LED Strips Installed in Fluoro Fitting |
LED Strips Installed and Illuminated |
LED Strips With Defuser |
| These fluorescent light fittings contained 2 x 8w fluorescent lamps and the electronics to run them. The tubes were removed along with the electronics and leaving just the switch. Four strips of double sided adhesive tape were stuck to the base where the tubes had been then cut 15 LED strips were secured after the wires had been soldered to the connection pads. The wires were routed into the switch section and then connected to the 12v wiring with a 2 pin connector. The LED strips SKU5312 were purchased from Deal Extreme on the internet. Cost is US$18.55 delivered. They come in 66LED lengths and may be cut in groups of 3 leds. There was insufficient room to fit the full 66 LEDS so from the strip there are 6 LEDs left over for another project. Be sure to use good quality 3M© double sided adhesive so there is no chance of the LEDs becoming loose. The whole job takes around 15-20 minutes and reduces the consumption of the fitting from 16 watts to a mere 4.8 watts with very similar light output but a brighter white colour. |
Package Containing One LED Lamp (click for larger image) |
LED Lamp Removed from Package |
Showing Underside |
Plastic Mount Removed (click for larger image with cover removed) |
Fitted to Rangehood |
Illuminated |
| To replace the 2 x 10W halogens in the Dometic rangehood I chose these ready made LED lamps that I found in Bunnings for $13 each. It proved almost impossible and expensive to get MR11 LED lamps and finding these was good luck. They are intended to suppliment a kit of 3 with power transformer but all we needed to buy was two of the suplimentry lamps. As shown they are fitted to a removable plastic mount that can be attached to any serface with the double sided mounting tape supplied or two small screws. I chose to fit them inside the metal plate where the MR11's were mounted so removed them from the plastic mount with a twisting action first then carefully aligned them over the holes in the metalwork and secured with four drops of adhesive. They were held in place with tape long enough for the glue to dry before discarding it. The wires supplied are cut to about 250mm length and then connected to the lamp supply terminal strip in the rangehood. There was no need to remove the original MR11 sockets as they don't interfere with the new lamps. The new LED lamps are fitted with 9 surface mounted LEDs in 3 strings of 3 each with a series 200 ohm resistor so there should be no problem with higher charging volts. They have a pleasant warm colour that is probably best for over the cooking area. They claim to produce as much light as a 5 watt incandescant and I am inclined to agree. They are not as bright as the halogens but are more than adequate for the stovetop. This is a massive power saving replacing 20 watts of halogen lamps with just 1 watt of leds. |
Original Light Fitting |
Original Halogen Bulb |
Fitting Disassembled Ready for Upgrade |
Ready for Assembly |
Illuminated |
| For the three bedroom downlights I again chose the Bunnings ready made LEDs this time using only the PC board and discarding the rest. The wires cut to about 100mm length and then soldered to the existing wiring and the joints covered with heatshrink. The one problem encountered was that the PC boards were a tiny bit larger than the plastic housing so the plastic had to be carefully scraped away to allow them to fit snugly. These halogens were 5W each and now 15W of lamps is replaced with just 1.5W of LEDs another winner. Bonus is that the lights are now softer in the bedroom area rather than the harsh halogen glow. |
Original Light Fitting |
12 LED block fitted and 21W automotive globe removed |
Closeup showing 16 ohm series resistor in black heatshrink |
Power on |
Defuser fitted |
| This light fitting in our shower contained of all things a 21W automotive globe and has been replaced with a 12 LED block held in place with a generous blob of silicon and fitted with a 16 ohm 1/2 watt series resistor (in the black heatshrink) to protect it from high charging voltages. The connecting wires were soldered directly to the incoming wires and fed in thru the original lamp holder. The 12 LED block SKU3513 were purchased from Deal Extreme on the internet. Cost is US$6.50 delivered. Huge power saving here replacing 21 watt with 1 watt of LED light that is significantly brighter ! |
Original Light Fitting |
Original Light Fitting with Lamp Illuminated |
Defuser Removed Showing Old Internals |
Bare Fitting ready for LEDs |
LED Strips Fitted |
Powered Up |
Defuser Replaced and Illuminated |
| Two of these fluorescent light fittings were located under our awning. They each contained a single folded 22w fluorescent lamp and the electronics to run them. The tubes were removed along with the electronics just leaving the lamp socket as if was glued in. Six strips of 9 leds were stuck down using the 3M© adhesive provided with these new strips. Wires had been soldered to the connection pads and the six strips were wired up as two separate groups for simplicity. The wires connected directly to the exsisting wiring and soldered and heat shrinked as these fittings can't really be removed. The LED strips SKU5312 were purchased from Deal Extreme on the internet. Cost is US$18.55 delivered. They now come in 60 LED lengths and may be cut in groups of 3 LEDs but they are significantly better made then the earlier ones. There was insufficient room to fit the full 60 LEDS so from the strip there are 6 LEDs left over for another project. The whole job took less time than the interior fluoro's each taking around 10-15 minutes and reduces the consumption of the fitting from 22 watts to a mere 4.3 watts with almost the same light output but the difference could be the less harsh colour than the original. |
Original Light Fitting |
12 LED block fitted and 21W automotive globe removed |
16 ohm series resistor in black heatshrink and power on |
Defuser Fitted and Illuminated |
| This light fitting in the locker has the same 21W automotive globe as the shower fitting above and has been replaced with a 12 LED block held in place with a generous blob of silicon and fitted with a 16 ohm 1/2 watt series resistor (in the black heatshrink) to protect it from high charging voltages. The connecting wires were soldered directly to the incoming wires and in this fitting the lamp holder could be removed so the wires are fed in thru the hole where is was. The 12 LED block SKU3513 were purchased from Deal Extreme on the internet. Cost is US$6.50 delivered. Another huge power saving here replacing 21 watt with 1 watt of LED light that is again significantly brighter ! |
