The best and good LED strips. Choosing an LED strip for kitchen lighting: tips and cautions

Do you think LED strip can be used as the main lighting in a living room? Your humble servant, based on his own experience, undertakes to assert that he can, and is ready to justify his position. Do you have any doubts? Well, let's argue.

Any seller of LED equipment will convincingly and intelligibly tell you how LEDs compare favorably with conventional incandescent lamps, halogen lamps and compact fluorescent (so-called energy-saving) lamps.

We will not fall into the sin of verbosity and will present only the main arguments in their favor:

1. Economical. The luminous flux of modern LEDs exceeds 100 lumens per watt of power. This is ten times more than incandescent lamps, and one and a half times more than energy-saving light bulbs;
2. Huge LED resource (at least 30,000 hours);
3. Lack of connection between the number of on-off cycles and mean time between failures. Simply put, no matter how much you flip the switch, the life of the LED will not decrease;
4. No toxic components(unlike compact fluorescent lamps with their mercury vapor in the bulb).

By LED lighting we are accustomed to understand the use of point sources - chandeliers, wall and ceiling lamps, spotlights, etc. However, against their background, lighting with LED strips has the most important advantage - the absence of shadows.

Yes, this is not important for everyone; however, the author will allow himself to give several arguments in favor of such a lighting scheme:

• If you do a lot of writing or typing on a computer keyboard, the absence of shadows greatly simplifies your work by making the characters visible right at your fingertips;

• This is also important in the home workshop, when working with small parts: the shadow of a pencil or jigsaw file sometimes interferes with an accurate line or cut;
• For a makeup artist and hairdresser, shadows are the first enemy: lighting should be uniform and correspond as closely as possible to daylight.

Let us clarify: in the latter case, not only the absence of shadows is important, but also the spectral composition of the light. Alas, in this regard, the best of modern LEDs only come close to halogen lamps: their color rendering index reaches 85% versus 95-100% for halogen lamps.

The tape is useful not only as the main light source, but also as a backlight. Due to its small cross-section and weight, it can be mounted on a foam or polyurethane ceiling plinth.

Lighting the ceiling with an LED strip provides diffused reflected light, which is very convenient in the nursery, when you are putting your fidget to bed, or when watching a movie in the living room.

Shopping

So what should we buy?

Ribbon

The LED strip for main lighting must have a luminosity of at least 800 - 1000 lumens per linear meter. The author strongly advises to prefer strips on modern smd 5630 or 5730 LEDs: compared to smd 5050, which have been on the market for a long time, they provide higher luminosity with the same or lower power consumption.

Please note: the price of modern tapes is equal to, or even lower than, the cost of obsolete products with obviously worse characteristics. Progress does not stand still, and new LEDs are not only more economical than old ones, but also noticeably cheaper.

The guideline for selecting lighting for premises for various purposes may well be the instructions prescribed in SNiP 23-05-95:

For example, to illuminate a living room with an area of ​​20 square meters, a strip with a total luminosity of 20x150 = 3000 lumens is needed, which, with a specific luminosity of 1000 lumens per linear meter, will give us three meters in length.

In practice: it is worth selecting the luminosity with a margin of at least 20-30%. The fact is that most manufacturers overestimate the luminosity of the tape relative to the real one. In addition, with its considerable length, the LEDs farthest from the power wire shine more dimly due to the inevitable voltage drop on a long conductor.

What should the color temperature of LEDs be?

It all depends on your preferences:

• A color temperature of 2700 Kelvin produces light close to the spectrum of an incandescent lamp and minimally tiring the eyes;
• 4000K guarantees extremely accurate color reproduction: this is the spectrum of midday sunlight.

power unit

The power supply must cover the total consumption of the tape by at least 20%. This is necessary so that its transistors do not operate in their maximum operating modes: heating the power supply reduces the service life not so much of the transistors themselves, but of the electrolytic capacitors in the power stabilizer.

For example, for 5 meters of tape with a consumption of 18 W/m, you need a power supply with a power of at least 18 * 5 * 1.2 = 108 (adjusted for real values ​​- 120) watts.

Heatsink

A tape with a power density of over 14 watts per meter requires heat removal. High operating temperatures lead to accelerated degradation of LEDs and a decrease in their luminosity.

The following can be used as a heat sink:

• A standard aluminum profile with a diffuser produced specifically for this purpose;

• Any metal profile (for example, aluminum or steel corner).

It’s interesting: along with a metal profile, any material with a sufficiently high thermal conductivity can be used to remove heat. The tape will not overheat if it is glued to glass or a modular suspended ceiling frame.

Do I need to cover the light source with a diffuser?

Installation

How to install LED strip for general lighting of a living room? Even a person who is far from an electrician can do this work with his own hands.

There are few subtleties here:

• To solder the power wire to the contact terminals, use a soldering iron with a power of no more than 40 watts. Otherwise, you will have a non-zero chance of overheating the outer LEDs: the copper base of the strip has excellent thermal conductivity;
• Never connect two five-meter strips in series: you will get overheating of the power paths due to high currents and a dim glow of the outer LEDs. It is much more reasonable to do the opposite - cut each tape into two sections of 2.5 meters and power each of them with a separate pair of wires;

• Apply the tape to a surface that is free of dirt and grease;
• Cut it only along the marks placed between sections of three LEDs in each;
• Place the power supply in a niche inaccessible to children and pets. Bare contact terminals can arouse their interest, which can have unpleasant consequences. It would be a good idea to protect the niche from insects (for example, with ventilation grilles with mesh): they cause 4 out of 5 malfunctions of switching power supplies;

The niche for the power supply must be ventilated. It doesn’t have to be forced: natural air convection is quite enough.

• It is advisable to install a switch not only in the power supply circuit of the tape, but also in front of the power supply. In this case, you can quickly and completely turn off the power in case of any malfunction.

Conclusion

As you can see, LED strip for room lighting has a lot of advantages and is quite easy to install. The video attached to this article will help you learn more about LED lighting. Good luck!

Today, more and more new technologies are used in interior design, and new ones appear every year. One of these new and interesting solutions is the use of LED strip to illuminate some elements. The use of LED strip is not limited only to the design of premises, it is also widely used in car tuning, for illuminating swimming pools, facades, store windows, in short, the use of LED strip is unlimited.

Installing an LED strip is not difficult, and anyone can do it, you just need to know what and how to connect, and also have a minimal understanding of the types and characteristics of LED strips.

In this article we will try to figure out how to choose an LED strip, as well as select everything necessary for its operation, and in the next article we will talk about how to install an LED strip.

We will not delve too deeply into the characteristics of LED strips, but in order not to bother our heads, we will focus only on the most basic ones.

LED strip glow color
Or rather, the color of the LEDs that are installed in the LED strip. According to the color of the glow, LED strips are: blue, red, green, yellow, warm white, cold white and RGB strips. Everything seems clear with the first four, but I would like to tell you in more detail about white and RGB tapes.

In fact, a white LED is a blue LED on the surface of which a layer of phosphor is applied, which burns out over time, and the glow of such a strip dims and turns blue.

RGB tape, this is the most interesting solution when using LED strips. The fact is that the RGB tape is capable of glowing in any color, which can be adjusted manually using the remote control. How can such an effect be achieved? Everything is very simple, the RGB strip does not have single-color LEDs, but three-color ones; in other words, one LED contains three LEDs of primary colors: R(Red)-red, G(Green)-green, B(Blue)-blue. And as we remember from school physics lessons, by mixing primary colors you can get any color, including white.

The colors of the RGB tape are mixed using controller, which turns on and off this or that color based on the command it receives from the control panel. Here is a video where you can see how RGB tape works.

Embed Embed this video on your site
As you can see, RGB tape is quite an interesting solution. You can buy such a kit for ridiculous money. By the way, there are also color and music controllers, with the help of which the LED strip will glow to the beat of the music.

Based on the brightness of the glow, LED strips are distinguished according to the size of the LEDs installed in them. LED strips use SMD3528 and SMD5050 LEDs, with dimensions of 3.5 * 2.8 mm and 5 * 5 mm, respectively. The SMD3528 LED has one crystal, and the SMD5050 has three, respectively, and the brightness of the SMD5050 LEDs is three times greater than that of the SMD3528.

The brightness of the LED strip also depends on the number of LEDs installed on it. As a rule, for SMD3528 it is 60, 120, 240 pieces per meter, and for SMD5050 30, 60, 120 pieces per meter. Accordingly, the more LEDs in one meter, the more expensive the LED strip. SMD3528 for 60 LEDs and SMD5050 for 30 are used for light illumination, SMD3528 for 120 LEDs and SMD5050 for 60 for stronger illumination, and SMD3528 for 240 and SMD5050 for 120 can be used as lighting.

Another characteristic is IP protection level of LED strip. That is, how protected the tape is from external influences such as dust and moisture. Here you can divide LED strips into three main types: unprotected strips, which can be installed, for example, in a room, protected with epoxy resin, they are protected from moisture, they are installed, for example, in the bathroom, and fully protected, which do not allow moisture or dust to pass through, they can be Use outdoors or in any rooms with high humidity levels. It goes without saying that the higher the degree of protection, the more expensive a meter of tape costs.

LED strip supply voltage more often 12V and less common at 24V DC voltage. Based on this, it is clear that in order to install an LED strip, you will also need, in addition to the strip itself, a 12V or 24V power supply. Power supplies, like the tape, come in three types according to the degree of protection: unprotected from moisture and dust, protected, they are placed in a plastic case, and fully protected, a power supply in a sealed case that can also work in water, although it is better not to do this.


Power supplies are distinguished by their power. The power is selected based on what load needs to be connected to the power supply; in our case, it is the power consumed by the installed LED strip. How much power one meter of tape consumes can be seen in this table.


For example, we need to install an SMD3528 LED strip with 120 LEDs/meter and a length of 5 meters. The table shows that the power consumption of one meter of tape is 9.6 W. We multiply 9.6*5=48 W, plus a power reserve of approximately 20%, totaling 48+20%=57.6 W. You can choose a power supply with a power of 60 W (more is possible, less is not possible). When choosing a power supply, you need to proceed from the technical characteristics of the LED strip that you are going to purchase in the store, and calculate the power on site, just like from different manufacturers parameters may vary.

Do not forget about one more parameter of the power supply, this is its dimensions, that is, you need to decide in advance on the location of its installation and select the appropriate size

When choosing an RGB LED strip, in addition to the power supply, you will also need a controller. What is a controller? A controller is a device that, based on a command received from the control panel, changes the color and brightness of the RGB LED strip. That is, voltage from the power supply is supplied to the controller input, and an RGB strip is connected to the output. The functionality of the controller will determine how the RGB strip will glow.

The controller has three independent outputs R(Red)-red, G(Green)-green, B(Blue)-blue. When receiving a command from the remote control, the controller changes the voltage at one or another output, for example, it can turn on the output R(Red)-red, and turn off G(Green)-green and B(Blue)-blue, then the LED strip will glow red, and if you reduce the voltage at the R(Red)-red output, the brightness of the glow will decrease.


In terms of characteristics, controllers, like power supplies, differ in the supply voltage of 12V or 24V, and the power of the LED strip that can be connected to it. According to their own functionality controllers range from the simplest with the ability to change the specified color and brightness of the tape, to more functional ones with the ability to smoothly adjust the color (more than 10,000 colors). When choosing a controller for an RGB LED strip, you need to proceed from what functions you need.

Technology does not stand still. LED strips have replaced conventional lamps. They are used for many objects both indoors and outdoors. For this purpose, there are a huge number of varieties of such products. They allow you to create decorative lighting and can replace regular, full-fledged room lighting. In order not to get lost in the variety of offers that exist today, you need to familiarize yourself with the recommendations of experts. They will tell you how to choose the right type of LED strips for your home. It will be quite easy to create uniquely beautiful effects. The tapes are very easy to attach and connect. Each room has its own type of lighting fixture.

General characteristics

The LED strip has a second name. This means “light-emitting diode”. This design is quite simple. Certain types of diodes are located on a special tape.

High-quality products have a service life of about 100 thousand hours. Therefore, the first thing you should pay attention to when purchasing is the quality of LED strips for your home. How to choose (a photo of the lighting device is presented below) the optimal type of device, as well as how to operate it correctly, should be considered in more detail.

Diodes need heat dissipation during operation. If this does not happen, they will overheat and fail. Thus, special attention is paid to the process of connecting such products.

LED strips look very impressive when decorating street advertising, shop windows, and house facades. Indoors they are often used in the kitchen, as well as in living areas. The range of LED applications is very diverse.

Types of tape

When deciding how to choose LED strips for your home (photos of the devices are presented below), you need to study their existing varieties. Based on the type of glow, there are two types of products. These are SMD and RGB tapes.

The first option of illuminators includes single-color varieties. Moreover, there are white, blue, green, yellow and red types. There are three types of white: warm, cool and medium. Other single-color ribbons do not have shades or halftones.

RGB can create a wide variety of shades of light. Each ribbon element includes three colors. When they are combined in different proportions, all existing colors are obtained. These are blue, red and green diodes. Hence the name of the product - Red, Green, Blue (RGB).

To be able to control the glow of such a tape, you will need a special controller. It will allow you to set the hue, glow intensity, and color change mode. At the same time, the tape can produce flickering, running track, etc. However, it should be remembered that colored varieties cost three times more than ordinary monotonous products.

power unit

Without the right one, it won’t be able to work fully. There are two main factors influencing the choice. This is the power and voltage of the product. You need to pay attention to these characteristics when you want to purchase LED strips for your home. A simple calculation will tell you how to choose the right type of power supply based on power.

This indicator is measured in W/m. To select an adapter, you need to multiply the energy consumption of each meter by the length of the tape. In this case, a small margin should be provided, for which the value obtained as a result of calculations is rounded up.

The product voltage is 12 and 24 V. The power supply is purchased in the appropriate category. Otherwise the device will not work properly.

Glow brightness

Light intensity is very important when choosing LED strip. If you want to create a decorative effect, duller varieties are suitable. But to replace conventional lighting, bright varieties are needed. Today this is a completely affordable option.

There are two factors that will answer the question of how to choose LED strips for your home. Bright lighting can be achieved by increasing the concentration of diodes per meter of LED, as well as increasing the size of each pixel.

These parameters are indicated on the label. For example, the number 3528 indicates that the height of the element is 3.5 mm and the width is 2.8 mm. The concentration of diodes depends on their size. For some varieties it may be rare, while for others it may be common.

White glow

When deciding how to choose LED strips for your home, you need to consider possible color options. White varieties are characterized by such an indicator as spectrum temperature.

Depending on the preferences of users, warm or cold tones of white are selected. There are many spectrum options for this type of tape. Some already have their own names.

Warm shades start at 2800 K, and cold shades end at 9000 K. Popular colors today are Cool White (bluish-white office), Warm White (yellowish-light home), White (industrial brilliant blue), Day White (yellow -white street light). The choice depends on the type of premises and the tastes of the buyer.

Colored ribbons

Colored varieties of LEDs are also designated by their spectral range. Each pixel may have certain individual characteristics. This must be taken into account when purchasing LED strips for your home. The interior design will tell you how to choose the right color.

The red tint is created by pixels with characteristics of 625 nm. Yellow color has an indicator of 590 nm. Green diodes have an inherent glow in the range of 525 nm. Blue belongs to the 470 nm part of the spectrum.

Today there are such varieties of colored monotone ribbons as ultraviolet and pink. In the first case, the light belongs to the visible part of the spectrum at 400 nm. It is dangerous for your eyesight. Pink light is ultraviolet based, but is safe for the eyes.

Protection class

There are several types of protection levels that LED strips for the home have. Generally accepted standards will help you choose the right variety. This takes into account the humidity and contamination of the room.

For dry, clean rooms, a product with 20 is suitable. This is an open tape. If the room is not heated or the installation is intended to be used for floor lighting, it is necessary to select an IP class of 23, 43, 44.

If the product is selected for a specific microclimate in a bathroom or kitchen, where there is a possibility of contamination of the tape, preference should be given to LEDs with IP 54, 65, 68. Such diodes are hermetically protected by a silicone tube.

Manufacturers and reviews

When learning how to choose LED strips for your home, you need to listen to expert reviews. They recommend that you first evaluate the appearance of the product before making a purchase. If the diodes are soldered carelessly, you should not purchase the product - it is a low-quality device. Also, when the tape on which the diodes are attached is too thin and flexible, this indicates the fragility of the contacts. This device must be handled very carefully.

In addition, you should pay attention to the resistor. In high-quality, durable products, it has a resistance in the range of 150 Ohms (marking 151, 301). A bad assembly is indicated by an indicator of 100 Ohms (101).

High-quality but expensive tape manufacturers include Electrostandard and Gauss. Chinese Maxus and Feron are cheaper. In their category they are characterized by good quality.

Selecting tapes for each room

When considering how to choose LED strips for your home, it is worth considering the type of room. There are general installation principles.

For a work area in the garage, kitchen or office, you need to choose products with a bright white glow. To illuminate the ceilings, you should select monochromatic varieties. The tape can be mounted in a special profile. This will make the backlight dimmer.

For a bedroom or living room, you can use RGB varieties. This will allow you to create an original design. In a children's room it is better to use muted types of tape.

It is better to illuminate the table area using a lamp. Products protected from moisture are used in the bathroom.

Knowing how to choose LED strips for your home, you can create a uniquely beautiful design. Following the recommendations of experts, it will not be difficult to choose the best option. By correctly installing the appropriate type of LED, there is no doubt about the durability of such a product.

1 - Introduction.

LED strip, modules and other types of LED lighting appeared in our lives relatively recently. Naturally, for many it is a problem to understand which type of diodes is preferable. In this article I will try to break down the pros and cons of different types of tapes, and their features. I hope this helps you decide which LED strip is best for your purposes. Let me make a reservation right away: I will only talk about what I am 100% sure of, i.e. about the types of tapes that are sold in my store.

2 - Tape 2835/3528.

First, let's look at the most budget-friendly and very popular option: economical both in terms of price and energy consumption, 2835/3528 tapes.

What is the difference between 2835 and 3528? 2835 is a relatively new LED; it appeared en masse on the market about two years ago. A strip with 2835 diodes shines a little brighter than 3528. Otherwise, they are the same and even look almost the same.

This tape is mainly used for decorative background lighting. Also - for lighting shelves, display cases, vending machines. Have you seen kitchen sets with LED strip in Ikea or Leroy? So, this is just tape 2835. The main disadvantages: low brightness, fragility, there is rarely a choice of colors, especially in the case of 120 diodes/meter and sealed.

Specifications:

Diode size: 2.8mm by 3.5mm

Substrate width: 8 mm - single-strip, 16 mm - double-strip.

Number of diodes per meter: 60 or 120 - single-strip. 240 - most often two-lane, but sometimes single-lane.

Power respectively: 4.8w / 9.6w / 19.2w

3 - Tape 5050.

I would call this tape the old guard. It is durable, inexpensive and quite versatile. LEDs are large and square. It has been widespread in Russia for a long time and has proven itself well. Typically, 5050 tape can be found in sealed/non-sealed versions, various colors, multi-colored (RGB) options, etc.

There are quite a few areas of application:

Basic lighting.

Workplace lighting.

Creation of luminous ceilings, niches, cornices.

Multi-colored background lighting.

Commercial lighting (if you need brighter and better): showcases, shelves, interior.

I don't see any serious disadvantages. When I installed the lighting for my home, I took the 5050 tape.

Specifications:

Diode size: 5mm by 5mm

Substrate width: 10 mm - single-strip, 18 mm - double-strip.

Number of diodes per meter: 30 or 60 - single-strip. 120 - two-way.

Power respectively: 7.2w / 14.4w / 28.8w

4 - Tape 5630.

LEDs are rectangular and can be located perpendicular or parallel to the substrate line. Three or four years ago these were the brightest LED strips on the market. The power varied around 16 - 18 w. Then the 5630 tape shone noticeably brighter than the 5050, which made it a higher priority for some cases, for example, the main backlight.

However, as a rule, it could be seen only in two versions: warm white and cold white. There was no sealed, multi-colored, or even blue or green option available. The situation worsened when, about two years ago, the market was filled with ultra-cheap 5630 tapes with a power of 12 - 14 W, which were inferior in brightness and quality not only to their expensive “twin brothers”, but also to the 5050 tape. As a result, the demand for the 5630 tape decreased, and brighter ribbons and she faded into the background.

Areas of application (for the new, cheap option):

Poor lighting in the ceilings.

Bad lamps.

Poor furniture lighting

Specifications:

Diode size: 5.6mm by 3mm

Backing width: 10 mm is a better option, 8 mm is a cheaper option.

Number of diodes per meter: 60.

Power: 12 - 18w

5 - Tape 5730

The LEDs are slightly more elongated than those of the 5630, rectangular. Sometimes they are located at an angle of 45 degrees to the line of the substrate. In terms of brightness, they are significantly superior to all the tapes described above, however, they heat up noticeably more during operation. As you may already know, LEDs do not like overheating: at high temperatures they gradually lose their maximum brightness. So, in order to prevent the 5730 tape from quickly failing, some manufacturers began to produce it on an aluminum board several millimeters thick. This significantly improved heat dissipation from the LEDs, but deprived the tape of its usual flexibility. For ease of transportation, it had to be cut off by the meter (otherwise they would bend during delivery and stop working). Partly because of this, they were nicknamed rulers.

As a plus, I would say their exceptional durability. Thanks to good heat dissipation, LEDs remain bright for many years, even after many hours of daily use. In our store they have a 3 year warranty. Another plus; they are very bright. Therefore, the 5730 ranges are ideal for creating main lighting and luminaires. The downside is also the high brightness of each individual LED. When using rulers without a diffuser, their glare irritates the eyes.

Areas of application:

Creating main lighting.

Lamps.

Specifications:

Diode size: 5.7mm by 3mm

Backing width: 12 mm

Number of diodes per meter: 72.

Power: 28w

6 - Tape 3014

The LEDs are small and elongated, located perpendicular to the base. The brightness of each 3014 diode is relatively low, however, given their small size, they can be packed very tightly together. This is exactly what the manufacturers did by creating the 3014 tape with 240 diodes per meter. With a density of 2.4 diodes per centimeter, the brightness is comparable to rulers, but the lighting line looks like a single strip, which looks much nicer and puts less pressure on the eyes.

Tape 3014 240led is used for main lighting, lamps, and work area lighting. At the same time, it does not require special heat removal (although it is, of course, desirable, as for any other tape).

Specifications:

Diode size: 3mm by 1.4mm

Backing width: 10 mm

Number of diodes per meter: 240.

Power: 18w

7 - Line 4014

Recently, a new type of LED line appeared in our store: 4014. The diodes are more elongated than 3014, rectangular. This model is an improved version of the 5730 lines. The same high brightness is distributed over 144 diodes, relieving the eyes from irritation when looking at them. The metal base also improves heat dissipation, but at the same time, it is much more flexible, which allows it to be used in a greater number of projects compared to the rigid 5730 rulers. The reverse side, unlike its predecessor, is equipped with 3m adhesive tape.

This type of LEDs is used for basic lighting and the manufacture of lamps (possibly with body bends).

Specifications:

Diode size: 4mm by 1.4mm

Backing width: 12 mm

Number of diodes per meter: 144.

Power: 28w

8 - Summary

So, I told you about the types of LED strips sold in our store, their pros and cons, as well as what they are mainly used for. Below is a small list of pros and cons. I hope it will help you decide which LED strip is best suited for your case.

Low power consumption

Cheapest tape

Low brightness

Fragility

Durability

Affordable price

Wide range of applications

Many options

Average brightness

Cheap

Not bright

Short-lived

It is difficult to find options other than cold white and warm white.

Don't take 5630 :)

5730 (rulers):

Very high brightness

Very durable

Supplied cut into meter pieces (it is not convenient to connect a large quantity)

Doesn't bend

In Russia there are no multi-colored or sealed designs. In any case, I have not heard of such a thing.

3014 (version 240 diodes):

High brightness

Durable

Nice lighting line

RGB and sealed versions are not yet widespread.

Costs 150 - 200 rubles per meter (more expensive than everything listed above)

4014 (rulers):

Very high brightness

Very durable

Dense arrangement of diodes

Can be bent with a horseshoe without loss of performance

Supplied cut by the meter

No multi-colored or sealed models

Best regards, Sergey Semenov.

LED strip is one of the most popular solutions today for the manufacture of decorative lighting or economical main lighting systems. It could be light in an apartment or lighting in a car, a luminous strip under the ceiling or near a bookshelf, finally, a festive decoration of the facade of a house or New Year's lighting of a composition on the street - anything you like can simply be decorated with LED strips, you just need to choose the right strips for one application or another.

In this article we will talk about choosing LED strips for various purposes, note important aspects of the choice, and warn the consumer against possible mistakes.

Single color or RGB tape

First, you need to decide whether you want a single color or multi-color LED strip light. Single-color ribbons shine in a specific color: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet or white. One ribbon - one color. Or another option - .

No, this does not mean that there are several LEDs of different colors installed on the strip, it means that special three-color LEDs are installed on the strip, each of which can, in principle, give any shade, depending on the mode of power supply to it from the RGB controller.

Such multi-color tapes are well suited for making iridescent decorative lighting for shelves, architectural compositions, ceilings in a bedroom or living room, in a car, etc. If you need to set up a general lighting system, then it is better to choose a single-color white tape (warm yellowish light for the bedroom or cool bluish tint for the garage).

Selecting brightness and power

When the issue of choosing a color has been resolved, the next step will be to determine the expected brightness, and, accordingly, the power of the tape. The determining factors here will be: the standard size of the LEDs installed on the strip, as well as the density of their installation along the length of the strip.

The most popular sizes of LEDs are: SMD5630 - for a luminous flux of 18 Lm, SMD5050 - for 15 Lm, SMD3528 - for 5 Lm. The numbers after the letters “SMD” are, as you may have guessed, the size of each LED on the strip in tenths of mm: for example, 5630 is 5.6 mm by 3.0 mm, etc. The larger the LED, the higher it is power.

And the more densely the LEDs are installed on the strip, the higher the brightness of the strip will be, the higher the power of the light source thus obtained will be. Typical mounting densities are: 30, 60, 72, 120 or 240 LEDs per meter of strip.

As for power, 15 watts per meter is usually enough to form a general lighting system, and here the smaller the LEDs, the more densely they should be installed on the strip.

For example: SMD3528 with a density of 60 pieces per meter will give approximately 300 Lm of luminous flux per meter of tape length, and from SMD5050 with a density of 30 pieces per meter of tape we will get 450 Lm. The order of the numbers is now clear.

power unit

Without a power supply, the LED strip will not work, so next you need to select a power supply. When choosing, proceed from the supply voltage and the total power of the connected tapes. The rated power of the power supply should be taken with a margin of 10-20% compared to the total power of the connected tapes.

As for the strips themselves, depending on the type of LEDs on the strip and their density on it, the power of a meter of strip will be strictly defined.

Let's say you need 4 pieces of 2 meters of tape with single-color white SMD5050 LEDs, and with an LED density of 120 pieces per meter of tape. The supply voltage for the tape is most often chosen to be 12 V DC.

A strip with LEDs of this size and with the named density consumes 25 W per meter. Therefore, 4 pieces of 2 meters are 8 meters - 8 times 25 watts, that is, 200 watts.

So, with a power reserve of 20%, we will choose a network stabilized AC-DC power supply for a constant voltage of 12 V, with a power of 240 W. What if we were talking about colored ribbon? In this case, you would also have to choose an RGB controller with the appropriate power and the same supply voltage as the unit.

Tape quality

When calculations regarding the power and size of the tape have been made, it’s time to purchase the tape. And here the main thing is not to go wrong with the quality of the product. You shouldn’t chase cheap prices and immediately go to a Chinese online trading platform.

In cheap tapes, wanting to get maximum brightness and , manufacturers install resistors that are underrated, for example, instead of the required 150 or 300 Ohms - only 100 Ohms. It is better if the resistors are of a higher value.

In addition, the base of the tape should not be very soft - the conductive tracks will have to withstand the operating current and not overheat.

Finally, installation: the LEDs must be installed evenly on the strip, not crooked. It's better to pay a little more, and then you can be sure of quality for many years. Otherwise, if you save money, you end up with bad soldering and overheating. The miser pays twice.

Where do you want to install this LED strip? Will it be placed in the bathroom, where there is regularly high humidity, or is it intended for a dry living room, or maybe even for the outdoors? This is where you need to think about the degree of security of the tape.

Silicone or epoxy coating with a shell protection rating of IP65, IP67, IP68 will protect the tape from precipitation, moisture and dust - this is practically an analogue of duralight. If the tape is placed on a shelf or in a closet, where it will always be dry and clean, then you can get by with the most ordinary IP20 tape without a protective coating.

The same applies to the power supply. The power supply to provide light to the bathroom must be installed either in a separate room, or its housing must be protected from moisture.

Andrey Povny