I would like to add LED lighting to a building. I am just thinking about using 5mm mini LED light bulbs and wiring them to a power supply. Other than the bulbs and power supply, what components will I need and how should I wire it?
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I’m not an expert, but some basics are: leds like dc current so use a dc power supply; something in the neighborhood of 10-12vdc, or if using an ac transformer, convert to dc, by using 1. an ac to dc buck converter, 2. diode or 3. bridge rectifier. Probably other ways I don’t know about. Each led uses around 20mA of current, so 50 leds need around 1 Amp of power. This speaks to the size of your power supply. You may want to adjust the brightness of your leds. This can be done by 1. Resistors in circuit, 2. A dc to dc stepdown converter. Anything more specific for you would require additional details on your specific application.
You can get individual LED's, in various colors, which can be used with you AC equipment. They have a rectifier and resistor in line with the LED so you don't have to create anything. At $3.25, less if you order a quantity, they are a good deal when you want light a couple of buildings. Take a look at Evan Designs (Forum sponsor): https://www.modeltrainsoftware.com/bl-212.html
I found this article which helped me. Posting in case others have same questions.
