Light DIY for 36 W T8 fluorescent bulbs and night light:
Great project , Radek.
I have a couple of comments, as an old (retired) US electrical engineer.
First is the LED night lights. Proper operation of LEDs requires careful attention to the current running through them. The voltage is not what needs to be controlled. A common practice is to use a 12V supply and a dropping resistor to convert that to the desired current level. Never drive a LED with a constant-voltage supply without the limiting resistor. One for each lamp, in parallel operation.
You can reduce the (wasted) resistor heat by using a smaller one and several LEDs in series, or drive a series setup with a constant-current supply (usually not an off-the-shelf product).
US operation of this system should be easy. The circuit board has 120Vac input instead of the 240V of some European supplies. Otherwise the only worry is that these cheap CF boards haven't always been that reliable, here. I also doubt if you will find a cheap 40W CF so the T8 lamps you chose will be under-driven with the 36W units. It might be better to use the T5 "U"-tube Compact Flourescents in 36W, as those should be fully driven. They lend themselves to efficient reflector design. See the AH Supply web site for those:
http://www.ahsupply.com/.
IMHO, it would be more reliable to just use one (or more) of his Fulham Workhorse ballasts designed for the number of lamps you will be using.
Keep the ballasts well-ventilated, too, or they won't last very long.
Like Bill, I really envy your wood-working skills. I hated wood shop in high school, so learned very little.
Wright
01 760 872-3995
805 Valley West Circle
Bishop, CA 93514 USA
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