lighting question

[David E. Penner]

I'm building a display stand for a friend. She wants to use this stand for a piece of blown glass. It will be approximately 12" X 12" x 44". The construction will be wood, but the top will be glass. Here's my question. She wants the art piece to be underlit. What would be an appropriate light source to place in the stand (where there will be little to no venting). I think a halogen would be way too hot. What about a Xenon puck light? Would that be cool enough? Would a small flourescent (sp?) be a better choice? Any other suggestions?

Thanks in advance for any help

David

[Leon]

Perhaps a rope light under frosted glass.

[firstjois]

I saw a rope light in a smallish cabinet this past year and was really impressed. Not too much, not too little and I had to hunt to find out how they did it. (inconspicious)

Josie

[Charles Spitzer]

how much light does she want? rope lighting isn't too bright. compact fluorescents are cooler but still does produce heat that you'd have to get rid of.

[Clint]

How about LED's? Some of the one's I've seen are pretty bright, and I don't think they give off much heat. You'll need to rig up your own transformer, as I don't believe they like 120V.

Clint

[Charles Spitzer]

there are some white led light arrays that can replace regular lights, iirc equivalent to 45 watt bulbs. downside is they cost around $90 each.

[Ed & Sue Beresnikow]

I don't envy you. Art and its presentation is 'different' to each beholder! There is mood and all the other aspects that define the "_art_".

Do you have a view from your friend as what they are looking to see. This is key. Different lighting means give different results and views and might fit the piece or be way out. Changes are surprisingly dramatic even to changing colour, hue and presentation.

I would be inclined to do a mock up even with cardboard and scraps of glass to let them consider the various results. Take that input into your design and deal with venting depending on that choice.

There is the temptation to let technology drive the construction and overlook the appearance aspect in favour of dealing with cooling etc. But, knowing the desired result, you can now design toward the end result within that huge range of choices going from the lowly incandescent through LED or to FibreOptic.

Incandescent lamps often do the job in homes in closed fixtures. I think here you are likely looking at a low power need and that might even be made to work as incandescent if the result matches. The art effect is likely key.

Ed

[Pete Duncan]

I recently installed a switched outlet inside a kitchen pantry, with a rope light plugged in and draped around the inside top and sides of the door frame for lighting. For a full-height pantry (not a "walk-in") that had no interior lighting, it's a huge improvement.