LED strip lights, ribbons or tapes have become the most popular LED products out there. They did not only replace incandescent ribbons, however, many of the fluorescent tubes at the same time, and definitely gave endless choices for advertisements and decoration of bars, hotels, as well as other public places. With the fast development of the LED technology, automobile accessible in very bright versions too, allowing users to make use of becoming task, or perhaps rare cases, whilst a primary source of lighting. Their application is popular in the home and commercial use, and then we collected the main characteristics of strip lights consumers must determine that they want to make a good choice.

According to our purposes these features could help us choose what we will need to apply.

- The dimensions or sort of LED included
- the quantity of LEDs in just a metre from the strip
- the shades or colour temperature with the LEDs
- the flexibility from the strip
- the direction of LEDs on the strip
- carrying capacity - robust
- IP rating
- Voltage
- dimmers and controllers

Of all the so-called determining factors mentioned previously, the most important is probably the type and size with the LED included, each of which determine its brightness or performance. This difference has already been discussed a single in our previous articles on ArticleBase.com: the way the performance of different LED technologies (low power, SMD power as well as power) ranges, plus the sized the diodes. Obviously, the more recent the technology in the LED is, and also the bigger its dimension is, the brighter it will likely be.

Another determining factor of the performance is naturally the amount of LEDs inside the strip in just a metre for instance. The larger the dpi is, the brighter the strip is, though extremely high numbers in a metre often require special technologies, like double width strips - in which the LED are placed it's unlikely that any following your other however in several rows alongside each other. With strips such as a large sum of LED always check their arrangement, because LEDs placed too close to one another may emit a lot of heat and radically shorten the lifespan from the strip.

The colour variety of the LED is currently endless, since any colour can be created with RGB technique. You can find generally several shades of white available: bright or cold white - the bluish, really bright form of white, and comfy white - which is rather yellowish much like the sun, as well as the natural white - the combination of the 2 in various degrees. The temperature in the white colour is measured in Kelvin, and the higher colour temperatures (from about 5000 K) will be the cold, or bluish whites along with the lower ones (2700 - 3000 K) are the warmer white colours.



Single colour LEDs can be purchased in nearly all colours now, though the RGB LED strips can also emit a lot of avenues of colours. RGB strips need a controller to work, and select perhaps the colour of the strip needs to be one constant colour, or should change together with setting the interest rate of change. Special pixel RGB strips can affect the colour back to back, making a run-down effect. The variety of colour changes with the RGB strip largely is dependent upon the information of the controller too.

The flexibleness from the LED strips is usually a determining factor in their application. Rigid strips are fantastic for replacing fluorescent tubes for instance, even though there is almost nothing they're worth have the ability to use a flexible type of strip either. On flat surfaces frequently it's better to use rigid strips, though applied on ceilings or walls - I suppose lots of you've come across this challenge before - what definitely seems to be flat for the eye is far from straight once examined which has a spirit level. So, flexibility is much more ordinarily a grace than the usual burden.
Strips are often flexible to one dimension only, which can be exactly she the direction of the LEDs can be significant. The most typical forms of strips have LEDs lighting upwards, therefore for example in order to enlighten one of the wheels you must search for side-mounted or side-view strips to be able to shape them the best suited direction.

The carrying capacity of strips is generally very low. Heavy-duty strip lighting is not usually sold for use at home, but prefer to for commercial use on ships along with factories for instance. In home based use, where carrying capacity matters - on an edge of a stair as an example - the usage of profiles will be the common solution.

The IP rating of strips or any electric goods comprises of two numbers, indicating the quality of protection provided against the intrusion of solid objects (including parts of the body like hands and fingers), dust, accidental contact, and water in electrical enclosures.

If you are planning to set up strip lights at wet or humid places, outdoors, or maybe even under water, then your items need to be partially or completely waterproof. 100% waterproof items contain the IP rating of 68.

The Voltage of LED strip lights should invariably be checked before application. Strips running at mains in many cases are used, most of the LED strips demand a transformer, because they run at lv (usually 12 or 24 V). Should your strips have to have a transformer, make sure it is suited to LEDs, because electric transformers more often than not ruin LEDs.

All the different moods or atmospheres that can be designed with strip lights is amazingly large and the majority depends on the accessories you employ with them, like dimmers or controllers. Even though largest variety of RGB effects are manufactured with panels, high isn't any limit to the effects used besides our imagination, there's a lot you can do with strips too, applying complex controllers, like the DMX, enabling you to set the rhythm of colour change to music. Dimming is obviously simply attainable, though most strips demand a dimmer specifically manufactured for LEDs.

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