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Started By
Message
re: Permanently installed LED "Christmas" lights.
Posted on 8/6/22 at 11:35 am to Lonnie Utah
Posted on 8/6/22 at 11:35 am to Lonnie Utah
quote:Well at first I was thinking that I wanted a look similar to the strips in channel, but on the ground along the path (like on the floor in a theater but rgb). But I think that will be a huge headache to make it look good and avoid water intrusion, and also to get the lights to fire down on the path without sticking up too far. So now I'm thinking of doing something more like regular path light lamps that I can control.
Tell us what you are thinking?
quote:The biggest problem is the solar panels are just too tiny to generate the power I need. I need to run wire, and since I'll be doing that these shitty solar lamps have to go altogether.
You could easily disassemble the solar lights and put individual 12v pixels in them and control them 1 by 1.
I'm pretty sure I can just run some direct burial wire with at least 3 conductors and use a nodemcu or dig-uno as usual. And since it looks like I'll be taking the guts out of any light I buy, I've been considering going DIY all the way and making the light housings out of raw materials. I have access to a lot of equipment, and I think I can make some nice looking lamps out of box or round tube. If I go this route I will make a video.
2
Posted on 8/7/22 at 10:30 am to Korkstand
I think it was around $22/ft which includes everything. That is with a light every 9".
I viewed it as I'm not going to put lights up/down every year because we have a high roof line and I'm not getting on a ladder. It costs about $300 to get someone to put them up/down each year where I live. Plus storing lights in the attic, etc. Definitely worth the cost to me.
I viewed it as I'm not going to put lights up/down every year because we have a high roof line and I'm not getting on a ladder. It costs about $300 to get someone to put them up/down each year where I live. Plus storing lights in the attic, etc. Definitely worth the cost to me.
Posted on 8/7/22 at 8:40 pm to Korkstand
quote:.
I was thinking that I wanted a look similar to the strips in channel, but on the ground along the path (like on the floor in a theater but rgb). But I think that will be a huge headache to make it look good and avoid water intrusion, and also to get the lights to fire down on the path without sticking up too far.
Just as a FYI, I've put the strip lights in 1/2 thin wall pvc and it works great. It gives a very diffuse effect.
Posted on 8/7/22 at 8:45 pm to LSUSUPERSTAR
My original install was about $600-$700 but that includes the cost of a boom rental at about $300. I lost a strand of lights and had to rent the boom a second time so that bumped the overall cost up another $300. I think I have between 35-40 meters (115'-130') of lights.
If I remember the aluminum channels were about $100, the led strips were about $100, the power supply $50, the wire $50 and misc supplies about $50-75.
If I remember the aluminum channels were about $100, the led strips were about $100, the power supply $50, the wire $50 and misc supplies about $50-75.
This post was edited on 8/7/22 at 8:50 pm
Posted on 8/7/22 at 8:53 pm to Lonnie Utah
quote:Yeah I would love to do something like that, and I think it would look great at night, but I'm not sure how to give it a high WAF during the day.
Just as a FYI, I've put the strip lights in 1/2 thin wall pvc and it works great. It gives a very diffuse effect.
Posted on 8/7/22 at 9:16 pm to Korkstand
quote:
So now I'm thinking of doing something more like regular path light lamps that I can control.
Wall wash/spotlight or just something along the lines of actual path lights on the ground with control?
Gledopto makes an mr16 12v more suited for spots, but I’ve considered testing it in a path light.
Eventually, I decided nothing looked better than the Hue Econic, even when considering the price. And then I decided to drop path lighting from my project altogether. I do have 12x 12v spots in place- 6 on my front porch columns, 6 in my backyard on trees. I decided I would go through a season of manually changing bulbs (I bought purple, gold, green, red) before I’d try a “smart” solution.
In terms of lights- this year I will likely buy a long spool of 6” spaced c9 wire and affix it to PVC and J bolts or install a few “clips” to push the pvc into. This project is really neat. It’s even cheaper than what I’m proposing (and I won’t need a lift!), but I don’t think the view is worth the climb for the way it will look on my house specifically, sadly.
Posted on 8/7/22 at 10:01 pm to Hopeful Doc
I've spent some years working in fabrication, so I usually try to design things simply and cheaply with standard stock materials. Then I try to design it so that it can be built with typical hand and power tools.
For example, I was thinking of getting a 4" or 6" pvc cap to put electronics and LEDs in, and mount it (open end down of course) on a piece of 1/2" pipe to drive into the ground and run wires up through. I'd cut a piece of frosted acrylic to the OD/ID to seal the open end of the cap and around the pipe. Paint whatever color and drive the pipe so the cap kind of hovers a few inches off the ground.
It might not be the prettiest thing, but I don't think it would look too bad. It would be cheap and anyone could build it with only a hacksaw, drill, and maybe a dremel.
For example, I was thinking of getting a 4" or 6" pvc cap to put electronics and LEDs in, and mount it (open end down of course) on a piece of 1/2" pipe to drive into the ground and run wires up through. I'd cut a piece of frosted acrylic to the OD/ID to seal the open end of the cap and around the pipe. Paint whatever color and drive the pipe so the cap kind of hovers a few inches off the ground.
It might not be the prettiest thing, but I don't think it would look too bad. It would be cheap and anyone could build it with only a hacksaw, drill, and maybe a dremel.
Posted on 8/13/22 at 4:39 pm to Korkstand
Progress report on my DIY path lights...
Of course I had to build a mockup for wife approval, and she's actually fine with version 1! Here it is:
That is just a 4" PVC cap with about 1/2" trimmed off the length and all the embossed lettering sanded off, plus a piece of 1" PVC pipe. I roughed it all up, sprayed a couple coats of rustoleum metallic oil-rubbed bronze, sanded again and then another coat. Quick and dirty job, I'll make the real deals look better.
I'll get some of the ws2811 12v string lights with 500 LEDs. I think I can fit about 30 of them under that cap, which I believe will give me 9 watts of output per lamp and will be more than enough for 12 of them. I'll also get a sheet of 12x16x1/8 frosted acrylic, which will be enough to make 12 diffuser covers.
Here is my BOM:
4" PVC cap - $4.50
12in 1" PVC pipe - $1
LEDs - $160/12 = $13.50
Acrylic - $25/12 = $2.10
Looking at just over $20 per lamp, but it's very possible that 30 LEDs is way too many and I can get by with only 10 or 12 per lamp, cutting the cost down to ~$12/unit. And being pvc it doesn't take long to do the trimming/sanding/painting.
So that's if I use one controller for the whole set, which I think makes the most sense. Alternatively, I could put an ESP inside the lamp to make each one standalone and controlled via wifi. A board inside the lamps also allows for adding sensors, like maybe an IR tripwire that sets off automations.
Anyway, if anyone's interested I'll report back with photos/videos of the finished product.
Of course I had to build a mockup for wife approval, and she's actually fine with version 1! Here it is:
That is just a 4" PVC cap with about 1/2" trimmed off the length and all the embossed lettering sanded off, plus a piece of 1" PVC pipe. I roughed it all up, sprayed a couple coats of rustoleum metallic oil-rubbed bronze, sanded again and then another coat. Quick and dirty job, I'll make the real deals look better.
I'll get some of the ws2811 12v string lights with 500 LEDs. I think I can fit about 30 of them under that cap, which I believe will give me 9 watts of output per lamp and will be more than enough for 12 of them. I'll also get a sheet of 12x16x1/8 frosted acrylic, which will be enough to make 12 diffuser covers.
Here is my BOM:
4" PVC cap - $4.50
12in 1" PVC pipe - $1
LEDs - $160/12 = $13.50
Acrylic - $25/12 = $2.10
Looking at just over $20 per lamp, but it's very possible that 30 LEDs is way too many and I can get by with only 10 or 12 per lamp, cutting the cost down to ~$12/unit. And being pvc it doesn't take long to do the trimming/sanding/painting.
So that's if I use one controller for the whole set, which I think makes the most sense. Alternatively, I could put an ESP inside the lamp to make each one standalone and controlled via wifi. A board inside the lamps also allows for adding sensors, like maybe an IR tripwire that sets off automations.
Anyway, if anyone's interested I'll report back with photos/videos of the finished product.
Posted on 8/14/22 at 7:48 pm to Korkstand
Those look really good. Good work.
A couple of tips. I bet 5-10 lights in each cap will do it. Also if you use WLED, you can assign the leds in each cap to be 1 zone, or you could wire them in parallel so each light is like 1 giant led pixel (that's what I would do.)
A couple of tips. I bet 5-10 lights in each cap will do it. Also if you use WLED, you can assign the leds in each cap to be 1 zone, or you could wire them in parallel so each light is like 1 giant led pixel (that's what I would do.)
This post was edited on 8/14/22 at 7:49 pm
Posted on 8/14/22 at 8:19 pm to Lonnie Utah
quote:Maybe so. I think each LED is 0.3W, so 10 of them would be like a 3W bulb. Might be plenty bright that close to the ground. I will do some testing before I settle on how many to put in each.
I bet 5-10 lights in each cap will do it.
quote:I'm not sure I understand the functional difference here. I also don't know if you can wire individually addressable LEDs in parallel. I did plan to use WLED, and I was going to assign each batch of leds inside a cap as a segment. I think that will do the same as "1 giant led pixel" per cap as long as I use effects that keep all LEDs in a segment in sync.
Also if you use WLED, you can assign the leds in each cap to be 1 zone, or you could wire them in parallel so each light is like 1 giant led pixel (that's what I would do.)
Posted on 8/15/22 at 7:50 am to Korkstand
quote:
I'm not sure I understand the functional difference here. I also don't know if you can wire individually addressable LEDs in parallel. I did plan to use WLED, and I was going to assign each batch of leds inside a cap as a segment. I think that will do the same as "1 giant led pixel" per cap as long as I use effects that keep all LEDs in a segment in sync.
KS,
If you wire all the data lines from your LED's to a single junction that runs back to your controller, it should work as a parallel circuit. The only reason I mentioned doing this is I turn the power off to my strips when not actively using them. While WLED is good, it often mean the controller loses the stored memory of what I had previously programed with regards to segment length and effects. This may or may not be a problem for you. It's just thinking about a little more wiring/soldering work up front to save on (potential) programming later.
I might try the segment route first, as it wouldn't be to problematic to rewire them later in this application.
Posted on 8/15/22 at 8:10 am to Korkstand
quote:
A board inside the lamps also allows for adding sensors, like maybe an IR tripwire that sets off automations.
WLED allows you to do this "automatically". I know they will turn on/off by simply grounding to one of the pins on the microcontroller (but I cant remember which one right now). I'll try to track down my prototype board that I game or figure it out via google and update.
If you have a ring doorbell you can have them set to a specific preprogramed state (single color only) when the doorbell detects motion via an Alexa routine with no additional wiring/programming.
This post was edited on 8/15/22 at 8:10 am
Posted on 8/15/22 at 8:24 am to Korkstand
How do you get the cap to stay attached to the pipe? assuming you would glue it? Gluing seems like it'll be touch to make sure it's stays centered while the glue sets if you don't mount it until after the pipe is in the ground.
Posted on 8/15/22 at 8:33 am to mchias1
quote:I will have to work out all the details when I start installing, but I'm considering cutting a thin ring off a 1" coupling and gluing that inside the cap so the pipe slides into it snugly. Either that or I will slide that piece of coupling down onto the pipe as a stop for the acrylic piece, and glue the acrylic to it. Then I can stick some foam strips inside the cap so it "grabs" onto the outer edge of the acrylic. Or maybe I will do both.
How do you get the cap to stay attached to the pipe? assuming you would glue it?
However I do it, I want to be able to pop the cap off at any time without tools and fiddle with things. But still it needs to be a snug fit so the wind won't blow it off.
Posted on 8/17/22 at 8:48 pm to Korkstand
LEDs, power supply, and misc odds and ends came in. Looks like 10 LEDs per lamp will suffice. I will probably make them a few inches taller than this mockup to get a bit more light spread.
Posted on 8/18/22 at 7:49 am to Korkstand
Looking good.
Now you cam make 3x as many!
quote:
Looks like 10 LEDs per lamp will suffice.
Now you cam make 3x as many!
Posted on 8/18/22 at 8:00 am to Korkstand
How are you handling voltage drop?
12VDC doesn't like to travel too far.
12VDC doesn't like to travel too far.
Posted on 8/18/22 at 8:05 am to mchias1
It's going to be less than 100ft to the end and I have 14ga landscape wire. I'm not sure but I think it will work.
Posted on 8/18/22 at 8:28 am to Korkstand
quote:
It's going to be less than 100ft to the end and I have 14ga landscape wire. I'm not sure but I think it will work.
How many total LED's in the 100 ft? With 14 gauge, you'll be fine.
You're tapping power for each one of the main 14 gauge wire with the data wire going between lights, right?
I'd be interested in seeing how you arranged the LEDs underneath each light.
Now Youtube your build procedure and get Youtube famous.
This post was edited on 8/18/22 at 8:36 am
Posted on 8/18/22 at 8:58 am to Lonnie Utah
quote:
Now Youtube your build procedure and get Youtube famous.
How to build and install Korklight smart path lights!
Not a knock- real question to get into the weeds of it:
I wanted to line a sidewalk that goes across my yard to my mailbox, similar to what yours looks like here. There is no mulch/bed next to the concrete. I debated lining it like you’re doing. I even considered building fixtures or retrofitting the right ones to have a colored light. In the end, I don’t think there’s a better looking path light right now than the Hue Econic. I don’t think the build quality of the Hue Econic compares to the ones from FX, Kichler, probably even Volt, honestly, so I put it on hold.
but also, as I looked around, the only people in my neighborhood that have path lighting along side walks have it in mulched areas where they won’t be edging/weed eating.
So I put it to the “ask my brothers” test, and they agreed that the view wasn’t worth the climb for the annoyance of mowing, edging around fixtures in grass.
Have you thought about that/have a solution for that? Hitting that PVC with the weed eater over time will leave a considerable mark, and leaving little tufts around it will probably annoy the wife or you to some extent. I get that’s outside the idea /proof of concept. But in general, do you plan on putting this down non-mulched pathways?
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