It is impossible to imagine a modern apartment without built-in lamps. They look harmonious, stylish, and moreover, they significantly save energy. Spot light can visually expand a space when using mirrors or other reflective materials in the interior.
Comfortable living in the house depends on how well the lighting is chosen and whether the spotlights meet all safety parameters. Often, stores choose a classic chandelier with built-in spotlights for the ceiling. In this case, all dark corners in the room will be illuminated.
Lighting should also be functional. This means that in the recreation area it is more advisable to install lamps that provide soft, diffuse light. The dining area or work area should in this case be illuminated brighter.
The comfort of staying in the room with an artificial network depends on how correct the location of the lamps in the suspended ceiling is.
What should ceiling lights be like?
A certain type of built-in light bulbs is designed for mounting on a specific surface and is also mounted in its own way.
If you have to mount lamps in a thin sheet, then you need to know that not all materials can withstand the intense heating of the lamps.
The size and shape of spotlights is also of great importance. To implement any design of suspended ceilings with lamps, you need to carefully consider the design of the ceiling.
Lamps have a body made of different materials, so you should not choose a lamp with a transparent body. Otherwise, light may reach the internal communications of the lamp.
Light should not distort colors and objects in the room, nor interfere with the perception of reality.
As a rule, many lamps on store shelves emit light, so there is an excellent opportunity to choose lamps that are suitable in terms of power.
How to mount an LED strip under a ceiling plinth
This option does not accept the use of mirror or glossy film, otherwise all the mounted elements that are located behind it will be visible. Often, separate lampshades or an LED strip are used to illuminate curtains or curtains. To do this, a small box , and the ceiling is stretched from below.
Installation of tape under a box with a suspended ceiling
Video about installing tape in a niche under curtains:
It is necessary to proceed from the fact that LED strip is used mainly for illumination. Therefore, the multi-level ceiling part is designed in such a way that other lighting devices , such as lamps and chandeliers, are placed on it so that there is enough light in the room. A chandelier is usually placed in the very center of the room. Lampshades can be placed anywhere. The main thing is that they look good and are functional.
The backlight can be mounted in different ways. It all depends on the person’s skill, his imagination and capabilities. The main point is that the ceiling must be in harmony with the rest of the room and be completely safe for others from a fire safety point of view.
It must be borne in mind that absolutely all lighting devices heat up to one degree or another during operation. Therefore, the suspended ceiling should be located at some distance from them. This will make it possible to avoid deformation of the ceiling covering and fire.
To be able to remotely control the RGB system, you need to purchase and connect an additional unit. As a rule, the delivery is completed with a special plastic or metal case, which is designed to mount the power supply and control unit. This design is attached inside the box using self-tapping screws so that it is not visible from below.
Strip lighting under a suspended ceiling is installed after preliminary cleaning of the mounting location from dust and dirt. If this is not done, the tape will not hold. Immediately before installation, the protective paper is removed from the tape, but not more than 1 meter. If the strip is completely freed from the protective layer, then dust and dirt will quickly settle on it, and you won’t have to wait for the tape to be securely attached to the surface. During operation, the tape freed from the protective layer may touch other surfaces, and the LEDs may stick together. Then the installation process will be seriously difficult. Therefore, you need to handle the protective layer carefully, without haste, and remove it in small parts as you attach the LED strip to the box.
If during the installation process there are extra centimeters of tape left, do not hastily cut them off. It must be borne in mind that the strip can only be divided in those places that are marked in the form of a perpendicular strip, and it passes every 3 to 5 diodes.
After completing the installation process of the diode strip, the end that is equipped with a connector is connected to the power supply. If there are no such connectors in the cut section, you must fill the gap and solder them yourself. Key point: don't get confused with polarity. If the connection is incorrect, the entire system will fail.
To facilitate work related to the replacement or repair of lighting fixtures, it is advisable to place the power supply and control unit in areas of the box where they can be reached without causing damage to the structure. When installing an LED strip around the entire perimeter of the room, certain difficulties may arise in this matter. Then it is advisable to install the blocks outside such a room.
Recommendations from experts! In order for the equipment to work for a long time and with high quality, it is worth choosing products from Western or Korean companies. Chinese products do not differ in quality and durability.
After completing the installation work, it is necessary to check the operating condition of the circuit. To do this, you need to turn on the power supply. If there are no questions about the lighting, the functionality of the remote unit is checked in various modes. If you are convinced that everything is working properly, you can begin installing the stretch ceiling.
Installation method
To insert a spotlight, you first need to make a hole in the canvas. A mark is placed in a certain place, a cut is made, and the base for the lamp is placed here - a plastic ring. It completely fits the dimensions of the future lamp, thanks to it the canvas does not diverge further.
After such manipulations, the light bulb itself is placed directly into this hole. You should think in advance about how many lamps you need to place in the suspended ceiling.
Above the suspended ceiling
If you install a built-in lamp on top of a stretch ceiling, then it will seem as if the light is spreading over the entire surface. This installation option looks quite impressive, but it has disadvantages.
The main disadvantage is the poor air flow between the panels, as a result of which the lamp will heat up quickly. To prevent this from happening, built-in lamps with LEDs are most often used.
Level with the suspended ceiling
This option involves installing the lamp in a bracket, so the lamp will be on the same plane as the suspended ceiling. In this case, the light is not scattered and the lamps do not heat up.
With this installation there is a significant drawback, which is the power of the lamps, it should be no more than 35 watts.
Features of installing LED strips under the ceiling
You cannot mount an LED strip to illuminate a ceiling surface without using wires and power supplies. The process of installing this type of lighting is not particularly difficult and does not require special knowledge or little experience in this area. But there are certain nuances that it is not enough to know about. They still need to be taken into account during the installation process.
- First of all, the length of the LED strip and the required power to service it are calculated. Purely mathematical calculations: the power of 1 linear meter of strip is multiplied by its total length.
- It is strictly forbidden to connect more than 2 pieces (10 meters) of strip in series. If the rooms are large and this amount of lighting material is not enough, it is necessary to use the parallel connection method. You can purchase multiple power supplies. Moreover, an additional unit is required if the total power is more than 40W.
Parallel connection diagram for LED strips - When choosing a backlight with multi-colored reflection, in addition to the power supply, an RGB controller is also installed, thanks to which you can change the color scheme.
Connection diagram for RGB strips - It is not recommended to install an LED strip without pre-treatment with a primer.
- The principle of gluing the tape is quite simple: the protective layer is removed and the tape is pressed onto the selected areas.
- The last step is to connect to the power supply and check the operation of the entire system.
- After carrying out a complex of works, the vinyl sheet of the stretch ceiling is stretched.
Video on how to connect an LED strip to a power supply:
