Not in the train room, but we just installed LED night lights throughout the house, and - let me tell ya - they're weird!! Even the cats hide. With their blue light, they might fit into scenes from Polar Express... Scott
LED lighting comes in a variety of temperature/colors. You can mix and match to obtain what you want. Have to buy on-line though, as the stuff in home center stores is not the latest, just the cheapest. Note that a 60 watt incandescent is about 800 lumens. I personally am planning for 800 lumens about every 3 feet, so the following example might not be bright enough unless you double them up. It does illustrate one way to vary the color though. http://www.elementalled.com/shop-by-item/strip-lights/white-balance-led-lighting.html Here's a brighter one, from the same supplier. Comes in 2 temperature/colors, which could presumably be overlapped to vary the color somewhat. http://www.elementalled.com/high-density-12v-brighter-flexible-led-strip-light.html MH
I have not tried them, but I looked at some in a lighting specialty store. I did not think they would be bright enough to satisfy me. I am planning on track lights...but haven't got them yet.
Not too bad for a small layout, but be prepared to change your shorts when you get the bill for a garage-sized pike...with two decks! :tb-tongue: It is amazing the low power consumption vs light output for these things (and they're small!). Hopefully as time goes, the prices will begin to drop to a more reasonable level.
I am resigned to it costing about $1,000. for my smallish 14' x 8' "L"-shaped layout, which requires about 28' of lighting along the edges of the layout facing the viewer. On the other hand, I don't have to worry about cost of electricity, weight, or heat buildup with LEDs. The latter 2 are particularly important, as my lighting will be behind an upper valence strip supported on the layout (weight), and the layout is in an upper room which gets warm in the summer (heat). MH
That's why you need to look at the rated light output (lumens per foot) and termperature/color. Just saying it's "LED lighting" doesn't tell you the light output, nor the color. The stuff in most stores seems to be first generation LED strip lighting, and will probably not deliver in these 2 areas. Maybe in a few years? Otherwise you need to get it online (see my links) and pay more. MH
Seems to me the flourescent lights have it all over the L.E.D.'s for now. When I look at my electrical bill I find that the cost of actual electricity used is a mere fraction of the total bill. There are other charges in the bill that are built in charges and do not change no matter how much or how little electricity is used. Buying expensive L.E.D. lighting will have little impact on your light bill but a big impact on your wallet.
One of my biggest concerns with LED lighting would be with the color temperature. Of course, cost was my number one concern for LED lighting, but if you have already planned to spend $1,000 on lighting, cost must not be an issue with you. I know there are suitable fixtures available because some forum members use LED lighting on their layouts. Tim Horton's Dawson Creek Subdivision is one I know of--here is a link to his website where he describes his use of LED lighting: http://www.bcrdawsonsub.ca/ Click the Construction link then the Lighting the Layout link. Here is a photo from his site: Jamie
I have been checking into CFL's. They even have dimmable ones. I am hoping to have a good sized "U" shaped, single deck layout soon (12x16). By my calculations...7 CFL's evenly spaced on the ceiling ( 3 down each long leg and 1 in the center of the 12' span) should give me the right amount of light. I have seen CFL's used on multi deck layouts too...with good results. Just another possibilty. .
I’m glad you brought this up because I’m going to have to start thinking about light in my train room. I bought some florescent strip lights, but after opening up the boxes and seeing them, I decided to hold off. Then on recent trip out of town, we stopped at a IKEA Store where they had a lot of reasonably priced LED light fixtures. Some would make a great night time star lighting if used with a dimmer switch. I picked up a catalog and was going to study it in the train room for some ideas. I am amazed at how much light is in the photo Jamie showed and that gives me more inspiration to go with the lighting. I’m planning on selling my home in a few years and I don’t want to have a lot of fixing and repair when I move, so I’m looking for more of something with long cords. The shelf idea is kind of nice because I could just fill in the screw holes and paint when it comes time to sell. I guess i'm going to return the florescent strip lights. :tb-biggrin:
Anther point about LED lighting is that LED lighting is very directional compared to other forms of lighting. Even the LED Floodlights are very directional when compared to their counterparts. (Not to mention expensive.) but hey efficient. My Father a decade ago built a bunch of nightlights for the houseboat out of LED's and a 9volt. They would last an entire season on one battery and were plenty bright to allow use of restroom facilities and such. Best placement was in front of a mirror to disperse the light.
Here is a 4 pk of strip lights for under $50 at IKEA that look interesting. IKEA | Integrated lighting | Bookcase lighting | DIODER | Light strip
He seems to be using multiple parallel strips, which of course adds to the total light. Of course the actual amount of light isn't really discernable from a photograph, as you don't know what the EV (exposure value) was. If the EV is long enough and movement is minimal, a photo can make night look like day. Multiple strips may be a way to lower the overall cost, in cases where the lower-lumen-yield strips are sufficiently inexpensive. The downside to this approach is that you don't get shadows, and so are simulating an overcast day. Of course getting single-direction shadows from a (more expensive) higher-lumen LED strip would be complicated. I had planned to put the strips along the front of the layout, to keep large objects at least 3" back from the front so the facing surfaces are lit, and to channel the light from the strips to one side using flat diagonal baffles. (I actually tested the baffle idea on a fluorescent fixture, and it did yield directional shadows). MH
Yes, but they don't tell you the light output in lumens per foot. It is probably quite low, for that price. Remember, the older you get, the harder it is to see in low lighting conditions. MH
While I haven't yet had the opportunity to see Tim's layout in person, I have been at one of his clinics where he demonstrated the characteristics of the LED strips he uses. I was amazed at just how much illumination these strips provide if they are in close proximity to the lit surface such as in his multi-deck layout. AFAIK, those pictures on his web site are meant to be an accurate representation of what you would see in person. They are not long exposures. David
I saw them light up at the store when I was there and they seemed ok, but can’t verify exactly how much light they gave off because there were so many other lights on display at the same time. I’m going to buy a set the next time I’m’ in the area which will be in two weeks and if no else comes up with something for sure that works, then I’ll post my evaluation at that time.
I looked at all of the IKEA LED lighting in their store here in Atlanta and did not find anything suitable. The only ones that looked like would have enough light were very bluish (like the old "bright white" LED headlights that came out in the early 2000s) and were very small and expensive. The IKEA trips worked out great for me however, because I ended up buying 60 of their pre-wired socket fixtures for $4 each and use daylight CFL bulbs in them for my layout lighting. Jamie
Good subject as I am also trying for figure how to light the new layout and layout room. I'm still checking around for examples. Here is a company in St Louis that I ran across in my travels in the truck. LEDS, LEDS, & More LEDS: Super Bright LEDs – LED Lights, Bulbs, and Accessories Have just been looking at their catalog and have not bought anything for them, but they have a lot of types and parts.
