How to build a heated LED picture panel

Two functions on one panel

A panel that lights and heats combines a light source and a heating element on a single support. The assembly is simple, but it means deciding from the start which of the two functions governs the geometry of the whole.

Light decides

A lighting defect shows immediately, a heating defect does not. The position of the light sources is therefore fixed first, and the heating element is organised around it, in the space that remains.

The support

It must be flat, rigid and non-combustible or classified appropriately for the use. That point is checked before starting, because it governs both the mechanical strength and the behaviour in case of incident.

The electrical safety rule

Two separate circuits, a compliant connection and suitable protection. An assembly combining lighting and heating belongs to the electrical installation, and its execution falls to an electrician even when the assembly is done elsewhere.

The surface temperature

It is set before everything else. A panel meant to stay within reach is not designed like a panel placed high up, and that decision determines the choice of heating element.

What should not be improvised

Ventilation behind the panel and the fixing. A heating element pressed against a surface with no clearance behaves differently from one mounted with a void behind it, and that difference is thought through at assembly.

The choice of film is developed on the dedicated page, and connection on the connection page.