Re: watts/square foot lighting for dollhouses

Awww crap. Working fountains! noone said I could have a working fountain!!!
I love water features, built a big waterfall, pond and bridge in the back
yard.

Ok a couple of things

First, one bonus of multiple down lighting was that when I stuck my hands in
the room there were no discernable shadows preventing me seeing what I was
doing while I placed things.

Secondly, thanks for the advice from both Heb and Gerald. Seems I am on the
right track. If a grain of wheat bulb is about a 60 watt bulb true life,
what might be a 100 watt bulb?



Last, changing topics

Talk about Common Sense. After I placed a few toys in my light box to get an
idea of brightness I let my little girl ( one year five months ) have a play
to see what she did. Her solution to the toys strategically placed in the
box? Climb right on in and pull them all to the front. Ever seen a one year
old climb into a box 1"x1.5"x2"deep? Almost died laughing.

But now I can see that my carefully placed bedrooms on the upper floor will
have everything taken out of them and put into what I thought was going to
be the family room.

OH well, it's her toy I guess. And my lights performed well. The bulbs
quietly pushed up into the holder while she played (climbed in) and dropped
back down when she pulled out.

Very satisfying.



"Herb" <Herb@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:rriye.49142$H46.10116@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Glen -
>
> Based on "average" bulbs and an "average" dollhouse, Cir-Kit offers
a
> "six-room" kit that includes a 10W, 12V transformer (if my memory of high
school
> physics is correct, that's about 800 mA), or about 1.6 watts per room -
very
> close to your estimate. But that won't account for flickering fireplaces,
> working fountains, working ceiling fans, or faux-fluorescents that are
about an
> inch long and eat up the power.
>
> Overall, the big difference between a dollhouse and reality is that the
> dollhouse is for looking AT, so you do what looks good from the outside.
>
> It's the brightness of each individual bulb that matters, not the total -
too
> bright and it will be glary and distracting. Too dim and it will look ...
too
> dim. Illumination is NOT the goal - appearance is! You can't expect
overall
> guidelines any more than you could get guidelines for oil painting.
That's why
> your wife likes the look of your ceiling as is - because it LOOKS GREAT!
>
> There are LOTS of basic instructions out there - particularly with regard
to
> electrification. Books, web pages, and more. They're usually in terms of
lights
> per room, and mA per bulb for rating transformer requirements.
>
> You're building a scale model, so the thickness of your construction
materials
> should be in scale, not measured for load-bearing. If you're building a
toy
> rather than a scale model, then sturdiness becomes more important.
>
> Anyway, time to go enjoy an Independence Day BBQ!
>
> - Herb
>
>
>
>
>
> > Thanks Herb.
> >
> > The huge array of lights in the test box was so I could turn some off
one at
> > a time (eight are switched) until I got down to what I want. Trouble is
the
> > missus saw them and just went "Oh I want them all" so I came looking for
> > some sort of guide lines so I could talk her out of some. Never mind.
> >
> > I'm on a $300 pawer supply (don't ask) so if it's too bright I can turn
them
> > down.
> >
>
> > Someone should come up with some guide lines though because, quite
frankly,
> > there really is little information out there for the absolute beginner
about
> > "how much of what" for anything. (that was general!) I mean, using mdf -
> > what thickness, picking a transformer - watts - ft2 (i say that because
if
> > your using 3v as some seem to bulbs become another issue again unless
you go
> > back to a general input rule.
> >
> > With planes we say, generally, 50watts/pound, sport flying,
80watts/pound
> > aerobatic and 100-120watts 3d/pound . Now we have all sorts of
variations as
> > well but it's a starting point.
> >
> > .
> >
> >
> >
> > Just seems that the only way to learn is buy a kit. and that's not an
option
> > for all. (I've never bought a plane or boat kit, it's just me.) Ideally
I
> > look at some existing examples but that's proving harder than I thought
to.
> > Just missed the big Easter display because I didn't know it was on etc
etc.
> >
> > Anyway. It's all fun and just toys in the end.
> >
> > Just hope my little girl likes it!
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > "Herb" <Herb@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
> > news:smbye.239007$581.938@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> >
> >>Glen Sayers wrote:
> >>
> >> >>could you possibly check
> >>
> >
> >
http://www.allthingsmini.com/forum/index.php?s=41fd1f4036b83319a7bd73eba7ee9
> > ad0&act=ST&f=28&t=1084
> >
> >> >>and make comment?
> >>
> >>
> >>>Well that didn't work
> >>
> >>It worked just fine - because the URL is so long, it wrapped to another
> >
> > line.
> >
> >>You have to cut and paste the url back together. A trick is to use
> >
> > TINYURL
> >
> >>www.tinyurl.com that will create a very small, PERMANENT substitute url.
> >>Here's the TinyURL equivalent to your link:
> >>
> >>http://tinyurl.com/b5wry
> >>
> >>
> >>>but here's my question.
> >>>Now working on finalising lighting. There really don't seem to be any
> >>>written suggestions out there. i.e. watts per square foot seems a
> >
> > logical
> >
> >>>way to do it for me.
> >>
> >>Ahh.. We have the engineering mind at work! :)
> >>
> >>It's not an engineering question, but one of artistic and human factors.
> >>
> >>If you were an architect designing the lighting for a 1:1 scale house or
> >
> > room
> >
> >>(i.e., a REAL one), you certainly wouldn't use some fixed ratio. You'd
> >
> > consider
> >
> >>dozens of factors, such as
> >> What's the room to be used for?
> >> When is it to be used (at night or day)?
> >> How good is the residents' eyesight?
> >> What kind of ambiance is desired?
> >> What color is the decorating scheme?
> >> What is the purpose of the lighting? (Not to fall down when walking,
> >
> > desk
> >
> >>work, watching TV, reading, cocktail parties, light shows)
> >> What KIND of lighting - overall even, spotlighted areas,
> >> Where is the lighting going to be placed?
> >> How far away is it from the area to be lighted?
> >> Are we talking about built-in lighting or separate fixtures?
> >>
> >>For a dollhouse, some other factors:
> >> Where will it be located - what's the lighting OUTSIDE of the house?
> >> What's the purpose of the lighting? (Visibility, realism, decorative)
> >> What kind of maintenance is needed or possible? There's nothing worse
> >
> > than
> >
> >>tearing up floors and ceilings because a connection came loose.
> >> What's the dollhouse for? - a plaything and a showpiece have vastly
> >
> > different
> >
> >>needs.
> >> The array of lights in your photo is very impressive - it may
overshadow
> >
> > (pun
> >
> >>NOT intended) the content of the room.
> >>
> >>Wattage isn't a measure of light, but of power. A 20 Watt fluorescent
bulb
> >>produces the same amount of light output as a 60 Watt incandescent. If
> >
> > you must
> >
> >>measure the light, you need to measure it in lumens or candlepower or
> >>teraphotons per nanosecond or ...
> >>
> >>
> >>>small lights, low power = more lights to get up to a recommended
> >
> > wattage.
> >
> >>>One big light = watts in one hit.
> >>
> >>What would you do in your own house or flat? Use one megawatt floodlight
> >
> > or a
> >
> >>selection of well-placed smaller fixtures?
> >>
> >>
> >>>Can anyone suggest a starting point?
> >>>My conclusion is 1.73 watts/square foot would make an acceptable
> >
> > starting
> >
> >>>point.
> >>
> >>Per square foot ... a pretty meaningless measure - what is being
lighted?
> >
> > The
> >
> >>floor? And then where are the lights? If you're lighting the floor, you
> >
> > need
> >
> >>more generated lumens if the lighting comes from the ceiling than if it
> >
> > came
> >
> >>from table lamps - or in-the-floor panel lights :)
> >>
> >>
> >>>Yes I realize there are lots of variations like types of bulb but I'm
> >>>looking to a safe starting point.
> >>
> >>There is none. Your basic judgement and instinct will be far better than
> >
> > any
> >
> >>formula! What LOOKS right? We sometimes use a combination - hidden
> >
> > lighting to
> >
> >>light up a room for being viewed, plus lamps and fixtures that don't
> >
> > produce a
> >
> >>lot of light, for a realistic look.
> >>
> >> - Herb
> >
> >
> >


.

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