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LED strip lighting is popular among many Architects and Lighting Designers as they are energy efficient and offer a great range of colour options and brightness. The biggest advantage is how easy they are to install. Their flexibility, low-profile and helpful accessories make them the most popular LED strip for the at home DIY types. With these LED strips, a homeowner can design like a professional.
This LED Strip Guide will help newcomers chose they right LED strip lights and how to use them.
Cut-to-size
Cutting LED strips is very simple thanks to the cut lines along the strips. At each cut point there is a black line with copper solder pads that sit on each side. The copper solder pads make it possible for each strip to be joined even after being cut. This makes it possible to connect LED strips together or connect the strip in a different area of your home.
Flexible LED strip with Adhesive
The LED strips have an adhesive backing for simple mounting options. The low profile, flexible strip has a peel-off backing which exposes the adhesive, making for a simple peel-and-stick install.
LED Strip Density = Brightness
The density of an LED light strip means how many LEDs are in a set area. For LED flex strips, density is measured in ‘LEDs per Meter’. The Standard Density strip has 30 LEDs/M whereas the High-Density has 60 LEDs/M. A higher density strip equates to a higher quality, brighter light.
Different projects require certain amount of brightness to achieve their purpose. My advice would be to always go for the brighter option and make sure the kit comes with a dimmer. Below is a helpful guide on Lumen requirements:
- Accent or Mood Lighting – 100-300 Lumens/ft.
- Under Cabinet Lighting – 175-360 Lumens/ft.
- Task lighting w/ higher distance from source – 300-450 Lumens/ft.
- Bedroom, Cove Lighting – 180-500 Lumens/ft.Colour: RGB Multicolor
LED strip colour depends on personal preference. RGB LED strips are a good option for those that like some variety and colour effects. RGB strip lights are colour changing strips that are great for accent lighting all around the home. They use red, green and blue diodes so that they can be mixed to create many different colours.
Wiring and Connecting LED Strips
Was the plan to run all the strips together in a long run? If your total length needed is over the maximum run length of the strip, then you will need to run parallel wires from your power source to the separate strips. Sometimes you will want to power strips coming from different directions into one common power supply. In this instance you will already be running parallel wires.
Connecting LED strips
Connecting strips will be necessary for any strip project. We have some helpful information on to complete any LED strip connection.
How to Connect LED Strips without soldering: Click Strip Connectors work great for connecting strips end to end, running gaps in between LED strips or running around tight corners.
The easiest way to connect two LED strips together is to use a LED light strip connecting clip. Two LED strips can be joined with each other using a male to male clip. Hippo Buckle light strip connector lets you connect two LED strips with each other easily. This connector has space for LED light strip on each of its two ends. You simply have to install one end of your strip to the hippo buckle connector to connect two strips together. The ‘buckle’ on the connector keeps the strips in place once installed.
You can use these connectors to connect two strips together or even connect your LED strip to the power supply. In either case, these connectors help you extend the distance your LED light strips can cover effectively. You can use this connector to connect single colour and RGB LED lights strips together.
While hippo clips are great for connecting individual LED light strips with each other, they don’t have enough space to connect parallel LED tapes to each other. That is where this larger solder-free LED strips lights connector comes in to play. It has enough space to connect multiple LED strips with each other.
You can use this connector to connect single colour and RGB LED ribbon lights together. It is also compatible with dimmable LED strip lights. Plastic clips keep the LED strips in place and the connection secure.
Your project might require your LED light strips to go around a corner or an unusual shape. That is where the solder-free LED wire connectors come in handy. These wire connectors have clips on both ends so you can use them to connect two LED light strips with each other. They are great for extending the length of your LED light strips.
The wire connector is a great way to cover corners and other areas of your space where you don’t need light. This is because these wires don’t have LEDs mounted on them. They can only be used to extend the length of the strips. You can connect both single colour and RGB LED tape lights with each other.
Follow the instructions on our video and start creating!