Edge lit

I became interested after seeing Scott Thornton’s lighting effects using an Arduino and flat LED panels. My space is better suited to the 1x4 size so have also been looking. My preference is toward 4,000 k for a warmer daylight look but don’t know jack about led’s. Some have quite a bit of blue light content as well - is this common or mostly seen in the higher kelvin types?

Are they all “edge lit”? 

I wonder how close they need to be placed to give even illumination without causing conflicting shadows or bare spots.

Following your thoughts and choice with interest!

FYI - a bit OT

Just a little anecdote FYI 

They just refurbished the elevators in my building. Old lighting was flourescent, new lighting was a led strip. One night they had the new led strips installed but not the panel that covers the ceiling and hides the wiring. It was *really* bright and harsh. The two led strips were over top of the line of domes, in the picture but were continuous with a led about every inch of a 30" or so long strip. 

The next night the job was finished, and I took a picture to show the ceiling panel. The lights are much dimmer, subdued, more orange than the bright white of the leds, actually dim for an elevator. They look brighter in the picture than they are. All I suppose because of the domes that are filtering the light, unless they fiddled with the voltage or something on the second day of work.

So the dome cover over the light, or the ability to add one or add a filter, can make a huge difference, much more than I had realized. Seems to me that if you have the ability to have some kind of a dome you have a lot of flexibility and can adjust your light temperature later once you know better what you want.

The back of the elevator has a mirror covering the wall, so you're seeing the ceiling panel twice in the picture.

@Jim... (review your September thread)

The only thing I'd add to those experiences is the 'shopping' adventures I had...

I started at the big BOX... then visited the local electrical distributor...  got my lighting there.

The distributor had similar to HD, but a few more... and I'm near certain you'll find the same to be true for you... you may find there's another design/ color/ feature worth a few bucks more.   And those will not be found without special order from either place.  Mine were picked up 2 or 3 days later.

You're right to look for CRI... but I found the higher color temps were less likely to remain true.

[BTW,  my 600sq ft basement is well lit with 150watts of LEDs... I usually have them dimmed]

2x2 dimmable LED panels

Hi Jim,

I use 12 2x2 dimmable LED panels on my small branch line layout. The best source I found and purchased from is LightUp at: http://www.lightup.com/2ft-x-2ft-flat- panel-led -40-watt-dimmable-4000-lumens-lumegen.html

I had 5,000K lights on my layout originally but found 4,000K to be the perfect light temperature. 5,000K is just a little too harsh and causes colors on the layout to be washed out in my opinion. 4,000K adds more warm light which makes the colors pop while still appearing very natural.

If interested, you can read more about my approach here: model-railroad-hobbyist.com/node/32819

Hope this helps.

I use 12 2x2 dimmable LED

Scott,

Yes, that helped and hit the nail on the head with what I was looking for.  The link shows light I am thinking would be good for my basement ceiling at a good price and with a good choice of temp versions.

I did have some 5000k temp LED lights in my last basement and they did seem a bit harsh and the colors were washed out in photo's I took and in real life too.

While 5k seems to be often listed as noon daylight that is what seemed to be a good idea.  But personal experience was quite there.

Peter, so far I haven't really found what I'm looking for at Home Depot and Lowes, and Amazon for some reason hasn't been giving me some good options either during recent searches.  I found the best options cost and feature-wise on Ebay, but some of the selection options were not formatted very well.

Next month after I have recovered from some remodeling expenses, I'll probably go ahead and order a couple of the lightup.com Troffer lights to check out.

Thanks all for the feedback.

high noon

FWIW, photographers prefer taking pictures near dawn or dusk, not high noon, as the colors look better under the warmer light at those hours, and harsh at noon under full sun. But up to you, you can always run your trains wearing sunglasses :D

@jim... I didn't find luck online either

I'll second Lightup.com as a

I'll second Lightup.com as a good source for LED ceiling panel lighting. I'm using their 1X4 4kK panels, and the lighting is great. They're under $40 a pop, too.

Only downside is that they can be excruciatingly slow in shipping your order.

you can always run your

No thanks.  I think I'll give 4k a try.

4000K 4 foot LED shop Lights

I got these from Home Depot. They work great. I'm very happy with the color rendition. Price is right too, $20.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Lithonia-Lighting-4-ft-36-Watt-Natural-Aluminum-Integrated-LED-Shop-Light-SHLA-48IN-40K-80CRI-DNA/301158096

Main goal is "finished room" type lights

 I am mainly looking for lights to give a "finished" basement look rather than the shop light look of the previous layout room:

Photo above is from my previous basement layout room which was already finished and had recessed lights.

My wife and I wish to finish our currently unfinished basement similarly as above with a 2x2 drop ceiling but install Troffer LED ceiling lights to evenly light the room and layout instead of the recessed lights. 

Hans, I'll still keep those shop lights in mind as a something I could use in my work shop area as would be a good thing to have the same temp lighting there if I am doing work and especially painting so the item painted looks about the same on the layout as it did on the work bench!

Right now I am using some old 4' Fluorescent shop light fixtures for my work shop area and at some point I'll need to retire them rather than continuing to buy tube bulbs - they cost more to operate as well.

Actually, the reason for

Actually, the reason for shooting earlier or later in the day has more to do with harsh shadows, and trying to eliminate unflattering shadows, than with the perception of colors.

jim... look also for edge lit panels

LED Lighting

Jim, I hung my LED shop lights behind a fascia and angled toward the backdrop so they are not visible from the aisle. Lights well without shadows.

https://model-railroad-hobbyist.com/sites/model-railroad-hobbyist.com/files/resize/users/gogebic/DSCN2757-700x525.JPG

Shop lights behind valence good for later on

Hans, something to consider later.

My immediate need is to install panels in the ceiling as part of the basement finishing process.  Adding lights behind valences may be good as a supplement for later on so I'll hold that thought for now.

Bumping this topic now that

Bumping this topic now that the basement dry-wall is in and hopefully mudding will be done in a few weeks and ceiling comes next.

So Lightup looks like a good source for 2x2 Troffer lights.  I'm thinking in my RR room area of putting in 14 between the ceiling beams in a row of 4, 4, 3 and 3.  This is to hopefully provide fairly even coverage and minimize any shadows.

So I see they have two basic types both in 4k color temp:

1) 24 watts, 3125 lumens

2) 26-40 watts, 5120 lumens

So with that many fixtures, would the lower wattage/lumens be sufficient?

What I used

Jim,

I went with LightUps 40W, 4000K and am very happy with them. 

http://www.lightup.com/2ft-x-2ft-flat-panel-led-40-watt-dimmable-4000-lumens-lumegen.html

I had 5000K lights before and they were too harsh and made colors on the layout wash out. The 4000K is perfect. 

I have 12 units on two different dimmable circuits. The lights are mixed between the two circuits across my layout's 42 linear feet and I run an Arduino that randomly dims the lights up and down at different time intervals to simulate clouds moving across the landscape. The effect is very realistic and makes you feel like you're truly outdoors.

If interested, you can learn more about my approach here:   model-railroad-hobbyist.com/node/30691

Hope this helps.

Scenery Absorbs Light

Jim,

A couple of layouts ago, I had troffer lights (fluorescent) installed over my layout, and the lighting in the bare room (sky blue painted walls) seemed more than adequate.  As work on the layout progressed and scenery was installed (mountains, trees, etc), I began to realize that the layout wasn't as bright anymore.  So I doubled up on the lighting over the layout.  

Bottom line, really make sure you will have adequate lighting, and install it before the layout begins to get sceniced. I found out the hard way - much more difficult to install lighting over a "finished" (semi-finished" layout.

Al Carter

Oops…

…it looks like I repeated myself in this thread. Sorry!

Scott, no worries.Here is

Scott, no worries.

Here is the layout room area I am planning on lighting with a row of 3 across the top, 3 more further down and two rows of four in the wider area's.  No shown are 3 long horizontal boxed in beams which are about 7 feet from the floor which the light rows will be in between.

Here is a view of the ceiling and beams where the lights will go in a suspended ceiling:

Reverse View:

Track plan with proposed 2x2 light locations.

Kind of thinking need two at the bottom where the helix lobe is.  That would be total 15 fixtures.

What about this one?

What about this one? 

https://www.lightup.com/2x2-led-troffer-36w-dimmable-100w-equiv-4500-lumens.html

36W, 4680 lumens, dimmable, 4000K, $36.14.

If it were me, I'd put a separate dimmer on each row as well as a master on/off switch so you can adjust the dimmers and then leave them set to your perfect setting once you determine it, while using the master to turn the lights off when you leave. The extra cost of the dimmers is easily saved by choosing a slightly cheaper fixture.

From appearance, I prefer the

From appearance, I prefer the edge to edge version vs. the up-reflected center light above.  It is a lower wattage. 

Light-up has a 24 watt troffer, I wonder if it is bright enough at 3125 lumens with 14 or 15 fixtures.

I don't understand

I don't understand which ones you're considering. I thought it was the up-reflected center light that made it a troffler vs another type.

Failure...

I think Jim is looking at the LED flat panels. 

Randy