LED Strip Lights have Non-waterproof LED Strips and waterproof LED Strips. Waterproof LED Strip lights also has several types. then How to choose right LED Strips for your project. Today we show you the difference among them.
1. Non-waterproof LED Strip Lights
Nonwaterproof LED Strip light is IP20 Rated. The LED is directly soldered on the bare FPC. basically represents that it is not waterproof, suggesting that you not use it indoors where it could get wet with water. The heat dissipate fast and Brightness is highest. It is ideally used for indoor projects, but it can’t be used in outdoor and mositure working enviroments.
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2. Nano waterproof LED Strip Lights
It is a new type nano-structured waterproof LED Strip Lights. The nano-structured waterproof LED Strip Lights includes an FPC flexible circuit board, LED and a spraying layer, the LED is installed on the surface of the FPC flexible circuit board, and the spraying layer is floating On the surface of LED and FPC flexible circuit boards, the thickness of the Nano sprayed layer is 0.1mm-0.3mm. The New Nano coating can solve a series of problems of the traditional waterproof LED Strip Lights IP65: heat dissipation, UV resistance, yellowing resistance, no color temperature drift, light weight, and its Color temperature drift is small, waterproof performance is good (waterproof grade IP65), moisture-proof, long-term environmental temperature -20 to 50 degrees, humidity 90 degrees without yellowing phenomenon, simple production process.
3. Silicone /PU /Epoxy resin Coating Waterproof LED Strip Lights
This type of waterproof LED Strip lights add a resin, silicone or epoxy layer on top of the LEDs basically fully sealing off the top end of the LED strip including all the solder joints and contact points. It can protect against water and mositure.
Silicone ,PU material and Epoxy resin has different advantages and disavantages. We will show you Next passage
4. Silicone Tube Waterproof LED Strip Lights
The Waterproof LED Strip Lights is using silicone tube protected against mositure and water. it is hollow inside. If It is used in the outdoor, the End caps of strips must be waterproof protected well.
5. IP67 Waterproof LED Strip Lights
The IP67 Waterproof LED Strip Lights are Silicone tube sleeve and Silicone glue filling. It is Commonly used for outdoor lighting, such as building outlines, bridges, city parks, shopping malls, festival atmosphere decoration, etc.
6. IP68 Waterproof LED Strip Lights
It is highest IP Rated waterproof LED Strip, It is All-in-one Silicone solid extrusion waterproof to achieve waterproof effect, can be used for underwater light strips, such as pools, swimming pools, waterscape manufacturing, etc., you need to use high-level waterproof light strips.
How to use LED Strip Lighting
The application range of LED Strip Lighting in home decoration is very common, but where should the Strip Lighting be installed in the home? Many people are a little confused. In fact, the use of the light strip can greatly increase the three-dimensional layering of the house and can also assist the lighting of the house. Below, We will introduce to you where the LED Strip lighting is suitable for installation indoors and outdoors.
1. Bedroom: The lighting design is like putting makeup on the interior, which not only makes the space look elegant and light but also highlights the level of the space. The warm color LED light strip design will make the bedroom warmer. Installing LED strips on the bedside of the bedroom can not only beautify the bedroom but also act as a night light.
2. Living room: LED Strip Lighting surround the ceiling curve, and the bright light is refracted and matched with the open space to make the whole living room brighter. Installing LED Strip Lighting in the grooves of the TV background wall can enhance the three-dimensional sense of the space, and even simple lines can show different dynamic beauty.
3. Bathroom: Installing LED strip lighting around the wall of the bathroom is a very trendy approach. It is simple and beautiful, and it is easier to highlight individuality and style. The LED strip around the bathroom mirror can create an atmosphere, and secondly, it also provides basic lighting needs. If the LED light strip is hidden on the top or around the bathroom mirror, the light is projected and there is no need to worry about backlighting or polarized light.
4. Kitchen: Although headlights are installed on the top of the kitchen, it is inconvenient for cooking at night to be hidden by shadows. Cutting vegetables and cooking is very inconvenient. Installing LED strips under the wall cabinets as cabinet lights can save these troubles and increase cooking. The warmth of the dishes.
5. Cabinet & Shelf: The LED strip lighting is installed inside the cabinet to increase the light source. The clever combination with the shelf can weaken the sense of enclosed space and fully render the exquisite and fashionable indoor atmosphere. Installed at the bottom of the cabinet to illuminate the LED light strips diffusely scattered light through the floor. Work and study in the study at night. Turn on the LED light strips of the desk lamps and bookcases to have a good lighting effect.
6. Stairs: The layout of the LED strip lighting at the stairs is very clever, or the ground below the steps is hollowed out, and the LED strip lighting is placed in it to meet the lighting needs of the entire staircase. The LED light strip installed under the handrail of the stairs effectively solves the lighting problem of the stairwell in the dark. It makes the bright space brighter and has the magic power to guide the vision.
7. Aisle: The installation of LED light strips in the aisle changes the original monotonous white wall, which can present a sense of the depth of space. The lighting function undertaken by the LED light strip itself is also very practical, illuminating a small area without taking up space.
8. Building outline Decoration
Of course, the above installation range is for reference only, and the specific installation situation should be carried out according to the actual situation of yor projects. It does not mean that the more light strips are installed, the better, but to achieve the desired effect.
When buying LED strips, you are often confronted with the question if you want IP20, IP65 or even IP68 LED strip. These values stand for different levels of water and dust proofing. This article will give you a complete guide of it.
IP20 for indoor applications:
The IP20 rating officially stands for “touch by fingers (>12.5 mm) | No protection”. The 2 in IP20 stands for being able to withstand basic touch and rudimentary dust protection. It won’t survive hard impacts or anything like that, but you can safely touch it with your fingers. The 0 in IP20 stands for no water protection whatsoever. That means these LED strips are ideally suited to be used indoors. A lot of LED Lights, LED track lights, LED Ceiling light, LED Linear and other fixtures fall in this category. They are a great option for indoor use in basic environments.
IP65 Waterproof Rating:
The IP65 rating officially stands for “Total dust ingress protection | low pressure water jets from any direction”. The 6 stands for good dust and touch protection. Basically, the LEDs cannot be reached, so they are well protected. The 5 of IP65 stands for decent moisture or water protection. They should even survive a garden hose or something like that. This makes these strips ideal to use in outdoor situations where they are still inside of an aluminum profile or something of the sort.
IP67 Waterproof Rating:
The IP67 rating officially stands for “temporary immersion to at least 1 m from bottom and 15 cm from top of object”. This means that the product is fully sealed against dust and can actually be fully emerged into water for a small period of time.
IP68 Waterproof Rating:
The IP68 rating officially stands for “continuous immersion to a specified depth or pressure”. That means these strips can be immersed into water for longer periods of time, making them suitable to use in an aquarium or outdoor pools, for instance. It’s a silicon sleeve like above but then (pressure) filled with glue or epoxy making it completely solid.
They can be fit to use for both in domestic and commercial purposes. The popular light fixtures such as LED streetlights, outdoor LED strip lights.
The Nature of light is different, and the perceptible color of an object depends on the light source. The human brain can “correct” these color changes very well, but the film or CCD/CMOS photoreceptor we use cannot accomplish this task.
If an object burns, first the flame is red, as the temperature rises then it becomes orange-yellow, then it becomes white, and finally, blue appears.
Scottish mathematician and physicist Lord Kelvin first discovered the close relationship between heat and color in 1848, and left the world a great concept of “absolute zero” (-273.15 degrees Celsius). Since then, the Kelvin temperature scale was created. This is the theoretical basis for our discussion of color temperature today.
The Kelvin temperature scale uses K (abbreviation for kelvin) to express temperature. Take the flame as an example here, the lower value means the more “red”, the higher value means the “blue”. Red and blue are not the colors of light itself, but just show that there are more red or blue components in the spectrum.
Let’s take a look at the common standards in the Kelvin temperature scale: “Absolute zero” is expressed as 0 K in the Kelvin temperature scale, which corresponds to -273.15 degrees Celsius (or -459 degrees Fahrenheit). At this temperature, the thermal activity of the substance stops completely.
The more bluish the light color get, the higher the color temperature is ; the more reddish the light color has, the lower the color temperature get. The color temperature of the light source is different, and the light color is also different. The color temperature below 3300K has a stable atmosphere and a warm feeling; the color temperature is between 3000-5000K as the intermediate color temperature, which has a refreshing feeling; the color temperature above 5000K has a cold feeling. Different light colors of different light sources make up the best environment.
The preference for color temperature varies from person to person, which is related to the scenery we see daily. For example, in areas close to the equator, the average color temperature that people see daily is 11000K (8000K (dusk) ~ 17000K (noon)), so they prefer high color temperature (it looks more real). On the contrary, people in higher latitudes (the average color temperature is about 6000K) prefer low color temperature (5600K or 6500K), which means that if you use a high color temperature TV to show the Arctic scenery, it looks like It is bluish; on the contrary, if you use a low color temperature TV to watch the subtropical style, you will feel a little reddish.
How is the color temperature of a TV or display defined? Since the average color temperature of China’s scenery is between 8000K and 9500K throughout the year, TV programs are produced with the audience’s color temperature of 9300K for photography. However, the usual color temperature in Europe and the United States is different from ours. The production reference is based on the average color temperature of about 6000K, throughout the year. Therefore, when we watch foreign films, we will find that 5600K～6500K are the most suitable for viewing.
People with black eyes see 9300K, as white, but people with blue eyes see a blue tint. At 6500K, people with blue eyes see white, while people with black eyes see yellowish colors.
7 ways to judge LED Strip quality
As the LED competition, The different quality of Led strips are flooded in the LED Market. The high quality of LED light strips is relatively more expensive than the economy ones’. If you judge the quality of strips from the professional technology, I am afraid that not all customers are in a position to do that. However, we could identify the quality from the following points.
1. Solder Joint
Professional LED light Strip Manufacturer produce the strips with SMT Technology and Reflowing soldering machines. Therefore, the LED solder joints look smooth and nice.
2. LED Quality
LED Quality is the Top consideration of LED Light strip. many qualities are flooded with the whole led market. It has iron package, alloy wire package and gold wire package. it has something to do with the LED working life. If the LED adopt iron package, then the working life is very short but cheap is very cheap. On the contrary, Gold wire led package is best and highest, stable quality can last the LED’s working life. more than 50000 working hours.
3. FPC quality
FPC have two quality versions. one is Copper FPC and another one is Rolled Copper FPC. The Rolled Copper FPC are more expensive and the quality is better than the copper FPC. It is connected to FPC as a single entity, and it can be bent, and the solder joints still look good; so the copper foil of the sub cooper FPC is pro tuber. it could be seen from the connection between FPC and the tin plate. moreover, the Sub copper FPC are bent over much, it will cause the tin pad off.
4. Wire quality
5. Surface cleanliness
Generally speaking, The flexible strip tapes are made by SMT, the surface of strip look very good, and you don’t see any impurities and stains. However, if the strips are welding by hand, the strips will have the the mark of stains.
6. Package
Normally each 5 meters LED strip light is a roll and packed in an anti-static bag. However, in order to save the cost, many factories recycle the volume reel and the strips are not packed in an anti-static bag. you could see from the volume reel the trace of stanines.
7. Label
Regular Flexible LED strip light will have a printed label on the bags and roll disk instead of printing label.
