If you’ve ever been to a club or watched the latest Broadway play, you must have taken note of the beautiful washes of color against the wall or stage. This is achieved with DMX technology and wall washers. Wall washers are now being used in a variety of commercial lighting applications such as lighting interiors and exteriors of buildings, illuminating billboards, and creating attractive booths at tradeshows. LED wall washers are powerful, compact, portable and plug-and-play, and as their name suggests, they can light up a huge amount of space. They also offer the advantage of high-powered lighting without the high heat and high power consumption of older lighting technology. Here are some ways you can enhance your business with DMX technology and wall washers.
What is DMX?
DMX is the technology used to control everything from the colors of lights to timing and dimming. With full-color RGB wall washers, DMX controllers can play custom-created patterns that are programmed using computer software.
An example of a DMX controller is the Apollo from Elemental LED, which comes with PC-compatible computer software for user-friendly custom lighting programming. The Apollo is an economical option that offers both DMX and PWM output, and has memory to store your DMX commands. The dual control allows the Apollo to command two different DMX devices while driving three channels of PWM to control non-DMX devices like RGB strip lights.
DMX lighting simplifies large lighting installations by not having to have several dimmer switches and complicated wire gauge calculations and installations. DMX allows lighting designers and installers to simply place power where they want lights and perform an infinite amount of daisy chains creating what is known as a DMX universe. Meaning, wall washers can be daisy-chained together so that they all work in sync off of one controller.
You can also use wall washers by themselves without a DMX controller. All washers operate as standalone fixtures that can be controlled manually with pre-programmed color patterns and lighting effects. This is common for architectural accent lighting and other static lighting that has no need for light variance.
How can I integrate wall washers and DMX into my installation?
Architecture
If you are an architect you can use wall washers to highlight certain parts of your design. You can light interiors or exteriors of buildings with a full palette of colors or color patterns. From a distance your building can be seen with colors to represent and celebrate different occasions.
For example, Remax lit the exterior of their Southern California headquarters using eight 24” RGB LED Wall Washers. Anyone driving through Interstate 5 near Newhall, CA can see the entire back of the building lit up in washes of red, white and blue.
Conventions and Tradeshows
You can create an attractive booth at a tradeshow or convention with wall washers and DMX controllers. Wall washers brighten and create eye-catching, sophisticated booths, drawing attendees your way. Additionally, DMX controllers can be used to create custom light shows, or can be set to music, transforming your booth into a disco floor.
For example, West Coast Customs worked with Skype to create a memorable mobile lounge booth in an Airstream. They used the Apollo DMX Color Controller along with a 1 Meter RGB LED Wall Washer with a 45-degree angle, and a DMX Decoder with XLR Ports to light up the Skype sign on top of the Airstream. The Skype Lounge was a big hit at one of its first stops, Comic-Con. Even from a distance people could see the brand thanks to the glowing, colorful light created by the wall washer, which helped Skype stand out in a sea of booths.
Businesses & Retail Displays
If you’re a restaurant or other business owner, you can instantly create mood lighting with DMX lighting. Place a wall washer anywhere you want to highlight, whether a VIP lounge, a themed room or in the lobby for a grand entrance. Just select the color you want, adjust the dimming, and give the whole room a wash of color from warm orange to cool purple. There is no need to monitor several dimmer switches—you can just pick your location, plug it in and change the whole feel of the room.
Using wall washers adds an intense splash effect and breaks up the norm of using artwork or plants as decor. Using a large wall washer at an entryway can simulate a red carpet Hollywood premiere for dinners parties, creating an A-list dining experience. Smaller wall washer units can be used to highlight paintings or sculptures. 5 Star Island, a rental resort venue in Miami, used several Rectangular RGB LED Wall Washers and PAR 64 RGB Wall Washers to light up their villas, palm trees, and fountains. The effect was nothing short of luxurious.
How can I get started with wall washers and DMX lighting?
ledhut8 has resources to get you started on a DMX and wall washer installation. First, view this Color-Changing Wall Washer Installation and Programming tutorial on how to program DMX wall washers.
has resources to get you started on a DMX and wall washer installation. ledhut8 has several different models of wall washers to choose from. Browse different features including shape, size, projection distance, beam angle and price. You can also view thorough wiring diagrams and detailed instruction sheets so you can see how easy the installation will be.
ledhut8 also has a selection of low-cost, user-friendly DMX controllersand a variety of accessories including DMX decoders and transmitters.
ledhut8 has dedicated product specialists and Account Managers who can help you figure out the best lighting solutions for your commercial needs. If you have a large-scale project or idea but are not sure how to get it done, ask our experienced and specialized Account Managers and they’ll be able to provide support throughout all stages of your project’s development.
Stand Out from the Pack
Wall washers and DMX lighting have come a long way from just lighting up performances and dance floors. They now offer memorable and sophisticated solutions for businesses that want to stand out. Whether you’re an architect, designer, fabricator or business owner, consider integrating wall washers and DMX lighting into your design and installation. You don’t need to be a professional lighting designer to create amazing color effects that will make your business the one to watch.
2014年2月14日星期五
Reused Cardboard Transforms into Versatile LED Desk Lamp
Anything that can be made from recycled materials always catches my eye, especially these days. My nonprofit organization, RuckusRoots, is currently running a recycled art program called TRASHformation at Nightingale Middle School in Los Angeles. We are constantly looking for new ideas, and so I was thrilled to spot this inventive and very eco-friendly DIY lamp, created by Instructables member Jesse Harrington Au.
LED lights home
Jesse used a CAD program called Autodesk Inventor 2012 to sketch out a 3D rendering of what he wanted his lamp to look like. He then used a laser cutter to cut flat pieces of cardboard into shapes that he glued together to form the 3-dimensional lamp. (Here are the full instructions.)
LED lights home
Once he affixed all of the pieces (using plain old Elmer’s white glue), Jesse drilled a hole in the back of the lamp and fed a small piece of spiraled LED strip through the hole. Cool-running LED strip lights are perfect for a cardboard lamp like this one, as they don’t get hot enough to create a fire hazard. This nifty LED lights home and office spaces just as well as any store bought lamp world, and adds a fun, fresh DIY feel to any room. I will definitely show this lamp to the kids I’m working with this week. Though we won’t be using a laser cutter, it’s a good example of one way to create a 3-dimensional shape using flat materials. We have collected a lot of thrown away cardboard on campus, which is waiting to be turned into something cool. Stay tuned!
LED lights home
Jesse used a CAD program called Autodesk Inventor 2012 to sketch out a 3D rendering of what he wanted his lamp to look like. He then used a laser cutter to cut flat pieces of cardboard into shapes that he glued together to form the 3-dimensional lamp. (Here are the full instructions.)
LED lights home
Once he affixed all of the pieces (using plain old Elmer’s white glue), Jesse drilled a hole in the back of the lamp and fed a small piece of spiraled LED strip through the hole. Cool-running LED strip lights are perfect for a cardboard lamp like this one, as they don’t get hot enough to create a fire hazard. This nifty LED lights home and office spaces just as well as any store bought lamp world, and adds a fun, fresh DIY feel to any room. I will definitely show this lamp to the kids I’m working with this week. Though we won’t be using a laser cutter, it’s a good example of one way to create a 3-dimensional shape using flat materials. We have collected a lot of thrown away cardboard on campus, which is waiting to be turned into something cool. Stay tuned!
2014年2月4日星期二
Modular, Waterproof LED Fixtures from Smart and Green
French Connection is a new collection of colorful, versatile LED light fixtures from a French design company called Smart and Green. The line features all kinds of unique LED home lighting options, from light-up ottomans to illuminated, waterproof orbs that can float in the pool, perfect for LED cove lighting. Some are even pieces of glowing furniture, which would give your pool deck a swanky night club effect. All of the pieces are energy efficient and cordless, so you don’t have to worry about putting them next to an outlet. They are also color changing and feature lighting effects like flickering or flashing. These modular pieces can be combined in any number of ways, making them truly customizable and unique. See the full collection at Smart and Green.
IKEA Promotes LED Bulbs with Stunning Art Installation in Portugal
Sure, maybe it’s a promotional stunt to familiarize folks with IKEA’s new line of LED light bulbs, Ledare, but that doesn’t make the company’s “LEDscape” installation any less beautiful. Comprised of 1200 LED light fixtures, “LEDscape” was installed in the Centro Cultural de Belém in Lisbon over the holiday season. Created by Like Architects, the piece utilizes exposed bulbs placed at different heights to create an illuminated maze, which celebrates the beauty of energy efficient LED lighting. Viewers can walk around and through it, taking time to reflect on the stunning power of light, and of LED lights in particular.
2014年1月30日星期四
Simple Lighting Upgrades for Retail Businesses
Updating the lighting in your restaurant, bar or other retail establishment doesn’t have to be complicated. RGB LED lighting products offer full-color customization and a simple do-it-yourself application for the average business owner. This article will walk through how Café V, a business in Berkeley, California transformed their entire space with just a few lighting upgrades from ledhut8.co.uk LED.
Color-Changing LED Lighting at Cafe V
ACCENT LIGHTING
The owner of Café V added dynamic, eye-catching accent lighting to the bar area by installing Color-Changing LED Strip Lights under the bar. The strip is densely packed with full-color RGB chips, offering bright, even illumination across the entire perimeter of the bar. The strip light’s extremely slim and low profile form wedged into the tight space under the bar, for a discreet and seamless finish. Application of the strip is quick and easy with the 3M adhesive backing, and it can be easily cut to a customizable length with a scissors.
The lights under the bar are commanded via an Inline Remote Color Controller. This tiny RGB controller integrates seamlessly and discreetly into the wiring of the strip lights. The owners can choose from 20 different colors, 19 modes, as well as control brightness and speed via the remote control. Customers are wowed by the impact these lights make.
Color-Changing RGB LED Lighting at Cafe V
AMBIENT LIGHTING
The preexisting globe ceiling fixtures provided an excellent opportunity for creating ambient lighting throughout the entire space. The owner of Café V replaced the existing incandescent bulbs inside these globes with Remote Control RGB LED Light Bulbs. These bulbs are as easy to use as the previous bulbs, featuring a standard screw-in base. But they pack a lot of additional features, including 16 color options, four color-changing modes and four brightness levels. This means Café V owners can set the mood of the entire space for any event, holiday or season by simply pressing a button tao change the color of their lights.
TRANSFORM A SPACE WITH COLOR
When the accent lighting at the bar and the ambient lighting from the globe fixtures are used together, the owners of Café V create a complete color palette that can be customized for every occasion. The two sets of lights create a big color impact without the permanent investment of painting.
Color-Changing LED Lighting at Cafe V
ACCENT LIGHTING
The owner of Café V added dynamic, eye-catching accent lighting to the bar area by installing Color-Changing LED Strip Lights under the bar. The strip is densely packed with full-color RGB chips, offering bright, even illumination across the entire perimeter of the bar. The strip light’s extremely slim and low profile form wedged into the tight space under the bar, for a discreet and seamless finish. Application of the strip is quick and easy with the 3M adhesive backing, and it can be easily cut to a customizable length with a scissors.
The lights under the bar are commanded via an Inline Remote Color Controller. This tiny RGB controller integrates seamlessly and discreetly into the wiring of the strip lights. The owners can choose from 20 different colors, 19 modes, as well as control brightness and speed via the remote control. Customers are wowed by the impact these lights make.
Color-Changing RGB LED Lighting at Cafe V
AMBIENT LIGHTING
The preexisting globe ceiling fixtures provided an excellent opportunity for creating ambient lighting throughout the entire space. The owner of Café V replaced the existing incandescent bulbs inside these globes with Remote Control RGB LED Light Bulbs. These bulbs are as easy to use as the previous bulbs, featuring a standard screw-in base. But they pack a lot of additional features, including 16 color options, four color-changing modes and four brightness levels. This means Café V owners can set the mood of the entire space for any event, holiday or season by simply pressing a button tao change the color of their lights.
TRANSFORM A SPACE WITH COLOR
When the accent lighting at the bar and the ambient lighting from the globe fixtures are used together, the owners of Café V create a complete color palette that can be customized for every occasion. The two sets of lights create a big color impact without the permanent investment of painting.
2014年1月26日星期日
LED Lights for a Picture Perfect Wedding: Tips from Michele Fox Gott
Wedding season is upon us, and whether you’re organizing the festivities yourself or enlisting the help of a wedding planner, lighting is sure to be a major item on your to-do list. Michele Fox Gott knows a thing or two about creating stunning, well-lit weddings. As the president and founder of Center of Attention Events, her star-studded client list includes Snoop Dogg and Ozzy Osborn, while her design of Niecy Nash’s wedding earned her the number six spot on TLC’s Top 10 Weddings of 2011 (pictured above). “Lighting is a great way to add richness to a wedding without spending a lot of money,” she says.
Fox Gott has found that LED lights are the best choice for almost any wedding application, and that when she presents the options to her clients, “they definitely pick LEDs over the old lights. LEDs are a huge trend in my industry; they’re just easier to work with, and lighting designers get much more out of them,” she says.
Indeed, LEDs provide dynamic, energy efficient ambiance no matter where or when you’re tying the knot. Following are some of Fox Gott’s favorite ways to use LEDs in weddings; read on for a bright start to your even brighter future together!
Transform Any Space with Color
“One of my favorite applications for LED up-lighting is in a white or light-colored room. RGB LED lights can change colors, and white paneling picks up any color you choose. You can go from blue to red to purple, depending on what mood you want to create,” says Fox Gott. Center of Attention events recently employed this technique in the wedding of Rob Dyrdek’s sister, which was featured on the MTV show Fantasy Factory. “We used white fabric during the ceremony, and then transformed the room to a soft pink during the reception,” says Fox Gott.
The Great Outdoors
If you’re working with an outdoor location, Fox Gott recommends playing up the natural beauty that surrounds you, using LED string lights, or LED wall washers. “If you’re working on a tight budget or with a small space, focus on up lighting the trees or architectural elements on the edge of your space. This will make the space seem bigger and create beautiful ambiance,” she says.
It’s All in the Details
Fox Gott also recommends incorporating LED lights in unexpected places, like on the underside of glass tables, or around the periphery of a room. “LEDs are great for small, tight spaces because you don’t need as many lights, they’re more discreet and can fit anywhere,” she says. “I was especially impressed during a recent bar mitzvah that I planned. We used glass tables with embedded LED strip lights, and though the client and I had decided to display purple and blue colors during our initial meetings, she changed her mind the day of the event. Luckily, with the color-changing LEDs, I could switch to the brighter, more playful oranges, greens and yellows she requested with the flip of a switch,” she says.
Colorful Cake
The dessert may come at the end of the night, but it can look beautiful throughout the whole event with a little help from LED lights. “We use directional LED spot lighting on cakes, to really draw attention to them,” says Fox Gott. “It also helps that LEDs don’t get hot, so they won’t cause the cake to melt.”
Curious about what’s next for Fox Gott? So are we! She confided that she is planning a “big celebrity wedding this summer,” but has to keep the details very hush-hush. Be sure to keep an eye on her website, Center of Attention Events, to find out who this secret A-list client might be!
Fox Gott has found that LED lights are the best choice for almost any wedding application, and that when she presents the options to her clients, “they definitely pick LEDs over the old lights. LEDs are a huge trend in my industry; they’re just easier to work with, and lighting designers get much more out of them,” she says.
Indeed, LEDs provide dynamic, energy efficient ambiance no matter where or when you’re tying the knot. Following are some of Fox Gott’s favorite ways to use LEDs in weddings; read on for a bright start to your even brighter future together!
Transform Any Space with Color
“One of my favorite applications for LED up-lighting is in a white or light-colored room. RGB LED lights can change colors, and white paneling picks up any color you choose. You can go from blue to red to purple, depending on what mood you want to create,” says Fox Gott. Center of Attention events recently employed this technique in the wedding of Rob Dyrdek’s sister, which was featured on the MTV show Fantasy Factory. “We used white fabric during the ceremony, and then transformed the room to a soft pink during the reception,” says Fox Gott.
The Great Outdoors
If you’re working with an outdoor location, Fox Gott recommends playing up the natural beauty that surrounds you, using LED string lights, or LED wall washers. “If you’re working on a tight budget or with a small space, focus on up lighting the trees or architectural elements on the edge of your space. This will make the space seem bigger and create beautiful ambiance,” she says.
It’s All in the Details
Fox Gott also recommends incorporating LED lights in unexpected places, like on the underside of glass tables, or around the periphery of a room. “LEDs are great for small, tight spaces because you don’t need as many lights, they’re more discreet and can fit anywhere,” she says. “I was especially impressed during a recent bar mitzvah that I planned. We used glass tables with embedded LED strip lights, and though the client and I had decided to display purple and blue colors during our initial meetings, she changed her mind the day of the event. Luckily, with the color-changing LEDs, I could switch to the brighter, more playful oranges, greens and yellows she requested with the flip of a switch,” she says.
Colorful Cake
The dessert may come at the end of the night, but it can look beautiful throughout the whole event with a little help from LED lights. “We use directional LED spot lighting on cakes, to really draw attention to them,” says Fox Gott. “It also helps that LEDs don’t get hot, so they won’t cause the cake to melt.”
Curious about what’s next for Fox Gott? So are we! She confided that she is planning a “big celebrity wedding this summer,” but has to keep the details very hush-hush. Be sure to keep an eye on her website, Center of Attention Events, to find out who this secret A-list client might be!
LED Lights Breath Life Back into Libraries around the World
Books are weighing heavily on my mind…maybe that’s because they have been weighing heavily on my biceps all weekend. After helping my father move his extensive library of books—some to his new office, some to storage and some to charity—I was struck with how many manuscripts he owned and how many had probably not been cracked open in ages, if ever. That got me thinking about lighting, and how a well-lit library might, in fact, be a more frequently used library.
It turns out others have entertained this thought as well (including artist Airan Kang, who created the stunning digital LED library pictured above). The result is a growing LED lighting trend in libraries around the world, from huge, public collections to private libraries in home residences. Why the shift? Well, LED lights make as much sense for rooms filled with books as they do for kitchens, living rooms, backyards and wine cellars, to name a few. Linear LED fixtures like LED strip lights provide directional lighting that highlights specific objects without emitting UV radiation that can damage delicate materials (like paper). They maintain cool temperatures, thus eliminating heat damage and reducing costs through energy efficiency and a long lifespan. But if that’s not reason enough, LED lights also emphasize the beauty of books, and make them more appealing to readers everywhere. If you don’t believe me, check out the following LED libraries.
Mexico City’s Castro Leal Library won first place at the Mexican Association of Interior Designers’ 2012 AMDI Awards thanks to LED strip lighting installed on the building’s many shelves. Here, lighting serves both form and function: it makes finding books easier, and creates an inviting, contemporary and chic vibe throughout the library.
The Pasadena Central Library reduced its energy bill by 90 percent thanks to LED light fixtures that replaced several 900-watt metal-halide bulbs in the building’s antique pendant fixtures. Not only is the historic aesthetic of the building preserved, but also several thousands of dollars are saved each month in air conditioning, lighting and maintenance costs, as each fixture now uses only 95 watts of power.
And in East Germany, an open air, 24-hour public library is revitalizing an underserved neighborhood with high unemployment and building vacancies ranging around 80 percent. Designed by Karo Architects, the space is built with blocks salvaged from demolished buildings and utilizes an honor system of lending and returning books, all of which are donated. The building is attached to a community green space, and “communal stage, which is used for elementary school plays, book readings, concerts, and cultural events. A volunteer group of residents take care of keeping the books organized and the reading areas clean,” according to PSFK. Energy efficient, green LED lights help keep the library open through the night, not to mention looking quite snazzy around the clock.
It’s a common conception that reading is a dying trend, but with innovative libraries like these popping up across the globe, it’s a sign that things might be turning around in favor of books. If you’re inspired to highlight your at-home book collection with LED lights, please let us know how your renovation turns out!
It turns out others have entertained this thought as well (including artist Airan Kang, who created the stunning digital LED library pictured above). The result is a growing LED lighting trend in libraries around the world, from huge, public collections to private libraries in home residences. Why the shift? Well, LED lights make as much sense for rooms filled with books as they do for kitchens, living rooms, backyards and wine cellars, to name a few. Linear LED fixtures like LED strip lights provide directional lighting that highlights specific objects without emitting UV radiation that can damage delicate materials (like paper). They maintain cool temperatures, thus eliminating heat damage and reducing costs through energy efficiency and a long lifespan. But if that’s not reason enough, LED lights also emphasize the beauty of books, and make them more appealing to readers everywhere. If you don’t believe me, check out the following LED libraries.
Mexico City’s Castro Leal Library won first place at the Mexican Association of Interior Designers’ 2012 AMDI Awards thanks to LED strip lighting installed on the building’s many shelves. Here, lighting serves both form and function: it makes finding books easier, and creates an inviting, contemporary and chic vibe throughout the library.
The Pasadena Central Library reduced its energy bill by 90 percent thanks to LED light fixtures that replaced several 900-watt metal-halide bulbs in the building’s antique pendant fixtures. Not only is the historic aesthetic of the building preserved, but also several thousands of dollars are saved each month in air conditioning, lighting and maintenance costs, as each fixture now uses only 95 watts of power.
And in East Germany, an open air, 24-hour public library is revitalizing an underserved neighborhood with high unemployment and building vacancies ranging around 80 percent. Designed by Karo Architects, the space is built with blocks salvaged from demolished buildings and utilizes an honor system of lending and returning books, all of which are donated. The building is attached to a community green space, and “communal stage, which is used for elementary school plays, book readings, concerts, and cultural events. A volunteer group of residents take care of keeping the books organized and the reading areas clean,” according to PSFK. Energy efficient, green LED lights help keep the library open through the night, not to mention looking quite snazzy around the clock.
It’s a common conception that reading is a dying trend, but with innovative libraries like these popping up across the globe, it’s a sign that things might be turning around in favor of books. If you’re inspired to highlight your at-home book collection with LED lights, please let us know how your renovation turns out!
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