sequence of timed bulbs

shireenshortt

Hi

I'm not an electrician but looking for advice for an art installation themed around young mens mental health.

We want to create a series of 7 bulbs, which light up together every approx 2.5 minutes.
One then switches off in sequence every 3-5 seconds until all are off .... and 2 mins later or so they all come back on and around it goes.

Would there be any advice out there as to how this could it be done, is it achievable for somebody with no previous knowledge, are there tools/components or devlces out there which could be applied. Is there a name for what it is we want to do that we could research... are there people that can be contracted to do this sort of thing and if so what cost would we be looking at.

Anything at all that could move us forward would be so greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

brightspark

You haven't said what sort of lamps you want to use. (wattage? voltage? led? etc)

Regardless there are a few ways of achieving this,

A panel of relays and timers (wouldn't be easy to design and not really cheap either)

A custom built controller, possibly based on Arduino or similar (easy for anyone who has worked with Arduino).

A DMX based lighting system as commonly used in theatres (designed for stage lights so not really suitable if they are just small lights, but the equipment can be easily hired)

Not sure but perhaps some DJ/Band lighting systems might also be practical, but unlikely to have seven channels.



I think the arduino system is probably the best option, it would be easy for any electronic engineering student to put together, I have even heard of some secondary school students doing projects with arduinos and raspberries, so it's likely you can find someone near you to help.

shireenshortt

thanks very much that info's great brightspark... and thanks for flagging the further thinking we need to do on wattage, voltage etc!! that's the level of expertise/experience we're talking here!!
thanks again!

Tails142

Arduino is the way to go, very popular for art installations and relatively cheap, the arduino computer/board can be got for around €30, if you were tech inclined and had a bit of electronics knowledge would be very easy to achieve.

brightspark

Another option is a small PLC

https://ie.farnell.com/schneider-electric/sr2a201bd/compact-smart-relay-22-i-o-24v/dp/2835255

(you still need to program it!)

shireenshortt

ok this is great, thanks so much again tails142 & brightspark!

Bruthal

Yes the micro controller option is simple for anyone with experience of them. I've done a few small projects similar to this, using microchip, which is similar to Arduino

Stoner

Consider a Philips hue system

You can add timers via an app using an app called stringify

You'd then run this "sequence" and it would go through the sequence

You'd also have full color bulbs,
Note they can't replicate daylight accurately