Have read many of the posts regarding “standard” white LED rope lighting and would agree based on my small trial that they are just not bright enough. In searching for alternatives I came across a listing for “high output” rope lighting at the following site:
I was wondering if anyone has tried these or something similar and if so what their results were? I’m lighting my lower level which is about 13" below the upper and 16" deep. As expected the front 5" or 6" is reasonably well lit from the overhead lighting, but it gets pretty dark towards the back. I may yet go with the “christmas tree” light solution or some sort of home made incandesant approach, but the rope light sure is appealing as far as easy of install and overall cost (i.e. purchase and usage). Heat also would be a major concern as the upper deck is built on foam board. Any help would be appreciated! Brian
True, the standard rope lighting is not as bright as your room overhead lights, but how much brightness do need on your lower level? I’ve used standard rope lights on my lower level, and there’s plenty of light to see what I’m doing for switching, uncoupling, rerailing, etc. The other thing to think about is the opposite effect of brighter lighting for the lower level; will it draw attention to this area? Is it supposed to be a hidden staging yard? If so, you may not want to draw attention to it, but just need work lighting, like I’m using on mine.
Also too much light, will begin to look unrealistic, depending on what the area is and how much light you end up with. Maybe the lights could be dimmed. My first instinct would be to say not to use 120V lighting on the layout but maybe in this case?
I wonder what the “side lighting” fiber optics would be like in a situation like this? Probably a bit on the costly side if the area is of any size but for more light you just multiply the number of stands you run from the light source. I know I know I’m hooked on fiber! [:)]
I’d say use the new small diameter tube fluorescents in a single tube fixture for the lower level. I would think you’d want as much light there as possible to avoid that, underneath the shelf, look I’ve seen in some of the photos I’ve seen of multi level layouts.
This would be good in the sense that there would be plenty of light, you could choose tubes that don’t make a real glaring light, and flourescent light is typcially fairly shadowless. The fixtures could be harder to hide than other things but if you are electrically talented you could locate the ballasts remotely and just have the tubes under the shelf. Make sure to use electronic ballasts with the correct tubes.