Many decorators and interior designers prefer to use such a powerful decorative element as lighting in their work. Along with the main, functional lighting, additional light sources allow you to focus on individual zones of space, create a special mood and emphasize interesting architectural solutions. In addition, with the skillful and competent use of special street lighting systems (LED rain, waterfall, curtain, garlands), you can create a unique and extremely bright decor for the porch, windows, or even the entire area of the facade.
The nature of LED lighting
Today, no one is surprised by LED lamps. Due to their efficiency, durability and safety, they have firmly entered the life of many people. Ice lighting is actively used in private homes, offices and public places instead of the main sources of lighting (lamps in chandeliers) and for illumination (LED strips, recessed lights, New Year's illumination).
Each LED lamp has an anode and cathode with an active semiconductor crystal and a reflector. When electricity comes to it, current flows from the anode to the cathode, resulting in optical radiation. This device and the principle of operation are typical for ice-lamps of any sizes and shapes: from large with a traditional base (for a powerful stream of light) to the smallest in ribbons or garlands (LED rain).
Why LEDs?
Many consumers are switching to LED lighting precisely because of its efficiency and long life, because one lamp can work up to 100,000 hours. Other operational characteristics of ice lamps are no less valuable:
- Under any conditions, such a lamp ignites instantly, without any delay.
- LED lighting has a stable brightness.
- When using ice lamps, the user does not have to worry about the number of on and off cycles, unlike incandescent lamps, the wear of which depends on how often they are activated.
- There is no vibration of a working device with an LED light source, because it does not include an incandescent filament or other sensitive component.
- Street LED garlands ("rain", "waterfall" and others), as well as all lamps for placement inside the house, are completely safe for children and animals. High voltage is not used for the operation of lighting devices, so the lamps do not overheat. On average, their temperature is not more than 60 degrees.
- An important advantage of LED lamps is their ability to continue working at fairly low ambient temperatures. It is this feature that makes LED rain, the "curtain" and various garlands an indispensable Christmas decoration.
Another significant argument for the use of ice lamps is their environmental characteristics: they do not include toxic or hazardous substances (mercury, phosphorus), like some other designs. For this reason, LED rain can be considered an environmentally friendly means of decoration and lighting.
When is it appropriate to use LEDs for lighting and decor?
In practice, various types of ice lamps and garlands are used for the following purpose:
- To attract attention to some details in the interior or exterior.
- For zoning the interior space of a room.
- To avoid lighting a large area.
- In order to hide the imperfections of the surface of the walls (LED rain "curtain").
- To emphasize the status and prestige of the institution (relevant for hotels, retail and office space).
- To create a festive illumination.
Most often, you can find LEDs in the form of small lamps, evenly mounted on a flexible tape with an adhesive base. Point and retractable ice lights are also common. However, the most spectacular and impressive can be called LED street lights. “Rain”, “curtain”, “curtain” - these are all the names of the same type of construction, which the craftsmen fix on the walls of houses, in the openings of doors and windows, on architectural ledges or in niches. Such systems can be of different sizes and colors; there is also the possibility of choosing the mode of their operation (uniform illumination, flicker, waterfall effect).
Rain LED: how the design looks and works
This extravagant type of luminous decoration consists of a long cord to which wires with lamps are attached. The cord along which the fringe is placed is called a train, or base. It is made of durable plastic or silicone. As a rule, such garlands reach two meters in length (along the train), and the fringe length varies from several tens of centimeters to several meters. Marking “LED rain 2x3m” means that on a two-meter base there are hanging elements three meters long. Some systems have a fringe with unequal elements, which are perfect for mounting along roofs and cornices, emphasizing the advantages of the building.
Decorative lighting systems are interesting in that two separate similar units can be stitched together to form a long curtain. The edges of the garlands are equipped with special connectors, which allows you to assemble a chain of a large number of elements (maximum 20 pieces). According to reviews of people who have been using this decor for a long time, this feature of the structures is extremely convenient.
To buy the right amount of garlands and guess with the length of the fringe, it is worthwhile to pre-measure the area where the LED rain will be placed.
Varieties of LED Curtains
Thinking about decorating your home with an LED curtain, you need to figure out what they are, how to properly install and use them.
LED garland ("rain", "curtain") can have different colors and modes of operation. There are monochrome and color designs, the choice depends only on the taste of the owner of the room and his imagination. Multi-color curtains are equipped with controllers. These devices allow you to choose, fix and change the way the lamps function: even glow or flicker. Choosing a blinking mode, you can also adjust the intensity and color of the glow.
How much is the shiny design
Studying the cost of LED lighting systems, you can notice that the price of monochrome garlands is slightly lower than color. Simpler indoor designs are also cheaper than outdoor ones. This is not surprising, because the latter have high strength, frost resistance and tight joints. Owners of large houses who want to fully decorate one or all of the walls will have to pay a rather impressive amount by buying several garlands of the same type.
You should also take into account the costs of fasteners and payment for the services of an installer, if the owner of the house does not have the opportunity to independently place such decor as a garland "rain" LED.
The price of some types of garlands (average):
- 4 m long with a short fringe up to 0.6 m - about 16 euros.
- 3 m long with long hanging elements (up to one meter) - 27 euros.
- A set of LED garlands "meteor shower" (each element is 30 cm long) - 22 euros.
- A large curtain with a length of 2 m with hanging elements up to 3 m - 112 euros.
LED rain placement indoors
When planning decoration of living rooms, office or retail premises with LED garlands, one should be guided by lighting standards. They are designed in such a way that avoids excessively bright annoying light, but at the same time makes it possible to achieve uniform illumination of space.
Using controllers for ice lamps allows you to solve problems with the intensity of their glow.
Garlands are attached to walls, columns, in niches, as well as in window or doorways using brackets, wires, double-sided tape, suction cup mounts and other materials. The master must take into account that negligence is unacceptable during interior decoration: the insufficient length of the fringe elements looks ugly as well as too long. For the stylistic integrity of the interior, it is necessary to monitor the exact correspondence of the curtain of the decorated area.
Feature of street structures
Those garlands that are designed for installation on the exterior of the building can be connected to the mains or run on batteries. Their installation involves placing a plume along the upper edge of the wall, cornice or porch. In this case, the hanging elements can remain free. Sometimes, if necessary, they are attached to a vertical plane.
Before starting all work, the master should make sure that the size of the curtain is suitable for decorating this area. Street garlands are fixed with any convenient fixing means: brackets, clamps, cords, wire.
Security measures
Based on the fact that all LED curtains are related to electrical structures, when installing them, the master must adhere to the basic rules for handling household electrical appliances. He will not need special access, however, only an experienced specialist can fasten the garland to a high facade or roof, using safety measures. Here you can not do without lifting equipment and knowledge of high-altitude installation methods.