Contents
After some trial-and-error we finally found what (we think) are the perfect recessed ceiling LED lights! The first LEDs we ordered were WAY too bright as the glass was clear instead of frosted. Even with a dimmer, the light was shocking for the eye. Then we stumbled on the Acegoo LED lights…
We installed 10 Acegoo Warm-White LEDs: in terms of lumens, 6-8 lights should be enough. We installed 10 in order to get a more uniform source of lightning (so when an overhead storage door is opened, we’re still getting light from somewhere).
The LED lights are operated with a dual zone dimmer; the bedroom zone has 4 lights, and the kitchen zone has 6 lights.
The 10 lights draw 1.3 amps total at 100% intensity, 0.1 amp total at minimum intensity. For reference, we will set the intensity to 100% when washing dishes, being productive, etc. We will set the intensity to approximately 10% for quiet moments.
What we Like about the Acegoo LED Lights
- They are dimmable (with an appropriate LED dimmer, see below)
- The frosted glass produces a soft & diffused light
- The spring mechanism makes it very easy to install and remove the LED from the ceiling
What we Don’t Like …
Nothing to see here!
Models & Where to Buy
Dimmer
LEDs MUST be dimmed with an appropriate LED dimmer. If you’re in the market for a 12V one, good luck! They are either super expensive or super ugly. After countless hours of research, we found the perfect match for our great LEDs! It’s a two-zone dimmer, so we can control the bedroom/kitchen LEDs independently. The sliders feel great and hold in place as they should. The lights are off when the sliders are completely down:
Installation
It doesn’t get easier than this…
Using a 2-3/8″ diameter hole saw (Buy on Amazon), we prepared the cutouts in the paneling:
To install the LEDs, pull-up the two springs and then the LEDs just “snap” into place (and can later be removed easily).
For the wood paneling installation write-up: https://faroutride.com/wood-paneling/
Electrical Wiring
The lights MUST be wired in parallel (series won’t work). Here is the wiring diagram:
(Note: to size your wires, please read: Electrical System Design)
Material shown in the sketch above:
- Fuse Box
- 3M SCOTCHLOK Quick Splice Wire Connector – Blue Gel – 14 AWG
- 3M SCOTCHLOK Quick Splice Wire Connector – Yellow – 12 AWG
To have solid and reliable electrical connections with different wire diameter (14 AWG vs 22 AWG), we used:
Random pictures:
Voilà!
Runner Up
As mentioned in the introduction, we first ordered LEDs from Superbrightleds.com. Why didn’t we used them? Because they are, well… SUPER-BRIGHT! The clear glass will not diffuse the light, and we found this to be very irritating. Also, we prefer the spring mechanism of the Acegoo LEDs; we feel they will hold better and can be replaced more easily. Don’t get us wrong: the quality of the superbrightleds.com is just fine. In fact, we would certainly use them at a location where the light is not directly in our eyes (such as the cargo area). But because of the clear glass, we would not recommend them for a living area.
Conclusion
We’re stoked with our Acegoo lights/Dual-Zone-Dimmer combo! If we were to start over, we would go the exact same route!
just a general question (can ignore my previous post). Do your LEDs give an initial flash when using the 2-zone dimmer switch? Upon testing my lights, I notice that the lights flash as the dimmer ascends upward, then ultimately dimming through the brightness range.
Also, have you noticed the lights tend to flicker a bit if both zones are on the lowest setting? I was noticing this happening, which could be due to such low current being split? (I have a total of 10 lights, 6 and 4) When on a very low setting on one zone only, it holds stable.
Just want to make sure the dimmer is working as expected. I feel like the start up flash is less noticeable if you’re going fast. just saw that the dimmer is $101 on Amazon…glad it wasn’t that price when I bought it haha
Some people reported this behavior when the inverter is ON, it’s not necessarily a dimmer’s issue. Have you tried with the inverter OFF?
I see the comment where you mentioned the use of a crimp cap connector to make the connections to the 2-zone switch and dimmer. Do you think lever nuts would work here? Not sure if you are familiar with them. Was considering using them for the maxxfan connection as well.
I used lever nuts to make all the parallel LED connections.
Thank you in advance!
Has anyone that’s used this setup had issues with buzzing noises from the acegoo lights? I bought the exact products recommended, wired as indicated, but they have always had a buzzing sound when on. Any thoughts as to why?
>>>>>>>>bump……..
Bump!
Same setup here as well, i am also getting a buzzing (louder at lower light on the dimmer)
Yes! Louder when dimmed lower. So weird.
So I installed the Acegoo dimmer today to try and troubleshoot that buzzing noise. I thought maybe using the same manufacturers dimmer with the lights might eliminate the noise.
Unfortunately I still hear the buzzing sound so I’m guessing it’s just the noise the lights themselves make and maybe I’m highly sensitive to it?
If anyone has any suggestions please post!
howdy! working on my puck light installation. the wire is 12 gauge, per your diagram and instructions. but the blue scotchlok 804 are only up to 14 awg. yet all your photos and the diagram show using 804’s. is there a trick for getting the essentially thicker wire in to those scotchloks? you also show the yellow scotchlok (for bigger wires) but they do not show on any diagrams or photos. safe to say I am confuzzled. thanks for all you guys have done! totally our bible…
Sorry about the confusion. We used AWG 14 to wire our LEDs considering a 5% voltage drop; and our wiring diagram shows wire gauge for 3% voltage drop = AWG 12. The blue scotchlok isn’t appropriate for that wire and this is why we recommend using the yellow one instead.
I am greatly thankful for your website.
When using the 3way 12 volt dimmer switch suggested in your site, do you have a suggestion for a compatible 3way non-dimming switch to include in the 3way setup.
Many thanks.
Chip
Chip,
I came here to ask the same question. Did you find something that worked for you?
For anyone else’s reference. A SPDT 12v switch will work.
I finally decided not to wire my lights as a 3-way circuit, but I did test this switch out with the linked dimmer in this post, and it works as expected.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002UC4RFK?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details
Note that the instructions that come with this switch are wrong. If anyone wants to see I can post a photo of it wired as a 3-way switch.
This is probably a dumb question but how did you end up connecting the different gauges of wire from the lights to the power supply?
The diagram works great! But I am wondering how to add a second dual-sliding switch?
Like Marina posted below, I ordered the same lights and dimmer switch and the two brands seem to be incompatible. I’m waiting for a response from Acegoo support.
That’s strange. Did you try the dimmer on a single LED just to validate? Because if you wire them in series instead of parallel, the dimmer won’t have any effect.
Meanwhile, I emailed the company to ask. Waiting for their answer (hopefully…). We keep in touch.
Got an email from the manufacturer and he confirms the LEDs are still dimmable! Make sure to get a 12v PWM dimmer (such as the one we suggest in this article, and make sure to wire the LEDs in parallel (series won’t work). Let me know!
Hi! I am using the same lights and switch as you, but the dimmer has no effect – they still stay 100% bright no matter the dimmer location. Any tips? Thank you!!
Double check your wiring to the dimmer. The positive wire from fuse should go in alone (not with any other positive wires) and the LED lights should be on the output of the dimmer. You could have a defective dimmer as well. Just chiming in from my experiences with dimmers.
That’s strange. Did you try the dimmer on a single LED just to validate? Because if you wire them in series instead of parallel, the dimmer won’t have any effect. Let me know!
This may seem like a dumb question! I am converting my 2020 transit same as yours. Did you remove the existing led van lights that came with the van? I can’t bring myself to ditch them!!
I’m wondering what size fuse you used. If the lights are only drawing 1.3A at 100% did you still put in a 2.5A fuse or did you step it down? I’m working on building out my van, and am planning on using a solar generator rather than a DIY 12v system. Would I likely even need a fuse in the mix our should it be fine to just run the dimmer into one of the 12v output ports (given it can handle the expected amperage of course)?
Best…
Fuse protects wire from melting due to overcurrent, and should always be used. Here is our approach to solar generator (includes a diagram and parts): https://faroutride.com/jackery/
Hope that helps!
Hey Kevin, what fuse size did you end up using? I was trying to calculate this too. On the worksheet it says 5A for 10 lights, I am only going to use 4, and am just curious what the thought process is behind that
I’m really struggling with the blue 3m scotchlok connectors and fitting the 14awg stranded wire in them. After doing some research, apparently the 14awg no longer works with them due to the large rubber coating on them. Not sure what ill use now.
Hi, what did you end up using? I’m about to order all the stuff for the lighting system…
Thanks for the amazing writeups! I purchased a regular lutron LED dimmable lightswitch. When I wire red to red, black to black, and toss in a fuse the lights work. But the switch doesnt work (either on/off or dimmer)… The multi color red/white and the green wire are capped right now… Do you have any idea what the issue would be?
Hello, thank you for this write up. I’m using the same LEDs and Dual Dimmer for my build out.
– What was your method of mounting the Dimmer switch to the wall? I’ve been looking around a shallow gang boxes and nothing is seeming to line up.
– When figuring out wire length/AWG you have to account for all of the parallel runs correct to the 2 sets of light, correct? We’re building out a step van so the length of wire needed for this has been adding up quick!
Thank you!
Alex
We installed the dimmer directly in the t&g plank (upside down in the image, just above the sink).
Whenever you connect the loads in parallel, it “splits” the current. So, this means that the wire that goes from your fuse block to the dimmer has to be able to withstand the current of all the leds and from the dimmer the current will be split (in 2, supposing you have the same load on each size). So wires from the dimmer to the leds could possibly be smaller because they will carry less current. But to keep it simple and avoid to buy different gauge of wire, let’s pretend the current stays the same. Now, as for the length (used to calculate the voltage drop), I would consider only the longest length from fuse block to farther led, no need to add all the parallel wires (when running wire/loads in parallel, the current is divided, but the voltage stays the same).
How did you connect the stranded wire to the solid wire connectors on the switch? I bought the same lights and switch, and I’m a little nervous about that connection withstanding bumps and vibrations, especially behind a wall with insulation…
Thank you for all that you’ve done to help us with our build!
I thought we had documented it, but can’t seem to find it! We used a crimp cap connector similar to this: https://amzn.to/3CecMkB
Hope this helps!