Engineering thought, solving exclusively pragmatic problems, sometimes leads to unique results in the field of aesthetics of our everyday life. One of these solutions is acrylic edge lighting. Initially, this technology was used to create optical fiber, then - in the advertising field, and now it is actively used in home interiors.
New technologies in the home interior
The basis of the edge illumination method is the property of light rays to refract, or the effect of total internal reflection. The stream of light, entering the end part of the plexiglass, is scattered and illuminates its frontal surface. What the acrylic edge lighting looks like, photos of light panels in the interior of the house clearly demonstrate.
Lighting for home comfort
Why is acrylic edge lighting convenient, why is this technology used in interior solutions? Firstly, it is beautiful, as it creates a diffused stream of light that is pleasing to the eye. Secondly, it's practical. The use of solutions with this technology allows you to arrangelighting with minimal power consumption. And thirdly, often only the edge lighting method can achieve the desired decorative and practical effect.
Acrylic panel lighting is used in home interiors in the following cases:
- for lighting ceiling panels;
- to create a fake illuminated window;
- for illuminating kitchen backsplash panels;
- for illuminating organic glass shelves;
- for illuminating the handrails of stairs made of acrylic;
- for creating framelights as decoration elements.
Framelight - a light panel where you can insert posters with images. The posters can be a picture in any style, landscape or photography. Its beauty is that the printed image can be replaced, and this is quite easy to do. If such a light panel is placed in a dimly lit area of an apartment or house, then, in addition to the aesthetic, it also carries a quite practical load, creating additional lighting.
How to make false windows using ready-made framelight profiles
Let's consider one of the options for an interior solution: edge lighting of acrylic when creating a false window. Sometimes in rooms without windows or where there are not enough of them, designers practice creating false windows. If earlier photo wallpapers were used for these purposes, now ready-made light boxes - framelights - can be used as an imitation. They are delivered in a complete set, it remains only to put up a poster withsuitable image. This can be an imitation of a view from a window with a window profile traced or a landscape you like. For complete realism, the framelight can be supplemented with an overhead imitation of window sashes.
The ability to replace the poster without much difficulty allows you to change the "window" picture from time to time. For example, change the view of a summer street to an autumn landscape. This is achieved by the fact that framelights are equipped with a click profile. It allows you to snap off the top panel of the profile and easily remove the protective module. There is another option: acrylic edge lighting, "Magnetic" profile. The peculiarity of this profile is that the upper part is attached to the lower one using a system of magnets.
Materials for self-assembly of the light panel
DIY acrylic edge lighting can be an interesting challenge if you like DIY at home. To mount the lightbar you will need:
- acrylic canvas;
- aluminum profile;
- LED ruler or tape;
- compact power supply (adapter) for 12V.
LED strip is a flexible printed circuit board, on which LEDs are fixed on one side, and on the other side there is a sticky layer for attaching to an aluminum profile. If you intend to install a window imitation in a bathroom or other rooms with high humidity, then you should buy a special moisture-resistant tape. In the case of using a false window and as a light source, you must purchase a heavy-duty LED strip. You can calculate the power of the adapter using the formula: the power of the unit is equal to the power of the LED strip, multiplied by its length in meters.
Choose one-sided profile for the light panel. Pay attention to the following characteristics: profile thickness and lighting system. Profiles can be designed for fluorescent lighting or LED strip mounting. Since the thickness of the panel is important for a false window, it is the LED backlight that is considered. For edge lighting, the most important is the type and characteristics of the material, so we will consider its choice separately.
Edgelight Acrylic: Description and Application
The panel should be evenly lit. This requires a certain acrylic for edge lighting, the processing of which was carried out according to all the rules. A uniform bright glow is provided by colorless diffuse particles that appear in acrylic sheets during special preparation of the sheet. At home, it is impossible to achieve such a degree of uniformity and intensity of the glow, so it is necessary to purchase plexiglass of the required thickness and suitable in other respects. The thickness is selected based on the dimensions of the light panel.
|
Panel width Light on one side |
Panel width Illumination from two to four sides |
Sheet thickness, mm |
| up to 150 mm | up to 300 mm | 4 |
| 150-300mm | 300-600mm | 4, 6, 8, 10 |
| 300-600mm | 600-1200mm | 4, 6, 8, 10 |
| 600-1200mm | 1200-2000mm | 8, 10 |
As can be seen from the table, for a light panel imitating a window, an acrylic sheet with a thickness of at least 8 mm is suitable. You will find on the websites of manufacturers not only the acrylic itself for end lighting. The description and application of each type are detailed there, so it will not be difficult for you to navigate with the thickness of the sheet and its parameters.
Separately, it should be clarified that the ends that will be highlighted should be well polished. The same sides where the LED strip will not be installed must be covered with reflective tape. If the acrylic sheet was cut using laser cutting, then additional polishing is not needed. Another important note is that any damage to the acrylic will lead to a redistribution of the light flux, so the sheets are covered with a protective film. You need to remove it only immediately before installing it in the profile.
Profile assembly and lighting connection
Purchased whips (pieces of aluminum profile) are cut to the desired size at an angle of 45º. After that, they are interconnected with the help of corners. When the three sides are assembled, you need to install an LED strip around the perimeter of the inner LED strip.
Preliminarily, wires are connected to the tape, with the help of which itwill connect to the power supply. There is an important point here: one 12V power supply is designed for no more than five meters of tape. If it is more - you need to connect two power supplies. Each tape is connected separately, they do not need to be connected to each other. There is another option - to take an adapter for 24V, then the edge illumination of acrylic is possible by connecting two LED strips in series.
Mounting the light panel
After the three sides of the profile are assembled and the LED strip is installed, you can proceed to the direct installation of the light panel. To do this, enter the profile:
- Reflector - a sheet that will reflect light.
- Sheet of cast acrylic.
- Printed film.
- Protective sheet.
The installation order is clearly visible in the figure. The acrylic sheet must be installed so that it is above the LED strip, because it is he who is the main light-scattering element. After installing all the components, the last side of the profile is fixed.
The role of a reflector can be performed by a special reflective sheet. It can be purchased together with light-diffusing acrylic. Firms selling plexiglass (acrylic) for edge lighting will offer both a reflector and a protective coating. But any reflective fabric can act as a reflector.
For the protective sheet, you can use a thin transparentacrylic or a dense light-transmitting film. There are certain requirements for the poster. It must be printed on a special backlit film. This coating provides a high light transmission coefficient. For structural rigidity, you can insert a backdrop into the profile, just remember to take this into account when buying a profile - its thickness must be sufficient for all layers of the panel.
Final stage
When assembling an aluminum profile, it is necessary to screw fasteners (pendants) to its upper part, at least 4 pieces. When the lightbar is fully assembled, it's time to install it on the wall. To do this, hooks are attached to the wall with dowels. After that, it remains only to hang a false window and power the power supply.
Thus, using technological innovations, you can create an ultra-modern design yourself. Acrylic edge lighting is a bright representative of such technologies; it can be used to create many interesting interior solutions.
