Under Cabinet LED strips vs. Fluorscent fixtures

[JoeW]

A while back there was some discussion on the subject of lighting with lighting strips. I am currently using Fluorescent t-4 bulbed fixtures, some of the fixtures are dying and need to be replaced. So I am considering these LED strips. http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-Armacost-12-ft-LED-Warm-White-Tape-Light
I am hoping that some of the bugs had been worked out with the LEDs particularly the uneven distribution(beams). Any thoughts or recommendation on sources and the particular types of strips would be appreciated as well as tweaking tips. I would especially like to see some pictures of layouts that are lit with LED strips.
As always I appreciate the Railwire responses.

[MVW]

I wonder about the lumens. (Warning: I'm fairly ignorant on the topic. But I'm sure someone with real knowledge will wander by eventually.  )

I'm using 16" LED cabinet light fixtures, spaced 13" apart. 3000K. They're delivering 196.6 lumens per foot, and it''s quite bright. You'd be looking at 127.9 lumens per foot with that unit, about one-third less. It's all subjective, but I'm guessing that may fall in a range a lot of folks would consider borderline for brightness.

Jim

[wmcbride]

I've replaced my regular fluorescent fictures with these LED shop lights available from various places. Mine came from Sam's Club:

http://www.samsclub.com/sams/4ft-led-shoplight-shoplight-led/prod16460030.ip

They are really bright, use less power and run a lot cooler. I am really happy with them. Not the same as LED strips but a good replacement for your exisitng fixtures.

[Chris333]

I have a string of screw in bases with the cfl bulbs spaced at 12". The bulbs are 800 lumens each. Discussed here:
https://www.therailwire.net/forum/index.php?topic=36638.msg436089#msg436089

So I have 19,200 lumens going around a small Hollow Core Door layout. I wouldn't want anything less than what I have, if anything want more.

[peteski]

While I don't have a layout with LED illumination, I have seen some using strip LED lighting. I don't think that strip lights have yet acheived brightness intense enough to be used as main layout illumination. Those architectural strips are basically for accent illumination.  Plus if you install enough of them you will need a big-a$$ 12V power supply to power them.  Like others said, the bottom line is how many lumens per square foot you will end up with.

@daniel_leavitt2000 contemplated using that type of lighting for his layout - maybe he can chime in here with some comments.

[kondor]

Typically LED strips like the ones from the OP will not have the output you really want for general illumination.  The Sam's club fixtures are a better bet, but I have no first hand experience with them so I can't completely speak for them.'

Uneven beam distribution can be fixed, but most often you will take a reduction in overall light output.

I have retrofitted my kitchen with recessed LED lights from Home Depot and they're great.  I have had no problems, I'm very happy with the beam distribution, and the output is great (compared to what was already there- nothing!)

Lighting is a very personal thing, what one person loves may be disgusting to the next.  Experiment if you can afford to, but again for general lighting I don't think you'll be happy with the strips at all.  They'll be too spotty and won't have enough output.

I have been working in the LED lighting industry for about 16 years now and have designed architectural systems that are lighting up fountains in Las Vegas and skyscrapers in NYC, and then all the way to the other end of the spectrum of intelligent industrial warehouse lighting.  I know what works for me and lighting up my shop, but everyone's tastes are different when it comes to lighting.

[rodsup9000]

  Everyone that seen my layout comments on how well my lighting is.











 
 I use at least 2 strips on all up to 24" wide benchwork, over 24" get a third one.


 I've tried several LED strips and these are the best ones I've found that works the best.
I get the non-waterproof, 300/5 M, 5050


http://www.ebay.com/itm/221717646543?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&var=520562384677&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

[jmarley76]

Not to be too off topic, but I did replace the CFL bulb in the layout room with a LED daylight bulb. The layout sits almost directly under it in the center of the room, so I thought it would be a good upgrade. I no longer wait for the CFL to "heat up" and, IMO, the overall color effect of the "daylight" bulb is more realistic.

[BCR 570]

My layout lighting was installed back in 2008-2010 and the layout is lit solely with LED light bars; in fact it is the only lighting in the room, although a photo flood was used for the photographs below to illuminate the ceiling and fascais:








Tim

[PGE_Modeller]

Found this photo which I had posted to the TrainBoard back in 2009.  The LEDs were the only lights on in the room at the time the photo was taken.



Cheers

[peteski]

Was that 8 seconds exposure?  But how did the layout look when viewed in-person?  If I leave the camera's shutter open long enough I can make a very dimly lit room (or even outdoor night scene) look really bright.

Then you use lux for units where most bulbs nowadays use lumens. 
http://gemini-lights.com/explore/lux-and-lumens
http://www.rapidtables.com/calc/light/lux-to-lumen-calculator.htm

[PGE_Modeller]

Peteski, to my eye, the layout is illuminated sufficiently brightly and uniformly. 

You are correct in stating that most manufacturers express the output (or radiance) of their lamps in lumens.  However, that is not what I was interested in determining.  I was much more interested in the level and uniformity of the light illuminating the scene, in other words the the illuminance of the area, which is measured in lux. 1 lux is defined as 1 lumen per square meter.  This measurement was relatively easy as I happen to have a light meter left over from my film photography days that provides a reading in lux when used in incident lighting mode.  A series of readings over the area of the scene confirmed the uniformity of light levels that I saw visually.  For comparison with my measured levels of 550 - 600 lux, a brightly lit office environment is typically around 1000 lux.

As your first link states, lumens alone don't tell us the whole story because there is no information about how the light is used.

Cheers

[peteski]

Peteski, to my eye, the layout is illuminated sufficiently brightly and uniformly. 

As your first link states, lumens alone don't tell us the whole story because there is no information about how the light is used.

Cheers

That is exactly why I found and posted those elux vs. lumen links.