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Installation of neon lights on the car. How to use neon lights to decorate your apartment How to make neon lights

Illumination of an apartment is not only an interesting design decision: such a factor of human life as a psychological state depends on the right lighting.

For more proper lighting of the room, the most functional areas are illuminated using spotlights or LED strips and rulers.

For example, dividing a room into a dining and living area:

Or dividing the hall into a living room and a sleeping area, as shown below:

It is possible to divide 2 zones with the help of lighting in the bedroom - working and sleeping, using ceiling lighting with LED strips as the main lighting:

Illumination with mortise lamps to illuminate a large room:

The lighting of rooms looks interesting without using the usual massive chandeliers as the main lighting, simply and concisely highlighting the functional areas of the room:

Lighting in the bathroom and toilet can also be interesting and functional:

Interesting decorative lighting in the hall and bedroom:

Why is additional lighting needed?

If earlier cars with beautiful interior lighting could only be seen in expensive high-class cars, now more and more interesting lighting options can be found in a random car in your city. Car manufacturers look year after year for new ways to improve the interior lighting of their creations, as do drivers who don't sit around experimenting with their cars on their own.

Neon car interior lighting:

And what's wrong with do-it-yourself interior lighting. It looks beautiful, comfortable, and what a pleasure it is to answer: “I did it myself!”.

Or, for example, install threshold lighting - in the dark, when you open the doors, you can see which surface you are stepping on. What a plus! There are a whole host of applications. The most important thing is that you can do everything with your own hands!

Of all the places where you can install additional lighting, here we will consider the backlighting of the car interior, and also tell you a little about how to make it yourself. Why a salon? Because it is not as difficult as external lighting, and not all manual changes to the car are allowed. For example, with neon illumination of the bottom, you simply cannot pass inspection. External lighting is beautiful, but, with your permission, let's start with the interior, with the convenience for you and your passengers.

Car interior lighting

What to choose: neon or LEDs?

And now you have decided that there is not enough native light in the interior of your car. Or maybe you want a constant soft relaxing lighting, or just add a little uniqueness? It's time to think about installing additional interior lighting. Fortunately, in our time it is quite possible to realize. Two types of lighting will help you with this: neon lamps and LEDs.

To begin, consider the advantages of LEDs over neon:

Flexible design, won't be accidentally torn off or broken, unlike neon lamps, which can break.
Easy to solder.
Arbitrary length of the LED strip.
Individual diodes can be placed virtually anywhere.
In RGB ribbons, it is possible to change the color.

But they also have their drawbacks:

Large quantities are more expensive than neon lamps.
As a rule, neon "lives" much longer.

Currently, the quality of LED products is steadily going uphill, on the contrary, the price is falling.

If earlier there were only individual LEDs, then modules and tapes, now it is possible to cover the entire interior with one complex under general control through a remote control or control panel. Perhaps soon LED interior lighting will become standard for installation in the production of cars.

LED car interior lighting

Neon, in turn, is increasingly fading into the background due to a less convenient design, lower brightness, and limited use. But, as they say, neon interior lighting was, is and will be, it has its advantages, and significant ones. Both those and other lamps can be used in tuning, the main thing is to have a design approach.

Neon car interior lighting

Information before you start

You will be lighting your car, but before you start, you should be warned that if you do not fully understand how to implement lighting with your own hands, then it would be better to resort to the help of specialists. Still, it will be cheaper to pay the craftsmen than to re-purchase a new salon. And if you realize that your hands are growing from the right place, then go ahead!

Diodes can be purchased at the radio market, they are inexpensive, but in this case, you will have to work a little with a soldering iron. Therefore, it is still better to purchase ready-made tapes specifically for cars.

LED strip for installation in a car

Now let's check if we have the necessary tools for the job:

A switch (necessarily needed when installing outdoor lighting, as representatives of the traffic police can fine you for lighting the bottom, you need to turn it off somehow quickly)
Fuse
Screwdriver Set
Electric cable insulation tube
When unwinding car panels, sockets and wrenches with asterisks may be needed.
The tools that are mentioned in the backlight manual you purchased.

How to install LED or neon car lights from a battery

IMPORTANT! Before performing work on the car related to electricity, and interior lighting is such, it is imperative to disconnect the battery!

Choose the place where you want to install the LED strip/neon tube, attach, visually remember and calculate the length of the wires to that point. Also consider the location of the switch and fuse. The latter will protect the lamps from power surges and errors (yes, your mistakes, try not to confuse the plus and minus), it is strongly recommended to install it closer to the battery in an easily accessible place.

When lighting the interior, two places are often used:

Under the dash for the driver and the glove compartment for the front passenger
Under the front seats
luggage compartment

After connecting the switch to the battery, you need to put a fuse on the entire backlight. The maximum distance from the positive battery terminal to the fuse is 18 inches. You can run the wire itself through the hole in the plate, between the passenger compartment and the engine, or drill your own, provided that you take care that you do not touch anything important, and the metal around the edges of the fresh hole does not cut the wire. Use rubber rings of a suitable diameter to avoid this.

Now it remains to connect the second wire to the corresponding battery terminal.

LED lighting in the apartment - a magical glow in the interior!

You can stretch the wire in the same way as the first one - through a hole in the plate, or you can connect to the car body, the main thing is to make sure that this piece is pure metal, without rust, paint, dirt. Turn it on and check if it works.

Ready! This completes the backlight installation. Now you have experience in this area, and next time even the interior lighting of a vase, which is often subject to tuning at the present time, will not be difficult for you. Installing the backlight with your own hands is cheaper and more interesting, but still, if there is even a drop of uncertainty, it is better to contact the masters. In this case, you will spend more, but your car will shine exactly the way you want it.

Even with bright ribbons, there is little light. There is light along the perimeter of the ceiling, but the middle falls into twilight. Therefore, you need a light source in the center of the ceiling.

Can you experiment like this?. Screw the lamp into the table lamp.

Wall lighting: step by step instructions

It is light only near the table, but the whole room is dark. Now, screw the same lamp into the chandelier. It became light throughout the room.

In the first case, the light is directed in one direction, in the second - in EVERYTHING. Therefore, a light bulb under the ceiling illuminated the entire room. The same thing happens with lighting in a niche. The light from it is directed in ONE direction. There is no uniform dispersion throughout the space of the room, so there will be a “table lamp” effect.

In the bedroom you can

The only room where you can do without central lighting is the bedroom. There is no bright light here. It will be enough LED strip and bedside lamps.

Conclusion:

LED lighting around the perimeter of the ceiling will not replace the chandelier. Lighting will be worse. If this suits you, then use a bright white tape 14 watts / meter, deluxe. We have clients who have given up on the chandelier and say they love it so much.

The main role of LEDs in the interior design of apartments and houses is lighting. And although, thanks to their brightness and low energy consumption, they can also be used as the main lighting, as a way of decoration, they reveal themselves precisely through the backlight. In the course are LED strips (flexible surfaces covered with LEDs), and LED cords, and simple lamps, and lamps, the cases for which are made to order.

What can be achieved with LED interior lighting?
1. Ceiling - night sky

If you want to create a night sky with iridescent stars on your ceiling, LEDs will help you! Small light bulbs are randomly placed on the surface of a black or dark blue ceiling (it can be stretch or plasterboard ceilings) and flicker smoothly at night.

This interior decor looks especially impressive in large halls with high ceilings, but a small room can also be transformed with such a sky on the ceiling.
2. Additional hidden lighting

In addition to the obvious main lighting, LED lighting is often used at corners under skirting boards and moldings in order to highlight these areas and add volume. Quite often, lighting and plasterboard niches in the wall. Its peculiarity is that only the light itself is visible to the observer, and not its source.

Bottom line: very soft light accents that add volume to the entire interior.
3. Artistic wall lighting

In addition to lighting niches, you can decorate the illuminations of the walls in a much more original way. Such types of wall decoration of apartments and houses, such as drywall and stretched fabric, require the installation of metal slats at some distance from the wall. The resulting space is often used for laying engineering communications, but LED lamps can also be placed there.
Patterns are cut out in the drywall sheet and replaced with translucent materials or colored glass. The result can be even more spectacular than the night sky, created in a similar way - just imagine what pictures on your walls can be made to literally shine!
4. Furniture lighting
In addition to lighting the room itself, you can also highlight the furniture. This will give it truly unusual shades (literally and figuratively). Very often armchairs, sofas, beds and various glass furniture are exposed to such decor: cabinets and tables.

But it will also add “club” shades to the interior, therefore it suits apartments in modern design.
5. Illuminated accessories

Along with furniture, LEDs can be decorated with accessories and a variety of decor: paintings, niches in the wall, mirrors, shop windows, natural plants. But when planning the LED illumination of accessories in the interior, expect that they may not stay with you for a long time.
6. Functional LED backlight

The LED underlay in the interior can act not only as a decor, but also perform quite utilitarian functions. So, for example, LEDs perfectly act as lighting for stairs (we think that anyone who at least once groped for steps with their feet in the dark, the benefits of such lighting are obvious). Often, LEDs also act to illuminate the working surfaces of the kitchen set. And in general, any place where you work.
7. LED illumination of sculptures and figurines

And another option for using LED lighting is a variety of sculptures and figurines made of glass or fabric on a frame. They can be found somewhere, made by yourself or created to order. But just imagine an interior with not just lamps as lamps, but uniformly luminous (even though LEDs make it possible to achieve uniformity) sculptures.

Floor lamp in the form of a crane? Glowing from within a glass tree? And what about decorative frosted glass columns that, with a wave of the hand, become a source of illumination? Or "sculpting" of translucent materials, which will give a soft light?
8. LEDs in different interior styles

By the way, best of all LED lighting gets along with modern interior styles. Such as minimalism, high-tech, techno and others like them. However, the latter type of illumination, thanks to sculptural compositions, allows not only the classics and high-tech illumination to coexist, but also gives unique shades to the interior.
What can we offer?
LEDs are one of the most environmentally friendly and modern lighting tools, which, thanks to the creative work of designers, allows you to achieve truly “strong” results in transforming your home.

Many are tempted to do everything on their own. But, there are several factors that must be taken into account. And above all - the need to manufacture special lamps. Due to the fact that they can only be made on specialized equipment, neon ceiling lighting is usually not done by hand, although there is such a possibility.

What will be required

First, you need to figure out how such a backlight is arranged, and how all the elements included in this system work.

The basis here are special lamps filled with an inert gas - neon. It is from the name of this gas that such lamps got their name. The inner walls of the lamp are covered with a special powder - a phosphor, which interacts with neon when high voltage is applied, and begins to glow. The composition of the powder affects the color of the resulting glow.

The need for high voltage to obtain a glowing effect forces the use of special devices in the system - voltage converters, or voltage step-up transformers.

It is this moment that is worth remembering especially - high voltage is unsafe for life, therefore, the installation of the electrical part of the backlight should be a person who has experience working with high-voltage components.

The lamps themselves are made of thin glass and can easily be damaged during transportation or during installation. You have to be very careful when installing them.

How to install

The most common option for installing such lighting elements is side ceiling lighting. In this case, all elements of the system are located in a pre-prepared niche.

Usually, such a device is equipped even at the stage of installation of the ceiling structure. If a niche is not provided, you can install the backlight using a conventional polystyrene plinth.

To do this, it must be glued, leaving a small distance between the ceiling surface and the edge of the cornice, as shown in the diagram.

Due to the location of the lamp, you can change the width and intensity of the dispersion of the light flux. But, the same effect can be obtained by choosing lamps of a different diameter.

Neon illuminators have an interesting property - the larger the diameter of the lamp itself, the more diffused the light flux becomes. Therefore, by installing lamps of small diameter, a sharper border of the light spot can be obtained.

The remaining nuances are typical for all types of installed backlights. If a niche of a closed type is arranged, that is, there is a side that cuts off the light flux, then its height will determine the degree of dispersion of the light flux.

The higher this side is, the sharper the light spot will break off and the clearer its border will be. The same side will help hide the installed voltage converter - it will not be visible behind the side.

To avoid errors during installation, you need to draw up a schematic diagram of the backlight in advance, with the calculation of the power of all installed lamps. This is necessary to count the number of installed transformers.

It is not difficult to make such a calculation - neon lamps consume about 10 watts of power per meter of length. Therefore, a ten-meter design will require about a hundred watts.

Voltage converters are recommended to be installed on the basis that one transformer is required for every seven to eight meters of lamps. Based on these data, it is necessary to calculate the number of converters to be installed and the number of their connection points.

Options

If the neon ceiling lighting is done by hand, you can look for ready-made solutions in stores. Sometimes, such kits are on sale. They include everything you need to independently mount and connect the backlight.

But, even with ready-made kits, everything must be done strictly according to the instructions supplied by the manufacturer. The lamps are very fragile, and improper installation of the electrical part can lead to a short circuit and fire. If you are not confident in your abilities, it is better to contact electricians.

The second way to get exactly the same effect as neon lighting is to use the recently commercialized "flexible neon". There are much less difficulties with manufacturing and installation. The flexible cord itself, which will glow, is sold in bundles, or cut off in pieces.

In order for the cord to start glowing, it must be connected to the converter. The power of this unit is calculated based on the length of the connected cord. It glows exactly as smoothly as a neon tube, however, the intensity of the glow is lower.

Mounting such a flexible neon is much easier, and even not the most experienced electrician can connect it. However, you need to know the safety rules when handling high-voltage devices.

Conclusion

There are not too many options on how to assemble neon ceiling lighting with your own hands. In the simplest version, you will not need to do anything on your own, except for the final installation - everything is done by specialists. To call it an independent installation is a stretch.

Another thing is the installation of a ready-made set of lamps. It will not be so easy, but the effect obtained from the glow is very beautiful.

The easiest, from a technical point of view, option is to install flexible neon. You can do everything yourself, but the price of this option will be higher than that of all the others.

Cold neon or electroluminescent cord is a good alternative to low power LED strips. From it you can add very entertaining designs and drawings.

However, if the process of cutting, connecting and connecting tapes no longer raises questions, then carrying out the same type of work on an El cord still puzzles many.

Let's look at how to properly cut, solder and connect cold neon so that the backlight works for a long time and reliably.

Materials and tools

To work with this backlight, you can’t do without a soldering iron. No connectors, connecting or innovative piercing clips will help here.

Therefore, at least basic knowledge and soldering skills will be very useful. Choose a low-power soldering iron up to 40W.

After soldering, the junction will have to be insulated. Small diameter heat shrink tubing works best for this. Cold neon comes from 0.8mm to 5mm in diameter.

The most common size is 2.3mm. Based on this, select the handset.

How to cut neon cord

Firstly, it should be noted that one of the advantages of el cord over LED strip is the ability to cut it anywhere, with any step.

Everything is very strict with the tape. And often this makes it difficult to fit exactly into the lighting contour.

Either unused “tails” remain, or a couple of centimeters of the ceiling or other illuminated place will be dark.

And the larger the cutting step of the LED segments, the more problematic it is not to spoil the final pattern.

From what to connect

Remember that the neon cord cannot be connected directly through a socket and voltage of 220V. Not suitable including power supplies from LED strips.

Moreover, both simple and driver, which are used for LED lamps.

A special inverter is required to power the cold neon. It raises both the input voltage to several hundred volts and the frequency to several thousand hertz.

Moreover, the inverter itself can be designed to be powered both from a 12V block and from 5V batteries. Everything depends on its performance.

You can also connect it through an adapter from an outlet, like those that go to charge.

But one way or another, you can’t do without an inverter in the circuit.

How to connect neon to power

So, before connecting, measure the required length of the fluorescent backlight and cut off the required distance with a knife or scissors.

After that, the open end, where nothing will be connected, needs to be insulated. This can be done without electrical tape, with an ordinary glue gun.

Just drop a small drop of glue on the tip of the neon.

In this case, it is impossible to connect the ends of the wires to each other.

And on the other end, you need to solder two wires coming from the inverter. Usually they are equipped with special male-female connectors.

They are stuck into the inverter, and the veins are soldered to neon.

The order of work here is as follows. First of all, you need to carefully remove the insulation from the outer layer by about 1 cm.

Under the first layer of the outer color shell is an inner transparent protective shell. Under which are hidden two very thin pure copper conductors.

To get to them without damaging the cores themselves, heat the insulation for a couple of seconds with an ordinary lighter and pull it off with your fingers.

1 of 2

After that, clean the veins from carbon deposits and remnants of melted plastic.

The central thick vein is covered with a white composition - crystal phosphorus. This is the phosphor layer that gives the glow.

Cutting here is also not desirable. With a sharp blade, simply scrape it off the surface, getting to the central vein.

It is enough to remove 3-4 mm.

Otherwise, it will spring at the most crucial moment. Or fix it with a “crocodile” on some kind of stand.

The ends of the cores on the El cord are prepared for you, after that you strip the insulation on the power cable. After that, all stripped ends need to be tinned.

Apply flux gel and apply tin. Next, cut off three heat shrinks. One wide and two smaller.

Put them on the power cable as in the photo below.

Connect one core of the supply wire to the thin veins on the outer shell of the neon. Solder the junction.

After that, you can move the thermotube to the soldering and, bringing the lighter, seat the insulation.

Next, connect and solder the central core and the second power wire to each other.

Also push the tube and heat it, isolate the junction.

After that, you need to securely close the entire joint. Move the large heat shrink tube and warm the sheath to securely seal the connection.

With this connection, there is no difference where to apply "plus" or "minus". Unlike LED strips, neon lights are powered by alternating current.

Therefore, the wires can be connected to the inverter as you like. At the same time, you will not burn or short-circuit anything.

The most important thing is to control how long this inverter is designed for. Small 5 volt batteries go up to 3 meters long.

And to 12 volts you can connect one-time up to 20 meters.

More details about the varieties of neon and the secrets of working with one or another type of illumination can be found in a separate article.

How to build and connect a neon cord

If you do not need to connect the neon to power, but increase it to increase the length of the lighting, then the process here is almost the same.

That is, you first need to solder the central veins together and isolate them. Then do the same operation with two thin conductors running along the shell. After that, again impose a general insulation.

True, the sequence of butt-to-butt joints, mechanically, may not be very reliable. First of all, because of the veins of the screen as thin as a hair.

Tuning a car is an important and painstaking process, which often takes the owner a lot of effort and money. Upgrading a vehicle is a whole art, the key component of which is to bring individuality, uniqueness and originality to the appearance.

The modern motorist is familiar with various types of car upgrades. A popular means of transforming a car is the installation of neon lights. It is a style of decoration and is not able to improve the performance, but more and more owners prefer this type of upgrade to create their own style. In this article, we will look at the benefits of neon lighting and learn how to install this system in your car yourself.

What is neon lighting?

This is a simple lighting system, equipped with functional elements responsible for full and correct operation. At the heart of the lamp, filled with an inert gas neon. It is placed in lamps coated with a phosphor, which, when interacting with neon and high voltage, creates a glowing effect. The color of the radiation depends on the composition of the powder. The contents are placed in tubes made of durable material, protecting it from damage during movement. To supply voltage, converters or transformers that increase the voltage are used. Neon illumination happens: diode, complete, flexible and the antenna - a garland. The choice of type of neon depends on the place of assembly. To scatter the rays, a reflective surface is used, as an option, a mirror or foil. They are necessary to avoid light absorption.

Ways to install neon lights

In the process of installing lighting, you must follow the rule that the best option for installation is further from the road surface. In general, the installation of neon lighting can be done in any part of the car. Mostly, it is used for installation on the bottom of the car around the entire perimeter and partially in front or behind.

By placing it on the bottom, you will get practical help in the form of additional road lighting. As an option - mount in the cabin. There are no special precautions for installing the backlight, but it is better to avoid mounting it above the driver's seat - this can provoke discomfort when driving fast. The best option is to install it under the instrument panel: all the light will be directed downwards, and a slight pleasant illumination will enter the cabin. You can install the backlight anywhere, you just need to remember that they are easily damaged, and therefore the operating conditions are more demanding.

Installation of neon lights on the car

Based on the logic of car tuning, it is mainly installed in sports car brands. Neon is able to give the car relief, highlight important parts and add value. This gives the transport uniqueness and individuality. If your car does not have anything outstanding, you should not install neon lights. For owners of sports cars, this upgrade method will be a godsend. The installation process is quite simple, but for this you will have to perform some electrical work. Consider the points on how to make neon lights with your own hands.

lay out and study the neon lighting kit, prepare all the tools necessary for installation;
turn off the battery. To do this, remove the negative cable. Carrying out security measures is mandatory, since this is electrical work;
Decide where to install the kit. Places of accumulation of wires, supply of gasoline, parts in motion and brakes should be avoided;
make sure the place of installation work is safe;
make sure the neon pipes are in good condition;
try on a place for the staples. They are included in the kit and serve as fixers;
place drilled holes for staples with silicone sealant to avoid rust;
fasten the screws in the holes. The wires coming from the tubes must be placed towards the rear of the machine;
place the transducer. It should be installed in the compartment near the battery. Follow the instructions and try not to drill into vital parts of the car;
connect the lighting circuits and the converter;

Important. If it is necessary to cut the pipes according to the instructions, you need to use a heat gun hair dryer to create a seal on the heat shrink tubing with wires.

Attention. Additional wiring should be created only if it is indicated in the instructions.

Warning

The advantage of neon lighting

The process of installing neon is a pleasant experience. You will not be able to make such lamps on your own, but their cost is lower than buying a system of similar technical characteristics and method of application. Such lighting is produced in a different color palette, shapes and sizes, which allows you to realize any design ideas.

In addition to the innovative aesthetic appearance, neon has a long service life - up to 15 years. Neon emitting light in pipes is an inert gas, and therefore absolutely safe and non-toxic. It cannot explode or catch fire. Installation of the system does not affect the technical qualities of the car and has only an aesthetic function. Neon pipes allow you to create continuous lighting around the entire perimeter, which guarantees a regular glow. Such a system is comfortable to use, the lamps do not overheat and do not create additional noise. It is universal for any vehicle and you can even make neon lights on a bicycle.

Such tuning will cost about several thousand in the maintenance salon, but using the above tips on how to install neon lights on a car, you can create the car of your dreams.