How to create colors with LEDs
Wandering around the web and social networks, you stumbled upon some stunning photos and videos of environments completely colored by LED lights. Among the many contents of this type, you focused on the shots of a living room illuminated by multiple multicolored light sources, then on those of a bright and bright white kitchen – almost as if it were in the middle of a snowy landscape – and then on the film of a gazebo accompanied by a soft warm light, relaxing and pleasant.
I bet you’ve thought about how cool it would be to be able to get the same vibe in some of the rooms in your home. I agree with you: being able to provide each room with a different color temperature and intensity thanks to LED lighting is a great idea, after all, each room has its own specific use and needs a color and intensity. of dedicated light.
At this point, how about if I helped you to deepen the subject by talking about the peculiarity of colored LED lights and the incredible chromatic atmospheres that can be obtained with them? If you can find a few free minutes of your time, make yourself comfortable and carefully read the next lines to understand how to create colors with LEDs: I hope to be able to give you some interesting ideas to customize and beautify the atmosphere of your home.
Index
- Colored LEDs and color temperature
- How to create colors with LEDs in the room
- How to create colors with the LEDs behind the TV
- How to create colors with LEDs to the beat of music
Colored LEDs and color temperature
How many times have you heard about colored LEDs and color temperature ? And most importantly, how much confusion has this topic introduced into your familiarity with LEDs? I guess you don’t have very clear ideas on the subject, but don’t worry: in this chapter I will explain in a few simple words the difference between the two things and, subsequently, I will guide you to the application of some scenarios able to satisfy your needs. .
The colored LEDs are electronic components in which different materials are introduced semiconductors in micro quantities and of a different nature, which have the peculiarity of emitting colored light when they are crossed by electric current . To simplify the concept even further, we are talking about the famous RGB (Red, Green, Blue) or RGBW (Red, Green, Blue, White) LEDs, i.e. the LEDs capable of emitting lights of any color.
The color temperature , expressed in Kelvin (K), is instead the degree of coloring emitted by a white light LED that can be shifted on a chromatic scale ranging from warm white , tending to red and therefore relaxing (1,800K) , up to the cold white , tending to the bluish color of ice, excellent if the environment requires bright and energetic lighting (12,000K).
A big difference between these two characteristics in LEDs is the fact that colored LEDs are generally used to color rooms, stimulate different emotions, therefore as pure decorative light or if we want secondary light . While white LEDs with warm, neutral or cold light are used as primary light or ambient light .
To give you a case in point: with a white LED bulb you can create a warm and welcoming atmosphere thanks to the color temperature that moves through the color of red (therefore from white-yellow-orange-red), but you cannot reproduce any other color. Otherwise, with an RGB / RGBW bulb you can reproduce all the colors of the chromatic scale of colors and at the same time you can imitate (but not equal) the color temperature emitted by a warm, neutral or cold light LED.
A final technical feature that you can find on both colored LED lights and white LED lights is the luminous intensity or luminous flux expressed in Lumen (lm). This is nothing less than the luminous value of the lamp and is an element that you will be able to consider based on the use of the room.
If you’d like to delve into the technical side of how colored LEDs work, I suggest you read my tutorial on how LEDs work , which talks about just that.
How to create colors with LEDs in the room
Now that you have a little clearer idea of the difference between the color of an LED lamp and its color temperature, you are ready to take action and color the rooms in your home with the right lighting. So come on, let’s not get lost in other words and let’s see immediately how to create colors with LEDs in the room .
You must know that you can find many types of colored LEDs on the market (in the shape of a traditional bulb, chained in long flexible strips, tubular that resemble neon, etc.). The most particular shapes can come up against you in the most creative installations, such as under the sofa, on top of a piece of furniture, behind the TV or in the center of the room.
If you want to color the room with a perimeter light effect, I suggest you consider RGB LED strips instead . Thanks to the versatility of these strips, you have different application possibilities: you can place them on the upper floor of the furniture that surrounds the room in order to hide them well and create a “bathroom” of light along the perimeter. If the LED strips are too long, you can always cut them with scissors where the tin joints are visible : you usually find them every meter or every 50 cm.
After applying the LED strip on the side of the room you are interested in or, if you have had the opportunity along the entire perimeter, all you have to do is connect the supplied power supply to the socket, then pressing the Power button (symbol universal ON / OFF) on the remote control , always supplied, you can turn it on. The remote controls of the different LED products are very similar to each other, the Mode button triggers the programmed light effects, the colored buttons activate a static light of the respective color, the (+) and (-) buttons instead allow you to increase and decrease the intensity of light.
Below I propose some ready kits of LED strips complete with adhesive strip for a comfortable and quick application, suitable power supply and IR remote control . These kits are great for making a colorful room in minutes, plus they are easily available online at a really attractive price.
If the perimeter light is not what you are looking for, the best suggestion I can give you to color the rooms in your home with LED lights, is certainly to introduce you to the world of Philips Hue and its smart products . The numerous Philips LED bulb kits are ideal for decorating rooms at home with different intelligent light sources, fully controllable from smartphones via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth connection.
With a kit of those that I propose below, you will be able to control all the light points simultaneously or independently, decide their color, adjust their luminous intensity and their color temperature.
These colored LED bulbs can be applied in any E27 support with power less than 30W (consumption is really low). In the first two kits there are 3 light bulbs, a possible scenario could be the following: you install an LED bulb instead of the traditional one in the chandelier and the other two you could install them in two floor lamps, perhaps placed in two opposite corners of the room.
This way you have 3 colored light sources that gradually intersect with each other. Now you need to connect the Hue controller to your router with an Ethernet network cable (if you don’t have one, I leave you below some articles easily available from the Web at great prices) then connect it to the power supply to start it.
Subsequently, all you have to do is install the Philips Hue app on a mobile device connected to the home Wi-Fi network, for convenience you can find below the direct link to download the app on Android devices (if you do not have the google you can try to search for it on an alternative store ) or on iOS / iPadOS devices . After installing the app, just launch it and wait for it to complete the search for controllers on your home network. After a few seconds your Hue controller will be detected, then you will notice that the green Search … button located at the bottom of the screen will turn into the Connect button : press it to continue.
In the new screen you will read the request to press the round button located above the Hue controller, so go ahead and in a few seconds you will have reached the finish line. Once connected, you will see in the app the list with the 3 new LED lights you installed. Here you can quickly turn them on or turn them off by tapping on the corresponding control switch to the right (ON / OFF), but the thing that will interest you the most at this time will be the managing color and ‘ intensity light, then tap the name of a lamp and you will be introduced to the full control screenof the single light. From here you can manage all the characteristics of the light source and also give it a custom name. good fun!
One last tip I can give you is to take a look at the tons of YouTube videos showing different ambient lighting setups, maybe you could start by taking a look at the videos on how to assemble RGB LED strips and certainly how to cut an LED strip .
How to create colors with the LEDs behind the TV
One of the best ways to create the right atmosphere while watching a movie, a TV series or a football match is definitely to turn off the main light in the room and focus attention on the screen. Maybe with a decorative light reflected on the wall and then hidden behind the TV which helps you not only to prevent eye fatigue, but also to enjoy the beautiful atmosphere created. In this chapter, therefore, I will explain how to create colors with the LEDs behind the TV !
There are several ways to create a colored LED light behind the TV, and I will list them all below: from the simplest and therefore cheapest, up to the most complex, cinematic and therefore a little more expensive to set up.
The simplest method is to place one or more RGB / RGBW LED lamps behind the TV facing the wall, so as to obtain a radiant but static color effect, or manually adjustable.
If you want a more enveloping solution, you could consider applying an RGB / RGBW LED strip along the entire rear perimeter of the TV in order to have a wider reflected light. There are special kits that allow you to apply the strip to all 4 sides of the TV thanks to special flexible corner connectors.
If the idea appeals to you, find below some examples of LED strips for TV panels from 40 to 70 inches. When you have your kit, just remove the back adhesive film and apply the strips along the rear perimeter of the TV, then just connect the power cord to the power outlet and get comfortable on the sofa, you can check the new one. light bathroom behind the TV with the supplied remote control .
The quickest, cinematic and even more expensive alternative could be to buy a TV equipped with Ambient Light technology , therefore with the factory controller installed on board and the LED bodies for light and color animations. These TVs require no additional installation and allow you to change the LED backlight mode from the convenience of the TV remote.
Below I propose 3 models of Philips Ambilight TVs , designed with a scenographic backlighting system that recalls the colors and brightness of the rear LEDs based on the colors of the images displayed on the screen. The LED-lit area of the Ambilight system creates a screen expanding effect by projecting the colors onto the wall behind the TV, I guarantee it will be a truly immersive experience.
In summary, to have this type of solution you do not need a kit and you do not have to install anything as it is all included and pre-installed in the TV. The Philips Ambilight models that I propose below are conveniently available online and boast the most modern technology on board, such as 4K UHD LED / OLED panels, smart hubs for connectivity and interactivity and native integration with the assistant. Amazon Alexa voice .
To further realize how simple it can be to apply colored light behind the TV, I suggest you watch some videos on how to mount LEDs behind the TV or how to put colored TV lights on YouTube in order to see the experiences of some youtubers who deal with this topic.
How to create colors with LEDs to the beat of music
If, on the other hand, your aim is to create ambient lighting that reacts and comes alive to the rhythm of the music, well, then this is the chapter for you. In fact, I will explain step-by-step how to use the tool designed to achieve this purpose, so let’s roll up our sleeves and see how to create colors with LEDs to the rhythm of music .
A simple and effective way to get colorful and animated lighting to the beat of music is to put the Colorful X2 LED controller between your audio source and an RGB (digital) LED strip with addressable chips, that’s right you can’t use an LED bulb or any LED strip. First you need to find everything, so below I propose the kit easily available online at competitive costs consisting of 1 LED strip , 1 5V power supply , 1 LED controller and 1 additional 3.5 “jack cable .
Once you have your kit, you can proceed with the installation. Place the LED strip where you would like the colored light to be diffused, behind the sofa, above the furniture, along the entire wall, the possibilities are endless. To apply it, simply remove the adhesive film located at the bottom and gently press it on the surface along which you want to slide it.
Now take the end of the LED strip and cut the 3-pin connector , then screw the following wires to the Colorful X2 controller terminal: the V + (red) and V- (white) cables of the LED strip go into the V + and V- terminals of the LED strip . controller, while cable D (green) must be tightened into terminal D of the controller (which indicates the cable for data communication). At this point it remains to connect the two cables additional power supply, so you need to tighten the cables V + (red) and V- (white) additional to the terminals V + and V- power supply.
Finally, you will need to connect an electrical wire with a 10A (ampere) terminal plug to the power supply, then tighten the brown and blue wires respectively to the terminals of the power supply L and N , then tighten the yellow-green wire to the terminal earth on the power supply (icon with 3 horizontal lines), follow these steps very carefully before connecting the power supply to the power outlet, if you are not sure about the connection I suggest you get support from a friend or an acquaintance who knows the basics in the electrical sector.
That’s it, the controller is ready to drive the LED strip to the beat of the music, so it’s time to play a piece of music. Included is a 3.5 “jack cable that you can connect to any digital device such as a smartphone, tablet, computer or stereo, therefore, connect one end to your favorite player and the other end to the Colorful X2 controller, in the ‘entrance marked with the entry IN . Then connect the second 3.5 ”jack cable to the controller output, labeled with the voice OUT while the other end is connected to your amplifier or to the audio system to which your speakers are connected.
Very well, we’re almost there, now with the controller remote control, always supplied, touch the button with the musical note icon to change the operating mode to Music , you will see 20XX on the controller display, where 20 indicates the operating mode and XX the selected play of light number. Done! Play your favorite song and enjoy the play of light moving and intensifying to the beat of the music!
With the remote control you can do a lot of things, such as change the type of programmed animation , there are 27 of them! Then you can speed up or slow down the light transactions, increase or decrease the volume, reverse the direction of the LED animations or exit the music mode and use the LED strip as a normal colored ambient light source. In this case, if you place your finger on the color circle, you can choose a specific color and adjust its intensity.
If you do not want to use cables to transmit music and you want to have an environment in which any sound or music makes the colored LEDs react and animate, freeing you from connections between devices, then I propose another specific product. The Music IR Controller is a device with integrated microphone that captures sounds and converts them into highly sensitive colored light impulses, making you obtain a performing and satisfying result.
In this case you just need one or two 4-pin RGB LED strips (non-digital and maximum 180W of combined power) and connect each wire to the respective terminal on the controller: The white (or black) cable to terminal (+) , the green cable to terminal G , the red wire to terminal R and the blue wire to terminal B .
As for the previous solution, here too you will have to equip yourself with a 12V DC power supply to power the controller, then you don’t need anything else. Once you have installed the power supply and the RGB LED strip to the controller terminals as indicated above, you are ready to go.
You’ll notice that the light shows will also start when the controller senses your voice, so play a blast of music to see the effect.