Electrical – the simplest way to create custom decorative LED-lighting

electricalledlighting

I have always wanted to build decorative lamps with LEDs (application example: imagine a model boat with Xmas lights).

Is there a way (commercial, or custom-built) to power several LEDs, so that:

  • The power supply is compact, elegant, and wall-pluggable (not battery-powered)
  • There are simple and robust ways to wire the individual LEDs
  • The whole thing doesn't cost much ? (in the order of tens of USD for the power supply + LEDs + connectivity)

I know that I can buy plain LEDs from electronic manufacturers, build a power supply with my bare hands, recycle an AC/DC adapter from a phone charger, solder everything and have it running cheaply. I know (more or less) how to do this, but it would take me a long time and the result would be ugly and dirty.
On the other hand, I know that there are now LED systems that can be screwed just like a light bulb, but this is not what I am after either.

Are there any intermediate solutions that would be adequate for the above needs ?

Best Answer

I'm not sure how you define elegant so I'll leave that parameter out.

You can buy LED power supply on ebay, the LED-strip or other LED-array on ebay and connect them. There is somewhat of a standard that doesn't require soldering for LED-strips.

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