In order to create static light fragments and compositions, designers use LED ribbons glowing with colorful lights. Sometimes it is required to decorate a fountain or a multi-level structure with multimeter light strips. Colored ribbons powered by battery voltage tune cars.
Lighting furniture or shop windows, have long ceased to use neon lamps. LED strips are used for decorative illumination of the house, in the yards, on the steps. Flexible moisture-proof tapes with embedded LEDs are installed in pools and aquariums. Illuminated ceilings, bookshelves, decor elements in the bathroom diversify and complement the interior of the room.
Since the length of the luminous tape in the reel has certain dimensions, to create the desired footage, for lengthening, one-piece mechanical connectors are used - connectors for LED strips. The specified length is formed by adding or cutting off the extra LEDs using hard fastening contact devices.
The concept of "connector"
A modern connector is a compact device that closes the electric light circuit with a simple click. Understanding this topic, it is worth remembering or getting acquainted with such a concept as electrical circuits. It is known from the course of school physics that electrical connections are serial and parallel. Providing a uniform load on all the LEDs in the tape and eliminating overheating and burning of the extreme elements, the tracks are connected in a parallel way. Do this using separate wires, connecting long pieces of tape to a source of electricity.
Places where an incision can be made are indicated on the strip by marking. The brightness of the LED strip depends on how much power and how many diodes are soldered in one meter of tape. The sum of the diodes is a multiple of three (60, 90, 120, etc.). Every three diodes form a series electrical circuit. This is important because the strips are powered by twelve volts. If you neglect this knowledge, then several diodes at the beginning and at the end of the tape will remain inoperative, that is, they will not glow.
What connectors are made
To connect the tape system to a conventional 120-volt network, power supplies are used. The power connectors are a snap-on, clip-on, reliable, versatile patch cord suitable for any kind of tape. Connecting by means of a wire to the PSU plug, this contact is also used when connecting an LED strip to an amplification device or dimmer.
The connecting connector is an accessory that allows you to do without soldering wires with tin when installing the backlight. Although the contacts fastened with a soldering iron do not undergo oxidation and under certain conditions can last a little longer, various types of connectors simplify the assembly time and speed up the entire process of installing the backlight. That is why special devices are needed. You can fasten two segments of tapes rigidly or with a distance between them (for example, when turning or at the corners of rectangular elements of furniture or other structures).
Manufacturers produce types of optical connectors for multi-color (from 4 bands) and single-color (with two rows of diodes), for 8 mm and 10 mm LED strips. A four-channel connector is a patch cord connecting the luminous strip to an amplifier or controller. Another opportunity to connect LED strips together - connectors with flexible wiring. Their length of 20 cm allows you to make turns at almost any angle when decorating objects with ribbons. Thus, the connector is a universal device, which, connecting the tape in one chain, ensures its performance.
Where to start installation and assembly
Before sticking the tapes to their intended places, you should “finish” all the connections, connect the controller, dimmer and power supply unit (AC rectifier). Then you should definitely test the entire circuit for performance. Only after that it is possible to strengthen the LED strip in the designated areas.
The multi-color strip is connected via the controller. Moreover, the wires of each of the colors are attached to the corresponding input. To do this, color designations are written in Latin letters (RGB and V). Then you should connect this ready-made connection to the rectifier.
How to adjust the brightness
To control the brightness of the glow and multicolor and monochromatic stripes, a chain of LED strips, a dimmer and a power supply is compiled. When connecting any luminous structure to power supplies with mounting connectors, it is important to be careful. Otherwise, accidentally confusing the plus with the minus, you can arrange a
short circuit in which the tapes burn out.
Power calculation
When calculating the power of the required power supply, you should multiply the length of the LED strip and the indicated power consumption. It is worth adding about 30% to the obtained value to guarantee resistance to possible voltage drops in the network.