E14 LED Bulbs - Parallel Circuitry

[cwhaley]

I know this has been posted before, but in some old threads... and some of my questions aren't in there so I'll start a new one rather than try to resurrect them.

I'm hoping to make an LED 'Hollywood Style' mirror for the other half. Making the unit itself I am fine with and I know it'll look good. I need a little guidance on the electrical side of it though.

My plan is to take an electrical feed from a plug and supply a parallel circuit of 9 x 5w LED bulbs (E14 type). I have the socket bases but that's it...

- What does the wiring between the bulbs need to be rated at?
- What fuse would I need on the plug for this many LED lights?
- Do I need an LED driver or a transformer in the circuit or is the power supply all that's needed?

Thank you!

 

[JohnW2]

My plan is to take an electrical feed from a plug and supply a parallel circuit of 9 x 5w LED bulbs (E14 type). I have the socket bases but that's it...

Are you talking about mains voltage ('230V') bulbs?

Kind Regards, John

 

[Fred61]

Assuming a 230v system the wiring is simple all you need to do is to wire one side of each holder to live and the other to the neutral. I would do it in a (daisy chain ) as it will be easier to do each connection. Then all you need is a length of 5amp
flex to a plug with a 3amp fuse. You can use the same flex to connect all the system up. Fred

 

[winston1]

Just make sure the live connection goes to the centre contact of the lamps and the neutral to the screw part, and of course the earth connection to the lampholders if they are metal.

Plug fuses are to protect the cable not the lamps, so if you use 5 amp cable you can use a 5 amp fuse though with a 45 watt load a 3, 2, of 1 amp fuse would also do.

 

[cwhaley]

Thanks all for the replies. Yes sorry the electrical feed would be the standard 230v household mains providing power from a plug to 5w LED bulbs as stated.

That makes total sense. My (amateur) confusion was regarding the most suitable type of fuse for the wire/load. I will use 5 amp cabling with a 3 amp fuse as I have both of these in the shed in ample supply.

Thanks too for the heads up on wiring the holders. They are plastic holders so I presume no need to earth them (not even sure they have an earth terminal).

 

[JohnD]

screw bulb holders are not so widely used in the UK, you might not know that the "N" wire should go to the screw collar, and the "L" to the tip contact. This reduces the probability of a finger touching the "L" for example when changing a lamp.

edit
too slow!

 

[cwhaley]

Thanks JohnD. Fortunately I did pay attention when we did metalwork/physics at school and do remember being taught that very method (we were building basic circuits with batteries).

Not sure it's relevant on the bulb holders I've got. I bought them off eBay ages ago and have attached pictures showing connecting terminals. Can't remember if they're marked N and L so will have to take a closer look at one.

I also want to wire in a dimmer module but need to research this first.

 

[Taylortwocities]

Can't remember if they're marked N and L so will have to take a closer look at one.

Most are not marked. But there is a proper way to wire them as JohnD has described.

 

[cwhaley]

Thanks - I'll take a look at what part of the holder the terminals lead to and determine which connections I should be making.

I've sketched up (used MS Paint) to show the circuit now with 10w bulbs instead. Not sure how a dimmer is wired up but I'm presuming the live goes into the dimmer 'L1' and exits the dimmer 'L2' to the bulbs, with neutral bypassing the dimmer and going straight to the bulbs?

 

[ban-all-sheds]

screw bulb holders are not so widely used in the UK

When was the last time you looked at lights on sale, and the types of bulbs on the shelves?

 

[JohnD]

screw bulb holders are not so widely used in the UK as BC are.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

When was the last time you looked at lights on sale, and the types of bulbs on the shelves?

 

[cwhaley]

Got to be honest, I installed a new hanging light with 5 bulbs in the front room 2 weeks ago with the same E14 type screw-in holders. I have several lamps with this type and I know my dad wired in new wall lights in his living room about 10 years ago using the screw in type. In my own (limited) experience of light fittings, I've seen a ~50/50 mixture of bayonet/screw holders!

I'm hoping though, that the type of bulb holder won't be a sticking point on this job...

 

[Taylortwocities]

I'm presuming the live goes into the dimmer 'L1' and exits the dimmer 'L2' to the bulbs, with neutral bypassing the dimmer and going straight to the bulbs?

You are right about the neutral bit, but not the L1 and L2 part. Did you read the instructions?

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Got to be honest, I installed a new hanging light with 5 bulbs in the front room 2 weeks ago with the same E14 type screw-in holders. I have several lamps with this type and I know my dad wired in new wall lights in his living room about 10 years ago using the screw in type. In my own (limited) experience of light fittings, I've seen a ~50/50 mixture of bayonet/screw holders!

The type of holder has never been a factor when I've been choosing a light, and of all the ones I've bought in the last 30-40 years, only one has had BC holders

I'm hoping though, that the type of bulb holder won't be a sticking point on this job...

No, it won't.

I would sound a note of caution though. Not over the base, but the rest of the bulb.

Unlike days of yore when all bulbs of a given type were pretty much the same, and pretty much unchanging, that is no longer the case.

After you have made this, the first time you need to replace one bulb, the chances of finding one which matches the other 8, in shape, appearance, brightness, light colour and dimming characteristics will probably be zero. Be prepared to replace all of them each time.