Stretch ceiling has a large number ofadvantages: no dust, ability to mask surface defects, mirror properties, and ease of maintenance. Such products are well suited for both a private home and an apartment. A stretch ceiling can be combined with a strip of LED bulbs, resulting in an excellent visual effect of diffused lighting, thanks to which you can save light and recreate excellent room lighting.
The backlighting of a stretch ceiling mostly serves a decorative function and it will not be possible to fully illuminate a room with it.
Backlight for tension ceiling construction
Due to the emergence of suspended structures onnew types of backlights have begun to appear on the market. The essence of such products is partial illumination of the room, namely the ceiling structure. In most cases, contour lighting of the ceiling structure is used for decoration, since it is quite difficult to illuminate the entire room with its help. If the light hits the glossy base of the ceiling, then the space of the room will visually increase. Thanks to the backlights, you can change the color of the room lighting. To arrange the backlight, you can buy ordinary fluorescent lamps. This solution is one of the most affordable. They differ from the others in bright lighting. However, such lamps have one significant drawback - at the joints of the bulbs, the lighting will break. Therefore, it will not be possible to get bright uniform lighting around the entire perimeter of the room.
With the help of ceiling lighting you can makethe interior of the room unusual and individual. The duralight cord is also popular. This is a pipe in the design of which LED bulbs are installed. This product is durable, the lighting will be produced evenly. The disadvantage is that the lighting will be dimmer if compared to the design with fluorescent lamps. The cord can only be cut by 2 m. Up to 50 m of such a cord can be connected to one installation kit. To provide network power, you will need to buy a rectifier and a cord. The most popular option for lighting a stretch ceiling is the use of LED strips. The main advantages of strips with LED bulbs include the following:
Scheme of the LED strip device.This type of tape is a small-sized structure with LED bulbs and resistors placed at the same distance from each other. In most cases, the tape is 2-3 mm thick and the width of the product is 8-10 mm. The tape is sold in 5 m pieces. There is a sticky base on the back that can be mounted on any surface. This type of tape can take any shape. The brighter the glow, the more LEDs are located on the tape. Such products are most often used as backlighting for glass stands, mounted on cornices or on a ceiling structure. To attach this type of tape, you will need to remove the protective layer and then install the product in the chosen location. To achieve maximum effect, you can use foil as a reflective element. A step-down transformer can be installed for the LED tape. The only drawback of this design is its high cost. Return to contents</a>
Calculations before setting the backlight
Once the tape is selected,LED bulbs, you will need to perform a calculation. You need to determine how many LEDs per 1 m should be in the tape. If you plan to use the product as the main light source, you will need to purchase a tape with 60 LED bulbs per 1 m. If the product is used as an additional light source, 30 LEDs per 1 m will be enough.
Stages of LED strip installation.First of all, you need to determine the power of the structure. To do this, measure the perimeter of the area that you plan to illuminate. Then multiply the resulting value by the power of 1 m of LED strip. The peculiarity is that such products are sold in 5 m sections, and it is highly undesirable to connect more than 2 sections in series. This can be solved in several ways:
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Methods of installing a tape for stretch ceilings
It should be understood that it is easy to attach the tapeon the base of the ceiling structure will not work. The tape is not a lighting device that has a decorative appearance. Therefore, it will need to be hidden. Return to the table of contents</a>The device of the box with a recess for illuminationIn most cases, a system of backlighting and a plasterboard box with a recess protruding from it is used. In this case, the backlighting will be directed towards the central part of the room. All devices used to ensure the functionality of the backlighting are located in the designated niche.
Open lighting system diagram.In this case, the design of the suspended ceiling with backlighting will be as follows: a box made of plasterboard sheets with a recess is installed along the perimeter of the room. The height of the box is approximately 15-20 cm. The maximum width of the structure is 0.5 m. The lower part of the box will extend forward by approximately 8 cm. At the end of the box there will be a perpendicular branch upward approximately 6 cm high, which will form a recess. There should be at least 11 cm left from the top of the niche to the main ceiling. The suspended ceiling will need to be attached to the vertical part of the box at the level of the upper third of the vertical baguette. Then the covering itself is mounted. The backlighting is placed in the lower part of the niche, after which it is connected to the power grid. Return to contents</a>How to arrange a box with a hidden recess underbacklight? In some cases, owners of private houses and apartments prefer glossy coatings of stretch ceilings, the surface of which is most often mirrored. In such cases, it will not be possible to use the above-described technology for installing backlighting, since the inner part of the niche and the working backlight will be reflected on the ceiling structure. A hidden niche will be able to provide uniform illumination of the structure.
Hidden lighting scheme.For such suspended ceilings, the box is arranged with a hidden niche. The product looks like an ordinary box with a small hole. However, it is much more difficult to arrange the structure than a system with an open niche. In this case, the recess will be located within the frame structure, which is covered with plasterboard sheets. The backlight will be located inside the box. A bright light will be directed from the small hole to the base of the ceiling, which is difficult to notice when reflecting the mirror base of the ceiling sheet. Return to contents</a>Backlight device without a box fromplasterboard sheets In addition to conventional ceiling structures that use a plasterboard box, there are other methods of backlighting a stretch ceiling. The backlight can be placed in the space between the film of the structure and the existing ceilings. As a result, you can get a canvas that is backlit from the inside. A significant disadvantage of this method of installing a strip with LEDs is that it cannot be replaced without prior installation. To assemble such a system, LED bulbs will need to be mounted in the corners between the ceiling structure and the adjacent walls, under which a baguette is fixed at a distance of at least 5 cm with subsequent installation of the stretch ceiling.
LED strip connection diagram.The structure canvas is not allowed to be mounted near lighting devices, as they will emit more or less heat, which negatively affects the materials from which the suspended ceiling structure is made. During the installation process, it will be necessary to take into account some restrictions for each lighting device. Quite often, the device of backlighting of curtains is performed. In this case, the tape and all the necessary equipment will need to be placed behind the baseboards of the structure or in a prepared niche that can hide the tape and cornice. The difference between these methods is that it is much easier to cover the backlight with a baguette. Return to the table of contents</a>Correct installation of the tape:Sequence of actions The tape should be installed before installing the stretch ceiling. When a suitable place for this structure is selected, it will be necessary to run power supply cables into it, and then equip this line with a switch. If you plan to install a multi-colored tape, then switches will not be needed. In this case, you can control the tape using the remote control, which transmits a signal to the control unit. The next step is to install the power supply and control elements. Most often, these devices are installed in small plastic boxes with holes for fastening. You will need to choose a place that will not be visible, and then fix the structure with dowels or screws. Some experts glue these blocks, but it is not recommended to do this, since if you need to replace the device, the base of the finish will be damaged. Next, install the LED strip. Such a product has a base that is protected by a film or paper. You do not need to remove it all at once. The first thing you need to do is clean the place for the tape from dust, and then wipe the base with a damp cloth. You can stick the tape after the surface has dried. The tape can be cut in specially designated places. It is very easy to make a stretch ceiling with lighting, you only need to have all the necessary tools and materials.
