LED street strips

LED strip is a popular decoration element, often used for outdoor decoration. Thanks to its bright and rich glow, it gives a sense of celebration and allows you to bring to life the most daring design decisions.

The scope of application of LED strips for the street is quite wide. They are used to decorate building facades, illuminate advertising structures, illuminate staircases, arches, windows and openings. They are used to decorate the entrance groups of shops and cafes, decorate signs and use them to create light festive illumination. Aquarists decorate their aquariums with LEDs, and motorists hang the tape in the cabin, on wheels and on the underside of cars.

Owners of private houses use LEDs to decorate terraces and gazebos, and landscape designers use them to create interesting light compositions in parks and squares. The ribbon is hung on trees, embankments are decorated with it and used to create illumination on pleasure boats. LEDs are actively used in architectural lighting: they effectively emphasize the geometry of buildings and give city streets an elegant look.

The high popularity of LED street strips is due to a number of their indisputable advantages.

• Due to the design features of the elastic light cords, they can be used in outdoor conditions. From above they are covered with a sealed silicone shell, which protects against moisture ingress.
• The belts can operate in the temperature range from –20 to +40 degrees, at any level of humidity. Reinforced versions of LED strips can withstand temperatures up to +60 degrees.
• LED strips consume very little electricity, which allows you to significantly save on street lighting in private houses and country cottages.
• LED strips are available in a wide range with a wide variety of shades and colors. This allows you to bring to life any design developments by choosing a model for every taste.
• Most LED cords are equipped with special dimmers, thanks to which the backlight can dim, blink, flicker, play with colors and look very dynamic.
• The tape is wound on bobbins and is produced in large quantities. This allows you to cut a single piece of the desired length, rather than forming it from several short ones. The length of the segments can vary from 1 to 100 m.
• Outdoor LEDs have a long service life of up to 50,000 hours.
• The tapes are characterized by high luminous efficacy, which is due to the conversion of all consumed energy into light.
• Many models are produced on an adhesive base, which greatly simplifies installation and allows them to be attached to any surface.
• LED cords do not heat up even after long-term use, which makes their use absolutely safe. In addition, they have a very strong shell and are practically not subject to mechanical damage.
• LED lamps do not contain harmful components and are completely environmentally friendly.

Street LED strips are classified according to the type of chip, protection level, type of glow, power, operating voltage and the number of LEDs per running meter.

• The number of LEDs per meter of cord can vary from 30 to 240 pieces and determine the brightness of the LED.
• The voltage of the tape can be 12, 24, 36 and 48 volts, and the first and second are considered the most common options and are labeled as DC12V and DC24V, respectively. Strip LEDs require a 220W power supply. When choosing it, not only voltage is taken into account, but also the power of the tape.
• The power reserve of the unit should be 30-50% in relation to the power of the LED strip. Power is indicated per meter of length, therefore, when determining the result, this indicator is multiplied by the number of meters. Typical power ratings for modern designs are 4.4 W, 7.2 W and 14.4 W.
• By the type of glow, LEDs are divided into monochrome and multi-color models. In this case, monochroms shine in different shades of the same color, depending on the color temperature. For example, white LEDs can provide daylight, clear or warm light. Modern monochrome is available in a wide range of colors and, in addition to white, can be yellow, blue, red, pink and orange. Multicolor ribbons are capable of working in a multi-colored spectrum with alternating illumination of two, three (RGB models) and even four colors (RGBW samples). Such cords are equipped with special controllers, with the help of which they change the color spectrum and regulate the rate at which one color changes to another.
• The protection level of outdoor LEDs is indicated by a code of letters and numbers. The IP letter is an abbreviation for ingress protection, which means "degree of protection", and the following two numbers indicate the level of protection against solid particles and liquids. At the same time, the level of protection against dust can vary from 0 to 6 units, and from moisture - from 0 to 8.
• As for the type of chips, SMD-diodes marking 5630, 5060, 5050, 3528, 3035, 3014 and 2835 are used for the production of tapes. The most perfect option is tapes with 5630 chips.

When buying street LED strips, there are a number of important points to keep in mind.

• If the backlight is mounted for a long time, then you need to buy a frost-resistant model. The operating conditions of the tape must be indicated on the packaging or in the accompanying documentation. Most cords are able to withstand 20-degree frosts and work great for several years.
• If LED lighting will be installed outdoors, then you should choose models with a high degree of dust and moisture protection. It is necessary to pay attention to the marking when choosing the tape with the indices of the digital indicators greater than 6. For example, the tape with the IP68 marking has the maximum degree of protection and is suitable for any climatic conditions.
• It is necessary to take into account the decorative characteristics of the tapes, paying attention to the number of diodes per meter of surface and the type of glow. Multicolor models are suitable for creating festive illumination and advertising banners, and monochrome options are useful in landscape design for illuminating paths and alleys.
• If, in addition to the decorative function, the lighting of a certain space will be assigned to LED-cords, then it is recommended to choose a model with a power of at least 10 W / m.

Installation of a street LED strip does not cause difficulties even for those who have never encountered its installation. Models with an adhesive base are especially convenient, as it is enough to press down to the surface along the entire length. If the LED is to be mounted on tree branches or other curved surfaces, it is recommended to purchase safety clamps made of plastic.The tape is placed on a branch, wrapped around with a clamp and fixed with a special fastener on the clamp.

When installing LEDs on building facades, plastic brackets are used. However, they must be fixed very carefully, trying not to damage the decorative wall covering. To do this, drill small holes with a thin drill and carefully fix the cord. At least one fastener is required for each running meter of tape.

As for the technical side of the issue, one end of the cord is insulated with a plastic plug, and a connector is put on the other. Then a rectifier is connected to the working end, not forgetting to observe the polarity. A 700 W rectifier should be used for medium power tapes of 100 meters, as well as for heavy duty cords 40 meters long. For shorter models, a lower wattage unit can be purchased.

When installing multi-color RGBW and RGB LEDs, a rectifier with an integrated controller is required. The controller is equipped with a control button and allows you to adjust the sequence of the color diodes and the intensity of the backlight. Many models are equipped with a remote control that allows you to change the backlight mode remotely, and more modern designs can be adjusted using a smartphone.