LED ceiling lighting: pros and cons

Decorating the ceiling of a modern home is akin to art. Today, even a laconic design can be changed beyond recognition. Take, for example, LED backlighting: with its help, you can radically change the aesthetic perception of the ceiling, and sometimes completely erase the boundaries of the upper ceiling. In this article we will consider the pros and cons of this lighting, we will study the main placement criteria, through which you can visually change the space of the premises.

LED ceiling lighting is a new generation of lighting. It employs lamps of a special type, distinguished by high quality and performance characteristics. It differs from the usual central-type luminaires, and due to a particularly intense luminous flux, it can serve as the main lighting. If the power of the light sources is low, such lighting fixtures can act as additional illumination.

A distinctive feature of such bulbs is harmlessness. In the process of work, they do not emit toxins, do not contain mercury, therefore they are absolutely safe for the body. This backlight will not shock (it is low voltage). This fact excludes the possibility of fire. This backlight does not have the same UV effect on the skin as incandescent bulbs do.

Its light is soft, pleasant to the eyes. It has been scientifically proven that LED light is able to normalize the emotional state of a person, reducing nervous excitement. According to the latest medical data, such lighting does not age the skin and can accelerate the regeneration of tissues, as well as neurons. This allows such lighting to be used in all rooms without fear that it may have a negative impact during long-term use.

No other type of lighting has so many possibilities for decorating a space. At the same time, you can successfully combine ceiling lighting with wall lighting, select the desired section of the wall, if you need to zone the room into separate functional zones. With relatively small shapes, this backlight can illuminate rooms quite brightly. This allows it to be used in small-sized apartments (for example, "Khrushchevs", "Stalinkas", "Brezhnevkas"), without overloading the ceiling with massive fixtures.

With the help of such devices, it is possible to beat the disadvantages of the design features of the room, distracting attention from them and giving out visible imperfections for the advantages of the interior composition. The possibilities of such lighting are great. If you correctly approach the design of the ceiling area, you can visually make the walls higher and wider, which will ennoble the room and make it easier. Some systems, when successfully combined with the ceiling decoration, completely erase the boundaries of the ceiling, giving the space a feeling of airiness (for example, using LED lighting in the composition of a stretch ceiling with a photo print).

These light sources are unique compared to other lamp options. They do not contain heavy metals, they are often compatible with dimmers and have a minimum ripple factor. In some designs, there is a choice of the angle of inclination of the luminous flux. A remarkable fact is the wide range of base / plinths, which allows you to choose the right backlight option.

This lighting has a number of advantages:

• Minimum heating. A distinctive feature of LED backlighting is minimal heating of light sources. This eliminates the possibility of injury when touching the switched on lamp, as well as the use of these devices in structures with built-in backlighting (not every type of luminaire needs an insulating substrate).
• Variability of forms. LED lighting differs not only in a wide range of luminaire shapes. It is notable for the fact that in the design of ceiling lighting, you can use several lamps of different types of the same design at the same time, changing the perception of the ceiling area of ​​the room. In this case, you can give the ceiling the illusion of volume.

• Profitability. LED lighting saves energy by converting most of it into light. In comparison with other types of lamps, it is about 10 times more economical. This allows you to complete any light composition without fear of electricity bills.
• Luminous flux type. No other backlight has the ability to change the shade of the luminous flux. These systems have a lot of possibilities for decorating the ceiling, including changing the shade of the glow at the request of the owner of the house. Lighting can be monochromatic or rainbow-colored. At the same time, diodes are resistant to voltage surges and do not fail in case of accidents in power grids.

• LED work. Unlike other light sources, LED bulbs do not make noise during operation. Despite their straightforward orientation, they do not blink, therefore they do not irritate the retina and optic nerve. Moreover, in most varieties, the intensity of the glow can be adjusted at will.
• Durability. The service life of such a backlight is about 100 thousand hours. This backlight achieves light intensity instantly, it does not need to heat up to shine brighter. Due to the absence of filaments, it is vibration-resistant and has a degree of protection. It is not scary to touch it with your hands, the service life will not decrease from this.
• Temperature. These lamps have a color temperature scale. Optionally, you can select light from 2600 to 10000 K. The range of tones for constant lighting includes warm and cold tones from dark yellow to blue and violet. This is convenient in that the buyer has the opportunity to choose a device with the desired temperature to play with the peculiarities of the location of the windows with a lack of natural light.

With a lot of positive characteristics and benefits, LED backlighting is not without its drawbacks:

• The high quality of LED lighting devices is characteristic of mainly high-class luminaires with a high-quality power supply. Cheap counterparts with a built-in driver can flicker like fluorescent lamps.
• Despite the ability of the backlight to relieve stress, according to research, it tunes in the working mood, increasing the release of serotonin. For people with insomnia, this can cause some discomfort.
• Due to the special demand, such products are often counterfeited, which does not exclude the possibility of buying a fake. In this case, there is no certainty that the backlight is harmless and will not irritate the eyes. The only way out of the situation is to use it in places of lesser use (for example, a pantry).

• In the process of operation, LED bulbs degrade, which affects their performance in a few years. This may be a loss of flux intensity.
• If the backlighting elements are at a great distance from each other, the lighting in the room loses its uniformity.
• In chain versions, if one LED fails, the backlight stops working, since the entire network is disrupted.
• Quality LED lighting products are expensive. If you buy a high-power device for compositional lighting, this will affect the budget.

Today, there are several types of LED ceiling lights:

• Contour - illumination with diffused glow, forming a single light strip during operation;
• Directional - illumination, mounted in such a way that the luminous flux is directed along the ceiling and illuminates it;
• Spot - compact luminaires mounted in the ceiling, the luminous flux of which is directed downward;
• Curly - placement of lighting in ceiling shades.

In addition, each species has its own shape. Ceiling lighting is divided into several types. It can be working, sliding and accent (track). The models consist of categories of industrial, office, commercial lighting, lighting for sports facilities, educational institutions. If desired and creatively designed, many of them are suitable for a specific interior style.

The entire range of similar products is divided into:

• strip LED-backlighting on a flexible substrate, connected to the network through a compact rectifier;
• panel diodes on a rigid base with a diffuser or varieties in the form of LED strips cut into pieces;
• LED spotlights and spots with a built-in reflector.

From the point of view of economy, it is more profitable to take panels for lighting the ceiling. However, for an even distribution of light, soffits are better: if they are located at the same distance from each other, there will be no dark spots and shadow corners in the room. The tapes are especially good for complex ceilings. They allow you to accentuate the curly lines, making the ceiling of two or more levels unique. At the same time, they go well with accent lighting of the ceiling and are especially appropriate for decorating stretch ceilings with a pattern.

Do not rush to buy LED backlights right away. First, you should visit the store and choose an option or several models. When choosing an LED backlight, pay attention not to the number of hours of operation: inspect whether this model has a radiator and what it is made of. This device takes the temperature away from the LED unit. Do not buy a plastic radiator, it is better to choose a model with a cooling system in the form of a ribbed aluminum surface.

When choosing, consider the following nuances:

• choose a transparent type of light sources: in matte varieties, the presence and type of a radiator is not visible;
• check the model for ripple;
• good LEDs are covered with phosphors;
• high-quality products have an informational component in the package;
• externally, the backlight should not have gaps, irregularities, roughness;
• give preference to varieties with the ability to change color (RGB).

When buying ready-made kits or flex tape, total capacity needs to be considered. The intensity of the ceiling lighting and the total energy consumption will depend on this. This indicator is important at the stage when the issue of backlighting as the main lighting or additional lighting is being decided. In order for the lighting to be sufficient, 20% must be added to the calculated power. The type of base is important (especially for built-in and overhead models).

Consider the purpose of the room:

• to highlight a bedroom or recreation area, soft warm shades are needed;

• in the study, the light should be equal to daylight;

• for lighting the ceiling of the bathroom and the bathroom, a neutral tone is suitable;

• in the living room it is worth choosing color options with a choice of neutral, warm and white colors.

Do not take a solid colored tape: red, green, blue, green, with daily use for a long period of time, will begin to depress the psyche. Better to buy varieties with a color change.

The placement of the LED lighting depends on the ceiling lighting design idea.If desired, this lighting can be used in the living room, bedroom, children's room, bathroom, study, home library, hallway, corridor and even a closet. At the same time, the advantage of such lighting is the fact that it is appropriate in different directions of design: it looks harmoniously in the classic, modern, ethnic, vintage directions of the interior style.

More placement options at the ribbon. It can be built into the structure: this will add volume to the ceiling. Even a laconic design will look special if in the evening the ceiling is decorated with a lacy pattern made from a luminous ribbon, lightning, and a realistic composition with sparkling stars. The flexibility of the backing allows you to lay out different designs from the tape. In addition, it can be supplemented with fiber optic, due to which the effect of decorating the ceiling area will be indescribable. The interior lighting of the ceiling makes the image on it realistic.

The panels are placed mainly in one or two places on the ceiling; these are built-in types of lighting. Most often they are used to illuminate individual functional areas (for example, kitchen, hallway and corridor, study). Accent spotlights are used along the contour of the box or curly edges of the ceiling levels. Combined with strip lighting, they complement the lighting composition without competing with each other.

Tilt-adjustable luminaires are great for creative styling. For example, they perfectly convey the atmosphere of the loft, grunge, brutalism styles. Such devices are self-sufficient, they are used in large quantities to illuminate the ceiling, decorating the ceiling beams with them. They are better combined with panels, if desired, you can supplement them with wall lighting.

The installation of the LED backlight depends on its type. If these are built-in varieties, they are mounted together with the installation of the ceiling. There are many ways to use tape. It is easy to make illumination with its help; it does not require the involvement of a specialist from the outside. The methods obey the conceived idea of ​​design. More often it is installed in a plinth and a plasterboard box.

It can be a laconic underline of the box around the perimeter. In this case, the plinth is initially glued or screwed to the ceiling structure, leaving a gap of 8-10 cm from the ceiling. Liquid nails are usually sufficient for fixing. The tape is attached directly to the back of the eaves with the sticky side, removing the protective layer from the backing. Then connect the power supply and connect to the network.

If the backlight needs to be done during the installation of a two-level ceiling, either a 10 cm gap (for the tape channel) or holes are left for the backlight. In the installation of a stretch ceiling, punctures can be made in the canvas, which are necessary for the diodes located at the ends of the fiber filaments. If the lighting with LED light sources provides for the installation of a chandelier, it is performed after the construction of the ceiling itself. However, the wiring is thought out in advance.

When lighting the ceiling with LED devices, it is worthwhile to think over the composition in advance. A classic chandelier will not look beautiful together with laconic point diodes. This will especially seem inappropriate if the lamps are different in style and design. In each specific case, it is important to consider that if LEDs replace central lighting, other types of lamps are removed from the ceiling.

For self-assembly, it is easier to buy ready-made kits. For example, it can be a flexible tape that is sold in rolls of 5 m. It can have 1 or 2 rows of LEDs that differ in sparseness. At certain intervals, the cut points are marked on it. The intensity of the glow depends on the size of the diodes. The larger and more often they are located, the brighter the LED backlighting.

You should not buy tape material with the number of LEDs per 1 m, equal to 30 pieces, as well as the model, where there are 240 of them. You can stop at an average of 60 to 120 pieces per meter. Please note: if you need a relaxing atmosphere, the number of light sources should not exceed 60 pieces, while their size should be small. If a complete replacement of a classic chandelier is conceived, it makes sense to buy a double-row ribbon.

When mounting the ceiling, select the diode backlight in such a way that when the lamp burns out, it is easy to replace it. Therefore, pay attention to the type of base and the shape of the lamps: it is more difficult to find a non-standard option in a store.

When installing the backlight with the abbreviation RGB, the alignment is carried out based on the color:

• R is red;
• G - greenish;
• B - blue (cyan).
• The fourth pin is 12 or 24 V.

Hiding the lighting under the skirting board, it is not glued to the wall: in this case, it can be seen, which will visually simplify the design of the ceiling. If a backlight with a transition to the wall is conceived, they try to close it with a border. When combining a chandelier and a ribbon, it makes sense to make a ring-shaped level around the chandelier, framing its edge with a ribbon. So the ceiling will look original and beautiful, while the lamps themselves run the risk of looking scattered.

Let's look at examples of beautiful LED lighting ceiling decoration in an apartment.

An example of a combination of strip and spot lighting, in which harmony is achieved.

The accentuation of the guest area makes the atmosphere special. Using a warm hue softens the effect of blue backlighting.

An unusual solution for connoisseurs of creativity: during the day the ceiling is completely laconic, in the evening a lightning bolt is visible on its canvas.

Identical design of LED ceiling and wall lighting adds a cozy atmosphere to the bedroom.

A good solution is multi-colored rainbow lighting: the presence of cheerful colors, collected together, gives the room a positive perception.

Backlighting a small area conveys the feeling of an open window, filling the space with air.

The illumination of the stretch structure of the two-level ceiling with the possibility of separate illumination of spotlights and strip lamps conveys a special atmosphere.

Decorating the ceiling with strip lighting with accent spotlights makes the ceiling space elegant. The possibility of a separate backlight allows you to vary the light pattern.

The built-in LED backlight is able to reproduce the realistic twinkling of the stars.

You can see the options for suspended ceilings in this video.