How to Make Your Own High-Output LED Light

A single high-output light-emitting diode can put out 1,000 lumens or more, well over the 800 or so lumens put out by a 60-watt incandescent bulb. The LED, however, is just a chip. Whole industries have grown around packaging LED chips into lighting fixtures. Industrial players have access to significant resources --- software and engineers --- that are beyond the reach of the typical do-it-yourselfer, but that doesn't mean you can't make your own distinctive LED light.

Reflector, lens, and/or diffuser
Electronic drive circuit
Heat sink

Instructions

- 1
  Pick your LED based upon the light output you need. The LED specifications give the light output, electrical requirements, and thermal and mechanical interface. If you want your light to be really bright, you might need more than one LED.
- 2
  
  Shaping the light, as a photographer diffuses sunlight, can create just the effect you want.
  
  Select some secondary optics: whatever reflectors, lenses, or diffusers you need. You might get by with no secondary optics at all, but you might want to shape the light for your application. That can get pretty complex. LED fixture manufacturers have access to fancy nonlinear ray-trace programs so they direct the light as efficiently as possible.
- 3
  Acquire a heat sink. LEDs are like computer chips --- the heat that's in them needs to get out. If the temperature gets too high, all bets are off; light output will decrease and lifetime will be short.
- 4
  Select or design drive electronics that will convert the AC line power to the current-controlled DC power you need for the LED. If you need your light to be dimmable, you'll need to take extra care. Most off-the-shelf drive electronics won't dim LEDs without some specialized controls.
- 5
  
  Your design is your own, a source of pride.
  
  Put the whole package together. You'll need good thermal contact, proper positioning with respect to the optics, and an eye-pleasing design. The industry has access to a lot of resources that you don't, but it lacks your personal design sensibility, so enjoy making the project your own.

How to Design High Power LEDs

How to Hang Bungalow Lights

Lighting