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When you are looking for some LED light strips to decor your house, you may find thousands of LED strips with different working voltages such as 5V and 12V on Amazon, eBay, and other websites of LED strip suppliers. Do you feel confused by so many different specs and don't know how to choose? In this article, we'll introduce their difference and let you know which is better for you.
1. Materials/ Components
Most of the components of the 5V LED strips and 12V LED strips are universal except the printed circuit board, aka PCB. Generally, the cutting unit of the 12V PCB contains 3 SMD LEDs and 1 resistor, and that of the 5V PCB is 1 SMD LED and 1 resistor. The minimum cutting length of the 5V LED strip is much shorter, which means that it's more likely to suit the specific length you need.
2. Input voltage
The power supply is a device that provides electrical energy to the LED strips. The output voltage of the power supply is constant. At the same power, the higher the voltage, the lower the current. And the lower the current, the longer the LED strip can be connected in series. Therefore, the 12V LED strip is more convenient for installation. But the 5V LED strips also have an advantage that is they can be driven by USB ports and batteries.
3. Applications
The 5V LED strips can be used to decor our TV background, computers, etc., for these devices can supply power to the LED strips through the USB ports. And the 5V LED strips are widely used in bike, skids, and other portable items, with a batteries pack. Oppositely, the 12V LED light strips are more suitable for large decoration lighting, such as ceiling, bed, wall, roof, and so on, for it is more stable and durable.
According to the comparison and description above, you can know which is better for your projects. If you have any questions about LED lighting, welcome to contact us. Shenzhen Mailederun Technology Co., Ltd. (MLDR®)
COB (chip on board) is not a new manufacturing technology and has been applying in the lighting industry for tens of years. But it's just a few years since the tech has been used to produce LED strips. Due to there is always a gap between SMD (surface mount device) LEDs, it's hard to form a continuous and uniform light track without a diffuser. However, the COB LED strip doesn't have this problem. The COB LED strip's diodes are directly mounted on the PCB (print circuit board) without the package, which makes it can be mounted with more chips than the SMD LED strips.
MLDR®'s new COB LED tape light has 512 pieces of chips per meter, and the fluorescent resin is continuous cover the chips, forming an uninterrupted lighting strip. This product fills a gap in the high-end residential and commercial light strips market and marks an innovation in the line of LED light strips. The product is now available on the website (www.mldrled.com).
The representative of Shenzhen Mailederun Technology Co., Ltd. said: "We believe that COB is the direction of light strip development, with the improvement of processing technology and related supply system, the COB LED strips are expected to replace the high-density strip lights' market in next few years".
Dual-white LED tape light, as its name implies, is a light strip that has two color temperatures. There are 2 different color LEDs on the PCB (print circuit board), and 2 independent circuits that are connected to different colored LEDs. So that you can switch the light's color and adapt their brightness separately. The picture below is the dual white LED tape light with a product number of R2835-SSW120, we can see that it's made of warm white and white SMD 2835 LEDs. In addition to these 2 colors, it can as well as provide daylight (4000 Kelvin) by the composition of warm white and white. Having 3 color temperature options, the dual white LED strip can improve the flexibility of both residential and commercial lighting.
2835 dual white LED tape
1. The methods to realize dual white/ dual color
Generally, there are two kinds of methods to achieve dual color in an LED strip. The first one is mounting 2 different color LEDs on a PCB (the 2835 dual white LED strip above is a typical example). The next one is using the 2-in-1 dual-color SMD LEDs. This kind of SMD LED has 2 colors.
2 in 1 SMD LED
2. Dual-white and RGB, which is better
I have to say that there is no fixed answer to this question. They are two products designed for different applications. RGB LED strips can realize more colors, while the dual white LED strip's white light is purer and has higher brightness. Therefore, if you want to decorate your home with comfortable light, you should take the dual white LED strip into consideration. And if you want to add some dynamic to your home, the RGB LED strip will be more suitable.
3. How to install the dual white LED tape light
Like other low voltage LED strips, the dual white LED strip needs to be driven by the AC-DC power supply. To achieve color changing, dimming, and dynamic effects, a dual white controller is requested to install between the light and power supply. Most dual-color LED strips are 3 pins (1 positive pole and 2 negative poles) or 4 pins (2 positive poles and 2 negative poles), and they are a little different in the wiring.
To summarize, dual-white LED strips can provide pure white lights and more CCT options. It's widely used in residences, hotels, signages, mirrors, and so on.
LED strip lights have replaced traditional lamps as the main light source of residential lighting, decorative lighting, advertising light-boxes, commercial lighting, and so on. The quality of the LED strips is one of the most important metrics. In this article, let's take the MFS3030A LED STRIP LIGHT as an example to introduce 3 components that determine the quality of LED strip lights.
1. Light source
MFS3030A is an LED light strip designed for lightbox display and stretch ceiling. Generally, the light source of the LED strip is the SMD LEDs, which directly determines the brightness, light color, power, lifespan, and most of the performances of the finished product. In order to meet the specific requirement of light intensity of advertising displaying and commercial lighting, the SMD 3030 LEDs, a high-power LED light source built-in 3 diodes, is adopted. And the excellent light source is the key to high durability and long life.
2. PCB
PCB is one of the main components of LED strips. As we all know, a high power light source also brings more heat. Therefore, we have to take the heat sink capacity into consideration when designing the PCB. The aluminum-substrate PCB became the perfect partner for the high-power SMD LEDs, its excellent heat conductivity can effectively improve the overheating and reduce the light decay of the light source. So we could say that the PCB's quality is directly related to the quality of LED strips.
3. Lens/ diffuser
To achieve specific lighting performance or adjusting the beam angle, diffuser covers and optical lenses are mounted on the LED light strips. These components directly cover the LEDs and will affect their original lighting quality. In consequence, the quality of the lenses and diffusers, such as transparency, shape, and uniformity, has a big impact on the performance of LED strips.
As a China LED strip supplier, Shenzhen Mailederun Technology Co., Ltd. (MLDR®) is committed to manufacturing high quality LED lighting. The MFS3030A backlit LED strip is made of high-quality SMD 3030 LEDs, rigid aluminum PCB, high-transparency 175° PMMA lenses, and other excellent materials ensuring the excellent light performance and durability. It's suitable for the lightbox display and stretch ceiling.
Lighting is already an integral part of interior design. Different
lighting can create different moods and atmospheres. The same space, if
different lighting methods, different positions, angular directions,
different lamp shapes, different light intensity, and color can obtain a
variety of visual-spatial effects.
The indoor lighting source of the house should consider the light effect, color rendering index (CRI), lifespan, as well as the overall color of the house. Given the energy-saving and environmental protection, LED lights should be given priority. At the same time, it is necessary to use a light source with high CRI; the higher the CRI, the more similar the light is to natural light. Ra90+ will be preferred,
with a minimum of Ra80. Color temperature is the key to create an atmosphere. When the color temperature of the light source is low, the light color appears dark, which makes people feel warm, peaceful, and relax. On the contrary, it creates a cool and refreshing atmosphere.
Residential lighting should also reflect the contours of the interior
structure, the spatial level and the three-dimensional sense of interior
furniture and decorative objects.
Lighting design for living room
The living room is a common activity venue for the whole family. The
lighting in the living room has two functions, practical and decorative.
The layout and selection of the lamps in the hall should be fully
determined according to the color of the furniture and decoration of the
residents. Generally, the chandeliers can be set at the top of the
center, and the number of downlights can be set at different edges. The
surrounding walls can be provided with fancy LED wall lights in
appropriate positions. LED strip lights can be used in the ceiling and
TV background wall for decoration. The main light can be chandelier or
LED panel light, which depending on the style of personal preference.
Bedroom lighting needs to meet a variety of requirements. The
luminaires don’t have to be too light. The main lighting source should
be designed to not too strong or whitish. It is recommend to use the
warm white or neutral white, which will make the bedroom feel warmer.
Bedside lamps can be provided for easy reading. Partial lighting on the
dressing table and closet can be easily installed, and the lighting
should not be too strong, so it should be close to natural light.
Bedroom Lighting
Indoor lighting design has become an essential factors in interior
design with room layout, color, shape, materials, and so on. The indoor
lighting design must meet the lighting design technical standards and
corresponding design specifications to meet the requirements of people’s
visual functions. It must also fully consider people’s aesthetic needs
and meet their visual psychological requirements, thus creating
beautiful work and life for people.
International protection rating, aka IP rating and IP code, is a standard for dust and water resistance. In the grading standard, IPxx is the symbol of protection level, in which xx is a two-digit number, the first position indicates the rating of protection against solids, and the second position indicates the rating of protection against liquids. The solid protection grade has 7 grades, which are represented by 0-6 respectively; the liquid protection grade has 9 grades, which are represented by 0-8 respectively. Hereinafter is the meaning of the IP ratings for LED lights.
The level of dustproof (the meaning of the first digit).
0: No special protection.
1: Prevent large solids greater than 50mm.
2: Prevent medium-sized solids greater than 12.5mm.
3: Prevent small solids greater than 2.5mm.
4: Prevent solids greater than 1mm.
5: Prevent dust accumulation.
6: Completely dust-protected.
The level of waterproof (the meaning of the second digit).
0: No special protection.
1: Prevent vertically falling water droplets.
2: Prevent vertically falling drops of water into a 15 degree sloped shell.
3: Prevent drops of water spray from an angle of 60 degrees.
4: Prevent drops of water in all directions.
5: Prevent jets of water.
6: Prevent powerful water jets and waves.
7: Can be immersed in water for less than 30 minutes at a depth of less than one meter.
8: Can be immersed in water for a long time under a certain pressure.
For the LED lighting industry, the regular IP ratings are IP20, IP65, IP67, and IP68. Take LED strips for example.
IP20: The LED light strip is not treated with any waterproofing and can only be used indoors or sealed environments.
IP65: The surface of the LED strip is covered with a layer of silicone glue to protect the electronic components from dust and rain.
IP67: The LED strip is covered with a silicone tube. It can be used outdoors, and underwater for a short period.
IP68: IP68 waterproof LED strip can be used underwater for a long time.
IP ratings for LED strip lights
At this point, someone might ask which is better, IP20, IP65, IP67, or IP68. Should we use the highest grade IP68? To be honest, the higher the level of protection, the higher the processing cost, the higher the price of the product. The IP rating should be chosen according to the service environments. IP20 is the most suitable and economical for indoors. IP65 and IP67 can meet most outdoor environments. And if you are looking for LED lights for pools or underwater environments, the IP68 is here.
RGBand RGBWis a couple of words that we commonly see and hear in the LED lighting industry. Today we are gonna review the RGB LED and RGBW LED, and find their difference.
RGB and RGBW LED Strip Lights
Combin 3 diodes (red, green, and blue) in 1 SMD chip, the RGB LED can realize color changing. To achieve better white light, adding a white light diode on the RGB LED, that's we call RGBW LED. So, RGBW is an RGB LED with an additional white light diode (the packaging process is far more complicated).
Through the controller, RGB and RGBW LEDs can switch from different colors, such as white, red, green, blue, pink, yellow, cyan, and so on. However, having an extra white light diode make the RGBW LED has a brighter and more pure white light performance. And according to the additional diode's color, there are also have RGBWW (RGB+ warm white), RGBCW (RGB+ cool white), and RGBNW (RGB+ neutral white), which can give you more choice.
To further introduce the difference between RGB and RGBW LEDs, we'd like to take the LED strips for example. The RGBW LED strip has 4 independent control circuits, and the RGB LED strip has 3. Therefore, we can visually note that the RGBW remote is more complicated than the RGB remote, and has more functions. From the connector, we can easier distinguish RGBW LED strip (5 pins) and RGB LED strip (4 pins).
Now, we learned that compared to the RGB LED, the RGBW LED has better white light performance, more color choices, and more functions. So can we conclude that the RGBW LED is better for buy? No, there is another important factor that we haven't take into account. As mentioned at the end of the second paragraph, the processes of RGBW LEDs are far more complicated than that of RGB LEDs. And the complex processes make the cost increase to the price. In today's market, the RGBW LED is several times more expensive than the RGB LED. To sum it up, RGBW LED lights are the better choice if you or your customers are strict in the white light performance and have enough budget. Opposite, if you just want to make rooms or restaurants more colorful, the RGB LED light can meet your satisfaction, and more cost-effective.
