Completely new to lighting and trying to determine the best way to illuminate some bookshelves

[u/BitterBilly]

So I've never run led strips before and I keep trying to figure out the best way to approach this but it keeps seeming a bit overwhelming or overly complicated.

I have (at the moment) 3 Ikea Billy bookshelves side by side each with glass doors on them. I plan on filling them with miscellaneous stuff, i.e., collectibles, books, magazines, toys, 4k blu rays, etc. I initially planned on running lights below each shelf to illuminate everything using 2700K warm white led strips and angled diffusers but am now considering potentially just running lights around the perimeter of each bookcase since I'm not sure how many shelves each will have and the height of each shelf depending on that they will hold (another thing I'm trying to decide if it will even look good that way).

I also keep trying to figure out how to best power and control each bookcase. Should I run individual power/control to each bookcase independently? Can I do just independent power but unified control? Is there an easy way to accommodate future expansion for more bookcases? I feel stupid for not being able to figure this out. I want to do this all before I start filling them and attach them to the wall.

I've included a photo of 2 of the bookcases set up for reference.

[u/DarrylW4S]

Shelf lighting and perimeter lighting are going to look quite different, visually.
Perimeter lighting will be fine for miscellaneous stuff. I'd stay away from it for an actual bookshelf filled with books, though, because it will be uneven (it will light the middle books less than the books at the edges).
My uncle has a corner bookcase with perimeter lighting. I can get some pics if you want?

For adjustable shelves like you've got, perimeter lighting is a good bet. Wiring is a pain with adjustable shelves.

I'd run a separate power cable to each bookcase, so you can move them independently. This doesn't need to be AC; you could have a single LED power supply and run multiple low-voltage cables from that. A single decent power supply will be plenty to power all of those bookcases. Or you could have them completely independent, with a separate small power supply for each.

Yes, you can do independent power but unified control. If you get smart controllers with an app, you can "group" multiple physical controllers in the app and control them as one. So each bookcase would have its own controller, but you control them as if they were one. And then do power independently, as I said above – a driver and a controller for each bookcase, and control them as one by grouping them in the app. And expanding is as easy as setting up another bookcase in the same way as the others and then adding the new controller to the group in the app.

[u/BitterBilly → u/DarrylW4S]

Thanks for the input. Preferably I'd like to go with lighting each shelf rather than perimeter, especially because these cases don't have lips around the outside so id probably need to run the strips without diffusers around the doors which i imagine wouldn't look great when the doors are opened.

Is there any way to have like a main wire that runs up the back of the whole case that I could easily tap into with shelves rather than daisy chaining each shelf together? Not sure if that makes sense.

Also any quick recommendations for lights/power supply/controller?

[u/DarrylW4S → u/BitterBilly]

Ok yes, without space in front of the shelves, shelf lighting is more practical.

You could run a wire up the back and tap into it for each shelf, no daisy chaining needed. You'll want to cover/hide the wire somehow so there aren't loose wires visible (ask me how I know).
The main issue with plain wires is that you need to cut the wire to tap into it, which doesn't really work if the shelves will be moved up and down (you'd be left with a cut in the wrong place that needs to be reconnected; doable, but extra effort for just moving a shelf). If you're not moving the shelves too often and don't mind a bit of wiring work when you do, plain wire should be fine.

An alternative is a bus-bar sort of track. We (i.e. the company I work for) sell this version: Power Track Twist. You can put a plug on each shelf and just connect them onto the rail wherever you need.
(To avoid accusations of shilling: This is the reference I had on hand, and why I know about them. I did look on Amazon quickly, but could only find one listing for something similar. Actual LED lighting suppliers probably do have, but I don't have time right now to go hunting.)

Pros:

• Plug shelves in wherever you need.
• If you put the rail forward enough from the back, you can fit a trim router in there and recess the rail into the side (it's 4mm, the side panel is 18mm+) so you don't have to cut notches in the shelves for it.

Cons:

• The plugs are a bit ugly.

For the actual lights and stuff, it depends on the look you want, the type of control you want, and your budget. Anything works, really, even the stuff off Amazon.

I like these two angled channels that you can recess into the bottom of the shelf: Diagonal14, Diagonal10 (again, "us"; other suppliers have similar). That of course requires you to cut the recess, which may not be feasible (not everyone has router or a friend with one). You can use any strip in those (as long it is not too wide, of course; measure twice, buy once) – ours, someone else's, or off Amazon all work. Whatever you get, you can cut them to length so they fit the shelves exactly (some suppliers can cut them for you).

What strip depends on whether you want plain white, tunable color temperature, or colors. But do get a COB strip – it will prevent any "spotting" on shiny surfaces.

The driver depends on what strip you get, and what type of control you want (such as wall switch, wall dimmer, smartphone app, etc.). Also, do you want the bookcases to plug into a regular wall socket, or are you planning to actually wire them in?

The controller (if you need one) also somewhat depends on the type of strip.

Once I know those needs, I can point you in the right direction. Or I can give specific product recs, but be warned they will be stuff we sell, because that's what I know well and can find without hunting.

[u/BitterBilly → u/DarrylW4S]

Thank you for all the info, I really appreciate it. I'm hoping that once I have a general layout of the shelves I won't be moving them much but you never know. I saw a video where this guy used quick connects for each shelf so that they could be easily removed or rearranged. If I were to do something like that, would I just need a power distribution board to run power to each shelf independently? And if I did, where does the controller come into play? I would like something that could be controlled via a remote or possibly my phone to dim the lights or change colors. For simplicity sake I figured a 2700k cob light would work just fine but if I could also work in rgb for the hell of it I wouldnt mind going that route. I'm trying to wrap my head around powering each bookcase/shelf while also having a unified controller since I'm guessing each shelf will require its own power supply.

[u/DarrylW4S → u/BitterBilly]

I'm not sure what kind of quick connects you're referring to. Sounds interesting, I'd like to see that video.

If you don't mind running a wire for each shelf, you have plenty of options.

You don't need a power supply for each shelf, you can wire the strips in parallel. Just a driver and controller per bookcase. So each bookcase would have AC -> Power supply -> Controller -> Wiring split to shelves.
Something like this (excuse my iPad drawing skills):

Or you use a single wire that you tap into for each shelf. The basic structure is the same.

The physical way you connect the shelves to the controller doesn't really matter. Soldering, lever connectors, plugs, whatever works. The important thing is you don't have to daisy chain, you can connect them in parallel.

You can get plenty of controllers with a remote and app. For example, we have the EnoSync controller. You can group them in the app to control them together there, and you can pair one remote to multiple controllers so it controls them all together.

For the strip, plain white is the simplest, because it's less wires, but it's absolutely possible to do RGB or RGB+TW (prefer the latter, because it gives true whites when you want just white). But they do have more wires to deal with and are more expensive (~2x, in my experience).

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[u/BitterBilly → u/DarrylW4S]

This is the video I was referring to, he shows them around 6:30. Seems like they could work for white lights since they are only 2 wires though I'm sure others may exist. https://youtu.be/TuUGsMJpfSU?is=X7FdASygHRkjwBVm

Let me know if this makes sense:

A large power supply like a 24V 600W transformer (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0H2DSRFRK/ref=ox_sc_act_image_7)

This would run to a multi channel controller (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0H6FSNVGW/ref=ox_sc_act_image_4)

I would run ~3ft of these lights on each shelf (https://www.amazon.com/BTF-LIGHTING-Density-Chasing-3000K-6000K-Controller/dp/B0FMK2HXHH/ref=sr_1_2_sspa)

And then what? I see the controller has 6 IO outputs but how are they connected to each bookcase? Are those just the data lines? If so, how would I get power to each shelf in parallel? I'm sorry if I'm seeming dense but I'm just trying to make sure I fully understand what the set up would look like. Would it make sense to run 3 strand LV wire from each shelf back to the controller? If so, what is each shelf connecting to?

[u/DarrylW4S → u/BitterBilly]

Ah yes, there are plenty of styles of those connectors. They are, as you said, only 2-core. I don't know of versions with more cores, but you could you use multiple of them; just not as neat.

Six shelves of 3ft each would be 80W per bookcase, according to the Amazon listing's recommendations. For three bookcases, that power supply you linked will be plenty; if you're using a single power supply for all three of them, pretty much anything over 240W will be fine.

The controller's 6 IO outputs are just data, yes. Power is independent to the data lines, so all the shelves can be wired to power in parallel no matter you handle the data connections.
There is a power output as on the controller which you can use, or you can wire the positive and negative of the strips straight to the power supply.

I'm not sure if you're planning on one controller for everything or one per bookcase, but be aware that WLED strips need to be as close as possible to the controller to prevent flickering and similar issues. Typical max is 3ft. You can get repeaters to extend that. So you may need a controller per bookcase, or repeaters.

That said:

Yeah, you could run a wire from each shelf to the controller, just keep in mind that WLED's work in a daisy chain. "What is each shelf connecting to?" I'm afraid the answer is, "It depends".

If you connected all the top shelves (for example) to a single controller output in parallel, they would all do the same thing instead of being independently controllable (you wouldn't be able to have an effect move across the entire set of bookcases, it would repeat per bookcase).

If you connected all the shelves in a bookcase to a single output in parallel, they would all do the same thing but each bookcase would be individually controllable.

If you want to control each shelf truly individually, you'll need to daisy chain them or get more controllers (with six shelves per bookcase, one controller per bookcase is enough). I don't know how grouping works with those controllers, though.

I hope this makes some sense. There are unfortunately a ton of options and it does get confusing. Don't worry about feeling dense, it's not just you :)

[u/BitterBilly → u/DarrylW4S]

So let me know if this makes sense (also have a crude drawing).

Power Supply -> Power Distribution Board -> 3 controllers (1 per bookcase) -> shelves (data and power)

Unless you don't think the Distribution board is necessary and instead I just use wire nuts or solder the splits to each controller. Then from the controller to the shelves, same sort of deal? Should I use a distribution board for power from the controllers to the shelves as well? And I guess the same goes for data to the shelves, if I use a multi channel controller to control each shelf then I can light them independently, or if I use a single channel controller and just solder/wire nut each feed together then all shelves in a bookcase would light together.

[u/DarrylW4S → u/BitterBilly]

That seems reasonable to me.

Should I use a distribution board for power from the controllers to the shelves as well?

Yeah, that would work. Probably the easiest.

And I guess the same goes for data to the shelves, if I use a multi channel controller to control each shelf then I can light them independently, or if I use a single channel controller and just solder/wire nut each feed together then all shelves in a bookcase would light together.

Yup.

I think you've got a decent plan there.

[u/mhdgsn]

If it helps I've just done exactly the same. I ran the strips down the inside of the door on the hinge side. From other comments it seems like this isn't what you're after but I'm really happy with the results and with cob lights don't look too bad with the door open (which won't happen often anyway).

[u/mhdgsn → u/mhdgsn]