How to Choose and Install LED Strip Lights?
When we choose the light strip, we will encounter some common problems. There are many kinds of LED lights strips on the market, up to a thousand, with poor quality and uneven grades. We will encounter situations that do not know how to find the right LED lights for our own lighting projects.
As one of the suppliers with the most LED supply categories, Superlightingled has always insisted on using quality and trust to communicate with customers and has been cultivating LED strips for 12 years. Currently, customers are all over the world. Our goal is to help customers find the most suitable products.
In response to the diversified needs of customers, we will provide two LED strip light optional ways: self-optional lighting(purchase by yourself without the assistance of others) and recommendation lighting(we recommend suitable products based on the scenario and customer purchasing experience).
Firstly you need to know：What is led strip light?
Self-optional Lighting
►Non-adjustable static demand
1. Your location
When choosing LED lights, your location will affect the optional of AC plug and the input voltage of the LED power supply. When choosing high-voltage LED strips and controllers, please be cautious about the options.
The voltage in the United States and Canada is AC110V; the voltage in most parts of Europe is AC220V.
2. LED strip light working environment
If you will use it in an outdoor environment, use a waterproof IP67 light strip in a rainy climate; in heavy rain weather and the light strip needs to be immersed in water, choose a waterproof IP68 light strip.
If you use it in an indoor environment In a humid climate, choose an IP65 light strip, and in a relatively dry climate, choose a non-waterproof IP20 light strip.
Know the led light strip waterproof rating here.
3. Installation environment of LED strip lights
Install the LED light strip in a well-sealed location such as a solid wood table, chair, wood board, etc. The heat dissipation of the light strip is extremely poor.
If you install this type of location, try to choose low-power and low-heat LED strips. LED aluminium profiles and LED neon tubes are used as attachment carriers, which can dissipate more heat.
They can be installed in combination with LED light strips, which can solve the heat dissipation problem well.
The installation space also needs to be carefully considered. In a narrow area, ultra-narrow light strips below 6mm can be satisfied; for ordinary installation environments, 10/12mm is sufficient.
*Knowledge about led aluminum channel and flex led neon lights:
Ultimate Guide on Aluminum Profile for LED Strip Lighting
4. LED tape optional
When you buy the LED light strip, the back of the light strip is attached with adhesive, suitable for most ordinary working environments.
If the installation environment is complicated, you need to buy a suitable LED tape by yourself.
The blue adhesive (glass fibre cloth thermal conductive double-sided adhesive) is resistant to high temperature and can be used for high wattage led strip light;
The yellow glue (double-sided adhesive tape) has good durability, high-temperature resistance, strong adhesion, and waterproof, which is used for normal indoor use.
It is suitable for wood, Paints and many plastics and fabrics; red adhesive (dark grey acrylic adhesive) is more viscous, with solid foam, entirely squeezed to achieve a seamless connection with the wall, used for waterproof led strips.
Transparent silicone sealant Organic solvent is neutral, non-corrosive, non-polluting, anti-aging and electrical insulation properties, rubber has good adhesion to metal and most plastics after curing, and has excellent resistance to alternating cold and heat.
5. LED strip length
The length of the LED strip determines the power of the LED, which in turn determines the choice of the LED power supply (the energy used by the LED power supply should be greater than 80% of the power of the LED strip to avoid excessive load).
The length of the light strips we provide is mostly 5m/16.4Ft, which can meet the needs of most customers.
If you are interested in ultra-long light strips, low-voltage ultra-long constant current or high-voltage light strips are a good choice.
If you are interested in ultra-short light strips, 0.5-5m/1.64-16.4Ft custom addressable light strips are a good choice.
►Adjustable dynamic demand
1.CRI
If you will use lighting to absolutely restore the colour of the natural environment, it is necessary to choose a product with a high CRI. Usually, the LED strip with a value of 90CRI or higher can restore the original appearance of the environment.
Single colour led strip light CRI value can reach 98; CCT led strip light CRI value can get 95; CRI value of white light in RGBCCT led strip light can come 85.
2. Lumens
The luminous flux can well reflect the actual lumens of the LED strip. Lumen requirements for different application scenarios are also additional.
When choosing Single Color LED strip light, you can refer to the following lumen ranges:
Accent lighting (Stairs, Swim Pool) recommended lumen selection range is 150-250LM/Ft, 2460-4100LM/16.4Ft;
Nearby working lighting (Cabinet) recommends that the lumen selection range is 175-550LM/Ft, 2870-9020LM/16.4Ft;
Long-distance task lighting (Ceiling) recommended lumen selection range is 350-1200LM/Ft, 5740-19680LM/16.4Ft;
Indirect lighting (Backlight) The recommended range of lumens is 375-1200LM/Ft, 6150-19680LM/16.4Ft;
Sign lighting (Hoarding) suggests that the range of lumen selection is 500-1200LM/Ft, 8200-19680LM/16.4Ft.
3. LED density
It is generally recognized in the industry that 30-72LEDs/m (<72) is a low-density light strip.Under the same LED conditions, the brightness is lower, and the power is more minor. You can select the plastic case power supply when choosing the LED power supply; 72-120LEDs/m ( <120).
It is a medium-density LED strip with moderate brightness and moderate power. When selecting an LED power supply, the actual capacity of the LED strip is about 100W. A high-power plastic case power supply or MEAN-WELL UL-Listed LED power supply can be considered;
more than 120LEDs /m is a high-density LED strip with high brightness and high power. When choosing an LED power supply, MEAN-WELL UL-Listed LED power supply is recommended.
Outdoor rainy environment, the waterproof LED power supply is recommended, installation space is small, and ultra-narrow LED power supply is recommended.
*About how to choose the right led power supply:
How to calculate power for led strip lights?
How to choose led strip light power supply?
4. LED chip
COB chip on board; high density without light spot, can be used as ultra-narrow light strip, Multiple colours optional/CCT/RGB/RGBW/Addressable RGB.
|
LED Feature |
LED Chip |
|
Ultra-narrow and high-density |
SMD2110/SMD2216/SMD3014 |
|
Multi-row super bright |
SMD2835/SMD3528 |
|
Single LED super bright |
SMD5630/SMD5730 |
|
General Basic Model |
SMD5050 |
|
Side emitting |
SMD020/SMD335 |
5. LED luminous colour
How to choose the right color for your led strip lights? What's the color difference?
Single colour led strip light is mainly used for indoor and outdoor lighting. High CRI and high lumen meet all the needs of environmental lighting.
Multiple colours led strip light (Color changing) static change effect, single colour changeable, to meet interior decoration needs.
Addressable led strip light(Color chasing) dynamic chasing effect, running horses and running water, the indoor atmosphere is contrasted with meeting mood lighting needs.
The perfect combination of LED neon light strip and LED neon tube produces a dynamic effect of 1+1>2, the first choice for sign lighting.
*Click the picture to know what is the white light color temperature.
6.LED voltage
When choosing addressable light strips, the LED voltage is a critical consideration.
Most DC5V led strip lights are individually addressable. WS2812B/WS2813/APA102/APA107/SK9822/WS2801/LPD8806 are mostly DC5V led strip light, single light can be cut, each 5m power supply;
WS2811/WS2815/WS2818 are mostly DC12V led strip light, three lights can be cut, every 5m Separate power supply, power supply at both ends of 10m;
most of TM1914/GS8206 are DC24C, six lamps can be cut, and each 10m is powered separately. We provide DC5/12/24/36/48V low voltage light strip and AC110/220V high voltage light strip for your choice.
A deeper look at addressable light strips: Ultimate Guide to Choosing the Right Addressable LED Strip.
7. LED light-emitting angle
SP (spot): 4-19 degrees
FL (flood): 20-35 degrees
WFL (wide flood): 36-49 degrees
VWFL (very wide flood): 50-120 degrees or more
The light-emitting angle of ordinary LED lights is 120 degrees, and the light-emitting tip is suitable for night lighting.
The light-emitting angle of the COB LED strip can reach 180 degrees. The use of LED strips with LED neon tubes can compensate for the difference in beam angles.
8. LED width and PCB colour
Ultra-narrow strips below 6mm; medium-width strips 6-12mm; high-width strips above 12mm
Depending on the installation environment, it is essential to choose the appropriate size of the LED strip.
If you want to hide your LED light strip in the installation environment, the appropriate colour and size of the light strip can be achieved with the surrounding environment.
*Knowledge about led strip installation for those who want to purchase the led strip:
How to connect two light strips together?
How to wire single color led strip lights?
How to wire tunable white/CCT led strip lights?
How to wire RGB color changing led strip lights?
SuperLightingLED Limited was established in 2011 and has been in the LED field for 13 years. Now it has developed into a high-tech enterprise that is committed to growing to be a worldwide innovation brand of LED Lighting, providing up to 12,000 kinds of LED Strip Light products, covering almost all home lighting fields. 95% of customers are from the US and EU, and the products are designed and produced by ETL factories and provided to customers all over the world through DHL/UPS Express service, and also provide project customized solutions. At the same time, we are also looking for high-quality agents. All products can be purchased online. You are welcome to contact us at any time!
