In modern home life, many people are not satisfied with a single main light decoration style, and will install some lights to increase the comfort and warmth of the living room. The light strip is easy to install and can be flexibly used in various spaces, creating a home environment with different styles.

So how should I choose a light strip? This article, from the perspective of a lighting designer, outlines several important reference factors for selecting light strips, helping everyone choose a suitable and satisfactory light strip.

The color of the light strip

The color of light emitted by the light strip is naturally the first consideration.

The light color of the light strip is mainly determined based on the home decoration style and color tone. The commonly used colors in homes are 3000K warm light and 4000K neutral light, which provide comfortable light color and warm lighting effect.

Brightness of the light strip

The brightness of the light strip depends on two points:

The number of LED beads in a unit (same type of bead)

The more LED beads there are in the same unit, the higher the height. In order to avoid uneven light emission caused by uneven surface of the light strip, commonly known as "particle light" or "wave light", the denser the particles of the light beads, the more uniform the relative light emission.

The wattage of the lamp bead

If the number of LED chips in a unit is the same, it can also be judged based on the wattage, with the higher wattage being brighter.

The luminescence should be uniform

The brightness between the LED beads should be consistent, which is related to the quality of the LED beads. Our usual quick judgment method is to observe with our eyes. At night, turn on the power and observe the brightness of the light strip, and check if the height between adjacent light beads is consistent,
The brightness at the beginning and end of the LED strip should be consistent, which is related to the pressure drop of the LED strip. The LED strip needs to be driven by a power source to emit light. If the current carrying capacity of the strip wire is insufficient, this situation may occur. In actual use, it is recommended that the entire strip should not exceed 50m.

The length of the light strip

Light strips have a unit count and need to be purchased in multiples of the unit count. Most light strips have unit counts of 0.5m or 1m. What if the required number of meters is not a multiple of the unit count? Buy a light strip with strong cutting ability, such as cutting every 5.5cm, which can better control the length of the light strip.

Chip for LED strip

LED devices that operate with stable current, so one of the main culprits causing burnt beads in conventional high-voltage light strips is the lack of a constant current control module, which makes LED work under valley type fluctuating voltage. The instability of the mains power further exacerbates the burden on LED, leading to common faults such as dead lights in conventional high-voltage light strips. Therefore, a good LED strip must have a good chip to stabilize the current.

Installation of light strip

Installation location

The different positions of the light strip can greatly affect the lighting effect.
Taking the most common type of ceiling hidden light (partial ceiling/light trough hidden light) as an example. There are two common methods: one is to install it on the inner wall of the lamp groove, and the other is to install it in the center of the lamp groove.

The two types of lighting effects are completely different. The former produces a uniform gradient of light, giving the light a more natural, soft, and textured appearance with a noticeable "no light" feeling; and the larger emitting surface results in a brighter visual effect. The latter is a more traditional approach, with a noticeable cut-off light, making the light appear less natural

Install card slot

Due to the relatively soft nature of the light strip, direct installation may not straighten it. If the installation is not straight and the edge of the light output is bumpy, it will be very unsightly. Therefore, it is best to purchase PVC or aluminum card slots to pull the light strip along with it, as the light output effect is much better.