X10 Community Forum
💬General Category => General Discussion => Topic started by: HA Dave on November 19, 2008, 06:21:32 PM
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Just a reminder that this can be a great time of year to try out a little LED lighting.
I like using the small (50-70 lights) light strings to add background lighting. I've found when using a CFL.... a single light can leave a room feeling cave-like... with dark areas and/or shadowy corners. Adding what is only a watt or two of LED lights can make a room feel and look much cheerier. The small string of clear LED Christmas lights spread out on top of a tall cabinet (or on a shelf) may be all you need.
I like adding adapters (http://www.x10community.com/forums/index.php?topic=13140.msg74325#msg74325) to SocketRockets and using macros to have the LED's come on (and turn off) automaticly.
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Just a reminder that this can be a great time of year to try out a little LED lighting.
I like using the small (50-70 lights) light strings to add background lighting. I've found when using a CFL.... a single light can leave a room feeling cave-like... with dark areas and/or shadowy corners. Adding what is only a watt or two of LED lights can make a room feel and look much cheerier. The small string of clear LED Christmas lights spread out on top of a tall cabinet (or on a shelf) may be all you need.
I like adding adapters (http://www.x10community.com/forums/index.php?topic=13140.msg74325#msg74325) to SocketRockets and using macros to have the LED's come on (and turn off) automaticly.
LED accent lighting idea #2 (I love the cabinet idea).
Hot glue a string of clear LEDs under your kitchen and bathroom cabinets. Makes a great "night light" that can be left on all night and not increase in your electric bill. I too use socket rockets for control. I wish X10 would make a male/female plug similar to a grounding adaptor, but with Socket Rocket guts, for low wattage loads. Trouble is some twit too lazy to read the instructions, would plug a space heater in to it, burn down their house and sue X10...I guess it's a bad idea since it can not be idiot proof. I would build my own, if I could figure how to get the socket rocket apart.
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A new find!!!
I was at Sam's Club today. They now have a very large selection of LED lights. I purchased an indoor/outdoor floodlight (http://www.samsclub.com/shopping/navigate.do?dest=5&item=389895) that uses 5 watts and replaces a 45 watt conventional bulb (19 watt CFL).
The package has a warning about may cause interference radios, TV, Phone, remote controls. I am testing it in my office now... and I haven't found any problems.
I have seen LED floodlights on-line before... but this one was only $15.
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And yet one more use for those strings of LED Christmas lights. I found this at instructables (http://www.instructables.com/id/Convert-a-tablelamp-to-LED-for-CHEAP/). I haven't tried it.... yet. But I will!
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I have one of those jammed inside my light pole outside the front door - I used the multi-colour LED sting set for the maximum neighbour annoyance value :)
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.... I used the multi-colour LED sting set for the maximum neighbour annoyance value.
Thats interesting! I was thinking a 50 light multi-color twinlking string as a DIY fake TV effect (http://www.faketv.com/).
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I have one of those jammed inside my light pole outside the front door - I used the multi-colour LED sting set for the maximum neighbour annoyance value :)
THAT may get you on every neighbour's s-list very fast. Feuds like that last for years. Expect to see garbage dumped on your porch.
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I should have been out looking for LED Christmas lights even sooner than today. But I was able to find a 90 LED string and followed the forementioned Instructables directions (http://www.instructables.com/id/Convert-a-tablelamp-to-LED-for-CHEAP/). The lights and adapter make this a Five Dollar LED project. I used wire ties to secure my LEDs inside the lamps harp. [tip: Remove the lamps harp so you can work elsewhere while securing the LEDs to the harp]
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What did I save... and is it worth it? Well I didn't save much! The LEDs use 7.2 watts and replaced a simple CFL that uses 11 watts. A 3.8 watts savings isn't worth the cost of converting (even with lights at 50% off).... except CFL's are hazardous to have around humans when they break. So switching to LEDs has benefits PLUS a little energy savings.
Is the light exceptable? This particular lamp sets beside my big easychair. I like to use this area and chair for watching TV and using the Interweb from my laptop. And in this location I don't think this is going to be a satisfactory amount of light. But it was worth the test even if it didn't work out like I had hoped. I might try them in another location with a different configuration. If nothing else.. we plan on celebrating Christmas again next year as well. I am sure we'll find a place to use the lights.
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....... I used the multi-colour LED sting set for the maximum neighbour annoyance value :)
........ Expect to see garbage dumped on your porch.
beelocks... do you live next door to Dan Lawrence? rofl
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Kinda hard. beelocks lives in New 'Hampshire, I live in Baltimore. NH is probably getting dumped with snow at this point. Baltimore as I post this has 1/4" of the white stuff,we will see how much is here tomorrow.
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The people on my street are slowly getting used to my peculiar foreign ways.
My LED fake deer thing (like the one DaveX10 shot) ended up with red LED eyes and a nodding head - purely in the interests of experimentation ;)
Snow clearance at 3am sounds like a new idea to test them with :'
We've only had about a foot so far, but it hasn't really started yet - they're predicting snowfall of 3 to 4 inches per hour in the wee hours.