Help me assemble the parts for an LED ribbon lighting system
February 23, 2016 6:45 AM Subscribe
I'm trying to determine what parts I need to bring LED lighting to my home.
I'd like to install some lights in multiple rooms to be controlled by wall switches and my phone and my network.
But I'd like to do it in stages to reduce cost.
So, time for details.
What I want to end up with:
2 x 7m RGBw LED strips in one room. (These will be the main lights, so I'm assuming 60 LEDS/m. Not sure what if any difference voltage makes here, because I've seen them in both 12V and 24v)
At least 1 wall switch that can control said lights.
A controller which will talk to my network so I can control them with phone or computer
I also already have 5 metres 12v 30 LED/m rgb lights which I'd like to install in my bathroom. So that would need a lightswitch as well, and I'd like to connect it to the same network smartphone system.
So, questions.
If I buy 24v LEDs for the main room can I then also control the 12v Leds on the same system (separately powered presumably)
In terms of control can I install the wall switches and then later on integrate a network based controller or do the wall switches talk to the main controller, making it a false economy?
What's the smallest amount of this system I can install and then work towards the full featured system?
How difficult would it be to add more lights to more rooms later on.
(To a maximum of 6 rooms/zones)
I've seen these wall switches which call themselves single zone or multi zone.
If I want to just control the main room from a switch but then have another different switch for the other zone is that single zone or multi zone?
Could I later add on a second switch for the main room?
I can post links to the specific products I've been looking at if that's helpful, but I didn't want to do that here to avoid it looking like spam. I'm not married to any of these specific products though, I'm happy with whatever works.
So, time for details.
What I want to end up with:
2 x 7m RGBw LED strips in one room. (These will be the main lights, so I'm assuming 60 LEDS/m. Not sure what if any difference voltage makes here, because I've seen them in both 12V and 24v)
At least 1 wall switch that can control said lights.
A controller which will talk to my network so I can control them with phone or computer
I also already have 5 metres 12v 30 LED/m rgb lights which I'd like to install in my bathroom. So that would need a lightswitch as well, and I'd like to connect it to the same network smartphone system.
So, questions.
If I buy 24v LEDs for the main room can I then also control the 12v Leds on the same system (separately powered presumably)
In terms of control can I install the wall switches and then later on integrate a network based controller or do the wall switches talk to the main controller, making it a false economy?
What's the smallest amount of this system I can install and then work towards the full featured system?
How difficult would it be to add more lights to more rooms later on.
(To a maximum of 6 rooms/zones)
I've seen these wall switches which call themselves single zone or multi zone.
If I want to just control the main room from a switch but then have another different switch for the other zone is that single zone or multi zone?
Could I later add on a second switch for the main room?
I can post links to the specific products I've been looking at if that's helpful, but I didn't want to do that here to avoid it looking like spam. I'm not married to any of these specific products though, I'm happy with whatever works.
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There may be other ways to do it but you could have the switch just shut off the main power to the lights ,giving you a master on off. This may reset any light level you had before you shut off and you would have to use your phone to reset it so this would not be great.
This may be exactly what you are looking for. It looks like it will do everything you want.
You would do yourself a favor by drawing a map of your house and figure out where the switches in relation to the light will be ,as you will have to run all the power to the lighting locations and leave room for expansion.
Hope this was some help.
posted by boilermonster at 8:56 AM on February 23, 2016 [1 favorite]