Things to Consider When Choosing LED Strip Lights
For example, introducing a 1 metre strip of LED lighting into
your kitchen cabinet may be a lot more straight forward than using 20
metres of RGB LED Strip Lights to outfit a club and run this on DMX
Control. Regardless of what you do there are a few universal things to
look out for and this article will take you through some of them.
We
will start with the LED Tape itself. This consists of a long piece of
high impact, flexible circuit board with surface mounted devices, or
SMDs, positioned along its length. There are a few different things to
consider here including, LEDs per metre, LED chip size, strip light
colour and length. Strip Lights are available in two LED per metre
varieties, 30 LED per metre and 60 LED per metre. As suggested by the
name the latter has twice as many LEDs and is a lot brighter than the
former. They are designed to be used in a lighting context where they
are forced to compete with background illumination. So for example if
you want to use them in a daylight setting, such as a shop street
display, or add them to a room that already has general illumination and
still want them to be seen, you should opt for 60 LED per metre as
their sharper light output makes them suitable for these purposes. Aside
from this a 30 LED per metre strip will be able to handle most other
lighting arrangements, such as club setups, or anywhere else they don’t
have to compete with background lighting.
When you look at the
specifications of strip lighting you will usually notice a series of
four numbers that to most people might not mean a lot. These actually
refer to the size of the individual LEDs on the strips. Typically you
will find chip sizes of either 5050 (5mm by 5mm) or 3528 (3.5mm by
2.8mm). The key difference between these two types of chip size is the
consistency of light they produce. Smaller LEDs will create a more
jagged and inconsistent effect, while larger LEDs will provide a more
even spread of light.
Another decision to make is exactly what
colour strip light you want to buy. They are usually available in three
main colour varieties, including warm and cool white and interchangeable
RGB. The former two are for adding stylish ambient lighting to
commercial and domestic settings while avoiding being too garish with
the end result. They can be used to aesthetically to enhance the
appearance of a room by adding layered or accent lighting, or they can
add functionality to kitchens, bathrooms or offices where they can be
used as task lighting to aid work. RGB LED is a direct substitute for
old fashioned disco lighting and offers thousands of programmable
effects. Typically they will run directly from a remote control which
works in conjunction with a red eye sensor attached between the strip
light and transformer. However, DMX Control is also an option. This is a
form of advanced effects programming that uses an industry standard
signal to control the brightness, colour and frequency of the lights.
The
most obvious consideration to make is the exact length of strip
lighting that you require. This depends on the nature of your setup and
how complex your intentions are. Usually most lighting arrangements can
be achieved with a single strip. Strip Lights are available in 5 metre
and 10 metre reels as standard, but longer or shorter bespoke lengths
can be ordered so call your provider to find out. Lengthening or
shortening strip lighting can be done all by yourself as well. To
shorten a strip light can be done by simply cutting the strip at one of
its cutting points spaced approximately 5cm apart along the length of
the light. To attach two pieces of strip together, and thereby increase
the length of the light, you will need a soldering iron and some two
core wire. Simply solder these wires to their respective plus and minus
solder points at the end of the strip light where the cut has been made
and do the same on the other strip to complete the connection. This
method can be used to achieve a bit of extra length
, especially when
trailing them around a large corner.
This article has given you a
few of the main specifications associated with LED Strip Lighting and
how to ensure you get exactly the right light you desire for your
purposes. Look out for additional articles on how to make sure you meet
the power requirements of your lighting system.
