nap

just finishing up on a project. there is a cove with this type of lighting installed:


they are low voltage xenon lights and are on a dimmer system.

Due to the restrictions of how they can be mounted, they are very close to the wall and show a series of bright spots that the customer is not altogether pleased with. I have used these on other projects and I have never been all that thrilled with them but have not found anything better.

any ideas??

walkerj

Have you tried rope lights?

nap

yep, same problem. Since they are a series of small lamps, they too cause the same problem. As a matter of fact, rope lights were used for toe kick lighting under the floor cabinets. Since the floor is chiny, they too have a similar problem but owner doesn;t seem as bothered by those.

Thinking maybe there is some flex light like this with adiffuser covering but it would have to be flexible as well.

just looking for any ideas to improve this situaton.

thanks for the suggestion walkerj

480sparky

Try covering them with a diffuser made from a theatrical gel.

Locate a theatrical supply store and ask to see their gel samples. Select one that looks translucent like a plastic milk carton. 24" x 36" sheets were 4 or 5 bucks last time I bought one. Cut it with scissors. They're made to withstand the high temperatures of theatrical lighting so there's no fire hazard. They may wrinkle and warp, but they're hard to burn.

FWIW, these gels are available in hundreds, if not thousands of colors, including white (translucent) and grey shades. I've used them many times over the years to 'dim' fixtures using various shades of gray, or change the color of lights, from very slightly (bulb color doesn't quite match the designer's intent) to festive colors (red & green at Christmas, orange & purple for Hallowe'en, red & blue for patriotic holidays like July 4th and Memorial Day).

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walkerj

You took the words off the tip of my fingers...
There is also a waxpaperish type film, can't think of the name. I have it on puck lights over my kitchen cabinets . Definately evens out the light.

nap

thanks guys. I will look into those possibilites.

frenchelectrican

Hey Nap.,,

Just a thought if you have mulit tap low voltage can you tap down a notch sometime it will take care of harshness of the lightbulb dishing out.

as far what 480Sparky idea that will be one heckva soild idea to work and that will really slove the glare/harshness issue there.

Merci, Marc

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LawnGuyLandSparky

I've touched on these issues before, though on a grander scale. The customer's problem is with the lighting designer and architect/planner, not your electrical work.

It's never the plumbers fault if the owner doesn't like hot baths.

nap

Oh, I KNOW my work isn' the problem. I was just trying to find a cure (which he would be charged for) for this guy and possibly for future situations such as this.

spidermt

I once used a linear LED as path light in a hallway. It was mounted down low but I don't see why it wouldn't work as cove lighting. Very expensive though, if I remember right about 100 bucks a foot. The company was Legend Technologies Unlimited out of Irvine, California. PM me and I can provide a phone number I have for them if you'd like.

spidermt

I just did a websearch and found they have site now. The address is www.legendtec.com. Look under linear lights.

nap

thanks spidermt. that is kind of what I had in mind (other than the cost). This project was quite high class so maybe they might be interested.

rbj

Coved 16" long 14 LED strip is available at Lowes. Takes about 100 LPW x 14= 1400 lumens of 6500k blue light range. about $35 US. rbj

rbj

nap,

Take a look at using El Wire phosphur lighting. Basically, el wire is about 3/16" in diameter and can be strung 1500 ft for decorative and lighting effects. Depending on length, your dc power supply inverts to AC to drive the continuous element in a clear 'rope' without the adverse brightness that is inherent in both indcandescent and semi-conductor lighting. Google up el wire for various suppliers. rbj

a-bulb

Try this http://www.seagulllighting.com/Linear-Lighting.htm you can adjust the spacing of the lamps to your desire.

nap

thanks a-bulb. I already have lights like I pictured in the first post, which is very similar to what you provided. The problem is that makes spotty lights as they are near the wall.

thanks though. I appreciate the help.

Curt

We use rope lights all the time for cove lighting but put up 2 runs together and are careful to keep them as far from the walls as can be allowed.. This gives a wash effect without that spotty look. Another thing to try is trac12. This is a really small track that takes all kinds of smaller track heads but also have a small socket that excepts a 3 or 6 watt zenon bulb with a back reflector.. THese can be spaced as needed for effect.. This track is small enough to be used for undercabinet lighting as track with bulb installed is about an 1" tall. Only drawback is it uses 12v so you will have to have to hide a transformer.. We once did lighting in a tray ceiling and put aluminum foil shiny side up and laid rope lighting in.. Gave a really different lighting effect kinda like marbalized on wall.. Looked really nice.. Got to have a special taste for that though..