There are two main ways of doing cove lighting, LED's or fiber optic lighting. The fiber optic method is permanent with only the illuminator ever needing servicing. So this method is used when access to the cove is inconvenient or impossible and/or you don’t want electricity in the cove.  The minimum equipment needed for this method is a 150W metal halide illuminator and one loop of the S-O75 cable.  To double the light you would use two loops of cable, to triple the light three loops and so on. The brightest system would use the DEL250-8 and the S-SB126 cable.  To help you decide, take a look at this link that shows the difference between illuminators: ILLUMINATOR DIFFERENCE.  Here’s one that shows the difference between the cables: FIBER OPTIC CABLE DIFFERENCE.   

Fiber Optic Cove Lighting

                                                                   Fiber Optic Cove Lighting- Good System

For a darker room where a soft glow is all that’s desired. The cable length is not only for the distance around the room, it has to allow the cable to go FROM the illuminator, go around the room and then loop back TO the illuminator.  This is VERY important! If you have ANY questions, PLEASE call and let us help you. Remember, the illuminator must have 100 cf of air per minute.  You can’t put them in a small closet or any other small area.  Again, if you have ANY questions, PLEASE call and let us help you to decide the best location of the illuminator. Each kit consist of one (1) S150-5 illuminator and S-SO75 fiber optic cable. For only $50 more on any kit you can upgrade to the S150-8 illuminator.   

                                                                       Fiber Optic Cove Lighting- Best System

For a darker room where a bright glow is desired or where a soft glow is needed in a bright room.  The cable length is not only for the distance around the room, it has to allow the cable to go FROM the illuminator, go around the room and then loop back TO the illuminator. This is VERY important! If you have ANY questions, PLEASE call and let us help you.  Remember, the illuminator must have 100 cf of air per minute. You can’t put them in a small closet or any other small area.  Again, if you have ANY questions, PLEASE call and let us help you to decide the best location of the illuminator. Each kit consist of one (1) DEL250-5 illuminator and S-SB126 fiber optic cable.  For only $125 more on any kit you can have us put in on/off switches and power cable (the unit is designed for large projects where hard wiring is the norm).     

RGB

The second method that uses LEDs’ can be more cost effective than the fiber optic option but remember, these are LED's, they carry electricity and they WILL burn out eventually (but it should be years before this happens and you can easily replace any sections that burn out).  You do not have to loop the rope and can do multiple sections from one controller.  So, if you have easy access to the the cove or are on a tight budget, then this method may be a good one.
 
If you decide that LED’s are a good choice, then you have another decision to make.  You can use the RGB flat rope (convenient) or the LED Flex Strips (brighter).  Take a look at the RGB LED page to see the difference: RGB LED.  If you think the RGB is the way to go, we offer kits to make things even easier!