How Long Do LED Strip Lights Last?
Compared to incandescent and fluorescent lights, LED tape lighting can last longer. It has an average lifespan of around 50,000 hours! You can expect them to envelope your space with brilliance for about 17 years, long after their competitors have expired!
To guarantee that your LED dotless tape light or IP65 bathroom tape lights will maximise their lifespan, you need to keep them safe. Although its construction is sure to last for years, external factors may cut it in half if you are not careful! One way of safeguarding your lights is by putting them in an aluminium profile. Aside from protecting the LED tape lighting against dust and dirt, and curious fingers, it can help dissipate heat, which can cause potential harm if left unchecked.
An LED profile can also help you optimise the beam angle of your strip, enabling you to bring out the ideal placement for your application. In addition, if you choose a suitable diffuser, you can create a brilliant space that is not blinding but comfortable for the eye!
What is the Difference Between a Single Colour Strip and an RGB Strip?
When looking for LED strips, you’ll come across various selections. Two of the most popular are single-colour, and RGB LED strips. How do the two differ?
Their name says it all! A single-colour LED tape lighting can only produce one colour, so it's suited for applications where you only need one shade. Aside from the colour wheel selection, you can also choose a single colour LED strip in different colour temperatures. If you want to use the strips for ambient lighting, get warm white. Alternatively, if it's for task lighting, you can get cool or natural white light!
On the other hand, an RGB LED tape light can transition from one colour to another! You just need to get a controller that will enable you to do so, and then you can have fun exploring all the colours! RGB LED tape lighting is perfect if you like to switch things up and mix and match unique concepts constantly.
While an LED RGB tape can produce an almost white colour in a specific setting, it's not as white as a solely dedicated white diode can deliver. If you want to have that luminance, choose a single-colour cool or natural white strip or get an RGBW LED strip. An RGBW tape is like an RGB strip but with an added white LED chip to produce that pure white hue!
Do LED Strip Lights Need LED Drivers?
Unless the LED strip light is designed to connect directly to the mains circuit, you’ll need an LED driver to supply power to your LED tape lighting. When choosing the driver, you must pay close attention to its compatibility. Some of the factors that you need to consider are the input voltage of the strips and the maximum load the LED driver can carry.
Choosing the wrong LED driver can harm your lighting fixture and damage the other components used in your setup. So, read through all the product descriptions and learn the specifications of your lamps.
To determine the LED drivers for your LED strip lights, you need to check whether they are 12v DC or 24v DC. Look for a driver that matches that input voltage. After, you need to determine the quantity of the LED tape lighting you’re hooking to know the capacity of the LED driver you’ll need. To do this, just multiply the watts per metre of the strip by the length you’ll use. Then, you’ll round it off to the nearest available LED drivers. Round up, not down, because it’s better to have a higher driver capacity than a lower one. Once you get the driver, you can prepare the other tools you’ll need and start installing!
Which Colour LED Strips Should You Use for Mood Lighting?
When LED tape lighting for your ambient lights, you need to do it right. If you don’t, instead of an environment that makes you feel relaxed, you can end up with something uncomfortable and hard to settle in.
Typically, warm colours like orange and red create a lively and exciting atmosphere, whereas cool colours like blue and green produce a tranquil environment. If you want to have more variety with your lighting design, an RGB LED tape light is a better choice.
Depending on the room that you are lighting, the perfect LED colour may differ. In the bedroom, blue or green colour LED tape lighting is the most suitable. Colour psychology has presented that blue brings a relaxing response. You can incorporate it in your bedroom to relieve stress and anxiety before going to bed! Green is also a cool colour, and it represents nature, so it's also ideal for the bedroom. It can make you feel calm and reduce stress.
For some, using a lavender colour helps them create a moody and relaxing atmosphere. Well, it’s also a cool toned colour, so it has the same stress-reducing effect.
In the bathroom, white light is always the best. Since you want the room to be well-lit to avoid accidents, it's better to use white light instead of coloured ones. You can use different colour temperatures to bring out different feelings. Cool white and natural white will make you feel refreshed, and warm white will make you feel comfortable!
When adding LED tape lighting to the living room, it’s ideal that you have more diversity. Anyways, some people use their living room as the main entertainment area; therefore, having more options can change the mood. You can add RGB or RGBw strip lights, as both can give you more colour options!
Which is Better, a 12v or 24v LED strip?
As mentioned earlier, an LED strip light has different voltages. By this time, you might be wondering which of the two is better. When it comes to brightness, efficiency, and life expectancy, the two don't differ. So, what makes them different from each other?
24v DC LED tape lighting is recommended if it's your first time using this type of lighting. It has less distance between the cut line and a longer linear run. With this, you don't need to be too wary about technicalities, unlike when you're using a 12v DC strip. Also, a 24v DC LED strip suffers less voltage drop compared to a 12v DC strip.
If you look at it, a 12v DC strip is not that different from a 24v DC strip. It’s just a matter of preference and experience. If you’ve been using tape lighting for years, then any of the two is fine for you!
Is it Cheaper to Use LED Strips?
When you compare the energy consumption of LED tape lighting, an incandescent bulb and a fluorescent lamp, you'll see that LED strip lights consume way less. LEDs are the most energy-efficient among the lighting fixtures available in the market. This includes everything powered with that technology: LED bulb, LED downlight, LED strip light, LED panels, LED flood light and more!
LED strip lights use up to 85% less than traditional incandescent bulbs and about 18% less than CFLs. At first, you may find this impressive. However, this is only the beginning! By nature, LEDs are designed to last longer than their competitors. Because of this, you can utilise it for years without needing any replacements! So, what does this mean? You’ll not only lessen your electrical cost, but you can also bring down your maintenance expenses!
Aside from that, LED tape lighting and other LED products are better for the environment because they reduce carbon emissions. If a fluorescent lamp converts 5 - 10% of electricity to light (around 95% waste), LEDs transform 95% of energy to luminance (only 5% waste).
Because of the reduced energy consumption, energy demand goes down, which in turn lowers greenhouse gas emissions! With LEDs, it’s not just your wallets that will be saved, but you can also help protect the environment. So, opt for LEDs instead of other lighting solutions!