*PROJECT* Need advice on long distance LED rgb light strip project

shCope

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Jan 17, 2017
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http://imgur.com/a/KxpBs - Pics of room that I am planning on stripping.
Above are pictures of my basement. With no previous lighting experience, I have been researching RGB LEDs in order to line the outer edge of my entire basement (which would require roughly 45m of strip). So my question is: what is the best option if I want to be able to do a variety of things, with the simplest setup, and to not break the bank? Also, will I need to do anything in particular to lay this long of a run? What would be a good starting point? Any advice would be appreciated.

Note: It would be reallllly cool if anyone knew where I could get strips that have the chips in it that allow for awesome configurations like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09eEdbpb-nI&t=2s


Another Note: How should I hang them? Should I use a trough for indirect lighting, or use staples/the stock adhesive and do it directly?


Links to the products would be greatly appreciated as prices seem to vary WIDELY and I don't know the difference
 

Lithopsian

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Oct 9, 2016
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LED strips are almost always used for indirect lighting. One obvious exception is for under-cabinet task lighting. Either way, it is not desirable to have the individual LEDs visible except for specific special effects. Note that indirect lighting means you will have to use quite a lot more light than you expect and also consider the colour of the reflecting surface. If indirect lighting is not practical, consider a diffuser over the strip.

The type of strip shown in the video uses addressable RGB LEDs. These can come as SMDs on a flat strip of plastic, or as individual LEDs linked by wire. The type in the video appear to be the "Crazy Lights" brand which is 5050 SMDs on a flat PCB. Make sure you don't buy non-addressable RGB strip, which allows colour changing and mixing, but all the LEDs are always the same colour. Also make sure you get compatible voltages between the LEDs and driver. Usually they are 12V, but sometimes 5V (USB-compatible) or 24V. Usually I'd recommend going for 24V for long runs, but the addressable RGB strips are implicitly constant-current designs so 12V or even 5V will run well over 5m.

Typically these strips come on 5m reels, certainly the Crazy Lights do. These usually have to be individually powered since running the current from multiple reels through the last strip in line could cause unacceptable voltage drop and possibly overheating. You can wire separate 5m segments from the same driver if it can support the current and if it is convenient to run that length of wiring. The obvious convenient case is to run one reel in each direction away from a driver. The data lines on the 5m segments are connected in "series" so that the whole string can be controlled together. Usually the controller will be able to supply power to the first 5m segment. In the Crazy Lights case, the controller is designed to simultaneously operate two 5m reels in "parallel" so that each is addressed identically. You can then string two sets of reels together, but still each needs to be separately powered.

There are various addressing protocols with slightly different behaviour. I know that you can run 100m with the Crazy lights, but some others may have lower limits.
 

Barbarin

Flashlight Enthusiast
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Jul 30, 2001
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Pamplona- NA- Spain
I would use 24V RGB stripes, with amplifiers and so on. If you don´t mind about some flicker and you don´t need high power, I would use 220 V AC strip. You can get almost those 45 meters with maximum simplicity. The 220 V AC ones are waterproof, and perfectly covered in PVC, so you dont need to worry about how to fix them, is like a hose.

Full RGB or digital ones are going to be really complicated unless you are an expert.

Javier
 
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