Peculiarities

Neon lamps look like a glass tube in which gas is present. The contents enter the tube under the influence of low pressure. Not every type of gas is used for lamps of this type. Neon can act as an inert, hence the name of the lamps. However, other types of inert gases can be driven into the flask.

Features of these products include:

• Atoms are completely filled with an electron shell. Due to this quality, neon atoms do not come into contact with other types of atoms, which eliminates the possibility that a new electron will be captured. However, electrons can only be taken away by expending a large amount of energy;
• The end of the glass tube is equipped with an electrode;
• The activity of lamps can be carried out not only due to constant current sources, but also on variables. If the connection is made using the first method, neon lighting will be present only near the electrodes. For this reason, neon lighting fixtures can only be connected to an alternating current source;
• All the work of light bulbs lies in the features of an inert gas type.

If we talk about the work of light bulbs, it is carried out according to the following rules:

• when electrical gases are passed through atoms, there is a loss of electrons with the subsequent receipt of a positive charge;
• after the atoms acquire a positive charge, there is an attraction to the electrode, which has a negative charge;
• such actions form a neon type of lighting with a bright spectrum. For this reason, such methods are increasingly used as lighting for apartments and buildings. In most cases, neon lamps can replace the LED strip and act as a light source. The backlight is not inferior in its characteristics to LED representatives, attracting attention with its spectacularity.

Advantages and disadvantages

Neon lamps have a large number of positive qualities:

• a wide range of sizes and shapes;
• easy installation. Installation of lighting is carried out with a small number of components in the shortest possible time;
• there is an option to control brightness and energy consumption;
• you can get different colors;
• impressive service life. The service life of neon lamps can reach 20 years;
• the design of neon sources eliminates the possibility of heating, which indicates fire safety;
• no noise during operation.

Despite the fact that neon sources have a large number of positive qualities, they have disadvantages. The negative qualities include:

• in the composition of lamps of this type there are harmful components;
• work can only be carried out in the presence of high voltage. For this reason, they can only be used in conjunction with a powerful transformer;
• neon lamps are fragile, as such light sources are made of glass.

Having studied the positive and negative characteristics, it can be concluded that neon sources have more positive characteristics than negative ones.

Kinds

There are several types of neon lamps. Each of them has its own characteristics and features. For example, a signal neon lamp is among the safety factors by adjusting the operation of transport systems. These include indicator lights, which can be used to illuminate the switch and other elements. Such lighting sources show the functionality of the devices.

Luminescent neon representatives are often used as lighting fixtures, as well as radiation sources for school buildings, administrative structures, and residential buildings. Many manufacturers produce lamps of a special type, which are aimed at providing a "sunbath".

Such light sources have many positive qualities:

• they are able to provide the territory with a large amount of light;
• lamps increase the level of performance;
• contribute to the preservation of vision;
• reduce the degree of fatigue;
• have an effect on mood enhancement.

Decorative neon light sources are miniature light bulbs that are actively used as interior decor.

Such devices bring zest to the design of the room, increase the comfort of the room and make it more original.

Color solutions

As mentioned earlier, one of the positive properties of neon illuminations is their ability to reflect light of different colors. Only one neon tube is responsible for this feature. The color scheme is due to the composition of the components that are located in the flask:

• helium contributes to the creation of light pink and orange flowers;
• argon is responsible for producing the blue glow;
• due to neon, green, white and other colors are obtained.

Based on the style of the room, with the help of neon lamps, you can create an iridescent, delicate or contrasting atmosphere in the room.

How to choose?

If you decide to buy a neon lamp, you should decide for what purpose you need it. Such light sources can be used in different areas:

• as tuning for cars;
• in the field of decorative interior lighting;
• when creating illuminated inscriptions, signs and signatures;
• for lighting shop windows, structures, bridges and theater posters;
• for landscape design.

Depending on the purpose of lighting, you should choose a light bulb and its size along with a color scheme.

You should also take into account the mains voltage (127-220 V), take into account the voltage during the appearance of an electric discharge (60-550 V) and the highest permissible current value (0.2-30 mA). Knowing these characteristics, you can choose the most suitable type of lamps.

In addition to the neon lamp, there is a neon ribbon on sale, which is called flexible neon. It looks like a 12 volt LED garland, which is sealed in a PVC tube. There are single and multi-color options.

How to check?

To check the performance of a neon lamp, you should pay attention to its appearance and carry out a test under voltage. You can also clarify the performance of a neon source by connecting it to a radio broadcasting network. To do this, you can use a transformer with a low frequency.

If it is not possible to use the network, it can be replaced with batteries and a low-frequency transformer. A power and inter-lamp source will do.

The lamp is checked using ballasts.

To test modern lamps, electronic-type ballasts are often used.

To test the lamps, you should use serviceable equipment that has similar parameters and is connected in a suitable way to the bulb under test. If the lamp works normally with this connection method, you should look for a malfunction in the unit itself.

You will learn more about neon lamps from the following video.

Examples in the interior

Neon lighting can blend harmoniously with the interior of your home. As a rule, this method is used in the following cases:

• in a stretch, suspended or multi-level ceiling;
• for molding lighting;
• as a lighting device for walls and columns;
• to accent the floor, walls, steps and podiums;
• can be used in lamps;
• for decorating niches and various partitions.

Ceiling

You can decorate the ceiling in your apartment with neon lighting. Such an addition can well focus on the various designs of the ceiling, its unusual shapes along with ledges and levels. If you decide to use slit lighting (this method implies the visibility of light without visualizing the lamps themselves), you can visually increase the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe room by getting the “hovering” of the ceiling and its individual elements. Such a warrant would be perfect for small spaces.

As a key lighting element, you can use neon lamps with the desired color and shade. In the role of auxiliary lighting, a side-type backlight is used. Such a design will look harmonious only with a perfectly even coating without defects.

Some people admit that it is due to the “floating” effect that they get to fall asleep quickly.

Floor

Some apartments boast illuminated floors. Such a solution looks spectacular paired with cornice and ceiling lighting. With the help of such a lighting solution, you can zoning the room, emphasize the perimeter of the floor and highlight the various forms of geometric shapes.

Slit illumination with the effect of "hovering" is actively used. It is installed around the entire perimeter of the floor.

When you are in the process of equipping floor lighting, pay attention to safety precautions. Each lamp must be qualitatively protected from moisture and mechanical stress. Neons with a high level of protection are suitable for such purposes. Give preference to light bulbs with moderate brightness. Some people use floor lighting as a guide in an unlit room, so bright options will dazzle and get in the way.

In the bathroom, it is undesirable to use neon lamps on the floor, because in this room there is a possibility of contact with water. In the bedroom, this option is also inappropriate, since floor lighting is located closer to eye level, making it difficult to relax.

Most modern rooms are decorated in accordance with the latest design developments. One of these solutions is neon lighting in the apartment, which allows even an ordinary room to be made unique and original. With the help of neon, the necessary level of illumination is provided not only for the entire room, but also for all necessary places. In accordance with the requirements, fixtures and lighting lamps are selected.

Features of neon lighting

As a result of properly arranged lighting, a soft environment is formed. It is advisable to protect the details of neon lighting from aggressive external influences. This will significantly increase the service life.

To power the backlight in any room, various electronic converters are used. They are significantly lower than conventional electromagnetic transformers. Of great importance is the quality of installation work.

All elements that make up the lighting system must be hidden. This is especially true for wires and electrodes. For direct lighting, most often, special neon tubes with a diameter of 15 mm are used. As a rule, before the start of installation, all the details of a particular neon lighting are coordinated.

Lighting of the main elements

Parts of the neon lights are very fragile and must be handled with care so as not to accidentally hit. To solve this problem, there are very successful individual options. The main attention is paid to the design of special niches for laying parts of the lighting system. Their design should, if necessary, provide an unhindered replacement of neons. If there are several niches in the room that are not interconnected, then each of them must have its own power cable.

Neon ceiling lighting is carried out in accordance with the general rules. All elements are hidden under plasterboard sides, giving the interior additional style and elegance.

Thus, neon lighting in the apartment is actively used not only by architects, but also by designers. Using neon lighting elements, you can create drawings and other images that give uniqueness to any interior. The advantages of such lighting are the ability to use numerous colors and shades.

Neon lamps rarely fail, consume very little energy, and can be used open or closed. In some cases, neon lighting plays the role of additional lighting in conditions of limited visibility.

In the era of high technology, when a car becomes available to almost every inhabitant of the planet, the problem of the external indistinguishability of many cars arises. Therefore, many car owners want to use all sorts of styling options - from bright painting to complex body changes. One of the options for changing the appearance of the car is to install neon lights. It will not require huge financial investments from the owner of the car, but at the same time it will give a special zest to the appearance of the car. Moreover, you can install such lighting without outstanding skills, so this task can be handled even at home. In this article we will talk about the features of neon lamps, give the necessary information about them, tell you how to make a car backlight with your own hands.

Why install neon lights?

It is very popular among motorists in many countries of the world. The lights from under the car body will not leave anyone indifferent. Neon lighting on a car is a great way to express yourself, it will emphasize the individual style of the owner of the car. In addition, lamps today are not so expensive, so every motorist can afford them. In addition to external decoration, such lights are suitable for interior lighting - soft subdued light that provides comfort and coziness in the cabin will surely please both the driver himself and the passengers he puts in his car.

However, in most cases, neon lighting is still used to decorate the exterior of the car. Remember how spectacular the transport with a luminous bottom of the body looks in the films. Why is this one popular for car styling? Now we list the main advantages of neon lamps for car lighting:

• A bright and soft uniform glow, which is very pleasing to the eye, will not leave indifferent either the owner of the car or passers-by who see it on the street.
• The low cost of the lamps, which will make it possible to decorate the car not only for wealthy motorists, but also for middle-class drivers who nevertheless want to make their car stand out from the crowd, making its appearance special.
• The ability to focus the light will allow you to create exactly the desired design, emphasizing the lines of the car, without creating the opposite effect, when the lighting is only repulsive, causing negative emotions.
• A fairly simple installation and maintenance of neon lighting will make it easy to take care of the installed equipment, and with some skill you can even make a backlight at home in your own garage.

Despite these advantages, neon lamps have a number of disadvantages, for example, in comparison with another way of lighting - LED strips.

• LED lamps are still brighter than neon ones. This is both an advantage and a disadvantage, because too bright lighting sometimes hurts the eyes. Depending on the preferences of the motorist, this item can be considered a disadvantage. But compared to neon, the light from LED lighting cannot be focused, so it is more difficult to create a unique design with it.
• Neon lighting consumes more electricity. It's all about the gas discharge lamp that is used in these devices. It is much more demanding on electricity than an LED, which means there is a higher risk of leaving the car, and the cash costs of electricity will make your wallets strain.
• The deformation resistance of neon lamps is quite low. LED strips are more impact resistant, which ensures a longer service life.
• Neon lights are designed to be permanently on. And this, in combination with the previous paragraph, makes the service life of such lamps much lower than LED ones.
• LED lighting is easier to install and maintain. We noted the ease of installation of neon lamps as a virtue, but, in comparison with
  installing LED lighting, it is still more difficult and requires some ability from the car owner.

Do-it-yourself installation of neon lighting on a car

Before installing the backlight on your car, you need to decide on the choice of the mechanism for turning it on. They are of the following types:

• From the button. The simplest and most common option is to turn on the backlight from the switch. This method of switching on has a number of advantages, the main of which is energy savings, since the lamp will turn on only when the car owner himself wants it. For example, they will not light up during the day when lighting is not required, but it simply will not be visible. Also during business trips, the brightness may be excessive. It is also the simplest and most practical option for mounting such equipment.
• When the ignition is turned on. This way of turning on the lamps also exists, it is more comfortable than the previous one, since you do not need to constantly press the button. Turning on the lighting at the same time as starting the engine looks more effective than turning on the light separately by pressing the switch. However, this method has all the disadvantages that the previous method does not have. The lamps will turn on every time you get behind the wheel of a car, so this mechanism is not suitable if you often have to travel to official meetings or travel during the day. Moreover, if you can put up with the second problem, it is better to try to avoid the first one.
• When opening the doors/trunk. This method will look extremely impressive when lighting, respectively, the interior of a car or trunk, but not when decorating the appearance of the car. To install lighting on the bottom of the body, it is still better to consider the first two ways to ignite neon lamps.

Now let's move on to the installation. It is quite simple, but requires some skill, so you should follow these steps very carefully:

• Having decided on the choice of attachment points, attach the lamps to them in order to calculate the optimal length for each wire.
• Choose a convenient location for the switch and fuse. The latter will protect the system from all sorts of unforeseen circumstances.
• Connect the switch to the battery and install the fuse.
• Fasten the neon lamps under the bottom of the car in the places that you have foreseen in advance.
• Connect the lighting fixtures with wires to the fuse and switch.
• Connect the entire system to the car's power supply.

After the whole system is installed, check for possible errors (for example, if you mixed up the plus and minus), and then try to turn on the system. Neon lighting is quite vulnerable to shock, so now you have to drive your car carefully so as not to damage the result of such painstaking work.

Write to us if the material was useful to you.

In the modern world, people strive to designate their individuality in everything - clothes, jewelry, food, accessories, hobbies. Of course, a car is no longer just a means of transportation, but a reflection of the owner's personality. It is not surprising that people remake their favorite car “for themselves”. Today there are many - for every taste and budget.

Neon lighting on a car is one of the most effective, inexpensive and fairly easy-to-install types of car upgrades. In this article we will consider all the features of installing neon on a car.

So, it can be installed both outside (under the bottom, wheel arches, in the engine compartment), and in the trunk, and in the passenger compartment. Here, what picture your imagination draws, then create.

neon lights and law

Let us immediately make a reservation that Russian legislation has a very ambiguous interpretation of this issue. According to the Appendix to the SDA, among the malfunctions of the car, in which its operation is prohibited, clause 3.1 is indicated. "The number, type, color, location and mode of operation of external lighting devices do not meet the requirements of the vehicle design."

However, GOST R 51709-2001 does not indicate “bottom illumination” or something similar among the types of external lighting devices. You can get a fine for changing the design of the car without the appropriate documents. Since you are unlikely to be able to obtain permission for such innovations, in this case you are violating Art. 12.5 h.1 of the Code of Administrative Offenses. As a punishment, a warning or a fine of 500 rubles is possible. and removal of equipment.

ADVICE! Follow two simple rules, and it will be more difficult for traffic police inspectors to issue you penalty receipts:

1. Do not direct the light under the bottom to the sides, only down.
2. Do not install blue and red lights in the radiator grill and bumper, and white neon in the back. The red and white colors of the backlight should not go beyond the car forward and backward, respectively.

Naturally, it will be much more difficult for the valiant law enforcement officers to find fault with the neon interior lighting.

Types of car lights

So, you have decided to highlight your “swallow” among the mass of similar ones with a bright light frame. This is where the tuning market will give you a lot of options. There are only two main types of lighting used in cars: neon and LED.

1. Neon lighting basically has lamps filled with an inert gas - neon. Due to its inertness, it is absolutely safe - it does not heat up, does not explode and does not enter into chemical reactions with other substances. These lamps are placed in special tubes that protect them from damage and environmental influences.

Neon lamps do not shine in a direction, so they always come with diffusers - ordinary foil or a mirror. Neon tubes are available in various colors and diameters. Also in stores you can find "flexible" neon - thin elastic tubes that are most often used for either headlights.

For installing an average set of neon lights on your car, the owner will have to pay an average of a couple of thousand rubles.

Of the minuses, a relatively short period of operation, as well as monochrome, can be noted. It will not be possible to create overflows and a play of color with neon illumination. To change the color, you have to completely change the tubes.

1. The second type of backlight is LED. It is a strip of diodes enclosed in silicone, which performs a protective function. Among the advantages - great strength and durability, the possibility of blinking. In expensive kits, there is equipment that adjusts colors to sound vibrations. The big downside is the price. LEDs are more expensive than neon counterparts.

We think over the design

Of course, the car with neon lights looks amazing! And neon interior lighting with proper installation can significantly change the interior of a car. Such lighting looks most advantageous at night, as well as in winter on a snowy road.

ADVICE! Think about the color scheme of your lighting in advance. Leading automotive designers, when choosing any type of lighting tuning, recommend choosing it not in tone with the body, but in contrast. For example, if you have a blue car, then cherry-colored neon lighting will look much more spectacular. Having a hard time deciding on colors? No problem! The da Vinci color wheel will help you.

Let's start installation

You have purchased a brand new neon kit for your car, brought it home and are ready to install. To get started, carefully read the instructions.

If you decide on the interior of the car, then the tape is attached starting from the back of the car to the skin with superglue or on a special adhesive strip in the kit. Just glue the cord in the right place and bring batteries to it - car electrics, conventional batteries or an inverter to connect to the cigarette lighter. Connect the wires in the correct sequence: from the + contact of the battery to the place where the switch is planned to be installed, and the negative contact is connected to the body. For a neon cord up to 5 meters long, a 12-volt inverter is sufficient. It can be used to create designs, shapes and colors that are only limited by your imagination.

If, for example, the bottom of the car is chosen as a place for installing neon, then first you need to mark the mount. And then:

1. Do not forget to buy the necessary tools, silicone for insulation, fasteners (brackets, screws, clamps), wires and a transformer.
2. Install the pipes according to the intended scheme.
3. Now feel free to take on the electrician. The wire connection is serial. Observe polarity.
4. The transformer is fastened under the hood with screws. We connect high-voltage wires to the battery. Then from the minus we pull the switch into the cabin. It remains to connect the wires from the tubes to the high-voltage unit.

Ready! Your car has been completely transformed. Now get ready for the admiring glances of passers-by and other motorists. Good luck on the roads.