LED Strip with Motion Sensor and Timer

I find that the measure of a good Instructable is the ideas that it inspires, which is why I enjoyed Instructable titled "Give Your Bed Under glow!" I never would have thought of adding an LED strip to the bottom of a bed otherwise, and I immediately wanted to do this for my kids.

I wanted to go a bit beyond what did and add the ability to have the lights turn on when needed and off again after a period of inactivity, so I decided to try my hand at hacking the LED strip to do just that. This instructable will show you how I went about hacking my LED strip to add a microcontroller and motion sensor. Hopefully the ideas you find here will serve as a launching point for your own ideas and improvements..

(This step is a discussion of my approach to hacking the LED strip, and may not necessarily be well described. If you just want to get on with the instructions already, feel free to skip to the next step.)

The LED strip I purchased (found here: http://www.newstarleds.com/products-177.html) came with an LED controller and remote control, which I think is quite common.

The idea is to be able to add a microcontroller that can control the power to the LED strip (turn it on and off as needed), without losing the ability to control the color and pattern with the remote control. There were two options, as I saw it:

Build an entirely new control circuit.

This would require integrating the remote control receiver into the new microcontroller, reverse engineering the remote protocol, adding MOSFETs to control power to each of the LED channels (and, probably, a MOSFET control chip), and programming the light values and patterns into the microcontroller.

However, that's quite a lot of work and a lot of additional electronic components. To be honest, and let's be clear about this, I'm far, far too lazy to do all that work, which leaves option number...
Wire the microcontroller into the existing circuitry.

This is the approach I took for this Instructable. and will be described below.
Somehow the circuit needs to be modified to allow the microcontroller to control the power supplied to the logic portion of the LED controller circuit board.

A quick look at the LED controller circuit board shows that there are two black ICs. The upper IC in the pictures is the brains of the controller. It changes the LED color, does pulse-width modulation (PWM), and controls the light patterns. I'm guessing that the lower IC is a MOSFET control chip, which turns power on and off to each of the LED power lines (I could be wrong about this, however). There's also a ground plane (highlighted red in the third picture), a +12 volt power rail, and a +4.7 volt power rail (highlighted in blue). There are several potential solder points (highlighted in yellow).

The LED controller accepts commands from the remote control, allowing the LED colors to be set and for different display patterns to be selected. The controller is able to remember the LED settings when power is removed and reapplied, which will be very helpful.

I measured the current being drawn by the two ICs at about 1 mA, which is well within the current sourcing abilities of most microcontrollers, so a transistor or MOSFET will not be needed and the ICs can be powered directly from the microprocessor. All that is required, then, is to disconnect the two ICs from the +4.7 volt power rail (by cutting the circuit board trace at the black line), tie the microcontroller to +4.7 volts and ground, and connect one of the microcontroller pins to the power pins of the two ICs on the LED controller circuit, so that the microcontroller can power the ICs at will.

A simple and cheap PIR motion sensor can be easily connected to the microcontroller to detect motion, and the microcontroller can easily be programmed to timeout after a specific period of time.

Seems simple enough!

Next: Do you want to know more details about the LED Strip light?

Do you know The Best LED Company in the world?

You should know the best LED company in the world If you're a member of LED industrial, somebody maybe don't know it, tha's ok, NEWSTAR LED CO., Limited show it to you, below:

1, ASM Pacific Technology
ASM Pacific Technology was established in 1975, headquarters in Holland, world Largest semiconductor and LED assembly equipment supplier. ASM went public in HK on 1989, with an set-up of the major manufacturing site in Sha Tau Jiao China Which have a leverage of abundant supply of skillful workers, close to HK border. Evaluation Body rates ASMPT as the most monopolized brand with installation covers most of the area in China, Highest market share, though has been replaced by China brand in certain low end product. ASMPT would continue to be most important LED position in the coming years.

2, Philips Lumileds
Philips Lumileds is World leading Hi Power LED manufacturer and leader in Hi Power LED. A pioneer in the interior and exterior illumination LED. Solid state lighting supplier with the launch of patented LUXEON, which has advantage to have life time of 50,000 hours.

Lumileds had the world most brightest and longest life time. Evaluation team rates Lumileds a company that has Quality of the highest standard. 

No wonder your Audi R8, A6 head lamp are built by Lumileds, using ASM Highly sophisticated eutectic bonder custom made for them back in 2007.

3, Osram
Osram Opto Semiconductor, is under Siemens Germany for manufacturing LED.; They have 5,000 products, one of the World Largest Supplier company in the World, Osram is having a very critical position in the Illumination market. 

There are 140 counties is having Sales and distribution office. Evaluation body rates Osram a low profile German Company. German is usually responsibility in handling the quality issues, never Say yes to inferior Products.

4, Cree
Cree covers their Business from LED wafer, or sorted wafer for consistent quality. A World Leader in SiC Carbide  Chip and LED final Assembly, Headquarters is Durham NC USA, factory location in Hui Zhou, and R & D Centre will be in Hui Zhou, Penang, ShenZhen and HK China, near the customers.

LED Factory at Hui Zhou is world Largest of Cree, it takes up 40% or more on the assembly . Cree can make use of it building up other Companies and Sells the Chip locally to China.

5, Nichia
Nichia was located in in Fukushima, Japan, it started selling Florescent material for CRT Tubes OF TV set. It shows announced that they have invented the Blue LED in 1993 then Ultraviolet LED, Yellow Phosphor. Nakamura San who would get a nobel prize.

The Evaluation team rates Nichia the most Killing Brand in White LED, 2011 total number of LED is world No.1. Their LED has the good quality and customer reputation, and their Patent will help to create high revenue for Nichai over these years.

6, Seoul
Seoul semiconductor is world renowned brand for LED, established in Seoul in 1987. HQs is in Seoul, main product line is Acriche, AC LED; HB LED , Side LED, Piranha, They started a China New factory in Tianjian  for China and SEA market.

Evaluation team describes Seoul Semiconductor as fast solution and reaction into their competitive market.

7, Epistar
Epistar, established in 1995 Taiwan, soon became Taiwan NO. 1 largest LED wafer maker. Epistar fully devotes themselves in LED wafer manufacturing, They have their own MOCVDs.

Evaluation team rates Epistar the toughest complaints international big shots on LED Wafer manufacturers., We could find numerous people are using Epistar LED on their lines in their future is bright and could not be underestimated.

8, Everlight
Everlight, established in Taipei Tu Cheng in 1983., I was the engineer came to Tu Cheng to install the the first two LED die bonders in 1988.

Robert Yeh is the Heisman to bring up this once a very small company, gradually over the years working with the most prominent LED suppliers to build their strength in both technology, high scale of manufacturability developed their factory in China Started in PanYu, Fa Shan, Yuen Li (Taiwan), Lian Su Zhou, GuangZou Today like the Taiwan Largest LED assembly company.

Recently Robert Yeh Expanded his business to include the wafer fab. So that they are horizontal integration to gain the control of not just price, but also supply volume on LED Wafer.

Evaluation Team rates Everlight Most Powerful Brand of World No. 1 LED Assembly Company They have their own brand name, own product like Dolphin, BLU.

9, Intematix
Intematix holds more then 250 patents, come with new, innovations on Yellow Phosphor powder, leading the world in technology of Phosphor application. With HQs in California with factory in Shenzhen SO Zhou lighting company, Intematix Taiwan.

Report released by China LED researcher GLII 2011’ Yellow Phosphor Competiveness rated as No. 1.
Evaluation team rates Inetmatix the fastest moving up company for Phosphor Powder manufacturing and occupying No. 1 in China for Yellow Phosphor Market.

10, Bridgelux

45+ million Die Sales Per Month
1000+ Patents Licensed
700+ Customer Base
25+ million Deployed Array Products
10  Worldwide Locations

Newstar LED Co., Limited is a market-leading innovator and professional led manufacturers in the field of high power led that engaged in researching, developing, manufacturing and sales of led light, Newstar has a well-trained team including full experienced technicians and salesman, "product quality and service foremost" is our main goal. More and more customers are continually choosing Newstar for our excellent quality and service.

The main products of our company: led strip, led downlight, led flood light, led tube, led panel and so on, all of which are widely used in commercial lighting decoration, indoor and outdoor using, home and decoration, bus and train using, advertising and cabinet Lighting. Under the ISO9001:2000 Quality Management System, most of our products have CE, ROHS certificates. Your OEM or ODM are welcomed. As a globally operating manufacturers, we also strongly encourage socially and environmentally authoritative energy-saving policies around the world - as well as sponsoring art and beauty at home and world!

Posted by NEWSTAR LED CO., LIMITED
www.newstarleds.com

why did we use LED Lighting products?

What does LED stand for? Light Emitting Diodes.

What’s so great about LEDs? LEDs can be used to build energy-efficient lighting products that save energy, help protect the environment, reduce maintenance costs and make people and things look much more attractive than traditional lighting. And they can last much longer than traditional lighting.

Just how energy-efficient are LED lights? LED lighting can save up to 85 percent of the electricity used by incandescent bulbs and up to 50 percent of electricity used by fluorescents

When comparing LED lighting to fluorescent lights, energy savings depend on the type of fluorescent light. For example, LED lighting can save up to 50 percent of the energy used by CFLs and between 20 to 30 percent of the energy used by fluorescent tube lighting.

Where are LED lights being used? Since LED lights are so energy-efficient, the most common applications are places where lights are switched on for an extended period of time. You can find LED lights in restaurants, offices, parking lots, streetlights, dorm rooms, ice skating rinks and, of course, in homes. You can see some places that have installed LED lights here.

Can LED lighting really save energy and money? Take a look at the statistics. The specialist estimates that widespread adoption of LED lighting by 2020 will:

Reduce electricity demands from lighting by 62 percent.
Eliminate 774 million metric tons of carbon emissions.
Reduce the amount of materials being put into landfills.
Avoid the building of 390 new power plants.
Save the US over $840 billion. (for China)

Ads  RGBW LED Wine Glass Light
                
Why is LED lighting better than incandescent bulbs? Most of the energy emitted from incandescent bulbs is converted to heat instead of light. That’s why you’ll burn yourself if you try to touch an incandescent bulb once it’s turned on.*

LED lighting is about 85 percent more efficient than incandescent bulbs. Since LEDs consume significant less energy, they don’t emit as much heat. That’s why you typically won’t burn yourself if you try to touch an LED light once it’s turned on.*

LED lights are also designed to last about 50 times longer, which means less ladder-climbing maintenance and less waste.

Why is LED lighting better than fluorescent lighting and CFLs? LEDs don’t contain hazardous materials, such as mercury. Since fluorescent tubes and CFLs contain mercury, they must be properly disposed of in order to prevent mercury from poisoning landfills. Here are some tips from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on how to dispose of fluorescent lights.

Also, most fluorescent lights cannot be dimmed and many can flicker. Some people are sensitive to this flicker and experience headaches, migraines and eye strain. LED lighting uses solid-state technology, which allows effective dimming in many applications and eliminates flickering.

Fluorescent lights can also take several minutes to achieve full brightness and even longer in cold environments. LED lights are also instant-on and can withstand extremely cold conditions – such as those in freezer cases or on the streets of Alaska.

And, high quality LEDs produce better light that shows color more effectively than fluorescents. (More on that below).

What type of light quality can I expect with LED lights? You should be satisfied with the light quality coming from any light—LED or otherwise. The best way to ensure this is to know what color light you want and how to ask for it. If you want warm light, look for lighting that is close to 2800K. If you want a more neutral light, look for something closer to 4000K and if you want a cooler light, look for 6000K or more. But that’s not all… You also need to be aware of color rendering.

The ability to make colors look true – that is to have a tomato look like a tomato – is called color rendering. The color rendering index (CRI) characterizes light sources in view of their ability to produce “natural light” and can be between 0 and 100. The closer an LED light comes to 100 on the color rendering index (CRI), the more naturally colors are rendered, and the light is perceived as more pleasant. The CRI of fluorescent tubes is often around 75. NEWSTAR LED lighting fixtures could provide 80-95 CRI.

How long can LED lights last? With the right design, LED lights can have a lifetime of 50,000 hours and more in continuous operation. Depending on how many hours-a-day they are operating, that can be from 6 to 7 years to as many as 20 to 30.

Unlike other lighting technologies LEDs do not completely fail—they grow dimmer. At the 50,000 hour mark, Cree’s LED lights are designed to provide at least 70 percent of their initial light output. Many different factors (such as fixture design and operating conditions like temperature and current) determine the actual lifetime of an LED.

Aren’t LED lights too expensive? A main challenge with LED lighting is that it costs more upfront, but really, it’s no different than requiring insulation in homes and buildings. It can pay for itself over time with energy savings and lower maintenance costs. Keep this in mind when you initially invest in LED lights.

Besides, how do you define expensive? Is it purely the up-front cost of a light or do you factor in the cost of the energy to run that light and, if you’re a business or government, the cost to change the lightbulb? And if you’re building a new building, installing LED lighting is often just about the same cost as traditional technology—and you’ll start saving money, through reduced energy consumption, the minute you flip the switch.

How can I join the revolution? You can start by pledging to learn more. You can also spread the good word. Tell your peeps. Heck, tell your boss. Maybe she’ll see the light and nix the dim bulbs in the break room. Bad lighting habits can’t be broken if no one understands the alternatives. And if you need more information, don’t hesitate to contact NEWSTAR LED. After all, we’re Lighting the LED Revolution.

NEWSTAR LED CO., LIMITED