Mounting LED drivers?

[paperfist]

Hey guys,

I'm really interested in those color changing LED lights to also use as overhead lighting. I see they make flush mount aluminum channels to run them in with a clear or frosted lenses which makes it look at lot more professional.

I know these are low voltage systems and don't quite follow the same rules as 120V wiring.

I'm just not understanding from reading some stuff on the web where and how you mount the drivers. From what I understand they put out a lot of heat and can't be installed in say a electrical box. They don't look like they'd fit in a 4x4 anyway. I don't think you can bury them in the ceiling either so I don't really get it. I see in kitchens it's common to mount them under the cabinets, but I don't have that in the bedrooms or living room I want to do.

Does anyone have experience working with them?

Thanks!

 

[boomerang]

I played around with these for some time trying this and trying that until I finally knuckled down and really did the research required. I had purchased the strip lights and then a driver and then a PWM as well as a number of switches to turn them off from a typical wall switch as you would any light. I wanted to run them along the back corner of an overhead niche that ran the length of the room. The effect I was looking for was to bounce the light off the ceiling to provide ambient lighting for the room. I could get them to come on, but I could not get them to dim.

Eventually I learned that there is LED strip lighting that can be dimmed and there is strip lighting that cannot be dimmed. I had purchased the wrong ones. Fortunately, they weren't that expensive.

So, does any of that I just related help you? Probably not would be my guess. But the following is what I ended up buying. They are one color but my recollection is that they are available with the capability to display multiple colors. The best part about these is that they require no driver. The mini remote allows for different brightness levels and selection of brightness across the spectrum as well as pre-programmed flashing routines that I feel would only be used in commercial settings. For example in a display window. They're pretty wacky for everyday use in residential applications.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00MHLIELM/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

If none of this is of any help to you, perhaps it will be for someone else. I should add that the remote is highly directional. So, if you feel that they would work for you, a remote used in one room should not have any effect on another room. I had to point the remote in the direction of the controller pretty much directly otherwise it had no effect. And I say had, because we just sold that place, closing on it last week. They worked great for the two plus years they were in place before the sale.

 

[paperfist]

I played around with these for some time trying this and trying that until I finally knuckled down and really did the research required. I had purchased the strip lights and then a driver and then a PWM as well as a number of switches to turn them off from a typical wall switch as you would any light. I wanted to run them along the back corner of an overhead niche that ran the length of the room. The effect I was looking for was to bounce the light off the ceiling to provide ambient lighting for the room. I could get them to come on, but I could not get them to dim.

Eventually I learned that there is LED strip lighting that can be dimmed and there is strip lighting that cannot be dimmed. I had purchased the wrong ones. Fortunately, they weren't that expensive.

So, does any of that I just related help you? Probably not would be my guess. But the following is what I ended up buying. They are one color but my recollection is that they are available with the capability to display multiple colors. The best part about these is that they require no driver. The mini remote allows for different brightness levels and selection of brightness across the spectrum as well as pre-programmed flashing routines that I feel would only be used in commercial settings. For example in a display window. They're pretty wacky for everyday use in residential applications.

Yes, I didn't know there were dimmeableand non-dimmeable LEDs, thought they were all dimmeable.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00MHLIELM/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

If none of this is of any help to you, perhaps it will be for someone else. I should add that the remote is highly directional. So, if you feel that they would work for you, a remote used in one room should not have any effect on another room. I had to point the remote in the direction of the controller pretty much directly otherwise it had no effect. And I say had, because we just sold that place, closing on it last week. They worked great for the two plus years they were in place before the sale.

Wow I can't believe that's just $14!

That's a neat setup with the remote, but like to your original intention I also want to control it with a switch. The intent is to use it as main lighting not accent.

 

[boomerang]

That's a neat setup with the remote, but like to your original intention I also want to control it with a switch. The intent is to use it as main lighting not accent.

I had them on a switch. I initially was trying various dimmer switches in the circuit trying to dim lights that I eventually found out would never dim.

I tapped into a receptacle on the wall for power, added a conventional on an off switch on that wall (where I had tried the various dimmers) and then wired up to a receptacle I added on the horizontal surface of the niche. Everything was run inside one stud cavity which made it very easy (on an inside wall too which also makes it easy) and the receptacle in the niche was not visible from below. I had the choice of turning the strip on and off with the switch on the wall or turning it on and off with the remote.

 

[paperfist]

I had them on a switch. I initially was trying various dimmer switches in the circuit trying to dim lights that I eventually found out would never dim.

I tapped into a receptacle on the wall for power, added a conventional on an off switch on that wall (where I had tried the various dimmers) and then wired up to a receptacle I added on the horizontal surface of the niche. Everything was run inside one stud cavity which made it very easy (on an inside wall too which also makes it easy) and the receptacle in the niche was not visible from below. I had the choice of turning the strip on and off with the switch on the wall or turning it on and off with the remote.

Thanks for your help.

I know you were just using them for more of ambient lighting, but do you think if you had enough of them you could light up a room?

I've been doing a little more research and came across a site that sells them and also has a pretty helpful blog: http://www.ledsupply.com/blog/ultimate-guide-on-buying-led-strip-lights/#comments

 

[boomerang]

I know you were just using them for more of ambient lighting, but do you think if you had enough of them you could light up a room?

Yeah, I believe so but the various factors involved make it impossible for me to say with any certainty. We are happy sitting in a room that is darkened. Others like their place lit up to a far greater degree. The point being how much light will satisfy you and you do have the places to put it? For the minor cost you might want to buy one reel and just string it between a couple of chairs or whatever one evening and see how much light you get out of it. Might give you an idea how much you'll need to accomplish what you desire.