# Forum Home Renovation Lighting  Led down lights

## Rip it up

Has anybody had much to do with these? I wish to run a few in a new kitchen Reno. Including running a led strip light under the cupboards over the bench.  
Good idea or a waste of money?  
Splash back will be laminex metaline product in a cappuccino colour over white stone bench tops.  
Also thinking of using the clipsal Saturn GPO in a white colour to tie it all in.  
Has anybody used the led strips in a DIY install. Can they be purchased online safely. And get electrician to install into routered channels under cupboards. Wires hidden prior to splash back install and wired to Saturn GPO Double power points with light switch.

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## Wombat2

In the kitchen I have replaced 4 12volt 50watt down lights with 9watt CREE - 3 are on one switch so I use a new electronic transformer rated to 70 watts to run those the 4th is still on the original transformer. The lights selected are "cool white" and we are very pleased with them. The old transfer one draws more current than the other 3 combined. We used 4 warm white in the similar setup in the family/eating area and find them slightly lower in lighting output but we are not that disappointed to go back. Looking now to fit out the lounge - 2 lights on two circuits ( 4 in total ) the ceiling is much higher so I am looking at some newer ones that are 15 watt - choice of beam angle but need new fittings. Jury is still deciding one the way to go here.

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## Godzilla73

G'day, 
We do this a lot at work now, planning of wire location is the key to ease of install. Have the driver for the LED strip mounted in the top of the base cupboard below the overheads for easy access, out of harms way and for future maintenance of the set up, the switch will be in the splashback somewhere then up to the strip thru the back of the overhead. 50mm in from the back of the cabinet seems to be the most common position for the strip.

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## Rip it up

Thanks Godzilla.  
So the transformer is hard wired prior to the switch in the splashback. So there is only 12 v at the switch??? 
Just thinking where I can draw power from for the inverter. Can it come from an existing power point. Down to inverter then up into switch?  
Can I get one large inverter and bridge it 3 ways. RH of stove, LH of stove, and pantry (on a door limit switch) in all about 7m of strip.  
What is a good recommended wattage under the cabinets. In cool white.

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## Godzilla73

Power goes to switch then to driver then when you flick the switch to light strip, as for length of run, we had a job that had approx 8 meters and his driver wasn't able to run that and he had to get a another and feed it in from the other end. If the driver is 200watt you could run 4x50w strips say for arguments sake. A sparky will be able help with this, my knowledge of it is more from the initial set up of the wire position access and mounting the strip.  
I know they're supposed to last 50000 hours, but you never know... Hence the planning, we've even laid them under onyx marble to light it up...Looks ace but pricey... but still needs access. Pantry will prob need it's own switch and down light style LED fitting, a sensor is popular in there too. 
Cool white is bright, i've got a 100w 24v 1 meter strip in the garage and it's blinding to look at directly.

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## Rip it up

I was thinking of setting the strip LEDs into a routered grove in the middle of each shelf in the pantry. Low wattage and cool white light. All run of the one transformer. Probably do a door switch and have its own wiring.  
My sparky hasn't use led strips before only down lights. But should be a simple calculation of power figures.  
Do I need to make considerations for heat generated by transformer? As in does it have to exposed in a cupboard or can it be put into a wall cavity. Is there a limit to the length of wire between transformer and strip? 
Could I mount 2-3 transformers in an accessible spot ( ie pantry) then run a few meters of 16gauge wiring to each strips switch?  
Just thinking aloud as I haven't come across too many installs like what I have planned.

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## Godzilla73

We've never put the strip in shelves before, but i'd "live" with your new kitchen for a few weeks if the shelves are adjustable, before doing the lights so you can work out if they're in a good spot. Could get messy if you try and move them later. 
As for heat, not sure, but our sparky mounts them at the top of a base cabinet out of the way and for access, we use different kits, usually just depends on which rep turns up on what day, though i know the last kit said max 2 meters wire to start of the strip.

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## cherub65

We  fitted strip lighting to step treads in an external application about three years ago, we got 10 treads x 1000mm per driver. Cable to driver on average was 6000mm long, as they were exterior drivers they were mounted in weather proof enclosure (three per box). Heat doesn't appear to be a problem with LED drivers.
After three years we have replaced 2 treads that failed and probably 5 drivers (these mostly failed early), In total there are 90 treads so the fail rate has been pretty good for an exterior install. 
Since then  we have used in many app's even on boats, I personally still prefer fibre optics as there is no fail at the installation side only the light source. 
Pick your lighting first then work out your drivers as the strips can be as low as 24w per 5000mm

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## Markt

In my new kitchen I replaced 16 x 50 watt halogen with14 x 9 watt Cree downlight units that I bought from ebay.  A little less light output than thehalogens but after a week its not noticed.The saving in power is noticable whe  the bill co es in and I am happy with them.
I got some led strip lights and  installed them under the cabient and a strip inside.  They are connected to a movement sensor in the ceiling.  When you walk into the dark kitchen they turn off.  Ample light to make acup of tea at night and saves finding the switch or juggling the tea cups and switch on the way out.  I got colour changing ones so when needed I can'pimp the kitchen'.  The transformer is plugged into a surface socket on the wall above the cabinent.  High enough that with the viewing angle it cant be senn but is accesable.

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## Ozcar

What do you mean by "LED strips"? The fact that you want to put them into channels makes me think that you are maybe talking about the "bare bones" flexible self adhesive strips rather than something like an aluminium bar.

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## Rip it up

You are correct. The led strip lights are 12mm wide 3mm tall by multiples of 50mm up to 5m.

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## Nick4u1

> Has anybody had much to do with these? I wish to run a few in a new kitchen Reno. Including running a led strip light under the cupboards over the bench.  
> Good idea or a waste of money?  
> Splash back will be laminex metaline product in a cappuccino colour over white stone bench tops.  
> Also thinking of using the clipsal Saturn GPO in a white colour to tie it all in.  
> Has anybody used the led strips in a DIY install. Can they be purchased online safely. And get electrician to install into routered channels under cupboards. Wires hidden prior to splash back install and wired to Saturn GPO Double power points with light switch.

  Make sure you go for LED downlights that aren't cheapo ones, they'll usually always rubbish. Spend a bit more and it'll be worth it.

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## Rip it up

Well an update.  
Sparkies wired up 10 LED gimbals yesterday. 4 in the kitchen, 2 in the dinning, 1 porch light, 2 in the hallway and 2 in the laundry.  
All are basically 1m apart central to the room.  
However they are a 60 deg spread and do not immlinate the corners of the kitchen very well. Coming from a single care fluro to downlights will change the spread I know. But I was disappointed about the limited illumination.  
I have a very white kitchen and it does reflect light well just not into the corners.  
Has anybody else found the light spread an issue. Should I just add 2 extras into the room?  
Lights are ACL 9w GU socket. $39 a set.

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## Ozcar

> You are correct. The led strip lights are 12mm wide 3mm tall by multiples of 50mm up to 5m.

  Sorry, I only saw your update now. 
I have used those strips and I think they are easily bright enough to use inside cupboards or under shelves. There are lots of different ones. The ones I used were warm white, with 60 "3528" leds per meter - this strip is 8mm wide. 12mm wide strip may be using "5050" leds, each one of which contains three led chips, so they are brighter, but of course draw more current. They run on 12vdc so you don't need to get a sparky to install them for you.  
The first ones I got, something like five years ago, were not reliable but ones I got last year from Ebay seller topbright88 have been good so far.

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## Rip it up

50/50 success so far.  
Identical 150w transformers were used for the install and one turns out to be a dud.  
Both circuits of light work well. 3.2m of 8mm strips under the overhead cupboards gives great shadow free light for food prep. In the 1.2m walk in pantry, 6 shelves are illuminated by 1.2m strips under each shelf. This is triggered of a simple pantry door switch. Worked only the once before the transformer stopped working. But it was amazingly bright in there. 7.2m of strip lighting will do that though.  
Has anybody used the open perforated style transformers before? 
I went up to the large wattage to drive multiple lights with either transformer.

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## Rip it up

Photos to come when splash back arrives Thursday.

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## sundancewfs

We are using 15 watt Cree Evo50 LED downlights in our kitchen. LED Downlights - EVO50 LED Downlight
very happy with them.

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## Rip it up

Ok I need some help.  
I have two separate 150w power supplies. 
Transformer A is powered directly off a junction box. 
Transformer B is powered off a GPO with a switch to the power supply.  
Transformer A runs a pantry shelving strip lighting solution. 4 shelves with 1.2m of 9w/m 3528 waterproof strip on the underside of the shelves. Each strip is connected to the next using 12 gauge speaker cable soldered and heat shrinked. All wired from the one end i.e not a continuous length. Starting at the bottom of pantry and looped to each shelf then into the trim panel overhead. A simple spring return limit switch is mounted on the door jam. From the switch it is a direct connection to the power supply.  
Transformer B powers 3m of strip mount under my overhead cupboards.  
Now transformer B run flawlessly. Hit the switch and BING beautiful white light for as long as I like.  
Transformer A on the otherhand has a green indicator light on after initially wiring to pantry. I can open door and have light for the first few times. Hit the switch with my finger a dozen times, all works well. Happy days. Then come back 10mims later to grab a drool I left in the pantry. Nothing? Climb back into roof cavity check power supply. No green light.  
Turn meter off. Disconnect. Take transformer into the shed. Wire up a extension lead to power it. Hook up fresh 5 roll of strip light. BING. Happy days.  
So the transformer is working fine but might not like the micro switch set up to activate it.  
Has anybody used a constantly closed circuit on a door switch to activate the led strip lighting?

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## iconnect

Not too sure about using a 240v micro switch on the door if I'm reading your installation correctly. I've had success controlling pantry lights with a ball type motion sensor.

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## Overkill

Your power supply is more than 3X overrated for the Pantry LEDs, so its not likely to be overloaded. Is the microswitch on the mains or the low voltage side? If its on the mains side, is it rated for 240V AC? Is the power supply just a transformer, or is it a switching supply? 
I would be checking the voltage on the input side of the power supply while its wired up in the pantry; if you get mains, its a PSU problem. If you get nothing, its a switch problem. Another thing; if you are using a switching PSU and a door switch on the low voltage side, some power supplies do not like running into an open circuit and overheat or power down.

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## Rip it up

Pantry door switch is on the 12v side and it's possible that it does not like running closed circuit for a long period. What other options would work in the pantry.  
Or could I use the door switch on mains 240v prior to transformer.

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## Ozcar

If the power supplies have a minimum load requirement then it should be stated in the specifications. If the specifications don't give a minimum, then perhaps it is faulty - what happens if you swap the two power supplies? 
If the supply does need a load to work properly, then yes, you could switch the 240V, but that is getting you out of DIY territory. It might be cheaper to replace the power supply with one that is happy with no load. You only need a 60W / 5 A supply for your current configuration. 
I have a similar setup to yours in my pantry, where the switch is on the 12V side. The power supply I have seems to not have any minimum load requirement (actually even when off, I have a couple of indicator LEDS on it, but the load would be in the low tens of mA) 
This is the power supply I have:  12 volt 5 amp power supply - low cost [12V5A_PS_LC] : LEDsales. LEDs, LED products and other cool stuff. 
Same thing is also available from Jaycar, cat GH1379.

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## Rip it up

I also have a power supply like this.   http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/250900753...ht_2752wt_1100 
Was saving it for some feature lighting in an outdoor entertainment area. But might get sparkies to wire an inline socket and switch into the roof for it.

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## Ozcar

Did you confirm that the 150W power supply needs a minimum load?  
The blurb for that 60W one does not mention anything about minimum loads so hopefully it would be OK to switch the 12V. I'm assuming you would still want to do that to get the LEDs to come on when the door opens. I guess you would want to try it first.

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## Rip it up

I will have a play with what options I can use with the 12v wiring. Before having to get sparkies involved to wire in anything 240v related.  
I will post the results.

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## barney118

I have 9w 240v led down lights in my new extension 8 off them in room 9m x 4.5m and have no issues.slightly less light but enough. Can't see any issue using in pantry. $60 per light but I should never need to change them

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## Rip it up

This is my finished outcome for the kitchen.  
Pantry light is still on the back burner. I have a PIR sensor in 12v I need to try first before going down 240v options.

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## Rip it up

Some before shots of the laundry and kitchen.

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