Everything You Need to Know About LED Light Strips

Here are 8 things that you must know before you buy LED Light Strips so you save your money and your time. There are 4000 result searches on Amazon for 'LED light strip' so here are things to look for before you buy your LED product. (You can build your kit using these).

1- There are always better options out there

The first things you're going to see when you search for an LED strip are these LED kits. Now, there are different high-quality kits, but they are more expensive, and the problem is if you don't like the remote control or how they are connected over Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, or you want more LEDs per meter, you are stuck with it. So you ask, "Why not build your kit?" You only need 3 basic things:  

• LED strips
• Control them
• And a way to power them

  Yet you are going to need clarification anyway.

2-What do you want your LED Light Strips to do

You want to shed some light on things, whether that is white light that you're using for under cabinet kitchen lighting, or maybe you want to add some color and go with RGB. So here we're going to categories: Dumb RGBs and Smart RGBs. Here's how each of these works:   White LEDs - it is just like a light bulb, you have a positive and negative lead from your power supply, and when it is turned on, it gives you a white light, and you can increase and decrease the brightness just like you would with a dimmer switch for a light bulb in your house. Dumb RGBs - are the same, but now you are sending 3 signals down the path: red, green, and blue, except these are not smart, so every LED on this strip is going to be the same color based upon how much power you're putting into each of the red, green, and blue. Smart RGBs - now these are very different. They do have positive and negative, but then they have a data pin coming down the middle, basically is telling light what to do, the cool thing is it can tell each individual LED what to do, and that's how you can get some cool animations.

3-What is white

Here is the white LEDs dumb and smart RGB: 1- The first one is a dedicated white LED that'sa the only color it does, on this, it looks really great, the only color it does is white, it's a nice pure white light. 2- Now here is the 20 dollar kit, and I don't if you can see this as I did, but it's really blue, and it doesn't look good. 3- This last one is a smart RGB, and you can see some quality differences between it and this cheap dumb RGB, this white is a lot better but it's not as good as the pure white. There is another type that tries to get the best of both worlds and that's RGBW. The problem is there is a lot going on there, the reviews could be better on them, and for me personally, it's more to fail. The dumb RGBs are referred to as RGB 5050, and the 5050 is the size of the LED. For the smart LED, you may see many different options WS2811 WS2812B WS2813 WS2815; you can find more about those.

4- Picking LED density

The measurement they usually do is LEDs per meter. The dumb LEDs:  

• 15 LEDs per meter
• 30 LEDs per meter
• 60 LEDs per meter
• 144 LEDs per meter

  But do you really need, let me show you how they look, the more you have the brighter it looks, and obviously the more you have per meter the more expensive it will be.

5- LED water-resistance

The next thing you want to look out for is where you're going to use the LED in relationship of to water, and that's going to be the easier decision of all because there are only 3 types of water rating and it's pretty easy to figure out. IP 30 (no water resistance) exposed circuit. water resistant IP 65 LED Light Strips , it silicone coating over the top of it and it covers all the electronics; these would be great for the kitchen anywhere around the sink and maybe outdoors if they are undercover.     inside a silicone LED Light Strips , IP 67 These are  casing that is sealed, the ends also have a seal, so you can get all kinds of water. Still and obviously don't use them underwater.    

6- LED Voltage

You will 5v 12v and 24v options, as you go up in voltage, it does not necessarily get brighter in the specific LEDs. 5v versus 12 volts are going to be at the same brightness but the more volts you have the more LEDs you can run at full voltage if you think about it that way. But there are some advantages to using the lower voltage strips I like to use the 5v strip a lot because you can run those off an Arduino which has 5v output or a USB charger or over your computer with the standard power supply you can run about 100 LEDs with 5v the 12v you go around 230-240 and the 24v you can double to around 460-480. So if you go over you don't shut off but they lose degradation.

7- Choosing your power supply or add another one

Now when you have more voltage. That means you can get more wattage at the same AMPs because WATT= VOLT x AMP. I'm using a 5v strip I can't change that out and increase the voltage because they will burn out. So what can do is add more amps, is add another power supply.

8- How do you control these

They are different types of controllers. And they are basically what they give the instruction the LEDs and like everything else they are options. Inline controllers, they got little instructions on lining up with the remote. In the middle you are going to have a controller you want to wire and put power to. The nice thing about these is you can add things like Wi-Fi you could associate these with home assistance Or you can use the microcontrollers.

9- Micro-Controllers The Ultimate LED Effects

   

• D1 Wemos Mini 

• Arduino Nano 

• ESP32 (Read more here)

• Full-sized Arduino Uno 

  Basically, these are just computers, that you can actually write the code and put it on them. You can have complete control over effects. If programming isn't your thing the is an application called WLED. They connect on your micro-controllers and give instructions from animations and have react to music.  

FAQ for Buying LED Light Strips

1. Why should I consider building my own LED light strip kit?

• Building your kit offers flexibility in customization, allowing you to choose specific LED strips, controllers, and power sources according to your preferences. It also avoids the limitations of pre-built kits, such as remote control options and LED density.

2. What is the difference between Dumb RGBs and Smart RGBs?

• Dumb RGBs function by sending signals for red, green, and blue down the strip, resulting in uniform colors. Smart RGBs have a data pin that enables individual control over each LED, allowing for dynamic animations and effects.

3. How do I determine the quality of white light produced by LED strips?

• White LEDs can vary in quality. Dedicated white LEDs produce a pure white light, while smart RGBs may offer decent white light but may not match the quality of dedicated white LEDs. RGBW strips attempt to combine RGB colors with white, but they may have limitations.

4. What factors should I consider when choosing LED density?

• LED density is measured as LEDs per meter. Higher density strips result in brighter illumination but also come at a higher cost. Consider your brightness preferences and budget when selecting LED density.

5. How do I choose the right water-resistance rating for LED strips?

• Determine where you intend to use the LED strips in relation to water exposure. IP30 strips offer no water resistance and are suitable for indoor use. IP65-rated strips are water-resistant and ideal for areas like kitchens and outdoor settings under cover. IP67 strips are fully sealed and can withstand exposure to various types of water, but they should not be submerged.