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I've spent a lot of time recently working on my own LED lamp designs. Heat dissipation is indeed the biggest problem, the second being the cost and complexity o

by jwr 13y ago

I've spent a lot of time recently working on my own LED lamp designs. Heat dissipation is indeed the biggest problem, the second being the cost and complexity of interfacing to an AC network of 230/110V. I think new kinds of fixtures will need to be designed, as well as new standards for DC distribution within the house (I am trying out 48V and 24V). Retrofitting existing infrastructure with LEDs makes no sense: we get wasteful, fragile and inefficient systems.

kalleboo 13y ago
> as well as new standards for DC distribution within the house (I am trying out 48V and 24V). This is something I've wondered about for a while. Everything in my home aside from a few kitchen appliances is now running a AC<>DC converter. At what point does it make more sense to run DC circuits in the home? Would the gauge be a problem to run enough DC power for a desktop PC, a TV, and a ton of LED lights?
- jwr 13y ago
  I think you need to strike a certain balance: for longer stretches of wire and higher wattage AC will work better. What doesn't make sense is building tiny switching power supplies into every lightbulb. I was planning to use a power supply for every group of lights — e.g. one for the ceiling, one for under-cabinet lighting, etc. That way you don't have to run long stretches of wire with DC, and yet you don't have to build lots of tiny low-efficiency converters.
  - kalleboo 13y ago
    For lighting-only, IKEA sells a mix-and-match LED system where you can connect 10 different units to a single power supply (units being various LED strips, spotlights, etc), with varying lengths of extension cords (up to 2m I believe).
Perseids 13y ago
> Retrofitting existing infrastructure with LEDs makes no sense: we get wasteful, fragile and inefficient systems. I wholeheartedly agree and would go even further and reimagine our current illumination concepts. At the moment we mostly have a few powerful point light sources. Given the longevity of LEDs we could easily design walls and furnitures with hundreds of less powerful LEDs that would produce a much more even illumination, have far less problems with head dissipation and be cheaper to produce than those high luminosity LEDs. And even more interesting, this would open the door to far more creative designs than we have now. With OLEDs you could even have glowing wallpapers: http://oled-werbedisplays.de/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/oled-wallpaper.jpg http://oled-werbedisplays.de/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/oled...

by jwr 13y ago

kalleboo 13y ago

> as well as new standards for DC distribution within the house (I am trying out 48V and 24V). This is something I've wondered about for a while. Everything in my home aside from a few kitchen appliances is now running a AC<>DC converter. At what point does it make more sense to run DC circuits in the home? Would the gauge be a problem to run enough DC power for a desktop PC, a TV, and a ton of LED lights?

jwr 13y ago
I think you need to strike a certain balance: for longer stretches of wire and higher wattage AC will work better. What doesn't make sense is building tiny switching power supplies into every lightbulb. I was planning to use a power supply for every group of lights — e.g. one for the ceiling, one for under-cabinet lighting, etc. That way you don't have to run long stretches of wire with DC, and yet you don't have to build lots of tiny low-efficiency converters.
- kalleboo 13y ago
  For lighting-only, IKEA sells a mix-and-match LED system where you can connect 10 different units to a single power supply (units being various LED strips, spotlights, etc), with varying lengths of extension cords (up to 2m I believe).

Perseids 13y ago

> Retrofitting existing infrastructure with LEDs makes no sense: we get wasteful, fragile and inefficient systems. I wholeheartedly agree and would go even further and reimagine our current illumination concepts. At the moment we mostly have a few powerful point light sources. Given the longevity of LEDs we could easily design walls and furnitures with hundreds of less powerful LEDs that would produce a much more even illumination, have far less problems with head dissipation and be cheaper to produce than those high luminosity LEDs. And even more interesting, this would open the door to far more creative designs than we have now. With OLEDs you could even have glowing wallpapers: http://oled-werbedisplays.de/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/oled-wallpaper.jpg http://oled-werbedisplays.de/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/oled...