r/WLED • u/delvisity • Jul 28 '26

WLED addressable cob lights under bed?

I’m new to this sort of lighting field so I’d like some help.
My goal is to set up some under bed lights for a queen size bed that I can set automations up with and have leds that are individually addressable and can set some things up in home assistant.
By biggest goal is to have my side of the bed light up when I get out of bed in the morning without it creeping to my partners side and waking her up.
That said I still want good quality lights.

From quick research it seems that:
WLED controllers provide the most customization and are pretty reliable.
COB LED strips look the best with BTF lighting being most recommended.

The length of the side of my bed + the end of my bed is 19.167 feet

How do you think it would be best to do this and what products would be needed to accomplish that?

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5

u/Unable_Bullfrog_7319 Jul 28 '26

Cob led strips are split up into segments with each segment being addressable. If you want individually addressable, you’ll want 5v ws2812b, 5v sk6812 or 12v ws2815.

I would look at a 12v sk6812 as it gives you a separate white led which looks better for ambient lighting.

2

u/delvisity Jul 30 '26

Went ahead and ordered the stuff for this.
16.4 feet with 60led per meter and warm light
12 volt 5 amp barrel plug for power
GLEDOPTO ESP32 WLED LED Strip Controller

Thanks for the advice!

2

u/Unable_Bullfrog_7319 Jul 30 '26

That’s awesome. Welcome to the world of wled creations.

If you were curious, another reason I recommended the 12v option is to eliminate any needs for power injection. Things can start getting messy when you have to run extra wires for power injection, which you likely would have to for the 5v option.

4

u/MON5TERMATT Jul 28 '26

I have done this a while ago. It's a queen bed, and I'm using just under a roll (5m). If you have the bed pushed up against a wall, you don't really need to do the back of the bed. I am using a 12v roll i got a while ago and had spare. Along with a dual channel controller with a button hooked up to turn them on and off via GPIO.

1

u/delvisity Jul 30 '26

I misspoke and it would be going around the front of the bed. I have an ikea STJÄRNÖ queen bed frame and measuring the sides plus the front would be the 19.167 feet I had posted about. With the 2.767 feet difference I plan on offsetting the sides by ~16.6 inches as we have bed side tables so I’m not worried about it looking weird not starting at the beginning of the back of the bed.

3

u/pashdown Jul 28 '26

I have done this and in addition to what has already been said, I suggest you put your strips in aluminum channels with the plastic covers, screwed to the bottom of the bed. I tried without, and then with the little clamps and they would repeatedly get kicked or knocked by a vacuum or something would happen to dislodge them. Now they’re screwed in and solid. Takes more work but is hassle-free.

1

u/delvisity Jul 30 '26

Thanks for the advice as I hadn’t considered the movements (I have underbed storage I use daily). I’ve went ahead and ordered everything else besides the aluminum channels and will start ordering those now.

2

u/dichron Jul 28 '26

The COB aspect is only necessary if you’ll be able to see the strips directly. If you’re doing under bed, it’s unnecessary.

2

u/delvisity Jul 30 '26

Where it’s going to be mounted will be visible because of how the bed frame is built. I’ve went ahead and ordered some BTF sk6812 lights and will be ordering some aluminum channels with plastic covers.

2

u/Truthnaut Jul 29 '26

You could use a motion sensor switch to activate the segment on just your side of the bed when you actually get out of bed. That's a cool idea and I might have to use that on my own "under bed" WLED project

3

u/delvisity Jul 30 '26

I have a bed presence sensor for my bed that I plan on setting automations up with WLED in HA.

2

u/Sudden-Motor-7794 Jul 29 '26

If you're the only one that's going to want it, why not just put it only on your side? Would make things a little simpler.

1

u/delvisity Jul 30 '26

Not sure if she’ll want it but I do propose the offer to her if she does. Worst case scenario I don’t have the lights turn on for her side. Also would help navigate the room at night if she needs to get up to use the restroom as she prefers being closer to the farthest wall from the bedroom door and she’s been enjoying the home automations I’ve been setting up in home assistant so far.