both domestic and industrial premises. There are many options for use: from decorative multi-colored highlights, to the main lighting of large rooms.

Features of mounting LED lamps significantly distinguish them from classic incandescent lamps. Perhaps that is why the pace of their spread is not as rapid as one might expect.

However, there is nothing super complicated in making LED lighting with your own hands. It is only necessary to have knowledge of certain rules for working with such light sources. To this end, it is worth considering their pros and cons, the rules for calculating, choosing and installing.

Advantages and disadvantages

The main positive qualities that an LED lamp has are as follows:

1. The highest energy efficiency of all light sources available on the market;
2. Environmental friendliness, complete absence of emission of harmful substances during operation and during the disposal of spent elements;
3. Extremely long service life, absolutely incomparable with incandescent or fluorescent lamps - 10 years or more.

Important! The long service life of LEDs directly depends on their quality. That is, the cheapest Chinese fakes can work for 1-2 months, and more expensive high-quality ones may not burn out after 15 years.

1. The LED lamp allows very smooth adjustment of the brightness level, as well as the ability to change the color of the lighting (!);
2. The LED in its design does not contain breakable elements, is not afraid of shocks and the action of constant vibration;
3. Familiar power surges in the home electrical network lead to the "blinking" of standard lighting fixtures - LEDs are devoid of this minus, since their luminosity is not related to the voltage of the electric current, but to its strength;
4. In the emission spectrum of LEDs, there is no infrared and ultraviolet - the paint of wallpaper, walls, fabrics will not fade, as under the rays of incandescent lamps.

As always happens with technical devices, it was not without a fly in the ointment. However, to date, it has been found alone: ​​a rather high cost for high-quality diodes. But if we take into account their service life, then it is probably worth talking about the high cost of incandescent and fluorescent lamps, and not LED ones.

Application area

There are two main ways in which you can organize the connection of LEDs for lighting:

• the use of LED strip for distributed lighting of the room: it can be used to create decorative illumination of individual areas - well suited for "hidden" lighting, when the light source itself is not visible;
• using a ready-made LED lamp as a light source is a more expensive option, suitable for “spot” lighting.

Important! Lighting with ready-made LED fixtures has a more traditional and familiar look, especially if it is made in the body of wall sconces or as a chandelier for the ceiling. does not differ visually from its ordinary counterparts, and you need to work with it in the same way.

Since working with LED lamps practically does not differ from a similar procedure with conventional traditional ones, they do not require separate consideration. Is it worth knowing how to correctly calculate the power for sufficient lighting of the premises. But since the calculation of power is similar to that for the LED strip, then it should be used.

LED strip allows you to create the most "sophisticated" schemes for lighting a room, highlighting various individual zones (for example, highlighting a kitchen apron or cabinet outlines), making hidden lighting under the ceiling or lighting walls around the entire perimeter of the room. The possibilities are limited only by the imagination of the designer.

The available options are greatly expanded by the ability to use different colors in the lighting and change them. Here, of course, you need to know the measure and not overdo it - an excessive pile of color can lead to the opposite result and make the interior design clumsy.

Hidden lighting under the ceiling along the perimeter of the room visually increases its size, which is important for small city apartments.

A common way to use LED strip is lighting in cabinets, mezzanines and other closed interior elements. Complete with an automatic switch, this adds more functionality to them (especially true for kitchen cabinets and large wardrobes).

Calculation of the number of diodes

For a simple calculation of the required power of LEDs, you can use a comparison with the usual incandescent lamps, for this you need to know the indicators of the luminous flux emitted by these light sources:

• each incandescent lamp produces approximately 13 lm/W (lumens per watt) of light output;
• different LEDs can output different levels between 75-90lm/W (average 80lm/W)

Knowing this data, it is quite simple to calculate the number of LEDs that can replace an incandescent lamp. For example, instead of a 100-watt light bulb that emits 13x100 = 1300 lumens, you need 16.25 watts (17 - round up) LEDs. Thus, you can use 18 LEDs of 1 watt, or 9 pieces of 2 watts, or 2 powerful 9 watts. And you can use one powerful spot LED lamp for 20 watts.

Important! When purchasing LEDs, you should pay attention to their luminous flux. On average, it is 75-90 lm / W, but some specimens have much better characteristics. So, for example, the Luminus CSM-360 LED has an indicator of 115 lm / W, and the Cree XLamp XHP70 model has 150 lumens per watt.

For the organization of standard spot lighting, it is more rational to use powerful LEDs or LED lamps. If it is planned to evenly illuminate the ceiling or walls over the entire area, then it is optimal to take a lot of low-power light sources (for example, a strip with LEDs).

Power Supply Selection

It is also necessary to resolve the issue of how to connect LED lighting to the mains, because the voltage of the LEDs is not 220, but 12 or 24 volts (there are tapes with a supply voltage of 36 and 48 volts, but this is rare).

The length of the LED strip is always standard and is 5 m, but it can contain a different number of diodes with different power. For the calculation, one should proceed from the total power of the fed tape.

In general, the following steps should be taken to calculate the required power supply for connecting the LED strip:

1. The manufacturer usually indicates the power indicator per meter (for example, 6 W / m), which means that to get the total power, you need to multiply this figure by the length - in the example it will be 6x5 \u003d 30 W .;
2. For power supplies, an indicator such as power reserve is used. If the lighting is planned to be turned on from time to time (for example, lighting in lockers), then it is taken equal to 1.3. If permanent main lighting is equipped, which will work for a long time without turning off, then the power reserve is assumed to be 1.5. The power of the power supply is obtained by multiplying the power consumed by the LEDs by the reserve indicator - in the example it will be 30x1.5 \u003d 45 W (if constant lighting is planned) or 30x1.3 \u003d 39 W (for periodic switching on);
3. The operating voltage of the diodes is indicated on the tape, and the power supply should be selected with the same voltage. The modern market offers a huge number of power supplies, from which it is easy to choose with the necessary parameters - in the example, this is a 12 V and 45 W power supply (or 12 V and 39 W for periodic switching on).

Important! It is not always possible to choose a power supply of exactly the calculated power. In this case, you should purchase a unit with more power: in the example, these can be units of 50 and 40 W, respectively.

As can be seen from the above, the calculations are simple, and they are easy to make on the go right in the hardware store if you know the necessary lighting parameters. When buying, you should also pay attention to the version of the case - they are sealed and not. For work, it is worth purchasing waterproof ones, but not for ordinary premises (due to the difference in price).

Ribbon Mounting and Network Connection

Before starting work on placing the tape in its intended place, you should remember a few general mandatory rules:

Installing the LED strip in its intended place, for example, on the ceiling, is quite simple, but still requires a certain sequence of actions: