- Single-color or multi-color?
- Light intensity
- Power supply
- Build quality
- Protection class
- Manufacturer
- Fitting location
Single-color or multicolored?
The first thing you need to decide on when choosing which type of LED tape you need in your home or apartment. To date, there are monochrome products that can shine only white, blue, red or green, as in the photo below. 
The alternative is multi-color( RGB), which can change its color according to the signals of the controller, which you will control. To choose a good LED strip, first you need to understand its purpose. For decorative illumination of the room, it is better to choose the RGB option. For high-quality illumination of the working area - countertops in the kitchen or a table with tools in the garage, we recommend to choose a single-colored white tape.
Brightness of light
The brightness of the light is affected by the LEDs that are installed in the product. Now manufacturers of LED tapes can install LEDs such as SMD3528, SMD5050 or SMD5630.The four digits in the label indicate the dimensions of the light sources themselves. For example, "3528" makes it clear that the size of the LED is 3.5 * 2.8 mm, which is clearly visible in the picture below.
Accordingly, the larger the dimensions, the better the brightness of the LED glow. To make it clearer, we will provide the light flux of each type of LED:
- SMD3528-5 Lumen;
- SMD5050 - 15 Lumen;
- SMD5630 - 18 Lumen.
Simultaneously, in order to select the LED strip by brightness, you must determine the number of LEDs per 1 meter of the product. The minimum number of light sources per meter is 30 pieces, the maximum is 240 for SMD3528, 120 for SMD5050 and 72 for SMD 5630.
The higher the density of LEDs, the brighter the illumination, respectively. By the way, the power of the lighting device depends on this parameter. If you do not know how to choose the LED strip for power, consider the following advice:
- For local lighting or, for example, lighting the shelves in the cabinet, enough tape with a capacity of not more than 10 W / m is enough.
- For main lighting, the power should be higher, at least 14.4 W / m.
Power supply
The next, not less important criterion of choice - power and type of the source( power unit) itself. In order to choose the correct power of the power supply for the LED tape, it is enough to calculate how much the LEDs consume and add a 20% power reserve to this value.
For example, you chose a product with LEDs SMD 3528( density of 60 pieces / meter).The power consumption of this LED tape is 4.8 W / m according to the table below.
Total, for 5 meters consumption is 24 watts + a stock of 4.8 watts, in total - 29 watts. To illuminate the ceiling or shelves, you need to choose a power supply with a characteristic of at least 30 W, better more. Similar to this calculation, you need to select a controller, if you use a multicolor( RGB) tape.
In addition, it is important to correctly choose the voltage of the LED tape, power supply and controller. Most often use LEDs that operate from 12 volts. Accordingly, the power supply needs to be selected 220-12v. The controller is matched to the same voltage.
By function, the controllers can be quite diverse. Expensive models allow you to smoothly change the brightness and color of the glow. In cheaper push-button controllers, you will only get 1 of 4 colors.
More information about power supplies you can find out by watching this video:
Build quality
To independently choose a quality LED tape, you just have to look at it and see how the resistors and LEDs are soldered. If the soldering is substandard - the elements are set crookedly, it is better to find another store or at least a manufacturer.
Also when choosing it is advised to pay attention to the characteristics of the resistors. In high-quality products the resistance of the resistors is not less than 150 Ohm( marking 151) or 300 Ohms( 301).If the LED tape is cheap and of questionable quality, the resistor can have a resistance of 100 ohms( 101).
Well, the last thing we advise you to pay attention to is the rigidity of the base itself, to which the LEDs are attached. If the LED tape is easily bent, it means that the current-carrying tracks are rather thin, which is negatively reflected in the service life of such a product and that is equally important - the quality of the glow of the extreme LEDs.
Degree of protection
As you understand, there are several versions of the LED strip - reliably protected from moisture and dust, partially protected and completely without protection. Roughly speaking, the design can be silicone and silicone free. The first version is recommended to be used outdoors, as well as in places with a probability of moisture penetration. For example, if you want to make a hidden backlight of the floor, it is better to choose a protected LED tape, becausethere is a chance to wet it with a wet cleaning. In order to just make the lighting of the shelves in the closet, it is enough to choose a model without protection.
By the way, the same principle should be chosen and the power supply. For outdoor use, products with IP protection degree of at least IP65 are used. For home use, it is enough to supply a power supply with the characteristic IP20, if this, of course, is not a bathroom.
Manufacturer
To date, the best manufacturers of LED strips are the companies Elektrostandard and Gauss. The cost of production of these companies, of course, is high, but the price justifies the quality. If you want to choose a cheaper option, we recommend that you pay attention to, although Chinese, but still fairly popular manufacturers - Feron and MAXUS.
Installation location
Here we come to the final part of the article - tips for choosing an LED strip for each of the rooms. Next, we will briefly discuss how to choose a product in terms of brightness, degree of protection and color for different types of rooms.
In the garage, to highlight the working area, it is better to choose a waterproof strip of bright white glow. In this case, and wipe it will be more convenient from dust, and you can work in a well-lit area. We recommend the same version of the design for the lighting of the countertop in the kitchen. If you want to install the LED tape under the cupboards above the kitchen apron, select the single-color white LEDs covered with epoxy.
For the main lighting of a suspended or suspended ceiling in the living room, it is better to choose a single-color bright LED strip, placed in a special profile along the contour of the ceiling. In this case, the light will be slightly muffled, as in the photo below, but still quite suitable for these rooms.
In the hall and bedroom it is recommended to use the RGB model to give the interior a more original look. In addition, with the controller you can always change the color to a darker / brighter color.
For the bathroom we recommend the use of a waterproof version, including the power supply. If you want to make mirror illumination or niche, we recommend choosing RGB tape.
The children's room does not need to make too bright a light. Therefore, to illuminate one of the zones, for example, gaming, it is better to pick up the LEDs of the muffled glow, and already for study use a table lamp.
That's all I wanted to tell you about how to choose LED strip for power, color and manufacturer. We hope, now you know which option is best for those or other conditions in your home!
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