Options for surface mount (no holes required) LED ceiling lights (24v for DMX)? LED strip options?

[Rob_in]

Hi all,

Our project is a new build in France. The regulations here require airtight ceilings. Plus, for our project there will be blown insulation in the space directly above the ceiling plasterboard.

This means that when specifying standard downlights they are a bit of a pain to install. Not impossible, but annoying.

I am curious as to if anyone has found any LED ceiling lights that mount on the surface (ie. need a tiny hole for the wire and nothing else). At the moment I'm thinking we will drive all the LEDs in the house directly from DMX controller so 24v to the lights is ideal.

OLED flat panels seem to be an obvious choice but I can only find these in pretty large sizes and my wife says it looks too much like an office ;)

I considered that LED strip lighting might do the job if installed in an aesthetically pleasing pattern. Has anyone tried to light their room with just LED strips and nothing else? Say a 3 x 4m room, you could put 3 strips of 3m each running along the 4m axis. Or a 2x2 square in the centre. Would 8-9m of strip be enough for this size room? More importantly, does it look nice? I think this could be a bit too much like old florescent strips!

Something like the 'flying profile' from Paulmann (facing directly down):

http://www.paulmann.com/paulmann/b2c-shop/en/all/Luminaires/LED-Stripes/Flying%20profile%20wall%20mounting%20bracket%202-piece%20set%20/70719

I know LED strips are great for room edge/cove lighting and have seen it installed in recessed ceilings, but lots of work with plasterboard is expensive :(

Thanks in advance for any advice :)

Robin

[Santeri / Finlandia Automation Ltd.]

Hi Robin,

here in Finland we have had the same construction methods and even thighter, so I know your problem. Here we put a paper lining over the plasterboard so it wont fall out (if you want a spot-type light). Most led-panels still work with constant current=requires power supply.

But mostly we use 24V low-profile led lights (which we are also selling wink-wink) and use DMX and rgbw dimmers. Lights cost around 35€ exl. vat.

We are at the moment planning a big house (600m2) where all lightning is done with LED stripts. There we use ultra bright strips (over 2000lumens/meter). The roof has 2-4cm "canyons" where the strips are placed in 1,5m lengts, in no exact pattern (customer wants this). 

Another alternative would be indirect lights if you have a bit higher to the ceiling, we use Ivela Balti:s, here's a pic of those in action. Ceiling is around 5,5 meters at the windows, 3 are in use at the most simultaneously which is enough to lit the whole livingroom and walkaway on the second floor. They are 75W and produce 7900 lumen each.

Santeri

[Santeri / Finlandia Automation Ltd.]

Oh and a hint, look for the description of the lights at what voltage they work. If it is 24V just ditch the powersupply!

Santeri

[Rob_in]

"Here we put a paper lining over the plasterboard so it wont fall out (if you want a spot-type light)."

You mean so the blown insulation won't fall out?

And you just use paper? I guess this means these lights don't get hot at all and are designed to be fitted with the insulation above touching them? Is that correct?

[seb303]

We installed downlights in rafter and ceiling space, both filled with Warmcel insulation.  Used a cover like this:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Downlight-Insulation-Cover-Spotlight-Protection/172408571408

Needs to be fixed to the plasterboard before installation.  We used grab adhesive and a couple of staples to hold it while the adhesive set.  Remember also to drill the holes for injecting the insulation in appropriate places so the downlight cover doesn't get in the way of the injecting lance.

No good for downlights that give off a lot of heat, but fine for LED downlights, especially if the drivers are external.

[Santeri / Finlandia Automation Ltd.]

Yes, the paper we use is almost cardboard so we get around 5cm of breathing room for the lights.The heat output is minimal, most of the heat is formed in the power supply which is mounted in the electival cabinet.

Santeri