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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.

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!

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.

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!


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!