Garage door spotlights

[E36GUY]

Looks good to me.

[jon-]

I like. Is the LED on a PIR?

[eniacs]

The LED strip is currently always on (just plugged in). I plan on powering that the same way the spotlights either side of the door are powered - with an astro timer. In the garage this will need a junction box and a power supply inside as well for the LED strip. Currently its running on a computer power supply which came with the LED strips - not the best.

[Cyberprog]

That looks really good I think. Do you obstruct it much when the door is raised though?

[eniacs]

The strip is totally obstructed by the door going. Not a massive issue at present as the garage is full of junk and cannot hold a car. However the lights are mainly placed as architectural lighting, there is enough lighting to see the floor from the street lights.

[Cyberprog]

Fair enough. I have to say, I might do something similar with mine. Looking to perhaps also embed LED strip into the ground down the side and round the paths also, but with PIR activation. Not going to happen for a little while yet though sadly!

[Royce44]

I think a small bit of edging strip painted white fixed just in front of the led strip might help the look, other than that you wont get a more consistent beam over the garage so jobs a gooden. Oh and ive found led strip loses tackyness over time so be wary of that

[herewego]

Those lights look incredibly bright. You don't really have them on all night long surely? They look as though they'd blind anyone who came to the front door and the garage ones are pointless because they'd be obscured by the open door. If you want a light for the front door I'd have a warm welcoming one that comes on only when someone approaches the door.
I can understand architectural lighting for public buildings and also pubs to create a welcoming glow but over a private garage door I think best left natural.

[eniacs]

Cyber LED's in the floor may be too bright, once your eyes adjust to the darkness and then a hugely bright set of LED strips come on it will be dazzling! Unless your paths are high up so you could fix the LED's to the side lighting up the gras - now that would be nice.

Royce - thats my idea exactly. I was going to go for a strip of PVC. Pretty cheap and avaiable in long lengths in white ready to glue in front of the strip.

Herewego - The photos are taken on my camera phone so the brightest objects will appear bright as it tries to resolve the surrounding dark objects. The Lights by the door are 250 lumens each 3W spot lights. Not the brightest and certainly not offensive on the eyes. Yes they are on all the time that it is dark as will the garage door lights be. At the moment the garage doors lights are on 24/7 as I havent put the timer on them yet.

[herewego]

You seem quite concerned about energy consumption yet you want to leave them on all night when everyone is asleep. I can partly understand leaving the front door ones on early evening when expecting visitors and also you have created an attractive front door arrangement, but otherwise I don't get it. Sometimes artists create architectural effects using lighting and I get that, but an illuminated garage door is not an architectural effect and in any case it takes the focus away from the front door.

[eniacs]

Well I'd say Im concerned to the point of minimzing unecesary cost. So I worked out the cost of the front door LED's (all 4 outside, plus the two in the porch on the same circuit) to be £10 a year. I went for all night automation as I'm sick of coming home at odd times and the house being pitch black. Lazyness for not switching a light on befor I go I know but for £10 a year I thought it was well worth it. Now I'm used to the porch being on all the time at night I like it. Kind of like a night light for a child I suppose.

[Digitalize]

I don't really understand why you'd want to light the front of your house up? Not for me really I guess. Just seems a bit cheap.