Thanks for writing in detail Raghav. But, I had already understood these points from your earlier posts. See, I don't know whether the optic fibre used in my star lit ceiling is plastic or glass. I don't remember the box or instructions having any such detail. So just wanted to know how would I find out the difference between glass fibre and plastic fibre just by looking at it.
Ok, here is what I will do. I will cut off a tip of one of the strands and burn it. If it melts, it is plastic. If it does not melt, it is glass. I am talking normal temperature here, plastic should melt off a matchstick while glass may require higher temperature. What do you think?
Just curious, what is used in SPDIF\TOSLINK cable - Glass or plastic?
Some learnings that may be useful to you are:
1) Optic fiber is a medium wherein any light you pass through it, it comes out through the other end and the tip gets illuminated. You can cut the fiber short with a scissor and still only the tip will be illuminated.
2) If you want the tips to be of different brightness, tie a loose knot in some of the strands, so the light becomes a little weak in these strands
3) If you need the tips to glow brighter, use a more powerful source with a better reflector.
My honest thoughts are you don't need longer throw or brightness as it will distract you while watching movie. If you are thinking of using a dimmer, it is possible but dimmer for LED is very expensive.
Ok, here is what I will do. I will cut off a tip of one of the strands and burn it. If it melts, it is plastic. If it does not melt, it is glass. I am talking normal temperature here, plastic should melt off a matchstick while glass may require higher temperature. What do you think?
Just curious, what is used in SPDIF\TOSLINK cable - Glass or plastic?
2 to 3 points per sq feet will look good. Does this include the cost of the ceiling as well? If so, are they using Gypsum boards or plywood or some acoustic boards? Inspite of DIY, I spent close to 35k including cost of perforated hardboard, woodenframes, carpenter labour, glasswool and fabric. Apart from looks, the ceiling was designed for acoustics to be a diffsorber (diffusor + absorber). It seems to be working very well for me, so the DIY was really worth it.Hi,
Though my room is around 200sqft the actual area of the Starlit ceiling is around 100sqft. This is due to storage on one wall and a beam cutting out 50 sqft on one side.
Now I had given up on the idea of starlit ceiling because of the cost involved (Initial quote was for Rs80000), but your HT made me inquire for cheaper options. DIY was not for me.
Then I got contacts of 3 vendors in Mumbai for the same. This is what we discussed:
1. 2.5-3 points needed per sqft so 250-300 in all points.
2. Glass fibre optic is more expensive than plastic. One vendor refused to work with plastic fibre optic (maybe to earn more). The other vendor Autorama does both and he suggested to use only plastic fibre optic for Home lighting. He said glass is more expensive but not suited to small home application. This guy my architect says is knowledgable and in business for many years. Has done big turnkey projects as well. Cost of project with plastic is Rs30000 and with glass is Rs50000.
My Optic fiber kit came with color changing lights(RGB)and a voltage adapter. I removed the RGB lights because the real night sky is black background with white stars in various brightness levels. So, I modified the kit by adding a 3W white LED which I salvaged from a new LED spot light. I also used the reflector and circuitry by breaking it open. I have used two such kits, so two 3W LEDS and also have a maintenance point for it so I can change the LED if it goes kaput:lol:.3. You can choose coloured and twinkling lights. Here I thought best to choose light colours like white, yellow and amber avoiding Red, Blue, Green.
4. Mridul said that glass is better as it has more throw of light. But I need very dim lighting when watching the screen. Glass, he said is better to focus on walls or other objects. He also said people using fibre to mislead and not provide LED lights but some mixture. I have no idea of this.
5. Also I wanted to know what is your light source and of what wattage?
Raghav
Some learnings that may be useful to you are:
1) Optic fiber is a medium wherein any light you pass through it, it comes out through the other end and the tip gets illuminated. You can cut the fiber short with a scissor and still only the tip will be illuminated.
2) If you want the tips to be of different brightness, tie a loose knot in some of the strands, so the light becomes a little weak in these strands
3) If you need the tips to glow brighter, use a more powerful source with a better reflector.
My honest thoughts are you don't need longer throw or brightness as it will distract you while watching movie. If you are thinking of using a dimmer, it is possible but dimmer for LED is very expensive.