he uses for LED strips are wide and plentiful and such light strips allow for very different solutions and effects. They start with pleasant mood lighting for the living room to different shades of lighting in the bathroom or wardrobe, but these are just some examples for the use of LED strips and actual usage possibilities remain boundless.
The world of LED strips seems quite complicated and confusing at first, and it may seem easier to use the classic “one luminaire in the middle of the room” solution. However, it is worth thinking that with LED strips we can make the room more interesting, create light according to the mood and emphasize some features of the room, as a result of which the whole layout solution leaves a well-thought-out and special impression. In fact, it is enough to have an idea to strive for and our lighting experts will offer you the right solution as well as all the necessary products that go with it. But in order to bring a little clarity to the world of LED strips, we wrote down some important things to look out for in this blog post.
We should first think about how much light we want the LED strip to provide. If the goal is just cozy glow and atmospheric light, then a 4.3W LED strip with 350 lumens (unit of luminous flux) per meter is enough. In the case of an LED strip, it is important to know that W (watts) and lumens are usually expressed as a per meter unit. To understand how much light a certain strip will produce, we need to multiply the lumens by the number of meters in the LED strip. If, however, you wish to provide the room with a very strong light, then there are much more powerful LED strips for that. For example, a 20W LED strip provides as much as 3,000 lumens of light per meter. And, of course, there are LED strips with very different wattages in between, and according to the need, we can recommend the right one for you.
Secondly, it is worth thinking about what tone the light should be. Do you prefer very warm (2700K), warm (3000K) or colder light (4000K)? It should be considered that warmer light provides coziness and relaxation, and colder light makes it more vivid, depending on the use of the room. However, if it is desired that the light is sometimes warm and sometimes cold, it is possible to install an LED strip, in which case the Kelvin (a unit of color temperature for the color of the light) can be changed as needed. Such a LED bar is called “tunable white” and allows you to adjust the light in the range of 2200-6500K. There are also LED strips, which provide 3000K warm light at full power, but when the light is dimmed, the light becomes even warmer, down to 1800K, which is extremely warm and cozy. This light dimming system is called “dim to warm”.
RGB LED strips, which have been around for a while now are also starting to make the come back. Standard RGB LED strip uses a 3-in-1 LED chip made up of red, green and blue chips. It can produce a wide range of colours by mixing the three. RGBW LED has a white chip as well as red, green and blue. A dedicated white LED provides a much purer white tone and also provides extra scope for colour mixing with the RGB chips to create a huge range of unique shades.
It is important to know that LED strips are used inside a profile that is coated for a reason. Namely, the profile is necessary to cool the LED strip and, together with the cover, it is also intended to protect the LED strip from dust, humidity and other external factors that reduce the life of the LED. The profile itself is a design for attaching an LED strip. Most often it is made of metal (aluminum) and a light strip is installed in its grooves. The cover is usually made of plastic and is intended not only to protect the strip but also to scatter the light. Thanks to the cover, the light becomes softer, more even and the light spots characteristic of the LED strip are not visible.
A matte cover is recommended for light scattering, but it is important to know that the luminous flux is significantly reduced by as much as 20-40% compared to transparent covers.
The Light Group LED strip for windows
There are very different price ranges for LED strips, but it is important to research before choosing to be sure that they are made by a high-quality manufacturer that offers a long-term guarantee for its LED strips and modules. Another very important factor is the quality of the light, which should be paid special attention to when planning the lighting of retail spaces and beauty salons, here it is important to know what the CRI parameter number of the LED strip is. The CRI, color rendering index, shows how realistically the luminaire emits the specified eight pastel basic tones. At home, the CRI should be at least 80, but the LED strips we offer usually have a CRI greater than 90, which ensures that we see colors in the right shades as we would see in daylight.
If you are looking for a way to use LED-strip lighting possibilities in your home, office or retail space, then contact us and we will find the best solution for your lighting needs.
Liisa Johanna Luts
Laterna Magica lighting showroom
Sales and marketing manager
liisa@laterna.ee
