DIY garland of bulbs and LEDs: 5 ideas

Decoration of houses, shops, industrial facilities is now popularly performed with the help of garlands. This element of decor has long been known in the domestic market as an integral attribute of the New Year holidays. And with the development of technical means, the New Year's garland has become available for other areas of human activity. But due to the low quality of Chinese garlands that flooded the market, and just out of curiosity, many ordinary people ask themselves how to make a garland of bulbs and LEDs with their own hands.

What you need to know about the garland?

Factory models are presented in a wide assortment, but the quality of performance of many garlands leaves much to be desired. By making it yourself, you can choose all the component materials, in addition to save on manufacturing and shipping costs.

Before making a Christmas garland or other lighting decor, you need to decide on the following parameters:

• Bulb type - There are LED bulbs, incandescent, fluorescent, halogen.
• Light bulb connection method - through parallel or serial connection in a circuit.
• Supply voltage - depending on the type of lighting devices, a voltage of 220V, 24V, 12V, 3V or other ratings can be used for a garland.
• Current collection method - depending on the design of the bulb, it can be made by means of a cap, plug, solder or connector.

In view of the fact that all the items determine the parameters of the finished garland, they need to be considered at the stage of acquisition or procurement of materials. We will analyze these points in more detail.

Bulb type

Incandescent bulbs are a fairly common type for creating lighting effects, but this characteristic is determined by relative cheapness and unpretentiousness. Incandescent bulbs have a relatively low ratio of the produced light flux to the power consumed from the network. The design itself is quite fragile and is afraid of mechanical impact, due to depressurization of the bulb, the bulb immediately fails.

LED bulbs - such light elements are the most modern and increasingly displace from the market all other types of equipment. Such popularity of LED lamps is due to their much greater reliability and benefit for the garland. The glow of the LEDs in the bulb gives the most favorable luminous flux in relation to power consumption in comparison with other types of lamps, but they significantly respond to the parameters mains voltage. Along with bulbs for LED garlands, separately installed LEDs or tapes with already typed elements are used.

Fluorescent bulbs - much more effective in terms of the ratio of the generated light flux and power consumption, they exceed the glow of incandescent lamps, but significantly inferior to LED. But their work is provided by vapors of mercury and other gases, which, when depressurized, escape from the flask and can be harmful to health. In addition, such bulbs require a certain amount of time to warm up and fail at low temperatures, so they are not used for street lights working in winter.

Halogen bulbs are a convenient low-power option for making garlands. But, they have a relatively low ratio of the luminescence of the lamps to the power consumed from the network. But, unlike all of the above bulbs, they are afraid of touching with their hands, this model of a garland can be taken only through a special glove or must be placed in a tube.

The most popular options for a garland are incandescent lamps and LED bulbs. Parameters of the element are selected in accordance with the connection method.

Connection method

By the method of connecting the bulbs, serial and parallel connections are distinguished. Each of the schemes has its own characteristics in power supply, which must be taken into account even at the stage of garland design.

The series connection of light bulbs in an electric garland is such a connection in which the end of one element is connected to the beginning of the next. In this case, the current flowing through the garland will be the same for all bulbs.

An example of the scheme of such a garland is shown in the figure below:

Here, the mains voltage is applied to the garland, but on each individual bulb a voltage drop occurs, proportional to its resistance. Accordingly, it is necessary to calculate the voltage value for each element. If the applied voltage exceeds the rated voltage, a resistor is soldered to the circuit. If the voltage is less than the rated voltage, a smaller current will flow through the network, as a result, the intensity of the glow will decrease.

A parallel connection is the connection of the same terminals of LEDs or bulbs to one point.

Look at Figure 2, here is an example of a parallel wiring diagram. A feature of this connection option is the application of an input voltage to each element, but the current flowing through the bulb will depend on its resistance.

For both connection schemes, the power of the power supply plays a role. For example, a garland for a Christmas tree, powered by an electric network, is limited only by the value of the machine at the input. And receiving power from the power supply will be limited by its factory capacity.

It should be noted that with the serial connection of the legs of the diodes or bulbs, the burnout of one of the elements will lead to the failure of the entire garland. But in a parallel circuit, such a problem is absent if one bulb burns out, the rest in the garland will continue to burn.

Calculation of the electrical circuit

For example, you use a pair of finger batteries to connect, which give 3 V garlands to the electrical circuit. For such a voltage, it is advantageous to use a parallel connection of LEDs. For example, a model consuming 0.02 A will be installed with a current of 1 A. To calculate the maximum allowable amount for the load you need: 1 / 0.02 = 50 pcs.

Based on this, you can install no more than 50 LEDs in a garland, if the distance between them is 5 cm, the total length will be: 50 * 5 = 250 cm.

If you need to make a longer length or install a larger number of bulbs, in order to increase power, you must use a different power supply. For a serial electrical circuit, the calculation is performed according to the same principle, only by the magnitude of the applied voltage.

Idea N1. The simplest garland with your own hands

The easiest option for a garland is the illumination of LED strips. They are suitable both as Christmas decorations, and to highlight the contour of the window display, interior elements. Their advantage is a flexible design, so you no longer need to solder, just stick them to the supporting surface or structure. But moving it, as a classic option, will fail.

The simplest 220 V models - for them you need to solder the electric plug and install in the right place. Most often they are used for outdoor installation.

To illuminate Christmas tree decorations indoors, use 12 V LED strips. These are safer models, but a power supply is required to connect them.

It is much more difficult to make a garland of RGB tape, since when connecting it, you need to use a large number of mechanisms.

The process will include such actions:

• Calculate the total length of the garland, since the size of the tape can not exceed 5m. Everything above 5m should be connected from a separate power system.
• Install the power supply - it is necessary to lower the voltage to 12V.
• Connect a controller for the RGB tape to the power supply - this device will allow you to choose the color of the glow and the mode of operation.
• For a length of more than 5m, install the amplifier on the next tape or supply power from another set of power supply / controller.
• Attach the RGB tape to the surface and connect to the controller.

You can familiarize yourself with the principles of connecting RGB ribbons in more detail in the corresponding article - https://www.asutpp.ru/podklyuchenie-rgb-lenty.html

Idea N2. LED strip light

Direct connection of a white LED strip is an unused variant of a garland, since there is only one glow mode. But with a certain addition, it can be significantly modernized by changing the mode from the usual glow of the bulb to blinking. To do this, you will need an LED strip, an RGB controller, a remote to the controller, and a power supply.

• Divide the LED strip into three sections (they will blink with a different sequence). The minimum area is the distance between the markings for the section. Separate the sections using the negative bus in designated areas, as shown in the figure:

  

• repeat the same procedure with the remaining two sections. In this example, each section includes three LEDs. When cutting the pads, it is important to disrupt the electrical connection between the legs of the LEDs.

  

• Take four colored wires, strip the ends and tin them.

  

• Apply tin to the ribbon contacts as shown.

  

• Using a soldering iron, solder the wires to the contacts of the tape.

  

• Lead wires from pads and from the edge behind the tape; in addition, they can be ordered with tape or adhesive.

  

• Strip the wires and connect the tape leads to the RGB controller using the terminal block.

  

The garland is ready, connect it to the network through the power supply and you can enjoy the blinking lights. Using the controller's remote control, you can switch the garland in different modes (blinking, alternately winking sections and other options).

Idea N4. LED garland

To do this, you need a soldering iron, solder, rosin, LEDs, connecting wires (even thin network wires are suitable), a plug or a battery, a power supply, a button or a switch. In this example, consider the manufacture of a battery operated garland.

• Solder the supply wires to the contacts in the power supply housing under the batteries.
• Solder the LEDs to the wires, but be sure to note that the voltage applied to one LED should not exceed its nominal, therefore, when diodes are connected in series, it is obligatory to turn on the LED power supply circuit resistor.

  

The resistance of the resistor is calculated in such a way as to reduce the voltage drop on the LED to the nominal.

• Repeat the same procedure with the rest of the LEDs.
• Solder the switch to the battery power supply.

  

• Connect the LEDs to the power supply and insert the batteries into the power supply. If they do not hold, you can tape the battery or tape with an elastic band, the garland is ready.

Idea N5. Retro garland

Retro garlands are popular for decorating photo zones, terraces, gazebos, shop windows and other objects. And it is not at all necessary to purchase the finished product, since everyone can assemble it. To do this, you need: a connecting wire (it is good to get wires in fabric insulation), cartridges (the most convenient models with clamps for wires), directly the incandescent bulbs themselves (you can take LED ones), the plug and switch. In this example, consider the serial connection of bulbs, some of the cartridges will be used with a built-in switch.

• Cut the wires into pieces of the desired length - they will determine the distance between the points of illumination.

  

• Strip the insulation of the wires at the ends, in these places they will be connected to the cartridge, so the length of the core must be appropriate.

  

• If you use a wire with fabric insulation, then its edge must be fixed with electrical tape so that the fabric does not tear further.

  

• Disassemble the cartridge itself and thread the wires into the cartridge cover.

  

• Connect the ends of the wires to the contacts of the cartridge.

  

• Assemble the cartridge case, the excess length of the wires from under the cover should be carefully pulled out, avoiding excessive forces, so as not to loosen the contact.

  

• Repeat the same procedure with the rest of the cartridges, After which you can fix the bulbs in them.
• Cut the wire from the last light bulb, you will need one core from it, which you need to connect to the switch gap.

  

• Connect the edges of the wire to the plug; for this, they must be inserted into the groove of each contact and clamped with a screwdriver. Arrange the rest of the wire so that it does not protrude, the plug body should close normally.

  

The retro garland is ready for use - plug into the outlet and enjoy. If you wish, you can supplement the surroundings of the garland with a darkened wire or cartridge - they can be painted in the appropriate color. For greater gloss, the wires are painted with golden or bronze paint.

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