LED strip assembly

LED tapes are more and more often used in interior design. They are most often used as additional lighting and they are used in kitchen tops, in suspended ceilings or around wall decorations, whose uniqueness we want to emphasize. In this article, we will show differences between individual LED strips, explain how to properly install them and suggest what additional elements will be necessary for their proper functioning.

The correct installation of the LED strip

LED tape should be glued to aluminum profiles, metal elements, flat bars or to any surface that can be used as a heat sink (heat dissipation) for the tape. Before gluing, the surface must be degreased with a special preparation, cleaned and dried. The tape should be soldered or using a suitable connector, connect the tape contacts with the power supply, and the power supply itself to the network through a cube or a socket plug. Then tape the tape using double-sided tape, remembering that the glued surface must not have any unevenness. The next step is to screw the profiles with LEDs to the cabinet/ceiling/ wall surface.

How to choose a power supply for the tape?

Each tape has a nominal power expressed in watts (W). For the most popular 300 LED strip, it will be 4.8 W / m. This means that if you want to mount a tape with a length of 2 m, the power supply power is 2 x 4.8W, or 9.6W. The most suitable power supply, in this case, would seem that it would be at least 10W, but we recommend using the power supply taking into account the power reserve and the efficiency of the power supply itself, adding 15%, that is, for 24W, we multiply 24 x 115% for a tape, so please use 28W or stronger power supply.

How do I install the tape and power supply?

Time to connect the tape with the power supply. In the aforementioned 300 LED 3528 tape, as well as in all other one-color tapes, two conductors are led out from the full roll of tape: red (plus) and black (minus). Colors are given not without a reason, because their incorrect connection may damage the tape.

Regardless of the power supply capacity, it will have one pair of input wires (for 230V AC mains) and at least one pair of output wires. If there was a problem with their differentiation, we are already explaining. Input leads (INPUT 230V AC) are marked in blue and brown, while output wires (OUTPUT 12V DC) are red (plus) and black (minus).

So how do you connect the tape with the power supply? Connect the wires (remembering to match the colors) with the help of cubes for electric wires, so that the wires do not touch each other, and then wrap the ankle with insulating tape.

How to cut an LED strip?

LED strips are usually available in 5-meter rolls, and very often we want to illuminate the shorter element of the decor of our apartment. In this situation, it is necessary to cut the tape and we can do it with ordinary scissors. It is important, however, that the cuts should only be made at the places designated on the tape, otherwise the entire section of the tape may cease to shine. The most common types are cut every 5 cm and 10 cm.

LED tapes are increasingly appearing in our homes. They effectively illuminate the kitchen worktop space, but they can also illuminate the decorative elements on the walls of our apartments. In the article, we allowed ourselves to present LED strips of eLux and Nextec brands, but we guarantee that Crest LED strips are worth recommending, with the highest quality and long-term durability. There is nothing else we can do to encourage you to familiarize yourself with our offer