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I’m installing lights on my wall to bounce light off my ceiling and give general brightness to a room. My plan is to build a three sided box with the front made of crown molding, hung off the wall about 14 inches below the ceiling line. This would match the molding in the rest of my first floor. I want to use incandesant bulbs so that I can dim them (long skinny bulbs about an inch in diameter and 5-6 inches long).
I think I’ll have about an inch of clearance between the “box” and the bulbs. Is this a concern in terms of heat buildup? I’d really rather not burn my house down. Is there a code standard on clearnace from a bulb to a wooden surface? Does it vary by the wattage of the bulbs?
Thanks.
Carlos
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Carlos, as far as I am aware there is no code related to this, but I think for the heat reasons and appearance, flourescent would be better. Flourescents are know dimmable with the proper electronics and would run much cooler. This option would also give you a much more even light pattern on the ceiling and wall reflecting the light because the light will be dilivered in an even, linear mannor and not with multiple (and it takes many) points as incandescent would give you.
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you are correct in your assumption that heat builds up. You might want to try "rope lighting". Small low watt bulbs encased in a flex. plastic hose. I'm having a dumb attack and can't recall if they are dimmable. Check it out. Best of luck.
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I have done something similar to what Carlos describes, although I didn't get the complete mental picture with the box and the crown.
I used the rope lights behind the "lowered" crown. They are dimmable and do not get hot. The only thing is that they did not really light up the room. It's was more of an effect. Perhaps 2 strands of the rope light would provide sufficient light, but I think that if illumination is the primary goal, florescent would be the best way to go. I don't know what it takes to dim florescent lights.
If anyone is interested I'll post a picture if I can find it, scan it (friends scanner) and then make it small enough to meet the BT 76k (?) guideline.
The rope lighting is available at H.D. and is about $4 a foot, if I remember correctly.
*Carlos - I don't know where you are, but Seagull Lighting and Juno make low voltage lighting that will work for your project. Juno makes a 12 volt trac light system that uses small 3 or 5 watt xenon bulbs. They work very well, and can be put pretty close to wood (we use them as undercabinet lighting).They are pretty expensive, though. Seagull has a system that uses proprietary wire that you clip into a plastic track, and the LV bulbs snap onto that, with little prongs that pierce the insulation of the wire. I have used both, and I prefer Juno, but I think it is more expensive, and the Seagull is easier to install.Check a local electrical supply or lighting supply. They should be able to give you info such as minimum bulb spacing and clearance.
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I've seen the ropelights (I think they're a lot cheaper from Outwater plastics by the way, they have a website and a nice free catalog). They just don't give enough light for my purposes.
*I considered flourescent, but the size of a typical flourescent fixture would make my dropped crown molding even deeper than it would have to be for a series of incandescents, possibly making the whole structure too massive to blend into the wall. I know that flourescents are dimmable, but I've never actually seen one that was dimmable. Any idea what sort of $ we're talking for a dimmable floursecent?Carlos
*Are xenon bulbs as touchy as halogens when it comes to not handling the bare bulbs and transferring skin oil onto the bulb itself? Some halogens can be a pain to replace (a lot of manufacturers never seem to consider this when they build a fixture).Thanks for the advice, though, I'll look at look at the Seagull and Juno fixtures.Carlos
*i used some incandescent bulbs as you described about 20 years ago for a cabinet job--the brand was lumiline, and i couldn't believe how much heat those babies generated. they also had a real short life span. don't know what else has hit the market since then (other than the little halogens i use now), but you could check with the manufacturer for advice on spacing, venting, etc--no doubt their legal teams will dispense conservative fire-prevention advice.one warning--be prepared to discover and continually view every little dip and bump in the taping job done on your ceiling.
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GREAT timing -- I am working out an identical detail for a basement reno I just began, and of course don't want to wear out the folks here every time I'm not sure how to do something.
I think wall-washing and cove-lighting provide a very pleasant effect. You do lose a fair amount of light and must compensate with extra power. A lot of incandescent will generate so much heat that the room may become uncomfortable, the walls may discolor, etc. Primarily for this and energy efficiency I chose single-bulb 4' fluorescent (note that there's no "flour" in it!) -- fixture dimensions are about 2"x3". The electronic ballasts and warmer bulbs available have dealt with the hum, flutter, and sickening color of older systems. I'm going to daisy-chain whatever number looks about right, mounting them with several inches clearance from combustibles.
Does anyone know of an eight-foot single-bulb fluorescent fixture? That would be terrific, more efficient still and fewer shadows.
For dimming, you could wire the fixtures into different sets on different switches -- so you could half of them on, or a third, etc. Dimming fluorescent burns up the bulb faster and costs more.
I too worry about fire, and although fluorescent runs cooler (the very reason that it's more efficient) ballasts do blow up every now and then, or contacts fail -- so I'm building the soffit of metal track and drywall. If something starts smoking there'll be more times to deal with it. Regarding ceiling imperfections, that is a big problem ... I plan to roll or trowel a light texture on to conceal the joints and add interest to the ceiling. No kitty litter or popcorn!
I've seen the light ropes in soffits ... they're tiny and interesting ... but not much of a source of light unless you buy a ton of them. Visit http://www.outwater.com/
*Fluorescent tubes are available as narrow as 1/2". These are known as T-4 fluorescent tubes. The down side is they are only available in short lengths (12" is the longest I've seen). I've seen these used behind crown in commercial buildings and they gave off quite a bit of light. I don't know if you can get the fixtures to dim T-4's
*Got the following e-mail to pass along:Andrew;Takes too long to post these days; Grainger has single bulb 8' fixtures,grainger.comLutron has lotsa nice dimming equipment, and remote ballasts too, I believe; Grainger probably also has bothBest regards,Joe Fusco(just kidding)David David Sorg Jovial Seven Productions http://www.FineFurnitureFinishing.com
*Carlos - Xenon bulbs are not like halogens, you can touch them all you want. The Juno bulbs also have a service life of 15,000 hrs. For Juno ask for their Trac-12 system. I can assure you that although they have some requirements as far as clearance, they are much samller than fluorescents and much cooler than regular incandescents. We put the trac under cabinets with the bulbs an inch away from wood all the time and no problems. Plus it is a little easier to work with the wire because it is low voltage and therefore a little less restrictive code-wise. They are only dimmable, however, if you buy a dimmable transformer.
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I'm installing lights on my wall to bounce light off my ceiling and give general brightness to a room. My plan is to build a three sided box with the front made of crown molding, hung off the wall about 14 inches below the ceiling line. This would match the molding in the rest of my first floor. I want to use incandesant bulbs so that I can dim them (long skinny bulbs about an inch in diameter and 5-6 inches long).
I think I'll have about an inch of clearance between the "box" and the bulbs. Is this a concern in terms of heat buildup? I'd really rather not burn my house down. Is there a code standard on clearnace from a bulb to a wooden surface? Does it vary by the wattage of the bulbs?
Thanks.
Carlos