LED lighting project update | Meet the Trudgians

LED lighting project update

Posted by on Jan 21, 2017 in Featured, Technical | 6 comments

LED lighting project update

Last year I shared a project that I had been wanting to revisit for a number of months. The LED lighting project for the awning was always a great success in the air awning, but in the rollaway, it just didn’t work. So I went back to the drawing board and shared how I made the new lights.

I received a lot of great feedback from many subscribers and people who were now going to give it a go and make their own. So I thought I would revisit this project and give some answers to the many questions I have received.

The fixing.
I did comment that I wasn’t entirely sure how I was going to fix the lights to the awning. I received many ideas and chose a suggestion of Velcro straps. I bought a roll of Velcro and glued 2 strips to each end. This will allow the lights to be easily installed, moved and taken down, so Thank you for the suggestions.

The wiring.
Many questioned why I had these in parallel and not series. (i.e one after the other etc) This was why they worked so well in the air awning and not in the rollaway. In the air awning, they went from one end to the other. In the rollaway they will be fixed across, so all the power will be fed from one end.

Here is a rough diagram of what I intend to create:

awning lights

Each cable to each pole will be cut to length so it fits “just right” a truly bespoke installation. This is perhaps why it’s better to make your installation!

The pendant light
I had some LEDs and some trunking left over from some recent projects. These two were combined to make a perfect addition to this project and I set about making a 12volt LED light that can be used with any lamp shade. (video link at the bottom) this light will suit us well for when we are in the awning sat at the table.

And finally
You will notice from the diagram that there is a curious box titled remote.
This box is a really simple and effective addition to the project. It’s a remote switch with a key fob that can allow the remote switch on and off of the lights. It is perfect for when we return to the caravan and need the lights on in the awning. These little devices are quite inexpensive. I bought mine for just £6 and they are readily available on eBay. Have a look at this listing.

Wiring these is fairly straight forward all you need to do is bridge the 12 volts and away you go. Here is a really simple diagram of what I did to create the remote switch on.
CircuitPCB

You will, of course, see of this when we go away in the caravan next time and I’m able to cut the cables install them correctly etc. It, I hope, will be worth it and will supply enough light for us to enjoy the awning in the evenings.

Here is a video of the recent project updates.

 

6 Comments

  1. How do I get you on other services eg twitter and a suggestion for you is to take a power supply for lights from battery box also put a inline cigarette lighter in awning on supply cable so you can charge mobiles ect

    • HI, you can add us on twitter as @TheTrudgians – for the lights, I’m going to adapt the current awning light on the caravan to incorporate a socket, so I can plug the lights into that. the charging idea is a great idea. we already have that facility in the wet locker, so will probably just extend that function.

      Thanks for your comments,

      take care
      Dan

      • I know you probably have outlet in wet locker but that’s OK on 240v but if you are on 12v and no electric us so that is why I suggested also you can use plug on battery box to plug a solar panel into during day when lights not in use

  2. Hi,

    I’ve been enjoying your videos on the channel and have embarked on the LED light project including the remote control. I have made the lights and they work fine but i can’t quite work out the wiring for the remote. From your diagram are you adding in a piece of wire between 12+ IN to the COM port and then take the 12+ load from the NO connection? If so where does the neutral connect on the load side?

    Hope that make sense. I’m a bit of an electronics novice.

    Cheers
    Tim

  3. Hi did you ever put the finished project on here?

  4. Great project!

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