How to Build Disco Lights

Co-authored by wikiHow Staff

Last Updated: November 22, 2022

Lighting up a dance floor with classic disco lighting effects can turn a good party into a great one. The most classic form of disco lighting involves projecting light onto a mirrored ball, otherwise known as a disco ball. You can also build your own ball of colored light. Finally, you can purchase disco dance bulbs and install them in fixtures you already have, or build custom disco fixtures.

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Lighting a Disco Ball

1
Get or make a mirrored ball. The most iconic disco decoration is the disco ball. They produce moving white dots of light when a spotlight is projected on their surface. You can easily find a disco ball online, or make one of your own.
- Note that disco balls come in all sorts of sizes.
- If you’re hoping to fill a living or dining room with moving white dots, get a ball that’s about 12 in (30 cm) diameter. For a larger room, get a roughly 20 in (50 cm) disco ball.
2
Consider getting a disco ball motor. The disco lighting effect is amplified if you mount the ball on a motor that rotates the ball and moves the dots of light around the room. You can purchase disco balls that come with a motor, or purchase the motor separately online.^{[1]
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- Be sure to get a motor that can handle the size and weight of your ball. Some motors are designed for small disco balls, while others can handle larger ones.
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3
Hang the motor from the ceiling. Choose a location near the middle of the room that has a horizontal surface you can attach the motor too, such as the ceiling. If the motor is powered by a plug, plan the route that the cord will take. ^{[2]
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- Most disco ball motors will mount to the ceiling with screws.
- Keep in mind that there will also be a light aimed at the disco ball, so there must also be an appropriate space to hang a light that will point at the ball.
4
Position one or two spotlights pointing at the disco ball. There are specific lights designed for use with a disco ball, but many different spotlights will work. The important factor is that the light is focused, or pointed in a particular direction like a spotlight. The effect will be even better if you are able to point two spotlights at the ball from different directions.^{[3]
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- You can mount the spot lights in many different ways. If you get a spotlight specifically for this purpose, it may even attach to the disco ball's base. It may also have a base of its own that you attach to the ceiling separately.
- The ideal distance between the mirrored ball and the spotlight depends on the size of the ball, as well as the size and strength of the light. Experiment with positioning the spotlight in different locations relative to the ball and mount it where it provides the desired effect.
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Get a disco-specific spotlight. Some spotlights have features that supplement the lighting effect that is made by the disco ball. For instance, you can get a spotlight that rotates through different colored filters, so that the dots of light moving around the room change color periodically.^{[4]
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Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Building an LED Light Ball

1
Buy an LED light cord. Another classic disco decoration is a ball of light. To make one of your own, buy an LED light cord from a hardware store or online. You can get a variety of colors, and there are light cords that change color, flash, and even change effects via remote control.^{[5]
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2
Get a bunch of styrofoam or plastic cups. These will make up the shell of the ball. They are the perfect material, as they will emanate light, they are extremely cheap, and they are readily available at the grocery store.^{[6]
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- You will likely need more cups than you think. Of course, this depends on the size of the ball you hope to make, as well as the size of the cups you use.
- Get about 100 cups just to make sure you have enough.
3
Glue cups together side-to-side to form a circle. Use a glue gun to apply a vertical strip of glue to the side of a cup, and press another cup against the strip of glue, so that their sides are touching from top to bottom. The openings of the cups will be tilted slightly away from one another, and the bottoms of the cups will point inwards. Continue adding cups in the same way, taking care to keep the cups on the same plane with one another.^{[7]
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- The specific numbers of cups you will use to complete this first circle is largely up to you. Keep in mind that you will be adding additional layers on top of this circle (with a few less cups each time) to complete a dome.
- If you’re using classic water-cooler sized styrofoam cups, use 16 cups to complete your first circle.
4
Add consecutive layers with fewer cups each time. Nestle a cup into the spaces between each of the cups in the circle, using glue to fasten them. Always point the opening of the cup outwards. Repeat this process with additional layers of cups. It will take fewer cups to complete each layer, until you wind up with a completed half dome.^{[8]
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- As you stack layers, the bottoms of each cup will tilt slightly more inwards towards the center of the dome that is slowly forming.
- It may be tricky to hold and glue the final few cups in the dome, so use clothespins to help hold the cups while you glue them in place.
- Make another dome in the same way. Together, these two hemispheres can be joined to complete the shell of your light.
5
Push a single bulb into the bottom of each cup. From the inside of your half dome, push an LED bulb into the bottom of each cup, so that the bulb just barely protrudes into the well of the cup.^{[9]
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- Do the same for other side of the dome as well, then glue the two halves of the dome together with the rest of the LED bulbs balled up inside.
- If the LED string is powered by a plug, make sure to run the plug out between some of the cups.

Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Using Disco Light Bulbs

1
Buy a rotating, flashing, and/or color changing light bulb. There are all sort of light bulbs that create disco-like effects. You can find these at novelty shops or online. There are even some that create the classic disco effect of a rotating field of dots of light. Search online for things like "disco light bulb," “rotating light bulb,” “magic light bulb,” or “color-changing light bulb.”^{[10]
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- Amazon has a particularly good selection of this sort of item.
- Many of these light bulbs come ready for use. You can simply screw them into a compatible socket and start dancing.
2
Install disco light bulbs in fixtures you already have. Believe it or not, building a disco light may be as easy as screwing in a light bulb. For instance, remove the cover from a ceiling fixture and replace the regular bulbs with a rotating one. You can also run lamp cords from power sockets to wherever you want to position a disco light bulb.
- Resale or thrift stores are a great place to get light fixtures. You can even remove many of the pieces of an old lamp so you just have a cord with a plug on one end and the bulb receptacle on the other.
3
Build your own disco light fixture. Aside from the disco-themed light bulbs, you’ll need a power cord, lamp holders, a lamp holder base, wire nuts, and a back cover for the base if you want the fixture to be free standing. Cut the socket off of the power cord and connect the wires to the lamp holders with the wire nuts. The wire nuts will be tucked behind the lamp holder base.^{[11]
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- If you have never wired a light fixture before, have someone who has help you out. Though it may seem intimidating, it’s safe and easy to do.
- Never work on the wiring of anything that is plugged in. Keep the plug out of the socket whenever you're working on your disco light.

Community Q&A

Question

How much would this cost on average?

Community Answer

Disco balls vary widely in cost, as do spotlights. The same is true for the materials necessary to build or assemble other sorts of disco themed lights.