Convert Lanscape Lighting to RGB

[derekb]

Has anyone converted their landscape lighting to RGB or have any suggestions for all the needed products? I have 5 spotlights and 12 lamp/pathway lighting around the house. I would like to pull the lights and wiring from all those and add RGB LEDS and control them with LOR all year around and during my holiday shows. I want to be able to control each of the lights individually. Any suggestions appreciated as I am not too sure what I need/want.

[k6ccc]

I am primarily using LOR for my landscape lighting.  You have basicly 2 major choices.  First is to use one or more DC controllers and dumb LEDs (strips, pixels, floods, etc), and the second is to use some variety of smart LEDs.  The other is to use a combination of the first two.  What you do will at least partially be dictated by how many channels you are planning on running.  Controlling 1000 channels with LOR DC controllers would be a huge project and quite expensive.  On the other hand, if you are only going to have 25 channels, a couple DC controllers and dumb LEDs would likely make sense.

 

In my case, I am using a combination.  I will point out that my landscape project is not completed, so some of what I talk about is operational and some is coming within the next few months.  Part of my front yard includes 17 roses along a wall that have a scolloped edging in front of them.  I originally installed a 2 foot section of warm white LED light rope on the face of the edging that is towards the roses.  Each rose light rope section was individually controlled using all 16 channels of a DC controller and 1 PWM chanel of a Servo Dog.  Elsewhere in the yard there are three 6 foot in diameter brick rings with a tree in each one.  Those have the same LED light rope around the inside edge of the brick.  Each of those is controlled by one channel of a DC controller.  There is a brick column in front with a custom built RGB array inside a modified off the shelf post light.  That uses 3 channels of a DC controller.  I am building the second column which will have the same light fixture, and also a lit address sign.  The two column lights, address sign, and 3 tree rings takes 12 channels out of a DC controller.  Lastly there are dumb LED strips under each of the 3 steps up to the front porch.  Those use a total of 9 channels of a third DC controller.  That's pretty much the current status.  There is more work to do and a few changes.

 

When I first installed the tree ring and rose light ropes, they looked just fine, but as soon as I installed the RGB LED strips under the steps, the warm white light rope looks hideously dingy yellow by comparison.  I will be replacing the light rope around the tree rings with the same dumb RGB LED strips that are under the porch steps.  That will take 9 channels instead of 3 for the light rope so I have installed a second DC controller in the first brick column for them.  The light rope in front of the roses will also be replaced with RGB LEDs, but for those I am going to install one of SanDevices new 4 port E1.31 controllers and two strips of WS2811 strips.  I figured that going with smart strips and a E1.31 controller will cost about the same as the additional DC controllers and I would have ended up with a large amount of wire that would have exceeded the capacity of the conduits that I already installed.

 

I will be installing RGB LED strips along both sides of a 32 foot long planter that is next to the sidewalk, and also along both sides of a walkway to the front porch.  I had originally had planned on using the same LED light rope as the roses and tree rings, but that plan changed to RGB LED strip about the same time as I planned to replace the roses and tree rings light rope.  Originally it was going to be 16 channels for the walkway and 16 for the planter, but with the change to RGB strips, that changed.  I will be doing all of those with WS2811 strips with a SanDevices E682 E1.31 board driving them.  I still plan on normally using them as the same 16 channels, except now it will be 16 RGB channels each, and when Christmas comes around, it will give me the option of using those for a much larger number of channels.  I might change all the DC controllers and two Servo Dogs to DMX using a port off the E682, because then I only need one ethernet cable out to the front yard.  That's to be determined...

 

Except for the last few feet to the individual strips ect, EVERYTHING is in conduit.  Makes changes or additions later MUCH easier.  My front yard (wierd shaped) is only 80 feet long, and I have about a quarter mile of conduit under the lawn for lighting and sound.

 

For your purposes, you say you have a tlotal of 17 fixtures  so that's 51 channels if each fixture is RGB and individually controller.  That is certainly possible with DC controllers.  BTW, having 17 fixtures (rather than 16) is something you will curse when you start planning channels using 16 channel controllers - I know because I have several times about my 17 roses (planted before I planned on using LOR).  On the other hand, you will quickly come up with other places to use lighting...

 

Good luck, and if you have any other questions, feel free to ask.

[derekb]

Thanks for the great information.

[scubado]

I don't know how bright your current lights are, but I found these on Ebay that may do well for you.  These are RGBW all in one led.  You can control 4 of them using a LOR DC controller.  You could also go the DMX route using a 27 channel controller from www.holidaycoro.com  Stranded Cat5 cable would work great for these too.  10w rgb leds would be quite a bit brighter, but the need for heat sinks could be a challenge with your current fixtures.

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=330913273003&fromMakeTrack=true&ssPageName=VIP:watchlink:top:en

 

K6ccc- Do you have any pics or video of your landscaping?

[k6ccc]

I don't have any video of it because it would be terminally boring to watch.  The lighting changes are intended to be slow enough that the reaction should be "Oh yea, the lights are changing"  Once I have RGB capability on the roses and tree rings, there are more possibilities for some additional changes.  When I'm completed, I will likely post some photos.

[scubado]

Still interested in seeing a pic or two. I plan on taking a couple pics and video tonight of display. I have two flowerbeds getting a lighting makeover, I'm not done yet but still looks cool for Memorial Day. Weather not great for doing some needed troubleshooting today, but I do have two racks of babyback ribs and a roast smokin on the grill!

[Laser-x]

Has anyone converted their landscape lighting to RGB or have any suggestions for all the needed products? I have 5 spotlights and 12 lamp/pathway lighting around the house. I would like to pull the lights and wiring from all those and add RGB LEDS and control them with LOR all year around and during my holiday shows. I want to be able to control each of the lights individually. Any suggestions appreciated as I am not too sure what I need/want.

Hi Sorry about being so late but I make and sell just what you are looking for if you are still interested contact me at Laserx@roadrunner.com

Thanks Rick