Designing Whole house LED night lights.

[Bughunter]

The recent discussion about LED lighting included a couple comments on the
appropriateness of LEDS for night lights. I thought it was an idea worthy of
it's own thread.

My off grid home is in the stage of construction where the interior walls
are still open accessible to add wiring runs. So, now is an opportune time
for me to add wiring to the whole house. So far, I have not installed any
low voltage wiring runs, just the 115vac wring typical of a standard US
home.

I have been casually thinking about adding a dedicated low voltage DC
circuit to support some LED night lights as a simple aid to night
navigation. I have a few ideas, but have not made any decisions yet. Maybe I
can get some ideas here to influence me in one direction or another.

I'm interested in ideas on how I might set up LED night lights throughout
the house.
Right now, I use a few glass enclosed tea candles for night lights which is
romantic, but a little too 19th century. I want something that looks
professional, and not homemade.

My inverter runs in sleep mode at night, so I'd prefer a solution that does
not require 115vac except perhaps for periodic (and hopefully infrequent)
manual battery recharging.

I wonder if it would make sense to power the LED night lights from my main
48v battery bank, or to use a separate dedicated bank, and maybe at a
different voltage?

My main bank runs at 48v. I suppose it would be easy enough to run a
dedicated, fused, 48v wiring run..With a 48v run, I would not have as much
voltage drop across the wire and could use smaller gauge wire. But, would I
be just burning it off in resistors required to drop the voltage to that
required by the LEDs?

Alternatively, I could setup a separate 6v (or 12v) deep cycle golf cart
battery. This would require periodic recharging, probably with an
inexpensive automotive charger plugged into my 110vac. I'd almost prefer not
to go this route, because it adds one more thing separate subsystem to have
to monitor and maintain. On the other hand, if it were 12v, then I might
find it useful for other non-nightlight applications such as recharging my
cell phone where 12v is the more common voltage. DC to DC converters are
somewhat pricey, but I suppose for one or two low draw outlets it is a
possibility.

I am thinking that a single switch per floor would be adequate for my place.
I wonder if I could just use a normal 110vac light switch for 48VDC, or I
would need a DC rated switch?

It would be nice if I could use some small gauge wire, like Cat5, or door
bell wire. Each wire run might be in the range of 100 feet per floor.

My place is 2200 square feet, on two floors. I think 6 to 8 night-lights
fixtures per floor would provide adequate night lighting.

Is a single led per fixture adequate? Color?

Are there any off the shelf low voltage DC fixtures that might be
applicable. I don't want to reinvent the wheel if an off the shelf solution
exists, as long as it is no too expensive.

I wonder what kind of fixture could be made that would be simple to
construct, yet
not look homemade. One thought is to use a single outlet type mounting box,
and use a blank switch plate mount a led. Maybe more than one led per plate?

Ideas? Experiences? Links? Calculations?

 

[George Ghio]

The recent discussion about LED lighting included a couple comments on the
appropriateness of LEDS for night lights. I thought it was an idea worthy of
it's own thread.

My off grid home is in the stage of construction where the interior walls
are still open accessible to add wiring runs. So, now is an opportune time
for me to add wiring to the whole house. So far, I have not installed any
low voltage wiring runs, just the 115vac wring typical of a standard US
home.

I have been casually thinking about adding a dedicated low voltage DC
circuit to support some LED night lights as a simple aid to night
navigation. I have a few ideas, but have not made any decisions yet. Maybe I
can get some ideas here to influence me in one direction or another.

I'm interested in ideas on how I might set up LED night lights throughout
the house.
Right now, I use a few glass enclosed tea candles for night lights which is
romantic, but a little too 19th century. I want something that looks
professional, and not homemade.

My inverter runs in sleep mode at night, so I'd prefer a solution that does
not require 115vac except perhaps for periodic (and hopefully infrequent)
manual battery recharging.

I wonder if it would make sense to power the LED night lights from my main
48v battery bank, or to use a separate dedicated bank, and maybe at a
different voltage?

My main bank runs at 48v. I suppose it would be easy enough to run a
dedicated, fused, 48v wiring run..With a 48v run, I would not have as much
voltage drop across the wire and could use smaller gauge wire. But, would I
be just burning it off in resistors required to drop the voltage to that
required by the LEDs?

Well if we say each LED needs 3V then 16 leds in series would use 48V.
No resistors.

Alternatively, I could setup a separate 6v (or 12v) deep cycle golf cart
battery. This would require periodic recharging, probably with an
inexpensive automotive charger plugged into my 110vac. I'd almost prefer not
to go this route, because it adds one more thing separate subsystem to have
to monitor and maintain. On the other hand, if it were 12v, then I might
find it useful for other non-nightlight applications such as recharging my
cell phone where 12v is the more common voltage. DC to DC converters are
somewhat pricey, but I suppose for one or two low draw outlets it is a
possibility.

I am thinking that a single switch per floor would be adequate for my place.
I wonder if I could just use a normal 110vac light switch for 48VDC, or I
would need a DC rated switch?

Switches depend on the load. I use standard 10A ac switches for most
lights. Hell,a 10 amp ac switch running less than an amp dc is not a
problem.

It would be nice if I could use some small gauge wire, like Cat5, or door
bell wire. Each wire run might be in the range of 100 feet per floor.

My place is 2200 square feet, on two floors. I think 6 to 8 night-lights
fixtures per floor would provide adequate night lighting.

Is a single led per fixture adequate? Color?

Yes and white works fine or colour of your choice

Are there any off the shelf low voltage DC fixtures that might be
applicable. I don't want to reinvent the wheel if an off the shelf solution
exists, as long as it is no too expensive.

All my lighting is ELV @ 12V. I rework standard light fittings to run;

LED lights, single LEDs or 18 LED lamps depending on use.

QH globes.

Dichroic Lamps.

Standard fluros with dedicated inverters.

All run with off the shelf fittings used in new ways.

I wonder what kind of fixture could be made that would be simple to
construct, yet
not look homemade. One thought is to use a single outlet type mounting box,
and use a blank switch plate mount a led. Maybe more than one led per plate?

Ideas? Experiences? Links? Calculations?

I have used:

Rubber grommets as led bezels.

Here we have a fitting which allows you to drop a lamp from a ceiling
fitting. Magic, I just fit resistor and led into this and screw it into
the fixture.

PVC pipe to make lamps.

The tops of spray paint cans as reflectors for QH bulbs. Use flat white
paint for your reflectors, better than gloss white or silver.

You should get a fittings catalogue from electrical wholesale supplier
to the trade.

While you have the framing exposed is the best time to do your lighting.

I put up all my lighting at that stage. Some I moved 2 or 3 times to get
them in the right spot. I used a lot of lights. I have 15 in the kitchen
/dining alone. A mixture of QH, Dichroic and LED. They are placed for
best effect over work spaces.

The standard is a 60 or 100 watt lamp in the middle of a room. Dead loss.

Non of my lamps exceeds 20(Fluros) watts and most are either 5W(QH) or
10W(QH and Dichroic) And three, 18 LED lamps over the breakfast bar.

 

[Bughunter]

Well if we say each LED needs 3V then 16 leds in series would use 48V. No
resistors.

But, I don't think I'd need 16 LEDs for a single night-light. I'm thinking
that 1-3 might be
enough (light-wise) for each fixture. I don't think that I want to run
series strings in the walls although it would be possible. It feels a little
like those series strings of xmas lights, where you had to search for the
bad bulb to fix a string. With the long life of LEDs, it would much less of
a problem. Maybe it does make more sense to just use 16 leds and get more
light rather than just disipating the power in resistors as heat.

Switches depend on the load. I use standard 10A ac switches for most
lights. Hell,a 10 amp ac switch running less than an amp dc is not a
problem.

I was also thinking that a standard 10A ac switch would do the job.
I doubt that arcing would be a problem.

Yes and white works fine or colour of your choice

All my lighting is ELV @ 12V. I rework standard light fittings to run;

LED lights, single LEDs or 18 LED lamps depending on use.

QH globes.

Dichroic Lamps.

Standard fluros with dedicated inverters.

All run with off the shelf fittings used in new ways.

I have used:

Rubber grommets as led bezels.

Not a bad idea. I'd consider it.

Here we have a fitting which allows you to drop a lamp from a ceiling
fitting. Magic, I just fit resistor and led into this and screw it into
the fixture.

PVC pipe to make lamps.

The tops of spray paint cans as reflectors for QH bulbs. Use flat white
paint for your reflectors, better than gloss white or silver.

You should get a fittings catalogue from electrical wholesale supplier to
the trade.

While you have the framing exposed is the best time to do your lighting.

I put up all my lighting at that stage. Some I moved 2 or 3 times to get
them in the right spot. I used a lot of lights. I have 15 in the kitchen
/dining alone. A mixture of QH, Dichroic and LED. They are placed for best
effect over work spaces.

I am mainly focused here on night lights, meaning a few low intensity lights
spaced to aid in
navigtation. For my more general lighting needs, I use 115v compact
flourecents, and standard 115vac fixtures.

The standard is a 60 or 100 watt lamp in the middle of a room. Dead loss.

Agreed. I use no incandecents at all. Typically, I will have no more than 3
CFL's on at a time.

Non of my lamps exceeds 20(Fluros) watts and most are either 5W(QH) or
10W(QH and Dichroic) And three, 18 LED lamps over the breakfast bar.

I am planning on a breakfast bar. Several nice looking recessed fixtures
would be cool. That might be a good candidate for some multiple white led
lights instead of CFL's.

 

[wmbjk]

The recent discussion about LED lighting included a couple comments on the
appropriateness of LEDS for night lights.

We don't have any night lights and have never felt the need for any.
If the route to the bathroom is perilous, you could add switches near
the bed to turn on a distant light sufficient to show the way. Or put
a small flashlight on a table next to the bed. As for the occasional
roam around the house at night without waking others, I find that the
twinkle of LEDs on miscellaneous appliances provides orientation. ;-)

Wayne

 

[Ecnerwal]

The "right" way to run LEDs off a high voltage supply (right being
efficient) is to set up a constant current supply, since that is
"really" what LEDs need, not any specific voltage, so much. The number
of LEDs that can be in a single string is then limited by the voltage.
ie, one constant current supply run from 12 V can run X LEDs (often 8-10
of the usual sort of LEDs), and a similar one run from 48V can run 4X
LEDs, more or less. They will use exactly the same amount of energy to
run 1 LED, or as many LEDs as they can run, so maximizing LEDs per
supply is the most efficient approach.

The various LEDs run from one supply need not be in the same place, they
can be connected by wire and be in different locations. One supply might
run your entire nightlight setup throughout the house. The switch used
does need to be DC rated, and the circuit needs to be fused or have a
circuit breaker.

I'd go with red, as highly efficient red LEDs are available, and red
does not destroy your night vision, if you are getting up to view the
stars, or peer out to see if there's a burglar, or that sort of thing.

48V bank is too high for the usual part I use for making a constant
current supply (LM317 variable voltage regulator, set up as a constant
current supply per the application data). You could either use a DC-DC
down-converter, or (better) a different part or parts to achieve the
same result without the complexity, expense, and potential failure point
of the converter.

Specific current will depend on the LEDs, generally 10-30 mA (lower will
just be dimmer, too high will fry them). One mounting I've considered,
but not built yet, is in the underside of the stair handrail, routing a
groove to have a set pointing down to light the stairs. Invisible, and
thus does not "look" homemade or otherwise. A similar thing could be
done in rooms/hallways with moulding, our you could adapt various types
of light fixtures, but most seem overly large for the purpose. If
mounting into a switchplate, mount pointing down, I'd think. Some panel
lights (in the control or audio industry) or old style dashboard lights
(or even new-style license-plate lights) provide a nice-looking
partly-sheilded enclosure. But you might think of those as looking like
car parts in your house, and therefore "not nice" or "home-made".

 

[Steve Spence]

We don't have any night lights and have never felt the need for any.
If the route to the bathroom is perilous, you could add switches near
the bed to turn on a distant light sufficient to show the way. Or put
a small flashlight on a table next to the bed. As for the occasional
roam around the house at night without waking others, I find that the
twinkle of LEDs on miscellaneous appliances provides orientation. ;-)

Wayne

Our LED lit appliances are shut off at night, so a few LED nightlights
keep the kids from falling down the stairs or tripping over the dog at
night.

$2 for the nightlight, and my KAW can't even measure the kWh used in a
24 hour period.

 

[GeekBoy]

You do not need low voltage wiring.

Your local WalMart sells LED night lights that plug into regular outlets.

They also sell those even more effecient lights that use the same Timex
Indiglow technology. The package says uses only pennies a year in
electricity.

 

[Steve Spence]

You do not need low voltage wiring.

Your local WalMart sells LED night lights that plug into regular outlets.

They also sell those even more effecient lights that use the same Timex
Indiglow technology. The package says uses only pennies a year in
electricity.

You missed the part not wanting to wake up the inverter .....

 

[Dale Farmer]

The recent discussion about LED lighting included a couple comments on the
appropriateness of LEDS for night lights. I thought it was an idea worthy of
it's own thread.

My off grid home is in the stage of construction where the interior walls
are still open accessible to add wiring runs. So, now is an opportune time
for me to add wiring to the whole house. So far, I have not installed any
low voltage wiring runs, just the 115vac wring typical of a standard US
home.

I have been casually thinking about adding a dedicated low voltage DC
circuit to support some LED night lights as a simple aid to night
navigation. I have a few ideas, but have not made any decisions yet. Maybe I
can get some ideas here to influence me in one direction or another.

I'm interested in ideas on how I might set up LED night lights throughout
the house.
Right now, I use a few glass enclosed tea candles for night lights which is
romantic, but a little too 19th century. I want something that looks
professional, and not homemade.

Others have already gone hammer and tongs into the power supply
and wiring aspects. I will only mention that LEDs do burn out, so
having the mounts made so you can replace them without a major
project is worth the effort now.
I would have two different categories of these night lights.
Always on, and switched. The human eye is marvelous in it's
ability to adapt to very low light levels. So you don't actually need
to spring for superbrights for the night lights.
The always on ones would be for places like your stairwells,
so you can see the trip hazards. In the bathroom, so you can
see where you are aiming. Outside, near the door you normally
use when coming in at night, so you can see the ice you are
slipping on.
Switch on clusters would be ones in your bathroom, so you
can read a magazine in the middle of the night. Bedrooms and
closets. Telephone desk, for those middle of the night phone
calls. All your power management places. Battery bank,
inverters, generator, etc. These for repairs when you don't
have a fourth hand to hold the flashlight too. reading lights
at your favorite chair and in the bed.
Careful use of these can allow you to reduce the number
of hours you have your generator and inverter running.
Integrate these into your overall planning for the power
management of your home.

--Dale

 

[GeekBoy]

You missed the part not wanting to wake up the inverter .....

Battery night lights?

 

[SQLit]

The recent discussion about LED lighting included a couple comments on the
appropriateness of LEDS for night lights. I thought it was an idea worthy of
it's own thread.

My off grid home is in the stage of construction where the interior walls
are still open accessible to add wiring runs. So, now is an opportune time
for me to add wiring to the whole house. So far, I have not installed any
low voltage wiring runs, just the 115vac wring typical of a standard US
home.

I have been casually thinking about adding a dedicated low voltage DC
circuit to support some LED night lights as a simple aid to night
navigation. I have a few ideas, but have not made any decisions yet. Maybe I
can get some ideas here to influence me in one direction or another.

I'm interested in ideas on how I might set up LED night lights throughout
the house.
Right now, I use a few glass enclosed tea candles for night lights which is
romantic, but a little too 19th century. I want something that looks
professional, and not homemade.

My inverter runs in sleep mode at night, so I'd prefer a solution that does
not require 115vac except perhaps for periodic (and hopefully infrequent)
manual battery recharging.

I wonder if it would make sense to power the LED night lights from my main
48v battery bank, or to use a separate dedicated bank, and maybe at a
different voltage?

My main bank runs at 48v. I suppose it would be easy enough to run a
dedicated, fused, 48v wiring run..With a 48v run, I would not have as much
voltage drop across the wire and could use smaller gauge wire. But, would I
be just burning it off in resistors required to drop the voltage to that
required by the LEDs?

Alternatively, I could setup a separate 6v (or 12v) deep cycle golf cart
battery. This would require periodic recharging, probably with an
inexpensive automotive charger plugged into my 110vac. I'd almost prefer not
to go this route, because it adds one more thing separate subsystem to have
to monitor and maintain. On the other hand, if it were 12v, then I might
find it useful for other non-nightlight applications such as recharging my
cell phone where 12v is the more common voltage. DC to DC converters are
somewhat pricey, but I suppose for one or two low draw outlets it is a
possibility.

I am thinking that a single switch per floor would be adequate for my place.
I wonder if I could just use a normal 110vac light switch for 48VDC, or I
would need a DC rated switch?

It would be nice if I could use some small gauge wire, like Cat5, or door
bell wire. Each wire run might be in the range of 100 feet per floor.

My place is 2200 square feet, on two floors. I think 6 to 8 night-lights
fixtures per floor would provide adequate night lighting.

Is a single led per fixture adequate? Color?

Are there any off the shelf low voltage DC fixtures that might be
applicable. I don't want to reinvent the wheel if an off the shelf solution
exists, as long as it is no too expensive.

I wonder what kind of fixture could be made that would be simple to
construct, yet
not look homemade. One thought is to use a single outlet type mounting box,
and use a blank switch plate mount a led. Maybe more than one led per plate?

Ideas? Experiences? Links? Calculations?

I did a medical clinic in CA once that required a set of exit signs 12
inches off the floor. I am not advocating the exit signs but the location
close to the doors was actually a good plan. In complete darkness, em
fixtures off, the inspector walked the building from 30-40 feet away the
exit was clear.

I would try to keep it simple, standard voltage, standard parts, etc. Walk
way light cans might be an idea.You know with the lovered covers. I used
them around a guys pool once. Nice soft light I used 25 watt bulbs, CF's
were a long way off then. Mounted the fixtures at 12" to bottom. I had a
bunch of dimmers in a closet and put the switches for the walk lights in
there. I connected them to a photocell circuit so that they turned on
automatically. Since your not using 120v like I was the photo control might
be a little harder.

I would use larger than smaller wire if the choice was given, at least #12,
stranded would be better for 12v. I am not aware of stranded wire that is
available in a romex type cable. Not sure if the lv outside cable can be
installed in a wall, by code. Better check the listing on that one.


http://www.sonriselighting.com/docs/step-deck/rstepindex.html
similar to these only not brass.
http://www.gidesigns.net/bfocus.html

 

[Bughunter]

The "right" way to run LEDs off a high voltage supply (right being
efficient) is to set up a constant current supply, since that is
"really" what LEDs need, not any specific voltage, so much. The number
of LEDs that can be in a single string is then limited by the voltage.
ie, one constant current supply run from 12 V can run X LEDs (often 8-10
of the usual sort of LEDs), and a similar one run from 48V can run 4X
LEDs, more or less. They will use exactly the same amount of energy to
run 1 LED, or as many LEDs as they can run, so maximizing LEDs per
supply is the most efficient approach.

The various LEDs run from one supply need not be in the same place, they
can be connected by wire and be in different locations. One supply might
run your entire nightlight setup throughout the house. The switch used
does need to be DC rated, and the circuit needs to be fused or have a
circuit breaker.

I'd go with red, as highly efficient red LEDs are available, and red
does not destroy your night vision, if you are getting up to view the
stars, or peer out to see if there's a burglar, or that sort of thing.

48V bank is too high for the usual part I use for making a constant
current supply (LM317 variable voltage regulator, set up as a constant
current supply per the application data). You could either use a DC-DC
down-converter, or (better) a different part or parts to achieve the
same result without the complexity, expense, and potential failure point
of the converter.

Specific current will depend on the LEDs, generally 10-30 mA (lower will
just be dimmer, too high will fry them). One mounting I've considered,
but not built yet, is in the underside of the stair handrail, routing a
groove to have a set pointing down to light the stairs. Invisible, and
thus does not "look" homemade or otherwise. A similar thing could be
done in rooms/hallways with moulding, our you could adapt various types
of light fixtures, but most seem overly large for the purpose. If
mounting into a switchplate, mount pointing down, I'd think. Some panel
lights (in the control or audio industry) or old style dashboard lights
(or even new-style license-plate lights) provide a nice-looking
partly-sheilded enclosure. But you might think of those as looking like
car parts in your house, and therefore "not nice" or "home-made".

Excellent feedback. I'll have to research constant current supplies.

At this point haven't decided on color or specs for leds. I presume that
would be one factor I'd have to get nailed down before I tried to make the
decision on what type of supply would work.

It started out seeming like a simple enough project, and then you discover
how many decisions there are to be made, number of fixtures, how many leds,
type of supply, type of mounting, color, esthetics, efficiency....

 

[Steve Spence]

Battery night lights?

That would work if it had a light sensor on it to shut it off during the
day. I have an ac nightlight with that function.

 

[Bughunter]

I did a medical clinic in CA once that required a set of exit signs 12
inches off the floor. I am not advocating the exit signs but the location
close to the doors was actually a good plan. In complete darkness, em
fixtures off, the inspector walked the building from 30-40 feet away the
exit was clear.

I would try to keep it simple, standard voltage, standard parts, etc. Walk
way light cans might be an idea.You know with the lovered covers. I used
them around a guys pool once. Nice soft light I used 25 watt bulbs, CF's
were a long way off then. Mounted the fixtures at 12" to bottom. I had a
bunch of dimmers in a closet and put the switches for the walk lights in
there. I connected them to a photocell circuit so that they turned on
automatically. Since your not using 120v like I was the photo control
might
be a little harder.

I would use larger than smaller wire if the choice was given, at least
#12,
stranded would be better for 12v. I am not aware of stranded wire that is
available in a romex type cable. Not sure if the lv outside cable can be
installed in a wall, by code. Better check the listing on that one.


http://www.sonriselighting.com/docs/step-deck/rstepindex.html
similar to these only not brass.
http://www.gidesigns.net/bfocus.html

For my purposes, something low to the floor would work best. We have several
traditional night lights that plug into outlets (~15 inches above the floor)
at my on-grid home. I navigate through the house without ever turning on a
light. It is something you get used to having. I miss it on my off grid
home. I don't want to keep the inverter running just to power a few night
lights.

I do have a current NEC code book. I will consult that before I start
drilling holes and running wire.

I am trying to keep it simple, with mostly off the shelf parts. The search
continues.

 

[Steve Spence]

Someone mentioned those flat plate nitelights that use Timex Indiglo
technology. Does anyone know what voltage the actual device uses? I
know that they plug into a 120V socket, but could it be run from DC?

They require 120vac. We lost 4 of them before switching to LED nightlights.

 

[daestrom]

If you use a string of LEDs to get the sum of the forward drop up to a few
volts below
the lowest battery voltage, then you can use one of many linear current
sources to drop
the voltage to run that string.

The Supertex CL2 is about the simplist possible. You leave at least a 5V
drop, put this
2 pin device in series with the LEDs, and you get a constant 20 mA through
them.
Whether you use 1 to ~11 white LEDs it will draw the same power (~1W). Put
a
switch in the circuit for On/Off control.

The only thing with linear current sources, is the constant current x the
constant voltage drop leads to a lot of energy wasted as heat.

I ran a cross a simple 'switching' circuit somewhere, that feeds the LED's
through a choke, and switches off, letting them 'free-wheel' through a
reverse diode when the current rises to the setpoint. Then turns on again
after a miniscule off-time. If I can find the circuit again, I'll post a
link.

Switching like this, if the extra circuits don't draw too much, can be much
more efficient way of regulating the current.

daestrom

 

[Bughunter]

What you are describing is a (or at least could be) low-energy circuit
that could be incorporated into the same raceways and boxes with your
other low voltage wiring such as CATV, phone, speaker, and network.
With a little clever design, you could incorporate the nightlight right
into the faceplace of terminal boxes that you were going to need
anyhow. With a little punchblock, you could series-connect perhaps 4
lights in a string and feed them with (what?) 50 miliamps? In the case
that one LED went bad, trouble shooting would be simple. You can get
any number of small DC-DC converters cheap at MPJA.com to convert your
48 volts down to something more efficient.

Thanks for mentioning MPJA.com. I knew I had seen some relatively
inexpensive dc-dc converters some place.
http://mpja.com/productview.asp?product=7724+PS is way overkill and a bit
pricey at $60. They also have one for $25, but it requires +5v to activate
it. I'll bet there is an even lower power rated converter out there for a
lot less. Like you say, we are talking about a load in milliamps even for
an entire string of lights. I think that a cheap low power dc-dc converter
of some type is in order in any case if I am to use my main 48v battery bank
as the source, which is my preference. I might leave these night-lights on
year round, even when I am not there.

I did some very brief research into Ecnerwal's suggestion about a constant
current supply. This does seem to be the way the pros do it in contemporary
product design. I have to admit that my electronics is a bit rusty and I
have few resources to design like a pro. I will need to fins some rather
simple pre-packaged items to cobble together, of the simplest of circuits
with a handful of very easy to obtain parts. It makes me feel foolish to
contact an electronic manufacturer parts salesman, and ask for 6 widgets
when real engineers are ordering tens of thousands at a whack. I'm
comfortable with a low volume surplus supplier like MPJA, but their
selection is limited.

I am not sure how much cat5 I'll run if any at all. I am using wireless for
most of my network at home. I might run some lines for satellite TV. But, I
do think it is within code to run 48V along with communication lines.

 

[Dale Farmer]

They require 120vac. We lost 4 of them before switching to LED nightlights.

There are also the cold cathode fluorescent stuff. Widely used for
making your car very flashy and stupid looking. Available in different
colors and forms at Walmart, runs on 12 VDC. I have no idea
how efficient they are.

--Dale

 

[Vaughn]

But, I do think it is within code to run 48V along with communication lines.

I can't give you "chaper & verse" on code requirements, but I can tell you
that 48 volts has been a standard telephone talk voltage since the days of Alex
Bell. And don't forget that 105 VAC is still the standard ring voltage!

Vaughn

 

[Bughunter]

The CL2 seems like a very cool device.It's dead nuts simple. I like the idea
of being able to solder in inline, with no board. I am not really too
worried about attaining maximum efficiency. If this is running at 1w that's
fine as long as I can get a few functional night lights out of it. That is a
whole lot more efficient than keeping my inverter running. My battery bank
would probably not even notice it.

Now I wonder what their salesman will tell me when I ask for 5 of em?

Some links I found in a very quick Google search are...

http://www10.edacafe.com/nbc/articles/view_article.php?section=ICNews&articleid=190475

and the data sheet at
http://www10.edacafe.com/nbc/articles/view_article.php?section=ICNews&articleid=190475