2014年2月14日星期五
RGB LEDs Make Recycled Art Shine at SF’s Green Fest
Two weekends ago I took a trip up to San Francisco for Green Festival, the country’s premier event for businesses, communities and the environment. Green Festivals are held all over the country (the Los Angeles event was last weekend), but attending the one in San Francisco is kind of like seeing live jazz music in New Orleans: you feel like you’re where it all began. The folks at The Sustainable Living Roadshow (SLR) invited my non profit organization, RuckusRoots, up to bring an interactive art installation to the official Green Fest after party, which was held in SLR’s new venue in the Mission district. We were very excited to expose more people to the creative fun of adding leaves to our TRASHformation tree. All of the leaves on the tree are made out of recycled aluminum cans. Once again, we had participants write or draw on the back of the leaves, and drill them on to the tree. It’s great to see the tree getting filled up with personalized leaves collected from sustainably minded people from all over the country and world! Everyone had a blast doing it, and our LED wall washers, donated by Elemental LED, once again helped to make the entire installation pop. We got so many compliments on how pretty the aluminum leaves look in the RGB LED illumination…and I would have to agree: it looked pretty snazzy. What do you think?
LED Accent Lights Transform Traditional Wine Cellar
It’s hard to tell if this is a futuristic Cathedral or an underground portal to some kind of TRON reality, but in fact, it’s an RGB LED filled wine cellar designed by Nashville, Tennessee-based interior designer Jamie Beckwith. The translucent acrylic arches are lined with LED cove lighting that serves 2 purposes: to illuminate the wine bottles in temperature-safe lighting, and to look extra cool. An especially nifty feature is that the living room of the Franklin, Tennessee home features a glass floor, making the wine cellar visible from above! Typically, wine cellars are stuffy, old fashioned affairs, but this design turns that concept on its head, making going downstairs to get the latest reserve a whole new experience, though sneaking another bottle is out, thanks to the transparent ceiling. Well done, Beckwith!
2014年2月9日星期日
Alicia Keys Helps Debut Empire State Building’s New LED Lights
Last Tuesday the New York City skyline was lit up like never before, thanks to a new RGB LED lighting system installed on the top of the Empire State Building. Certain componenets of the new system were tested on presidential election night this year, with blue and red LED meters displaying voting results. Read about it here. Now the installation of the entire system is complete and the building debuted its new rig with a dazzling light display, which showed off the system’s capabilities, including a 16 million-color palette and boundless effects, including ripples, cross-fades, sparkles, chasers, sweeps, strobes and bursts. Officials synched the lighting show to two Alicia Keys songs that ooze New York pride: “Girl on Fire” and “Empire State of Mind.” NYC residents could tune into one of four radio stations to listen to the songs while watching the synched LED lighting show in real time. “In addition to greater control and management of the lighting, the new computerized system will deliver superior light and vibrancy levels,” according to the Huffington Post. The LED lighting system replaced incandescent flood lights, and promises to increase visibility and the range of custom, dynamic shows the iconic building can display.
2014年2月7日星期五
Holiday LED Light Sightings on the Road
Well, Christmas has come and gone, but that doesn’t mean our enjoyment of the holiday lights has to wane just yet. This week I’m in Colorado visiting family and I was amazed to see many extravagant and high tech light displays. This one we found on the way home from my uncle’s house; it was an amazing display of outdoor LED lights that wrapped around a huge property, including a horse pasture. Each tree was wrapped with a different color of RGB LED lights, and thanks to the freshly fallen snow, the effect was magical! I especially loved the long corridor of LED lights leading to the houses. I know the holidays can be a stressful time, but I have to say, I’ll miss seeing all of these beautiful displays of personal creativity, festivity and technology! Until next year, dear readers! Happy Holidays!
2014年2月5日星期三
LED Lights Bring Brazilian Olympic Costumes to Life
If you’re like me, you wish the Olympics came around more often than every two years. If you’re even more like me, you find yourself dreaming of warm weather locales when the temperature dips below 75. That being said, you might understand why I’m taking a trip back in time for this post to remember the gorgeous LED costumes created by German designer Moritz Waldemeyer for this year’s Olympic closing ceremonies in London.
LED undercabinet lighting
The 2016 Summer Olympics will be held in Rio, Brazil, and so the 2012 closing ceremonies culminated with a reminder of what’s to come: the bright, colorful aesthetic of South America’s biggest country, as well as its passion for music, dancing and, well, passion. Brazilian culture presents a welcome contrast to that of England, not that there’s anything wrong with say, the Industrial Revolution, mist-shrouded castles or James Bond.
LED undercabinet lighting
But Waldemeyer’s costumes brilliantly emphasized (not to mention illuminated, thanks to LED strip lights) some powerful cornerstones of Brazilian society: Carnival, the festival that kicks off Lent forty days before Easter, Afro-Brazilian culture and indigenous culture. Waldemeyer’s collection included 140 costumes decked out in flexible LED strip lights, which dancers and musicians wore during four different performances.
LED undercabinet lighting
Samba dancers wielded Ferris wheels illuminated with fixtures that looked almost like LED undercabinet lighting; the drummers’ instruments glowed thanks to LEDs configured in circular patterns; indigenous dancers wore green LED accent lights made to look like traditional tribal jewelry; and Maracatu performers dawned LED bulbs and hair ribbons.
LED undercabinet lighting
Waldemeyer didn’t stop there. He also wirelessly connected the costume LEDs to the stadium’s radio network, which allowed the lights to display and animate in synch with the music.
The designs succeeded in blending old traditions with contemporary technology, and in getting viewers excited for the next summer Olympics. Personally, I may not be able to wait until 2016…Carnival 2013, anyone?
LED undercabinet lighting
The 2016 Summer Olympics will be held in Rio, Brazil, and so the 2012 closing ceremonies culminated with a reminder of what’s to come: the bright, colorful aesthetic of South America’s biggest country, as well as its passion for music, dancing and, well, passion. Brazilian culture presents a welcome contrast to that of England, not that there’s anything wrong with say, the Industrial Revolution, mist-shrouded castles or James Bond.
LED undercabinet lighting
But Waldemeyer’s costumes brilliantly emphasized (not to mention illuminated, thanks to LED strip lights) some powerful cornerstones of Brazilian society: Carnival, the festival that kicks off Lent forty days before Easter, Afro-Brazilian culture and indigenous culture. Waldemeyer’s collection included 140 costumes decked out in flexible LED strip lights, which dancers and musicians wore during four different performances.
LED undercabinet lighting
Samba dancers wielded Ferris wheels illuminated with fixtures that looked almost like LED undercabinet lighting; the drummers’ instruments glowed thanks to LEDs configured in circular patterns; indigenous dancers wore green LED accent lights made to look like traditional tribal jewelry; and Maracatu performers dawned LED bulbs and hair ribbons.
LED undercabinet lighting
Waldemeyer didn’t stop there. He also wirelessly connected the costume LEDs to the stadium’s radio network, which allowed the lights to display and animate in synch with the music.
The designs succeeded in blending old traditions with contemporary technology, and in getting viewers excited for the next summer Olympics. Personally, I may not be able to wait until 2016…Carnival 2013, anyone?
Champagne Corks Create Stunning LED Chandelier
Here’s a great example of striking decor created from recycled materials that’s perfect for the new year! The “Celebration Chandelier” is made from champagne corks by London-based British designer Alkesh Parmar. I’m guessing Parmar had a lot of materials to work with after the new year’s eve parties were over! Each cork is hollowed out and outfitted with LED puck lights, which cast a warm glow on anything below. Parmar can make custom versions of this chandelier to fit any space, be it restaurant, home or office. His intentions were to use up some of the large amounts of trash being thrown away by the bars in his neighborhood, and in the process he created beautiful and stylish LED light fixtures. To find out more about Parmar and his lighting design, visit his website.
2014年2月4日星期二
Illuminating LED Push Pins Eradicate Forgetfulness
I don’t care how many calendar and organizing apps you have on your smartphone—nothing can beat the simple directness of a sticky note placed prominently on the wall, or a handwritten list for that matter. But if you’re like most of us, one sticky note after another creates a pile of homogenous paper that’s hard to sift through—and a pile of tasks that’s hard to remember to accomplish…until now. Designer Kim Sung Min developed a solution to this problem by combining technology with the preferred, analogue approach of many, which allows us to have our sticky notes and eat them, too. Min’s illuminating LED pushpins each come with a tiny DMX LED light and a dial, which you can set to turn on at the exact time and date desired. Called “It’s Time to Read Me,” this concept includes a custom board that delivers electricity to the LED thumbtacks when they’re pushed in. Besides productivity, the board could provide some fun, ambient LED home lighting, depending on how busy you are. “It’s Time to Read Me” won a “Best of the Best” Red Dot design award for 2012, and while it’s not yet available for purchase, you can find out more about this innovative product and its designer on the Red Dot website. Who’s ready to take on the day?
2014年1月30日星期四
Two Kitchens, Four Lighting Ideas
Upgrading the under cabinet lighting in a kitchen with LED lights is a practical solution that has gained notoriety on and offline, from discussions on blogs and website stores like the one here at Elemental LED, to packaged solutions in hardware stores. And it’s no wonder—LEDs offer bright light output, a long life and an incredible amount of energy savings. Plus, their compact nature makes them perfect for discreet locations.
But did you know that LED lighting can enhance your kitchen in several other ways, as well? Read on to find out how you can improve the task, area and ambient lighting in your kitchen by adding LED lights under the cabinets, in the toe kick, on the ceiling, and inside the cabinets. We’ll walk you through two kitchen upgrades to show you how.
Kitchen One: LED Strip Lights and Replacement Bulbs
Kitchen with LED Strip Lights
The owners of this kitchen started out by adding under cabinet lighting for clear and bright food prep illumination. They used High Density LED Strip Light because of the high light output that it provides evenly across the entire length of each cabinet segment. LED strip light offered this kitchen owner several other benefits, as well: The incredibly low-profile design allowed for a discreet application that stayed hidden from view beneath the cabinets. The 3M adhesive backing allowed for quick and easy application. The customizable length meant that the owners could cut the strip light themselves to the exact lengths they needed.
But the owners wanted more ambient lighting for their kitchen. So, they added lighting to the toe kick area. Toe kick lighting adds a soft, ambient glow without causing any glare. Evening dwellers and snack scavengers can find their way more easily without the need to turn on bright overhead lights. The owners used Softview Mist Resist LED Strip Light, which boasts all the same great features of the strip light under their cabinets, including the low-profile, adhesive backing and custom length, but also offers several other features perfect for toe kick lighting, including a soft, low light output and a protective covering that can be wiped clean with a cloth or mop.
To complete the lighting in their kitchen, the owners of Kitchen One installed Tess LED Light Bulbs in their overhead fixtures. These replacement bulbs offer the equivalent light output of a 75W incandescent bulb. Unlike their energy-efficient CFL counterparts, these LED bulbs offer a warm white light similar to incandescent bulbs, stay cool, and require no warming up when you turn them on.
The three layers of lighting in this kitchen, from the ceiling all the way to the floor, created a finished look that made it a comfortable space, no matter what time of day and no matter what the task or event at hand.
Kitchen Two: LED Puck Lights
Kitchen with LED Puck Lights
Like Kitchen One, the owners of Kitchen Two began their lighting upgrade by adding LED lights under their cabinets. But instead of strip lights, these owners decided to go a different direction. They liked the idea of finding a compact lighting fixture that was nice to look at and didn’t require much power. They found their solution with the LED Puck Lights from ledstripbars LED. The sleek, brushed aluminum housing of the fixture could be shown off and integrated seamlessly into the color-scheme of their kitchen. The top of the line Cree LED chips offered very little energy consumption and superior brightness when compared with other puck lights on the market.
To dim the lights, the owners installed a Reign LED Dimmer Switch on the backsplash. This 12V dimmer connects directly to the lights and a 12V power source with full 0-100% dimming and no buzz or flicker. It’s the perfect solution for a finished LED lighting installation.
In addition to under cabinet lighting, the owners wanted to add some splashes of color inside their glass-paned cabinets. There wasn’t a more perfect way to achieve this than with Color-Changing LED Puck Lights. These lights offer the same compact, sleek aluminum housing of the pucks under their cabinets, but with RGB color-changing chips. The full-color puck lights were recessed into the tops of the cabinets and connected to a controller so that these owners could change the color of their lights whenever mood struck.
The colorful light emanating from the cabinets, along with the under cabinet lighting that is dimmed to the perfect level depending on the time of day, created a polished and professional look to this kitchen that left all their visitors in awe.
But did you know that LED lighting can enhance your kitchen in several other ways, as well? Read on to find out how you can improve the task, area and ambient lighting in your kitchen by adding LED lights under the cabinets, in the toe kick, on the ceiling, and inside the cabinets. We’ll walk you through two kitchen upgrades to show you how.
Kitchen One: LED Strip Lights and Replacement Bulbs
Kitchen with LED Strip Lights
The owners of this kitchen started out by adding under cabinet lighting for clear and bright food prep illumination. They used High Density LED Strip Light because of the high light output that it provides evenly across the entire length of each cabinet segment. LED strip light offered this kitchen owner several other benefits, as well: The incredibly low-profile design allowed for a discreet application that stayed hidden from view beneath the cabinets. The 3M adhesive backing allowed for quick and easy application. The customizable length meant that the owners could cut the strip light themselves to the exact lengths they needed.
But the owners wanted more ambient lighting for their kitchen. So, they added lighting to the toe kick area. Toe kick lighting adds a soft, ambient glow without causing any glare. Evening dwellers and snack scavengers can find their way more easily without the need to turn on bright overhead lights. The owners used Softview Mist Resist LED Strip Light, which boasts all the same great features of the strip light under their cabinets, including the low-profile, adhesive backing and custom length, but also offers several other features perfect for toe kick lighting, including a soft, low light output and a protective covering that can be wiped clean with a cloth or mop.
To complete the lighting in their kitchen, the owners of Kitchen One installed Tess LED Light Bulbs in their overhead fixtures. These replacement bulbs offer the equivalent light output of a 75W incandescent bulb. Unlike their energy-efficient CFL counterparts, these LED bulbs offer a warm white light similar to incandescent bulbs, stay cool, and require no warming up when you turn them on.
The three layers of lighting in this kitchen, from the ceiling all the way to the floor, created a finished look that made it a comfortable space, no matter what time of day and no matter what the task or event at hand.
Kitchen Two: LED Puck Lights
Kitchen with LED Puck Lights
Like Kitchen One, the owners of Kitchen Two began their lighting upgrade by adding LED lights under their cabinets. But instead of strip lights, these owners decided to go a different direction. They liked the idea of finding a compact lighting fixture that was nice to look at and didn’t require much power. They found their solution with the LED Puck Lights from ledstripbars LED. The sleek, brushed aluminum housing of the fixture could be shown off and integrated seamlessly into the color-scheme of their kitchen. The top of the line Cree LED chips offered very little energy consumption and superior brightness when compared with other puck lights on the market.
To dim the lights, the owners installed a Reign LED Dimmer Switch on the backsplash. This 12V dimmer connects directly to the lights and a 12V power source with full 0-100% dimming and no buzz or flicker. It’s the perfect solution for a finished LED lighting installation.
In addition to under cabinet lighting, the owners wanted to add some splashes of color inside their glass-paned cabinets. There wasn’t a more perfect way to achieve this than with Color-Changing LED Puck Lights. These lights offer the same compact, sleek aluminum housing of the pucks under their cabinets, but with RGB color-changing chips. The full-color puck lights were recessed into the tops of the cabinets and connected to a controller so that these owners could change the color of their lights whenever mood struck.
The colorful light emanating from the cabinets, along with the under cabinet lighting that is dimmed to the perfect level depending on the time of day, created a polished and professional look to this kitchen that left all their visitors in awe.
2014年1月27日星期一
Strip Light Connectors are Now Clicktight
We are very pleased to announce that the new and improved ClicktightTM Strip Light Connectors are here! These new connectors create a secure, tight connection instantly. Just insert one end of the strip light in the ClicktightTM connector and click the cover closed. These connectors are incredibly simple to use and create a lasting connection that won’t flicker or come loose.
The new full line of connectors are compatible with all of our non-waterproof LED strip lights and come in three types:
- Standard type: fits Flexible, Softview™ and High Density Strips
- Brighter type: fits Brighter and High Density Brighter Strip Light
- RGB type: fits Flexible RGB and High Density RGB Strip Light
Choose from the following styles:
Strip to Strip Connector: Gives you a quick and easy way to join two sections of LED strip light. Forget about soldering! This connector offers an easy solution for connecting two of our LED Flexible Light Strips together.
Strip Light Bending Extension: Allows two LED strip lights to be connected and make any turn between 10° and 180° inside picture frames, display cases, in shelving, or any other situation where both continuous lighting and flexibility are needed. This connector is both flexible and holds its shape, so you just bend to the desired angle, and the connector will remain at that angle.
Strip Light Splice Connector: Connects our flexible LED strip lights to a low-voltage 12V DC Driver, giving you two wires for hooking up to one of our drivers. Eliminates the need for soldering.
Strip Light DC Plug Connector: Joins our LED strip light with a 12V DC adapter, with a 1/4 inch female DC coaxial plug on one end. Eliminates the need to solder and is a simple, secure connector for connecting most of our single color LED strip lights to a power source.
Have you tried the new ClicktightTM connectors? Tell us what you think!
The new full line of connectors are compatible with all of our non-waterproof LED strip lights and come in three types:
- Standard type: fits Flexible, Softview™ and High Density Strips
- Brighter type: fits Brighter and High Density Brighter Strip Light
- RGB type: fits Flexible RGB and High Density RGB Strip Light
Choose from the following styles:
Strip to Strip Connector: Gives you a quick and easy way to join two sections of LED strip light. Forget about soldering! This connector offers an easy solution for connecting two of our LED Flexible Light Strips together.
Strip Light Bending Extension: Allows two LED strip lights to be connected and make any turn between 10° and 180° inside picture frames, display cases, in shelving, or any other situation where both continuous lighting and flexibility are needed. This connector is both flexible and holds its shape, so you just bend to the desired angle, and the connector will remain at that angle.
Strip Light Splice Connector: Connects our flexible LED strip lights to a low-voltage 12V DC Driver, giving you two wires for hooking up to one of our drivers. Eliminates the need for soldering.
Strip Light DC Plug Connector: Joins our LED strip light with a 12V DC adapter, with a 1/4 inch female DC coaxial plug on one end. Eliminates the need to solder and is a simple, secure connector for connecting most of our single color LED strip lights to a power source.
Have you tried the new ClicktightTM connectors? Tell us what you think!
Enter ledstripbars’s Lighting Design Contest on ledstripbright.com
If you’re a lighting designer, interior designer or architect, you’ll want to enter Elemental LED’s Lighten Up LED Lighting Design Competition, which is hosted through Inhabitat.com. A grand prize of $1000 will be awarded to the winning LED lighting design in each category: residential and commercial. And while you’re at it, be sure to check out some of Inhabitat’s inspiring and innovative content, which features the best in green design from around the world! Following are some of my favorite Inhabitat-featured interiors, and some LED lighting ideas to match.
By Josephine is a classy café in Melbourne, Australia; its recent remodel by designer Sasufi takes eco-chic to new heights. The walls and counters are adorned with reclaimed wooden doors. Finished in contemporary white-on-white, the doors add subtle geometric texture to the space. The lighting, however, could be improved with the use of LED lights. LED strip lights underneath the lip of the service counter could add a nice touch of diffused light. And the crown molding of the lovely high ceilings could be made even more striking with warm white LED strips.
Autodesk, a 3D design and engineering firm, recently unveiled its new office space in Milan, which is both LEED certified and incredibly sleek! Built using mainly reclaimed materials, the building also features extra large windows, which ensure lots of sunlight. With so much natural ambient illumination, adding some directional LED under cabinet lights to workspace areas might be all you need to create a beautiful and extremely energy efficient workspace.
And what about this adorable, custom-designed guest house in Portland, OR? Created by PATH Architecture, the aptly named Laurelhurst Studio can be used by the homeowners as anything from an artist workspace to cozy and inviting guest quarters. Built in furniture and large windows help make the most of a small, uniquely shaped room. I sure hope they’re using energy efficient LED bulbs in those hanging lighting fixtures and in the embedded lighting along the walls. It would be a shame to waste electricity in an otherwise beautiful and efficient dwelling.
By Josephine is a classy café in Melbourne, Australia; its recent remodel by designer Sasufi takes eco-chic to new heights. The walls and counters are adorned with reclaimed wooden doors. Finished in contemporary white-on-white, the doors add subtle geometric texture to the space. The lighting, however, could be improved with the use of LED lights. LED strip lights underneath the lip of the service counter could add a nice touch of diffused light. And the crown molding of the lovely high ceilings could be made even more striking with warm white LED strips.
Autodesk, a 3D design and engineering firm, recently unveiled its new office space in Milan, which is both LEED certified and incredibly sleek! Built using mainly reclaimed materials, the building also features extra large windows, which ensure lots of sunlight. With so much natural ambient illumination, adding some directional LED under cabinet lights to workspace areas might be all you need to create a beautiful and extremely energy efficient workspace.
And what about this adorable, custom-designed guest house in Portland, OR? Created by PATH Architecture, the aptly named Laurelhurst Studio can be used by the homeowners as anything from an artist workspace to cozy and inviting guest quarters. Built in furniture and large windows help make the most of a small, uniquely shaped room. I sure hope they’re using energy efficient LED bulbs in those hanging lighting fixtures and in the embedded lighting along the walls. It would be a shame to waste electricity in an otherwise beautiful and efficient dwelling.
2014年1月21日星期二
RGB color changing LEDs
This sophisticated restaurant has an ambiance which invites people to step inside and take a break from their busy lives and enjoy some good food! There are many factors which contribute to this type of atmosphere, one of which is carefully placed lighting.
Aroma Cafe with LED Flexilbe Strip Lights used in an artistic backdrop over the bar area.
Cool white LED strips illuminate the colorful glass mosaic behind the bar, which is the central focal point of the restaurant. In addition, RGB LED strips were discreetly placed under the bar and above the booth seating area. The RGB color changing LEDs enable the lights to be set on a unique color for each of their lunch and dinner menus.
Aroma Cafe under bar lighting falls upon stools.
If you too own a restaurant, bistro, or café, LED lighting may be the exact "special touch" that you have been looking for to take your business to a whole new level!
Aroma Cafe with LED Flexilbe Strip Lights used in an artistic backdrop over the bar area.
Cool white LED strips illuminate the colorful glass mosaic behind the bar, which is the central focal point of the restaurant. In addition, RGB LED strips were discreetly placed under the bar and above the booth seating area. The RGB color changing LEDs enable the lights to be set on a unique color for each of their lunch and dinner menus.
Aroma Cafe under bar lighting falls upon stools.
If you too own a restaurant, bistro, or café, LED lighting may be the exact "special touch" that you have been looking for to take your business to a whole new level!
LED strips
This sweet proposal was created with white flexible LED strips, shaped into letters and the message "Marry Me." This did take some planning and work on his part, but I'm sure that when this young pilot took his girlfriend up in the air, and she looked down and saw the message, it was all worth it. And now he has some LED strips which he can use for a project in their future home together!
Driveway Post LED Lights
This DIY project combined pre-made driveway post fixtures with LED lighting. This guy didn't like the regular bulbs he had in these post lights, and thought it would be neat if they could create color effects for the holidays. Each light has a 4 foot section of RGB flexible LED strip wrapped around a piece of 2" PVC pipe and then connected via 22-4 power cable to a DMX decoder in the base of the light post. Power was run to each post and then the LED lights were powered with a 12V 12W power supply. This project showcases the versatility of flexible LED strips - perfect for creative DIY-ers who enjoy forming their ideas into reality.
Luchento's Ristorante
This italian restaurant used RGB LED strips to light up the crown molding and recessed ceiling in their dining area. They also have included small hanging lights hung irregularly from the ceiling, creating a magical effect.
If you too own a restaurant, bistro, or café, LED lighting may be the exact "special touch" that you have been looking for to take your business to a whole new level!
If you too own a restaurant, bistro, or café, LED lighting may be the exact "special touch" that you have been looking for to take your business to a whole new level!
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