The technique does not stand still. Conventional lamps were replaced by LED strips. They are used for many objects both indoors and outdoors. For this, there are a huge number of varieties of such products. They allow you to create decorative lighting, can replace the usual, complete lighting of rooms. In order not to get lost in the diversity of the proposals existing today, it is necessary to familiarize yourself with the recommendations of experts. They will tell you how to choose LED strips for the house of the desired variety. Creating unique beauty effects will be quite simple. Tapes are very easy to attach and connect. Each room has its own type of lighting fixture.
general characteristics
LED strip has the second name LED (light emitting diode). This means “light emitting diode”. This design is quite simple. On a special tape are certain types of diodes.
Quality products have a service life of about 100 thousand hours. Therefore, the first thing you should pay attention to when buying is the quality that LED strips for home have. How to choose (the photo of the lighting device presented below) the optimal type of device, as well as how to operate it correctly, should be considered in more detail.
Diodes need heat removal at the time of their operation. If this does not happen, they will overheat and fail. Thus, the process of connecting such products is given special attention.
LED strips look very impressive in the design of street advertising, shop windows, house facades. Indoors, they are often used in the bathroom, in the kitchen, as well as in residential premises. The range of LED applications is very diverse.
Varieties of tape
When deciding on how to choose LED strips for the home (a photo of the devices is presented below), it is necessary to study their existing varieties. According to the type of glow, two types of products are divided. These are SMD and RGB tapes.
The first version of the illuminators includes one-color varieties. And there are white, blue, green, yellow and red types. There are three types of white color: warm, cold and medium. Other monochrome ribbons do not have shades or halftones.
RGB LEDs can create a wide variety of shades of light. Each ribbon element includes three colors. When combined in different proportions, all existing colors are obtained. These are diodes of blue, red and green. Hence the name of the product - Red, Green, Blue (RGB).
To be able to control the glow of such a ribbon, you need a special controller. It will allow you to set the hue, the intensity of the glow, as well as the color change mode. At the same time, the tape may emit flicker, a treadmill, etc. However, it should be remembered that color varieties are three times more expensive than regular monotonous products.
Power Supply
Without a properly selected power supply, the LED strip will not be able to work fully. There are two main factors that influence your choice. This is the power and voltage of the product. You must pay attention to these characteristics when wishing to purchase LED strips for the home. How to choose the right type of power supply by power, a simple calculation will tell.
This indicator is measured in W / m. To select an adapter, you must 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 voltage of the product is 12 and 24 V. The power supply acquire the appropriate category. Otherwise, the device will not work properly.
Glow brightness
Light intensity is very important when choosing an LED strip. If you want to create a decorative effect, more dull varieties are suitable. But vivid varieties are needed to replace conventional lighting. Today it is an affordable option.
There are two factors that will answer the question of how to choose LED strips for the home. Bright lighting can be achieved by increasing the concentration of diodes on one 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 can be rare, but for others it can be frequent.
White glow
When deciding on how to choose LED strips for the home, you need to consider possible color options. White varieties are characterized by such an indicator as the temperature of the spectrum.
Depending on the preferences of users, they choose warm or cold tones of white. 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 a temperature of 9000 K. Today's popular colors are Cool White (office bluish), Warm White (yellowish-light home), White (industrial diamond blue), Day White (yellow and 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 indicated by their range of spectrum. Each pixel may have certain individual characteristics. This must be considered when purchasing LED strips for the home. How to choose the right color will tell the interior design.
Pixels with characteristics of 625 nm create a red tint. Yellow color has an indicator of 590 nm. Green diodes have an inherent glow in the range of 525 nm. Blue refers to part of the 470 nm spectrum.
Today, there are varieties of colored monotonous ribbons such as ultraviolet and pink. In the first case, light refers to the visible part of the 400 nm spectrum. It is dangerous for eyesight. Pink light is based on ultraviolet, but it is safe for the eyes.
Protection class
There are several varieties of degree of protection that LED strips for home have. How to choose the right variety, generally accepted standards will help. In this case, humidity and contamination of the room are taken into account.
For dry, clean rooms, a product with a protection class of IP 20 is suitable. This is an open tape. If the room is not heated or the installation is supposed to be carried out to illuminate the floor, it is necessary to select the IP class 23, 43, 44.
If the product is selected for a specific microclimate of a bathroom or kitchen where there is a possibility of contamination of the tape, LED with IP 54, 65, 68 should be preferred. Such diodes are hermetically protected by a silicone tube.
Manufacturers and reviews
Studying how to choose LED strips for the home, you need to listen to expert reviews. They recommend that, before making a purchase, they initially evaluate the appearance of the product. If the diodes are not soldered sloppy, you should not purchase products - this is a poor-quality device. Also, when the tape on which the diodes are mounted is too thin, flexible, this indicates the fragility of the contacts. Such a device must be handled very carefully.
In addition, you should pay attention to the resistor. In solid, durable products, it has a resistance in the range of 150 Ohms (marking 151, 301). A poor assembly produces a figure of 100 ohms (101).
High-quality, but expensive tape manufacturers include Electrostandard, Gauss. Cheaper are Chinese Maxus, Feron. In their category they are characterized by good quality.
Selection of tapes for each room
Considering the question of how to choose LED strips for the home, it is worth considering the type of room. There are general installation guidelines.
For the working area in the garage, in the kitchen or in the office, you need to choose products with a bright white glow. To highlight the ceilings, monophonic varieties should be selected. The tape can be mounted in a special profile. This will make the backlight dimmer.
For the bedroom or hall, you can use varieties of RGB. This will create an original design. In the children's room, it is better to use muted types of tape.
Highlighting the table area is best done with a lamp. The bathroom uses moisture-protected products.
Knowing how to choose LED strips for the home, you can create a unique beauty design. Adhering to the recommendations of experts, it will be easy to choose the best option. Having correctly mounted the appropriate type of LED, you can not doubt the durability of such a product.