Light fixtures - 24v LED bulbs

[Chaz]

I just got my 24v led rope light in......... cool!

Now, I want to put in 24v LED light fixtures for task lighting and specific purposes. You guys have any suggestions?? Where to get them? What to get?

So far, the best I can come up with, is getting fixtures that will accept the 1156 automotive bulbs and buying 24v LED bulbs for them. Is there any other/better way to do it?

Do any of you have 24v lighting?

I did also find some adapters, but would rather just do it the "correct way" (if you will) from the start.

Illuminating my world,
    Chaz

p.s. Hey Cliff, I also found some "CUTE" little LED rechargable flashlights that plug right into great little outlets you sent me.     I may have to get one for each outlet!!  Seriously!!  Thanx again buddy.

[Lee Bradley]

Chaz,
You may want to check here http://www.superbrightleds.com/

[JimC]

Chaz,
I was going to recommend the same site, or similar ones that sell on the eplace.

Look closely at the MR16 bulbs, there are many MR16 fixtures that sell at the large home places for very reasonable prices. I would suggest that you get the wide angle flood light bulbs though, otherwise the light is a very narrow spot.

Jim

[Sean]

Chaz,

All our incandescent lighting is 24v.  Incandescent bulbs are readily available in that voltage (although much pricier than 12v equivalents).  However, you asked about LED's.

Unfortunately, 24v LED fixtures are not commonly available, with the exception of exterior models such as clearance lamps, stop and turn signals, etc. (and even these are usually expensive compared to 12v models).

What we did for our LED interior lighting was to purchase 12v models and wire them pair-wise in series.  As long as you use identical fixtures, this will work fine.  That will open up a huge selection of fixtures to you that are only available in 12v, and will probably save you money even on ones that are also available in 24v.

-Sean
http://ourodyssey.blogspot.com

[Chaz]

Hey Sean,
  I do remember you mentioning that is what you did. (brain fart!) That does sound like a viable option, but the MR16 sockets that Jim mentioned sounds like that might be easier. I even have a few of those in my house. I also seen where they sell just the sockets in case I would want to get "creative"!  Who me!!??!!??  I might order a couple bulbs to just check them out. But it seems like they are pretty cool.

  Next thing, Linda wants a "Clapper".  (OMG!!)

Shine on me,
   Chaz

[Tim Strommen]

Chaz - how far do you want to go?

If I recall correctly, you're kind of a "hands-on" type...  You may want to try doing a custom LED based light fixture.  I have one PCB design that is pretty cheap and puts out a decent ammount of light for its size (2.5" diameter, 1/4" thick).  The below pictured layout is for qty 4 Luxeon Rebel LEDs (any color) - and will run on any voltage from 12.5V up to 29V (DC).  Based on your needs and budget I might be able to work up something that would suit your specific needs and/or budget. This fixture is designed to put out about 280 Lumens (about 75% of what a 30Watt incandescent brake light bulb would put out) of cool white light (6500K - or around daylight color), and would fit within a standard "puck" halogen fixture (using bent header pins it will plug in to a standard bi-pin halogen bulb base).  Only draws about 5Watts (including the on-board voltage converter).

Cheers!

-Tim

[Chaz]

Tim,
  Wow, those bad boys are SMALL!!!    But even after reading about them, I'm still in the dark (no pun intended ) I'm definitely "hands on" but I'm not sure what you are saying.

In the dark,  (yet again)
   Chaz
 

[JimC]

Chaz,
here is a link to an old thread on the led's.

http://www.busconversions.com/bbs/index.php?topic=5407.msg50485#msg50485

Jim

[Chaz]

Thank you, thank you, thank you Jim!
Last night, after spending WAAAAAY to much time on the net looking for fixtures I decided to look at building my own. The only ones I could really find were Track Lights or Outdoor Lights. I would have to modify those also. Your post here is perfect timing!!
I seen where I had even responded to that old thread!    Unfortunately, I had slept since then and forgot about it. 
The way you did your lights is a stroke of genius! I actually ordered a couple bulbs and sockets, a couple days ago, on the outside chance I might have to build what I want. ("might"...HA!! Who am I kidding!?!?  lol) I wish there were more fixture choices for an MR16 bulb, but I'm not finding them. And MR16's seem to be about the only 24v LED bulb.
Oh well, I'll just keep making my bus more "mine". 

  Now if I could just figure ont this back cabinet............. 
     Chaz

[Dallas]

Chaz... here is some interesting stuff on setting up your own LED's:

http://www.nabble.com/OT:-How-to-install-LED-bulb-in-Yaesu-G-800DXA-td15654479.html

http://www.uashem.com/pageid-164.html

http://forum.allaboutcircuits.com/showthread.php?t=10978

[Chaz]

Oh s**t...................... Dang!!!! I thought I could just hook them up and run with it. Thanx for the heads up Dallas. I guess I am going to have to go back to school to hook up my lights.  *&^%$#@$%#&*^!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I hate school.

Chaz

[Tim Strommen]

So Chaz,

   One of the things I started with before getting into the light fixtures themselves is coming up with a number of how much light I needed for a specific space.  So allow me a few questions:

• What type of space is this being used for?
• What type of activity is ocuring in this (these) space(s)?
• What time of day are these activities being done in this space? (this speaks to the ammount of available natural light)
• If there is a work surface (i.e. counter/sink), how big is it?

These types of questions can be used to find a general light quantity required for a space (in lumens/ sq.ft.).  Specific values can be retrieved from one of many books on the subject (mostly written for architecture students and architects) of which I have a few (though I’m not and architect or student…).

Once you know how much light you’ll need, it’s a good idea to take a look at the space around the area you want to light to see where you can put light fixtures (and what shape they can be) – without getting in the way of the light’s path to the lit surface (so you won’t cast a shadow on your kitchen counter ).  Once you know how much light you need and where you can fit fixtures, you’ll want to look at two budgets: Financial, Power.  Based on this you can decide what you can afford in cost which will determine what type of fixture you can put in (and what each option will do to your battery run-time).

You seem to be leaning towards LED light sources, which suggests two data-points: 1) you have a pretty good budget for task lighting, and/or 2) you have a limited power budget, so you need the most efficient light fixtures you can manage.  By “hands on” I’m talking about complete assembly – not just integration of a module into a fixture.  So how good are you at SMT soldering?

I can spec out a board (Bill Of Materials and performance characteristics) for you and draw up the PCB file, if you want to have the boards built, put on (SMT Solder) all of the parts and do the integration as well...  The good news is that once built (if built well) these fixtures will normally run 50K hours before they really start to lose light output.

National Semi has a new-ish part (LM3404HV) that would allow you to drive several high-power LEDs from a 8-75VDC source (based on the voltage of the LEDs + the switch loss).  The efficiency is pretty high with this part – better than 85%, so not much heat other than what the LEDs put out needs to be handled.

Keep in mind – the cost of a single high power LED is about $4, the cost of an LED driver IC is about $5, and the cost of a PCB in low-volume is about $12.  For a design like the one I pictured above, the cost is around $30 per fixture in volumes of 12.  If you can find a fixture that will put out the right amount of light for less – it’s probably going to be less headache for you…

Cheers!

-Tim

P.S. Given the cost of gas and every other point in energy, I should recommend that you look at posibly putting in some solar capability to off-load your lighting needs to a solar system (as oposed to running a generator or shore-power).  Even a few watts of solar like 30 (would be about 6 sq.ft. using cheap Northern Tools panels), would likely keep you lit for quite a while (of course - based on your lighting needs). -T

[JimC]

Chaz,
I may be wrong, but the sites that Dallas linked to are for making the entire light fixtures from individual led bulbs, or a string of them. When you buy the MR16 LED bulbs listed on the websites cited in the previous post, they will already have the resisters and diodes that are needed built into them so they are pretty much plug and play!

At least that is what i found, they are already set up to just ad the correct voltage or power source, a switch, and light them up, therefore all you have to do is find or build an appropriate fixture for them.

Don't give up, its easier than it seems, and the power savings with them is worth the effort. I have about $7.00 per light invested in mine, and I feel that is a great investment when I can run about 12 of them and light up the whole front of my bus, using only about 18 watts of energy, PLUS they run straight off the house battery, not through the inverter.

Jim

[Dallas]

Chaz,
I may be wrong, but the sites that Dallas linked to are for making the entire light fixtures from individual led bulbs, or a string of them. When you buy the MR16 LED bulbs listed on the websites cited in the previous post, they will already have the resisters and diodes that are needed built into them so they are pretty much plug and play!

At least that is what i found, they are already set up to just ad the correct voltage or power source, a switch, and light them up, therefore all you have to do is find or build an appropriate fixture for them.

Don't give up, its easier than it seems, and the power savings with them is worth the effort. I have about $7.00 per light invested in mine, and I feel that is a great investment when I can run about 12 of them and light up the whole front of my bus, using only about 18 watts of energy, PLUS they run straight off the house battery, not through the inverter.

Jim

Yup, those links are for DIY. Being that Chaz is a of hands on kind o' guy, I thought he might like to try some on his own.

[superpickle]

Holy Krapp, youve invented the FLUX Capacitor 



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