DIY apartment LED lights

In my old apartment I built a lot of different LED lights.

Dual colored uplights

I built four of these uplights and mounted them on my living room wall, in an upward line. They didn't really produce that much light, but it gave a cool effect on the wall. Especially the white and UV together kind of looked like a propane flame. Powered by: 5V.

I experimented with different colors in the center; red was also very cool. In the parts list there are both UV (100 Ohm) and red (150 Ohm) LEDs, with appropriate resistors.

Read more about how to calculate the required resistor for an LED here: LED Resistor Calculator.

I controlled the lights and colors with a home-made controller: 4-channel electronic switch and voltage regulator

Here are the parts I used:

• 5 m Control cable, 4-cores, 0.25mm2, 250 V, Ø 4.6mm
• 4 × Enclosure, plastic (1551), 60x35x20mm
• 4 × LED 5mm clear, Red, 2.1V, 20mA, 7.000mcd, 20°
• 4 × LED 5mm clear, UV, 3.4V, 20mA, 2.000mcd, 25°
• 8 × LED 5mm clear, White, 3.1V, 20mA, 25.000mcd, 15°
• 12 × LED holder 5mm, RTC51, black plastic
• 4 × Resistor, carbon film, 0.25W, 100 Ω, 5%
• 8 × Resistor, carbon film, 0.25W, 120 Ω, 5%
• 4 × Resistor, carbon film, 0.25W, 150 Ω, 5%

Photos

Single dot light

I also used these small dot lights under shelves above my desk. If mounted close to the wall they give a cool cone effect, not terribly bright but pretty decorative and not intrusive. And they are really easy to make; one LED, resistor and a small plastic box, 10 minutes, tops. Powered by: 5V.

Colors:

• White
• Warm white
• Red
• Blue
• UV (black light)

Here are the parts I used to make one with a single white 10mm LED:

• 1 × Enclosure, plastic (1551), 35x35x15mm
• 1 × LED 10mm clear, White, 3.4V, 80mA, 11lm, 50°
• 1 × Metal bracket, 15x25mm
• 1 × Resistor, metal film, 0.6W, 22 Ω, 1%
• 2 m Wire, stranded, 0.22mm2, Grey
• 2 m Wire, stranded, 0.22mm2, Yellow

Photos