Looking for ideas on lighting up paintings via motion

[Steve]

Dave is right. You should never run a plain lamp cord IN the wall and especially NEVER a plain splice in the wall. Besides the issue of lamp cord not being rated for use in wall I believe code states you can not have any kind of joint or splice in an area that is not accessible, which means not in a wall. The right way to do it is to run romex (possibly in conduit depending on your location and code, check with an electrician or AHJ) into a junction box. You would then mount the light to that. You can pull those wires to your electrical room and power them there in any configuration you want.

Other options may be low voltage lights. Code *may* allow you to have the transformer in your electrical closet and the LV wire in the wall, then you can likely just do the small hole thing. Or, there are also battery operated picture lights but you will have to figure out a way to hack a PIR into it. Check with a large place like this. You can get motion activated battery powered lights but the are not in the 'art' form factor. Like this.

 

[Dave X10]

While I like the idea, I think you are going to have a hard time actually creating a system that lights up as you want.......
................... I'm not trying to come off as being all negative about the project, but I just want to make sure you think about all the potential issues before diving in too far.

You know... I think we all have had our automation failures. I tend to keep re-visiting mine. I can't say.. "I keep trying till I get it right" because more often than not... I don't. But I do ether find a different way to get what I want.. or I learn something about what good automation is.

A former co-worker had built a large home some years ago... and upstairs (2nd story) he had a laundry room. It was the most impressive labor saver (for his wife) I think I have ever seen in a home. It is easy to forget how much STUFF is carried up and down stairs. If for that reason alone... dzirkelb's idea is good solid HA. But... not only would the lights be functional, add safety, and save energey... they would look nice too.

I might do it slightly differently... like place one motion sensor that would catch motion from the top to the bottom of the stairs. Then use an art tracklight... and two in-line modules (or 3 or 5 picture lights). Then the one sensor could turn on the lights in two stages (with the top and bottom lighting being first then the center lighting). But dzirkelb's way may work perfectly (and my way suck)... I don't know.

 

[tmbrown97]

Personally, I'd probably skip the motion sensors and slide some pressure pads under the carpet on the stairs (assuming they're carpeted of course) - and I'd probably use several of them. Honestly, with only 8 steps, you may be able to pick up 10 cheap (~$7) pressure pads and cover each step as well as the top/bottom... and depending on where the person is standing, have set fade levels for each picture.

For code purposes, the idea of low voltage may be the smartest - altho 120V lights into some sort of hardwired controller may get you better lamps. Hard to say - depends on what's out there.

This reminds me of many many years ago when my father did pools and landscaping - we'd make lighted pathways that'd only be lit around you - so as a person walked down a long pathway the light would follow their feet - very cool effect. For the coolest effect, you do want lights that can be dimmed so it's smooth and gradual; you never actually see the transition of the lighting happen.

 

[Quixote_1]

Personally, I'd probably skip the motion sensors and slide some pressure pads under the carpet on the stairs (assuming they're carpeted of course) - and I'd probably use several of them. Honestly, with only 8 steps, you may be able to pick up 10 cheap (~$7) pressure pads and cover each step as well as the top/bottom... and depending on where the person is standing, have set fade levels for each picture.

Exactly what I was thinking. You could even make them. I think I read a tutorial on here (or followed a link from here) that explained how to wrap two cardboard pieces with aluminum foil, separate them with strips of cardboard and then encase the whole thing in duct tape. You run wires from each "plate" and then monitor them for continuity. Or course, you would need to cover them with carpet or stair mats.

 

[pete_c]

Personally and because I am color blind I've always liked a natural bright light on pictures/paintings. Currently and with many discussions and due to WAF I have not put up some pictures (guess many years ago won stuff from them) because of the lighting.

Historically though (hallway) used ceiling focused lighting on my pictures. I've also seen custom track lighting (don't really like it though). If I had a two to three tier staircase (with landings) I probably maybe would consider some custom based on motion events lighting. Today I have a large open area with one staircase going up that I really wouldn't have the ability to use ceiling lights and wouldn't really like over the picture/painting lighting as it would "take away" from the focus to the picture or painting. One bathroom (odd but true) is plastered with pictures of mostly dead relatives going back a hundred years or so (30-40 pics). Some folks have commented asking questions others have not about the pictures.

My "godmother" liked to take pictures so I have some of her pictures and she made me a few things giving them to me these as birthday gifts / graduation gifts. Guess I am into some antiques.

 

[nick_l]

1. pick picture lights that are low voltage.
2. run appropriate cable from behind the picture to your "electrical room" (honestly, 18 guage lamp cord would probably be fine, but that is a code issue and your decision to make)
3. cut transformer from each fixture, leaving enough cord on each end(lamp and transformer)
4. make low voltage splice behind picture (but not in the wall) to picture light using your choice of safe method
5. make splice to each cable coming from picture lights to its transformer in electrical room.
6. automate as desired. ( you could plug them all into one powerstrip and one module to have them all come on at once, then later you could split them into their own modules and have them come on one by one, in groups, center out, whatever you decide.)

If you move, disconnect splice behind picture, pull out wire, patch.

 

[dzirkelb]

1. pick picture lights that are low voltage.
2. run appropriate cable from behind the picture to your "electrical room" (honestly, 18 guage lamp cord would probably be fine, but that is a code issue and your decision to make)
3. cut transformer from each fixture, leaving enough cord on each end(lamp and transformer)
4. make low voltage splice behind picture (but not in the wall) to picture light using your choice of safe method
5. make splice to each cable coming from picture lights to its transformer in electrical room.
6. automate as desired. ( you could plug them all into one powerstrip and one module to have them all come on at once, then later you could split them into their own modules and have them come on one by one, in groups, center out, whatever you decide.)

If you move, disconnect splice behind picture, pull out wire, patch.

That's pretty much exactly what I think I will do...splice outside of wall, run low voltage wiring down the wall to my electrical closet, and go from there.

I'm digging the idea of the padding on the steps also...I think i would love to do that on my upstairs steps also. I would run into the same issues, however, of having to run cable for lights (I would have lights around each step or on each side of each step, or maybe even rope lighting of some sort)...unless there are some battery operated ones that have built in sensor control.

I'll tackle that one after the picture ordeal though.

One question, I'm not sure on what is low voltage lighting, or how to search for it...does it basically say low voltage on the title of the lamp?

 

[Steve]

One question, I'm not sure on what is low voltage lighting, or how to search for it...does it basically say low voltage on the title of the lamp?

Ummm, I mentioned that several posts back :lol:

Other options may be low voltage lights. Code *may* allow you to have the transformer in your electrical closet and the LV wire in the wall, then you can likely just do the small hole thing. Or, there are also battery operated picture lights but you will have to figure out a way to hack a PIR into it. Check with a large place like this. You can get motion activated battery powered lights but the are not in the 'art' form factor. Like this.

Low voltage will use a transformer to convert the voltage from 120VAC to around 12V (usually DC). If you look at the link in that post you can narrow down to LV lighting via the links on the left - look for 12V.

 

[dzirkelb]

Gotcha, thanks for the info