LED's for Home Lighting

[Abhishek Nama]

Awesome thread, that's some impressive DIY work there CyberKid

I have been meaning to do some DIY myself, I am interested however, I am a complete noob in this department, so I have do some more learning-research before I start. This thread seems to be a good place to start learning!

 

[CyberKID]

I have seen this website which deals with LED Lighting Systems which is very near to my native place.Efftronics LED Lights
People here in AP generally go to Vijayawada to buy wholesale electrical goods when ever a new house is constructed, so I hope this is the right place to go.

In case you want to use LED lighting, you may get LED lamps from some reputed brands like Philips, or Osram, though, the prices are initially prohibitive, I believe, the investment will pay you in the long run.
You may be interested in the LED lamps on offer on Ebay also. Though, I'd suggest, if you are going to buy one, from not-so-reputed-brand, just take a look at the ones you are choosing, as you might not be very satisfied with the results.

@ Abhishek: Thanks for the encouragement mate.

 

[lywyre]

Some News: Source

Today, LED manufacturer Cree has announced a series of light bulbs that cost just $10, cutting the going rate in half with one fell swoop. What's more, these LEDs don't seem to have a catch. They're as bright, efficient, and long-lasting as practically anything on the market, and they look like incandescent light bulbs to boot. They're on sale today, exclusively at The Home Depot in the following three configurations:

$12.97 for a "warm white" 60-watt equivalent, providing 800 lumens of light for 9.5W of electricity, at a warm color temperature of 2,700K
$13.97 for a "day light" 60-watt equivalent, with 800 lumens of light at a cost of 9W of electricity, at a cooler color temperature of 5,000K
$9.97 for a "warm white" 40-watt equivalent, with 450 lumens of light for 6W of electricity, again at a warmer 2,700K.

And yes, they are dimmable

Source

 

[CyberKID]

Thanks for that info, @lywyre. Hope, that other manufacturers follow this.
Unfortunately, CREE, doesn't have presence here in India.
What we have here, is Philips, and Osram, though these two are also limited in the field of LED's.

 

[bssunilreddy]

In case you want to use LED lighting, you may get LED lamps from some reputed brands like Philips, or Osram, though, the prices are initially prohibitive, I believe, the investment will pay you in the long run.
You may be interested in the LED lamps on offer on Ebay also. Though, I'd suggest, if you are going to buy one, from not-so-reputed-brand, just take a look at the ones you are choosing, as you might not be very satisfied with the results.

@ Abhishek: Thanks for the encouragement mate.

I want to set up my whole apartment using only LED lamps, so please provide me with prices from reputed brands like Philips or Osram.Thanks again for reminding me not to go with cheaper alternatives CyberKID.

 

[CyberKID]

^ Sorry mate. I don't have a very good idea about the pricing of commercial LED lamps, though, a very rough idea is that each one of around 7 watts costs a staggering ~Rs. 650 or so, that's why I've been in some DIY for changing my home lighting from CFL to LED.

In this series, my brother ordered a few SMD LED's from Ebay 6 nos. of 3 watt warm white led's, along with 3 nos of 28 mm LED mounting plates, which can accommodate 3 LED's each for Rs. 450.
We tested the LED's with a multimeter and then, mounted 3 of them on a mounting plate, to check it's effectiveness. The warm white colour, was much warmer to my liking, and thus, I suggested my brother that we could use a number of regular cool white ones with one warm white one.
Here are some images of our testing.

The LED's - 6 nos. of 3 watt warm white LED's
*i.imgur.com/luUepccl.jpg

The LED mounts
*i.imgur.com/neXNNtYl.jpg

Soldering the LED's on the mounts
*i.imgur.com/PQROnbGl.jpg

A complete mount with 3 LED's mounted.
*i.imgur.com/bVcrVjZl.jpg

Testing Time. Unfortunately, my cell camera auto adjusted the light such that we can just see the lights coming out of the LED's.
*i.imgur.com/h6zvkHal.jpg

I'm a little caught up in my professional role, so don't have too much time for my DIY's. Will give shape to some new LED lamps, very soon.

I want to set up my whole apartment using only LED lamps, so please provide me with prices from reputed brands like Philips or Osram.Thanks again for reminding me not to go with cheaper alternatives CyberKID.

I've found a page, that, I suppose will help you out:
*www.mygreenkart.com/energy-saving-...ar-inverter/led-based-lighting/led-lamps.html

 

[NIGHTMARE]

Purchased this LED light @150 shipped, battery charge by Nokia charger

imgur: the simple image sharer

 

[CyberKID]

^ from where? link please. Do post an image with the light on.

 

[NIGHTMARE]

They don't have in stock.
*mginger.com

*i.imgur.com/5rBFIV2.jpg

 

[CyberKID]

Ok, so, I'm reviving this dormant thread. Have been a bit busy with some other things (my blog), so couldn't do much in this area.
I've worked upon an LED lighting solution using an unused cellphone charger and some 8mm white LED's. Work on another one is in progress. Will post some pics in some upcoming days.
This one's extremely simple, as one doesn't have to worry about the power supply, as this is being handled by the now ubiquitous cellphone chargers (of course an unused one). The light's pretty decent for the staircase of my home. Will be posting pics in a day or two, and for the one in progress, you guys'll have to wait a bit.

 

[NIGHTMARE]

Yes I used same inside my CFL holder to power up the LED.

 

[CyberKID]

Yes I used same inside my CFL holder to power up the LED.

May we have some pics? And how many LED's you're using with the charger?

I have one in the staircase with 14, 8mm LED's in a 2 x 7 configuration, powered by the charger. Will post pics in the evening today.
I've encased the whole setup in an old Pen Case and glued it up on the wall.
The second one I'm working on is a 16 LED setup, (the other charger I'm planning to use has a max wattage of 5 watts) may increase it to 18 LEDs, if the headroom allows. This one will be on my roof, out in the open, in the rains and the sun, so I'm planning it to be rugged, leakproof, and moreover, shockproof in case of water seepage, so has to carry low voltage in the wires that will power up the LED's.

Here are the ones-
The working one:
*i.imgur.com/R5ZKePwl.jpg

*i.imgur.com/FrNsAkWl.jpg

The one I'm working on

*i.imgur.com/SzYCzgJl.jpg

*i.imgur.com/mKVxksIl.jpg

 

[truegenius]

how about this cheap and simple setup/idea

buy 70 white LEDs for Rs140 (costs Rs2 per led in my area)
1. connect all of them in series (make sure that all leds are in perfect condition)
2. connect a 400v capacitor (used in mobile phone charger) in parallel to this led bulb cluster
3. and then connect a diode at a terminal of capacitor (keeping polarity in mind)
4. now connect other terminal of capacitor to a terminal of 220v ac supply and diode's free terminal to other terminal of ac supply.

efficiency will be maximum because there is no adapter or transformer
only leds are using the energy
this setup will cost only Rs100-150 (as we are purchasing leds in bulk so they may charge low)
this setup will use 2-5w only (i dunno what will be the current consumption of series of leds, but i guess 10-20mA only)

 

[icebags]

i made mistake here, white led voltage drop is 3.5v, not 0.7v. so replace all 0.7 with 3.5 and re calculate the math please. *l.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/emoticons7/9.gif

220-70*0.7 = 171 V at the end terminal of led series.

so to limit current to 20mA, u will need to add 171/0.02 = 8550 = ~10K ohm register in series to those leds. the diode should be 1N4007.

if the current to be 0.02A then resistor has to be 0.02*220 > ~ 5Watt rating, like 8W or something. (same as current consumption of circuit)

first diode & register to come in series with led series, then capacitor to be connected parallel to the leds after diode & resistor.

if u really want to implement this, do it in open space, make sure the mains have fuse installed and u are at least 10 meters away while switching ON the circuit.

CAUTION: U R PLAYING WITH 220 AC ELECTRIC VOLTS, CHANCE OF FATAL INJURY IF NOT TAKEN EXTREME PRECAUTION AND PROFESSIONAL GUIDANCE.
GET THE CIRCUIT VERIFIED BY A PROFESSIONAL ELECTRICAL/ELECTRONIC TECHNICIAN/PHYSICS/ELECTRICAL/ELECTRONICS TEACHER, BEFORE USING.

when was kid, i once connected a led to the mains, and it exploded, throwing away burning fragments.

p.s. 220-70*3.5 = 245 so i think they may not glow, cause mains voltage = 220-230v.

 

[CyberKID]

how about this cheap and simple setup/idea

efficiency will be maximum because there is no adapter or transformer
only leds are using the energy
this setup will cost only Rs100-150 (as we are purchasing leds in bulk so they may charge low)
this setup will use 2-5w only (i dunno what will be the current consumption of series of leds, but i guess 10-20mA only)

Pretty easy setup, but, the complexity of this setup is since this is working on 220v ac, and I suppose that you're planning to use those 70 led's in series, in case of some issue with the circuit, you risk all those led's killed. Moreover, I believe you won't be using that much light as generated by these many led's (I'm supposing that you're talking about 8mm led's, because Rs. 2 is too much for 5mm led's)

and what icebags has noted about working on 220 vac has to be taken into consideration seriously.

@icebags: those resistances (>5 watts are white hard to find) I haven't been able to find one beyond 5watts)

 

[Rajesh345]

how about this cheap and simple setup/idea

buy 70 white LEDs for Rs140 (costs Rs2 per led in my area)
1. connect all of them in series (make sure that all leds are in perfect condition)
2. connect a 400v capacitor (used in mobile phone charger) in parallel to this led bulb cluster
3. and then connect a diode at a terminal of capacitor (keeping polarity in mind)
4. now connect other terminal of capacitor to a terminal of 220v ac supply and diode's free terminal to other terminal of ac supply.

efficiency will be maximum because there is no adapter or transformer
only leds are using the energy
this setup will cost only Rs100-150 (as we are purchasing leds in bulk so they may charge low)
this setup will use 2-5w only (i dunno what will be the current consumption of series of leds, but i guess 10-20mA only)

Hello i am very less or have nil back group in Electronics /electricity but i am interested in this led project in my free time and i would like to ask few questions

1) Is this diagram correct acc. what you mentioned above
2) Since this is a AC circuit i dont have to worry about + / - ve rite? [ or is there any specific place i should worry about +ve /-ve
3) Diode is there any specific name when asking in shop ? [i heard there is pnp and npn diode and is there any Rating i should ask ?
4) To make custum design for say i use 10 LED's how much capactor and Diode's or its rating should i have ? is there any formula for it ?
5)What would the shock from a 400V capacitor do to a person?
What would the shock from a 400V capacitor do to a person? - Yahoo! UK & Ireland Answers


so what is the amperage ?



Note : sorry for all these beginer /Noo. questions

*s22.postimg.org/ct4si17oh/Untitled.png
B32521C6104J - EPCOS - CAPACITOR POLY FILM 0.1UF, 400V | element14 India
*in.element14.com/productimages/nio/standard/4434301.jpg

 

[truegenius]

1. see attachment for diagram.

2. we will need to take care of + and -
because we are using a capacitor as a temporary power source for that half cycle of ac which will be blocked by our main diode.

3. you can buy it by saying rectifier diode of 1N4007 code (this code means this diode is meant for 1000v or less voltage and, 1A max circuit current)
pnp and npn doesn't matter, just a simple diode (i.e not zener othef diode)
just like this one
1N4007 - FAIRCHILD SEMICONDUCTOR - DIODE, STANDARD, 1A, 1000V, DO | Farnell United Kingdom

4.
image of flat head white led
*img.diytrade.com/cdimg/1065269/11468843/1/1261115322/5mm_White_Flat_Head_LED_Lamp.jpg
*www.powerledworld.com/images/small/1368012548843455080.jpg
since a white led use 3.5v to give full glow, so if we want to use this circuit for 240v ac then we will need to use 240v/3.5v =68.6=~70 diodes in parallel (in led cluster)
so if our supply voltage is say 110v then we will need 110v/3.5v=31.4=~35 diodes

formula is
number of leds needed per led cluster = supply voltage / voltage of led (for which it is rated to glow at full strength)

idea behind this formula is to keep voltage drop in range of 3 to 3.5v per led (because voltage above 3.5v will lessen the life of our led and destroy it, and voltage below 3v won't be enough to get full glow out of our led)

so for 10 led circuit, we will need supply voltage of 35v, and we can keep same diode and same capacitor i.e no change needed in diode or capacitor.

5.
capacitor's image
*www.futurlec.com/Pictures/C010U400E.jpg
if we use a 12v source to charge capacitor then we can safely touch its terminals by finger (finger without any wound)
as max potential difference will be only 12v and our body does not feel voltage below 20-30v)

but 400v capacitor will be able to hold 0.004coulomb of charge when charged via a 400v source, so it can give shock as same as 400v dc source for few milli seconds to few seconds (depends on resistance of body)

when charged with a 240v source then capaciot will hold 0.0024coulomb of charge

so avoid touching capacitor terminals when charged, first short circuit it via a screw driver like tool (it will create a loud sound with spark) to fully discharge it.

we are using 400v 10uf electrolytic capacitor to store enough charge to deliver around 10-20mA of current for 0.02 seconds and 50 times in every second

so 10uf will be enough
and 400v range will keep us at safe side, i.e, capacitor will be able to work in 0+ to 400v range.

we fan use 50v capacitor if our supply source is 35v only (as in the case of 10led circuit)

 

[CyberKID]

There is a small circuit for using in the AC application, somewhat back in this thread. check that out for some help.
As far as your question and the circuit, I think, it won't work, because though you are using AC to light up those LED's, as a rule of thumb, LED's work on DC and thus using all those circuits, components and a Bridge rectifier, we convert that AC current to DC and this lights up the LED's. So, you have to worry about polarity.

 

[icebags]

*s22.postimg.org/ct4si17oh/Untitled.png

leds will explode. don't even think of doing it without a high watt resistor.

capacitor in series to ac will act transparent, will do nothing.

 

[quagmire]

Guys need a little help. I need suggestions for bright dimmable LED. Either multiple 1 watt leds or a single ~5 watt led is also fine.
I need to control these with a microcontroller using a relay and a relay driver.