Everything you need to know about led strips

What are led strips?
LED strips are new and flexible forms of lighting. There are many variations and exceptions, but for the most part, they have the following characteristics:

• They consist of many individual LEDs mounted on a narrow, flexible circuit
• It works with low DC voltage
• They are available in a wide variety of fixed and variable colors and brightness
• Supplied on a 5m roll, can be cut to length and includes double sided adhesive for mounting

Anatomy of led strip
LED strip is typically half an inch (10-12 mm) wide and up to 5 meters or more in length. They can be cut to specific lengths using just a pair of scissors along the cut lines, located every 5-10 cm.

The LEDs are placed along the strip, usually at densities of 60-120 per meter. The light color and the quality of the individual leds determine the overall light and its quality.

The back side of the led strip includes pre-applied double-sided adhesive. Simply remove the liner and place the led strip on almost any surface. Because the circuit is designed to be flexible, the LED strips can be placed on curved and uneven surfaces.

Determination of the brightness of led strips
The brightness of led strips is determined using lumens. Unlike incandescent bulbs, different LED strips can have different output levels, so the wattage rating is not always important in determining actual light output.

The brightness of led strips is usually described in lumens per meter. A good quality led strip should provide at least 1500 lumens per meter, which provides about the same amount of light output per meter as a traditional T8 fluorescent lamp.

The brightness of led strips is mainly determined by three factors:

• Output and light output per Led
• The number of leds per meter
• The power of the led strip per meter

A led strip without a lumens specification is a red flag. You'll also want to watch out for low-cost LED strips that claim high brightness, as they may drive the LEDs to the point of premature failure.

LED Density and Power Consumption

You may come across various led names, such as 2835, 3528, 5050 or 5730. Don't worry too much about this, as what is most important in an LED strip is the number of LEDs per meter and the power per meter.

The density of the LEDs is important in determining the distance between the LEDs (pitch) and whether there will be visible spots and dark spots between the LED emitters. A higher density of 120 LEDs per meter usually provides the best, more evenly distributed lighting effect. LEDs are the most expensive component of led strip manufacturing, so be sure to factor in led density differences when comparing led strip prices.

Next, consider the power of the led strip per meter. Power consumption tells us how much power the system will consume, so this is important to determine your electricity costs and power supply requirements. A good quality led strip should be able to provide 4 watts per 30 cm or more (15 W / meter).

LED strip color options: White
The films are available in various shades of white or colors. In general, white light is the most useful and popular choice for indoor lighting applications.

In describing the different hues and qualities of white, color temperature (CCT) and color rendering index (CRI) are two measurements that are important to remember.

Color temperature is a measure of how "warm" or "cool" the color of light appears. The soft glow of a traditional incandescent bulb has a low color temperature (2700K), while the bright white of natural daylight has a high color temperature (6500K).

Color rendering index (CRI) is a measure of how accurately colors appear under the light source. Under a low-CRI LED strip, colors can appear distorted, washed out, or indistinct. Professional Series products provide light that allows objects to appear in the same way as an ideal light source, such as a halogen lamp or natural daylight.