How to find the right LED band?
LED-bands have many different features where it is not always easy to find the right LED lighting band for you and your application.
To give you an overview of the selection options for LED bands, we have described the most important features for you:
Overview
Which form is the right one for me?
Which version should I choose?
Which lightcolor do I need?
Which supply voltage is necessary?
Which assembly density makes sense?
How bright must my LED band be?
Which form is the right form for me?
There are two different basic designs available: rigid and flexible.
Flexible LED bands are particularly suitable for places where the LED stripe has to adapt to curves or other curved contours. Very narrow curves or angles of almost 90° are also possible. An additional advantage is the self-adhesive backing, which enables simple and quick installation. Rigid bands are suitable for places where flexible bands cannot be mounted or where exact straight mounting is required. In addition, rigid LED bands can be screwed more easily to the substrate, ensuring an even more stable connection to the installation site.
Which version should I choose?
Now the question arises about the version. LED bands as indoor version can be used everywhere, if there is no danger that it comes into contact with splash water or other liquids.
As soon as there is the possibility that the it comes into contact with moisture, you should try the outdoor version IP67.
Another advantage of the outdoor version is the smooth surface of them, as single LEDs do not stick out due to the waterproof coating.
Which lightcolor do I need?
The light colour is also called colour temperature in Kelvin . The higher this value is, the colder (bluish) is the light. Lower values produce a warmer (yellowish) light.
In general we can only make a recommendation here.
- for living rooms we recommend a warmer colour temperature similar to a classic light blub with approx. 2700 Kelvin.
- A neutral white light with approx. 4000- 4700 Kelvin is suitable for work rooms, offices, medical rooms; this also promotes concentration.
- Accent lighting and colorful effect lights can be realized with RGB(W). With this version the color can be set freely.
- LED bands in RGB-W version are the most flexible solution, because an additional white LED is not only able to show accents but also lighting tasks can be fulfilled too.
Which supply voltage is necessary?
This is noticeable in the length restriction. The higher the supply voltage, the longer the lighting band can be.
The length restrictions can be found in the data sheets of the respective bands.
For low powers 12V DC are usually used. For medium to high powers, however, 24V DC are often used. For longer stripes up to 30m long, very efficient bands with 36V DC supply voltage are used.
Which assembly density makes sense?
As higher the LED/m component density and thus the number of LEDs per meter, as more uniform is the light output. Especially with reflective surfaces it is advisable to choose a higher component density to achieve a homogeneous light distribution. When using diffuse cover profiles, an assembly density of at least 30 LED/m is recommended.
How bright must my LED band be?
For rough orientation:
- 100-300 lm/m - Colour effects/ambient lighting, not suitable for room lighting
- 600-1000 lm/m - can be used for room lighting
- more than 2000 lm/m offers maximum brightness for highest requirements
The data always refer to one meter.
As a rough value without consideration of the external factors it is possible to say that 100 lumens correspond to a 10W light bulb.
We are especially happy to advise you on the question of brightness, as several factors have to be taken into account. What colour temperature should be used, how strongly do the surfaces reflect, what colours do the surfaces have, is cooling on aluminium profiles required , how long should they be, is dimming desired? Often completely new favorable solutions result with the discussion.