Flexibile Fixture for LED Lightbulbs

I made the following fixture for Cree PAR38 spot/flood LEDs sold at Home Depot:



This blog post shows how to make it (including a parts list and photos showing various positions it can be adjusted into). The electric outlets on top are useful for piggybacking multiple fixtures together, or to power sidelighting.

This fixture arose from using Cree "lightbulbs" instead of CFLs for sidelighting. They are about 30% more efficient (slightly more efficient than T5HO). The PAR38 spot/flood are similar efficiency and useful for stronger top-lighting like T5HO.

To me, this area is an interesting alternative to low-efficiency CFL (especially when heat is an issue), low-cost (and inefficient) Chinese import LED fixtures, and DIY high-efficient COBs. It's somewhere in between all those. Not as DIY as a COB build. More efficient than CFL or imported LED fixtures which dominate the market. Something that can be scaled into without an initial high cost.

What is the fixture that the light sockets are attached to made out of?

NorthernHize said:

What is the fixture that the light sockets are attached to made out of?

Click to expand...

Wood. 3/4 x 3/4" pine. I found it at Home Depot, they call it "craft board" or something like that. If your HD doesn't have it, they'll rip a 1x2 down for you. I think 1x2 is 3/4x1-3/4 actual dimension. Just have to cut it lengthwise.

If you don't need a per-plant fixture like this, you can do simple things like a lightbar. Mount the nipples on a piece of 1x4 wood. Use swivels like this to get a little aiming of each light. I need to see one of those swivels to see how it works. But, I think the outer part tightens to hold the swivel in place.

I made these 9 fixtures from just getting 9 regular socket's from walmart and using 3-2 1/2ftx4"x1" redwood, with some tin that has been coated with silver, for reflection. It holds 9- 18 watt 5000K 100 watt LEDS. That is 144 watts, which is about equil to a 250watt HPS or more. I don't have a PAR meter to read the light, but I bet if I did it would be a lot more light coming from it than coming from the HPS.