LED Handles and batteries a discussion

This week I wanted to reach out to get feedback on whether there is a demand for LED door handles that are battery operated rather than hard wired. When we designed our handles and particularly the longer lit pulls finding an LED spot that was small enough to fit in a 1.5” diameter pull was a challenge but one that American Illumination were able to solve. We selected American Illumination as our supplier as the unit they make is well designed, compact and is ETL registered. The spot they make is hard wired which means it can only be used on doors which have been constructed with a hollow channel for the wires to pass or by adding an external power transfer unit.

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The installation drawing below shows how the wires are fed through the door to connect with our handle to light the LED spot. This method of installation is attractive as it is completely concealed with your guest’s focus being on the handle and not on the apparatus, but it is not well suited to the hobbyist or home owner looking for a simple way to add light and color to their entry door.

Too date, I have not found a small enough battery that can power these very low energy LED spots for long periods of time and none that can keep the handle lit for a year or more so thought I would ask for suggestions from any of my readers. So, if you do know of a small battery that is 1” diameter and 2”H l would love to hear about it.

Why our LED Door Handles are Suitable for Restaurants and Hotels

I was recently asked a seemingly simple question but on closer inspection realized that the answer deserved a better account of why our recently launched  illuminated door handles are appropriate for outdoor areas in hotels and restaurants.

Metal of the LED fixture
Not all metals are created equal but the premium metals of 304 and 316 stainless steel as well as silicone bronze all have good corrosion resistance and are not prone to rust when exposed to wet weather. The silicon bronze is typically oil finished so while it will not rust it will develop its own unique patina over time as it is a living finish.

Type of LED’s
Not all LED’s are suited to outdoor use. In our cylindrical pull we use a completely encased LED spot but for our Coral and Fish handles we use an LED strip that is wrapped in a silicone sheath to make it weatherproof.

Iluminated Door Handles

Diffuser that doubles as a weather protector
Our fixtures all have an open area in the design through which the light passes but to diffuse the light and to eliminate any shadow created by the LED we add an acrylic diffuser that sits behind the face of the luminaire thereby creating a weather and insect barrier.

Weep hole
All of our luminaires come with a "weep" hole to allow the escape of water if it manages to get into the fixture.

Wiring
The wires that power our fixture pass through a concealed channel inside the door frame and then through an enclosed mounting bracket into the fixture and at the other end they pass through an electric hinge that is connected to the door jam and door channel ensuring thereby that the wires are not exposed to weather.

Contemporary LED Wall Sconce for Hotels

The advent of small LED’s that require low gauge wires and the efficiency of these low voltage bright lights has made it possible for us to tailor our door handle designs to fit the custom light market.  The Morphic cylindrical door pull is the first piece that we have adapted from being a door handle to a wall sconce. It’s very close cousin the 16” door handle has been re-tooled so that it now functions as a discreet but intriguing wall sconce.

When is a handle a wall sconce?

Iluminated Door Handles

The simple answer is when it is hanging on a wall or along a corridor to create patterns of light that will add mood or atmosphere to a room or corridor. The Morphic sconce is available through design professionals and offered either in a brushed stainless steel or in an oil rubbed bronze. This UL listed luminaire at present is offered with a single color LED small spot and can be ordered with a red, blue, green or white light. Who knows maybe a boutique hotel will use the different colors to help their guests remember which floor their room is on, this certainly would take the stress out of finding your room after a long day trudging the halls of a Vegas trade show.

Soon we will be offering this piece with a color changing spot and then our designer clientele can really have fun pairing the mood of each floor or room function with the color of the LED. I can see it will not be long before soft amber shades come to be associated with the bar lounge with pale aqua tones create a soothing welcome to the sauna.

Since boutique hotels need to periodically freshen their appearance we hope our color changing luminaires can provide a cost effective option.

Unusual Wall Light Captured on Video

The first of our new LED low voltage wall lights has now been released as a video and can be seen in the new Lighting section of this site or by visiting our gallery at Youtube.

We begin our venture into the artistic wall light scene with our unusual wall sconce named in honor of the Mother of Dragons and the dragon eggs she rescues in “Game of Thrones”.

We have chosen to cast this piece in stainless steel, a medium reminiscent of armor and chain mail and that is fittingly flame proof. The cap of the sconce is a fusion of  medieval themes with its turreted tower peak  and diamond shaped shields. By contrast the body of the sconce is organic and fluid with molten shapes reminiscent of much of the work of Gaudi and other masters of the Art Nouveau era.

See Video Gallery

The Dragon Egg sconce is available  in stainless steel or in bronze and is currently being released with a single color, red, blue, green or white LED. We do plan to make this available as a color changing wall light so stay tuned.

The advent of low voltage LED’s has motivated us to enter the wall lighting market and we look forward to helping designers with their residential and hospitality needs.

We would again like to extend our thanks to Jeff Jenkins of www.onefoxtwofox.com for making this video possible.

Custom LED Wall Sconce Cast in Bronze

Our Floral Wall sconce is now available to Interior Designers and design professions as a UL listed low voltage luminaire and can be specified in a light or dark oil rubbed bronze patina. At present we are offering the sconce in single color, red, green, blue or white LED’s and later will be adding color changing LED’s.

The Floral sconce was fashioned from the foliage Martin and I saw when staying in the Albayzin quarter of Granada, Spain and by the local Moorish art work of artisans like Munira Mendonça who honors the traditions of this region in her superb embossed leather work.

The vibrant colors of Munira’s stamped designs influenced this piece and led us away from the more obvious use of white light to more dazzling blue and red LED’s which provide a dramatic contrast to the subdued but rich tones of bronze.

As low voltage luminaires, designers will be offering their clients an energy efficient yet still beautiful fixture with a carbon foot print firmly planted in Los Angeles which is where we cast and finish all of our work.

As we have shared in earlier posts Martin made this piece by printing a 3D hollow gourd shape. The 3D print was then formed by Martin using a variety of hand chisels and dremels to create the movement and detail of each leaf. Each sconce has a total of 60 sprigs with 3 leaves on each sprig. The LED light sits in the top of the fixture which was modeled on the shape of an upturned trumpet flower.