LED lighting for stair treads...

[Mike Deblis]

Hi,

I'm looking for suitable LED lighting to put in the stringer to light every

2 or 3 treads on the stairs in our rebuild - about 6 lights in total. The staircase is not in yet, so I can pretty much do what I want.

Ideally, we are looking for very low level lighting that is robust (kick/bash-with-vacuum-cleaner-proof) and which has a shallow fitting. because there is a cupboard under the stairs, we can hide the transformer in there. We are intending to use ZUL202 series lights elsewhere as night-time lighting for the hall & passageways. I have thought about decking lights, but they tend to be quite chunky and the choice is huge. The lights would have to have round fittings probably as square ones would look odd stuck in a stringer. They also have to be fairly small diameter so as not to weaken the stringer (my builder says), so the ZUL series stuff is too big anyway...

So, what are people's view/experiences of this - is it a dumb idea - I think it might look quite cool at night... what units might do the trick?

Thanks

Mike

[seajays]

Couple of sites selling LED lighting for ideas...

[Mike Deblis]

simple Google will show that. It's the huge choice that makes it so difficult to choose. What I'm after is peoples experiences with what works...

Thanks

Mike

[s--p--o--n--i--x]

You can get stuff called "Electroluminescent wire" in various colours that glowws when a battery is connected.

You could mount some of this inside clear PVC tubing mounted under the 'nose' of the step with pipe clips.

B&Q used to sell EL wire kits; not sure if they still do. Many places on the web stock it including:

suspect Maplin also stock it and possibly car accessory shops.

sponix

[s--p--o--n--i--x]

Yup, just checked.

Maplin sell 'Blue' and 'Aqua' coloured EL wire, (Stock Nos A64AL and A63AL), just under a tenner for a 1.5 metre length. However, this includes a voltage inverter that is needed to power the wire.

Very robust, too and can be bent to form whatever shape you wish.

sponix

[Mike Deblis]

I thought about EL wire - I've used it in other projects but its not appropriate here - I want small round lights in the stringer.

I have a reel of SMD blue LEDs and a reel of white, and am thinking about having a local fabricator make some holders, whilst I knock up a quick PCB for these. However, this would be pricey and very time consuming, so I was hoping to find something acceptable ready-made.

Mike

[Mike Deblis]

The effect I'm looking for is like

(look at the descending stairs). The unit that they have that does this is the LENS1 , but its only available in white - I really want stainless steel or something like that. Note the very fine angle of beam - 6 degrees - so it throws over the whole tread...

Mike

[Ian Stirling]

Be aware that some of the cheaper end of the market LEDs will have significant dimming over time issues. As well as a percentage of failure. White and blue are probably especially bad for this, red, green are essentially a mature technology that doesn't fail. White is worst, as the phosphor can be screwed up, but blue LEDs are not as reliable at the cheap end of the LED market. And replacing the lights later, or trying to find a match would be fun.

If it was me, I'd strongly consider DIY. Drill a 6mm hole into the stringer, just above the tread, and pointing downwards at an appropriate angle for the LED you choose. Paint the inside of this hole black, as matt black as you can find. Put the LED inside the hole, some 5-10mm back from the edge, and you'll get light, with no glare, the only thing you'll see will be the side-scatter from the matt black paint.

A 6mm routed groove all the way up the side of the stringer, some 10mm deep, with a 6mm*6mm square section on top of it to hide the wires, is quite adequate. (if needed). Having said that, I'm paranoid, and if I was doing this, I'd probably go for the option of using 10mm holes, and connecting the LEDs in each hole using 3.5mm mono headphone plugs. This way you can easily change it if an LED fails, or even change colurs.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Ordinary bare round LEDs have a pretty tough casing. Glued in a suitable hole they'd survive well. What colour did you want?

What covering on the stairs?

[--s-p-o-n-i-x--]

On 05 Aug 2005 22:17:36 GMT, Ian Stirling wrote: ..

I'd be a bit wary of drilling too many holes in a staircase as I'm not sure how this'd weaken the structure. Drilling holes in wooden joists is pretty well documented, staircases less so.

Having said that 10mm holes would probably be OK.

The other concern I'd have is fire. Obviously the staircase is a major exit from the upstairs. You'd need to take precautions to ensure that if the wiring gets shorted it doesn't cause the staircase to combust (ie fuse it correctly and locate any transformer away from the staircase)!

sponix

[--s-p-o-n-i-x--]

is very cost effective for PCBs

sponix

[Mike Deblis]

I tend to use Olimex - USD 26 for a double-sided, plated through, silk-screened & soldermasked Eurocard (10cm x 16cm). Free panelisation of smaller cards included.