Skirting lighting with LED or fluorescent tape with light and motion sensor

The advice in this article will be for those who want to make a night illumination of the corridor (night road to the refrigerator) with automatic on / off of this lighting from the motion sensor and lighting. This lighting will look beautiful in any other room.

In this version, the LED strip is located inside the skirting board. Ideally, if the plinth is light colors and as transparent as possible. The LED strip placed inside it will create the effect of glowing plastic. We choose an LED strip with a frequent arrangement of LEDs (so that there is no pixelation). And it is better immediately with double-sided tape for gluing.

There is a variant of a skirting board with a cover in the center - with a cable channel for wiring. The LED strip can be laid there. But the luminous flux from the plinth will be less than in the first version. For such a skirting board, you need to purchase a transparent insert made of transparent matte plastic. If wiring has already been laid in the plinth channel, then the tape will have to be laid along the wall under the plinth, or the wiring must be transferred there.

Some hypermarkets sell these inserts: average price - 120 RUB for 2.5 m. I think they can be ordered from any organization that sells and installs LED lighting.

If you have decided on a plinth, an option for installing an LED strip in it (or under it), then proceed to the purchase of the electrical part of the project:

We buy an express motion and light sensor on aliexpress. Their choice is huge. Because the sensor will be installed in the baseboard - you need to purchase a miniature one. Power supply 220V. Placed in the driver power supply gap. The sensitivity of this model is about 4m. Meals include on 45 sec. Price slightly over 2$. You can buy here

After installation, it will look something like this. Photo without transparent plastic insertion into the baseboard. LED strip under the skirting board. Next, you need to think about where to hide the power supply (driver) for the LED strip. As I wrote, the sensor is placed in the driver power supply gap.

There is a huge selection of LED strips on aliexpress. Prices are lower than in stores. I will not focus on the tape. I recommend choosing those options that come with a power supply (or even a color palette control unit - with a remote control).

Result. The lighting does not turn on for a long time, the baseboard will not overheat. During the day or with room lighting, it is turned off, and at night, if you do not walk often, then the operating time of 45 seconds will not heat the plinth. Although, the power of the LED strip is on average: 10W / m. If you will illuminate a large area and purchase an LED strip separately from the driver, calculate the driver with a power reserve.

A video with a detailed demonstration of what a skirting board looks like with an insert made of transparent plastic and other details about this backlight.

There are options for skirting boards that are designed specifically for laying LED lighting or lighting in them:

Aluminum skirting boards are sold specifically for these purposes. But they are much more expensive than plastic ones. They are not widely distributed and you still have to look for them on sale.

When using bright LED strips with a transparent plastic insert, the backlighting of the baseboard may not be decorative at all, but rather bright. And not economical. Consider 10W / m, multiplied by the perimeter of the room - this is already like a serious incandescent lamp. However, the operating time is short. But still…

The second disadvantage of such a backlight is the backlight of dust and everything that you may have on the floor. You will have to arrange cleaning the room more often.

The next option:

If you need economical and only decorative illumination of the perimeter, then there is a second way to do this: a method of lighting from an EL-cord (fluorescent cord).

View and diagram of this cord for decorative lighting. In the west, it is often used to illuminate the interior of a car, to decorate clothes for discos and holidays. Its power is only 0.1W / m. In the car, it does not dazzle like an LED strip, and using different colored strips in the dark can give a fantastic look. So you can add fiction to your interior.

There are battery-powered kits for decorating clothes. As I wrote, the power consumption of the tape is minimal. You can use them during the New Year holidays on children's costumes, for example. And also there are on sale separate kits for car interiors - powered by a cigarette lighter. Make tuning of car salons.

Battery kits are also sold on aliexpress with motion and light sensors. If someone does not want to deal with the process of mounting and installing a sensor, driver, then this is your option. It will also be ideal for lighting cabinet doors, arches and openings.

The choice of colors is large. 10 m worth 11,7$. Coves up to 25 m. Another plus is the easy installation between the skirting board and the wall. Because the design of the tape has a "skirt" that can be neatly inserted between the wall and the skirting board. And the tape itself will be almost invisible due to the small section. Moreover, if you match the color of the tape to the shades of the wallpaper. I have not seen such a tape in lighting stores. You can buy on aliexpress here

There is a small detail. An ordinary driver will not work to power the fluorescent wire. A special inverter is needed: it raises the voltage to several hundred volts and the frequency to thousands of hertz. Its cost: 13$. Nutrition from 12V (you also need a power adapter with a 12V output - you can buy it at any electronics store). And you can buy an inverter, for example, here

Of course, as without a motion sensor and light in this design! It is also placed between the adapter and the inverter. The sensitivity of this model is up to 8 m. Power on time can be adjusted. This model has a power interruption delay adjustment: from 1 to 10 minutes. Terminal mounting. Price: 4,76$. You can buy just this here

We cut in the motion sensor as in the example above, but then you need to remove it from the case. Either mount on the wall or into the wall next to the skirting board. How to hide the wires, inverter and adapter - you will have to think about it based on your situation. It is better to think over everything before the repair, otherwise the hanging wires will spoil the view. The wire is mounted simply: the “skirt” of the wire must be carefully pushed between the plinth and the wall.

View of the room for clarity (in different camera modes). When the lighting is on, the light from the wire is also visible. Everything is very simple and is assembled like a constructor. Gorgeous lighting of the night road to the toilet or refrigerator ...)))

You can watch a video of the installation process and detailed descriptions in this video:

If someone has mounted a similar backlight - share your opinion in the comments or post your photos. I think your experience will be useful to many.

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Photos are taken from open sources, from Yandex. Pictures

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