Today, LED strips are used to create the main or decorative lighting. They are harmoniously combined with different styles of interior. Using LEDs, you can create a special atmosphere, highlight a specific area in the room, emphasize the advantages and hide the imperfections of the room.
To mount such a system, special materials and tools will be required. In addition, when installing the tape, you will need a ceiling plinth. It has certain features. How to choose and install a do-it-yourself ceiling plinth for LED strip, we will describe later in the article.
Skirting purpose
Plinth ceiling for LED strip today is in great demand. It performs a number of necessary functions. More recently, these tapes were mounted on the base without additional elements. However, the appearance of ceiling skirting boards designed for various lighting devices made it possible to create different decorative techniques when decorating the interior and installing lighting in the room.
A plinth is a fillet, in which a special recess is provided for placement of an LED strip or other elongated lighting fixture.
Previously, baguettes were used solely for the purpose of hiding the seam between the finishing materials of the ceiling and walls. However, now this decor element has received many additional features. Under the ceiling, you can successfully hide the wires from the wiring. They will be held in special cable channels of non-combustible substances. The LED strip itself will be placed in a special recess, which is on the outer surface of the baguette. This technique will allow you to hide the lighting device itself, leaving only the backlight itself. It will act with its own rays, without creating a bright contour from the LED strip, which greatly increases the aesthetics of the finish.
In addition to skirting boards, there are also profiles for LED strips for the ceiling. With their help create different shapes, allowing you to emphasize the beauty of the forms of multi-level structures. The principle of such products is similar to the plinth. They also have a recess, but can bend, repeating the contours of the object.
Skirting material selection
Choosing the best ceiling plinths, you should consider their varieties. First of all, such baguettes differ in the material from which they are made. The most inexpensive designs are polystyrene fillets. Many skirting options are presented in this category. They vary in shape, texture and color. Such a variety will allow you to choose the best option for the existing style and interior design.
Styrofoam baguettes are easy to install. They are easy to mount on their own. Most often, the presented variety of products is used in the arrangement of conventional or drywall suspended ceilings. The LED backlight in this case will look harmonious.
If a different type of finish is arranged, polyurethane foam fillets can be used. This version of the products goes well with stretch ceilings. Polyurethane foam is known for its high environmental performance. It is quite dense, so damaging it is much more difficult than the previous type of baguettes. Such skirting boards allow you to further strengthen the tension structure, giving it a certain rigidity. The presented varieties of ceiling skirting boards are available in white.
It should be noted that polyurethane skirting boards are highly flexible. They can be used to create illumination of complex configuration. Products of this group with recesses for a lighting device are on sale. There are models with an LED strip already built into the baseboard.
Skirting board
Today, a rigid and flexible profile for LED strip is used to create backlighting. Both presented varieties are distinguished by the presence of a special element in the design. This is a special recess for LED strip. It should correspond to the dimensions of the lighting device. On sale there are ceiling skirting boards that are designed to install tubular types of lamps. There should be more indentation in them.
Designs designed for LED strip on the inside have special grooves. It should be noted that unlike ordinary baguettes, fillets for installing a lighting device do not fit snugly against the surface of the corner. After installation, a certain space is left necessary for the free passage of light rays.
This recess may contain wires for connecting a lighting fixture. The basic lighting characteristics will depend on the level at which the diode strip is fixed on the back of the baseboard, as well as the distance from the top corner of the structure to the ceiling.
Installing LED strip under the ceiling skirting is able to create both basic and decorative, diffused lighting. The direction of the rays will depend on the position of the lighting device in the baguette. If necessary, using such designs, you can clearly direct the luminous flux or make it accent, soft.
Baguette may also differ in face. On sale are many varieties of textures, shapes and shades of similar products. The type of profile used to create such elements can be curly or even. In this case, the diode tape can be mounted either on the baseboard itself, or attached to the surface of the base.
Profile Types
In addition to skirting boards, special profiles can be used to install the LED strip. They are installed not only in the corners of the room. With the help of such designs, it is possible to designate various decorative elements of arbitrary shape, to create a backlight anywhere in the ceiling. On sale are angular, built-in, pendant, mortise and patch profiles for LED strip:
- If the tape needs to be laid in bending contours, then corner profiles are used. They can be used to create lighting around the perimeter of the room, the rectangular outline of the furniture, on the steps, etc.
- Overhead profile types are easy to install. This is a fairly flexible product from which you can easily create a rounded shape. It is installed on the base using special glue or self-tapping screws. This is one of the preferred options for self-installation of lighting tape.
- Mortise varieties of designs are more difficult to install. But with their help, you can create various designer designs of the original form. This type of profile is able to connect dissimilar finishing materials, for example, particleboard with drywall. The tape can be mounted both in the depth of the profile and close to its edge. The mortise profile for LED strip is similar to recessed designs. However, its advantage is the presence of edges. They can hide irregularities that exist on the surface of the base. To close the gap, it is recommended to use a mortise profile. Mortise structures are most often used to create furniture lighting.
- If you need to create the main lighting in a fairly spacious room, use hanging profiles. A diode tape is built into them. The use of such products will create a bright, but at the same time uniform, diffused lighting.
Profile material
Rigid and flexible profiles for LED strip are on sale. The first group includes structures made of aluminum. These are strong, reliable varieties of ceiling profiles. They can be stacked only in a straight line or at an angle of 90º, which somewhat limits their scope.
Aluminum structures are resistant to mechanical damage and have a long service life. The presented products can be easily mounted in various floors. Moreover, the procedure is simple. The device of aluminum profiles is tight, allowing you to protect the diode tape from damage, contamination and moisture. The presented type is supplied in designs with a special screen, which transmits the rays of the tape to the outside.
The plastic profile can be flexible and rigid. This is an affordable, inexpensive material. Although, plastic has lower strength indicators than aluminum. When hit, it is easy to damage, causing damage to the lighting fixture. Therefore, such structures should be operated with caution. But with a sufficiently high softness of the plastic, it is still able to reliably protect the lighting device from moisture and dust.
When installing a flexible plastic profile, it is important to purchase a quality product. Saving in this case is not recommended. Cheap designs in this category can melt, deform under the influence of heating of the diode strip.
Varieties of profile screens
The profile for the LED strip for stretch ceilings or other types of bases has a screen. It is made of plastic. Similar structural elements may be matte or transparent. The choice depends on the type of lighting that you want to create in the room.
Devices with a transparent screen practically do not reduce the brightness of the lighting device. When applied, a maximum of 5% of the ray intensity is lost. The presented type of structures is used to protect the tape from adverse environmental influences. For example, it can be dust, moisture, shock, etc.
Matte screens allow you to create a muted type of lighting. They can reduce the brightness of the LED strip by up to 30%. This screen is also used to protect the lighting device from mechanical damage, adverse effects.
It should be noted that the profile screens are almost always a removable element. This is a prerequisite for a comfortable and easy installation, as this reduces the risk of damaging the screen during installation. They release them in different configurations. They can be located in various places of the profile, which determines the directivity of the rays of the tape.
LED Strip Light
In order to understand how to install an LED strip in a profile or a ceiling plinth, it is necessary to consider several features of the presented electrical appliances. The width of the tape can reach 8-30 mm. Diodes are located on it with a certain frequency. Their size may vary depending on the type of tape. Between the diodes, resistors are soldered to the tape. The average length of the tape is 3-5 m. For a medium-sized room, 5-6 such segments will be required. In theory, they can be connected and connected to one large power supply for the LED strip, which should have the appropriate power.
But if you make a connection in this way, it will be extremely difficult to hide the control unit under the baseboard. To simplify the installation technology, a separate rectifier is purchased for every 2 segments. It will have a lower voltage indicator and, accordingly, dimensions.
The power supply for LED strip is required. This device reduces the input voltage to 12 or 24 V (depending on the needs of the tape). When choosing a unit, it is important to take into account the total power consumption of the diodes and provide for a small margin.
The shade of the glow of the tape can be different. There are one-color and multi-color products. The choice depends on the preferences of the owners of the house and the style of the interior. Monotonous tapes have one color of a luminescence which can be warm or cold. And with the help of multi-color ribbons, you can create any shade of light. A controller is used to control the mode. It is additionally included in the circuit immediately after the power supply and in front of the tape.
Lighting Choice
It should be noted that there are several options for how to lay the LED strip in the ceiling plinth. On the reverse side, it has an adhesive base. With its help it will not be difficult to fix the lighting device in the plinth or profile. The wires are connected by soldering. For those who do not own this technique, it is recommended to purchase an LED strip assembled.
The brightness of the presented electrical appliances may be different. For decorative, soft lighting, it is necessary to use low-power types of products.
But today, tapes are also on sale, the diodes of which can create full-fledged lighting in the room. In this case, it is extremely important to correctly fix the device inside the baseboard or profile.
Light intensity
Ceiling skirting board for LED lighting can help create a different intensity of light output. So, to create a bright glow, you need to glue the tape to the very bottom of the notch of the fillet. It will need to be mounted as close to the wall as possible. The width of the light strip in this case will be approximately 10-20 cm.
If the design of the room involves creating a soft, diffused lighting, you need to glue the diode tape high, almost at the very edge of the side. In this case, the lighting device will also be located close to the wall. The width of the light flux in this case will be greater (up to 30 cm).
Installation of LED strip in the ceiling skirting can be done somewhat differently. In this case, there are two options - the recess in the baseboard may resemble the letter “P” or “G” in shape:
- In the first case, the tape is mounted farther from the wall. It is close to the opposite edge of the recess at its very bottom. In this case, the brightness of the backlight will be maximum. The width of the strip will be up to 10 cm.
- When using a skirting board with a profile in the form of the letter “G”, you can create the most diffuse lighting. In this case, the diode tape is installed near the wall at the bottom of the recess. The width of the stream will be up to 50 cm.
Plinth Installation
Plinth ceiling for LED strip mounted on a prepared clean base with glue or screws (this is indicated in the manufacturer's instructions):
- It is necessary to determine the distance from the ceiling to the plinth. The smaller it is, the brighter the backlight will be. The minimum allowable distance is 5 cm and the maximum is 20 cm.
- Determine the gap between the wall and the baseboard. If it is large enough, you can glue the diode tape after installing the baseboard. This is the preferred option. If the distance is small, you must first install a lighting device in the recess of the baguette.
- Then, carefully, in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions, install the baseboard on the prepared base. In this case, you need to use the construction level. You need to start installation from the corner of the wall.
- Now you can check the correct operation of the LED backlight. To do this, the device is connected to the network.
Having considered the features of the ceiling plinth for LED strip, its types and installation features, you can independently create high-quality, beautiful lighting in the room.