Finding a strip light that delivers the right amount of illumination depends on the context in which it is being used and the effect you are trying to achieve.
To make things easy for our customers, our strip lights can be divided into three main categories; low brightness, medium brightness and high brightness.
The brightness of a strip is dictated by the size and number of LEDs. As a rule of thumb, the more and larger LEDs on the strip, the brighter the strip will be.
Each strip serves its own utility and knowing what these are will avoid you blinding yourself with a high brightness strip when low brightness is sufficient. Some are more appropriate for aesthetic purposes, while others serve more practical purposes. The following guidlines will give you a rough idea of which LED Strips are suitable for which applications.
If you are trying to illuminate a small, enclosed area, such as the inside of a cabinet or the underside of a shelf, we recommend using a low brightness strip. The light does not have to be strong as it won't have to travel very far before reaching a surface, and the effect is primarily aesthetic.
An example of a low brightness strip is the 60 LED per metre 5328.
If you are adding accent lighting to the underside of a kitchen cabinet or behind furniture, you will need the mid-range LED tapes. The light may need to be more noticeable as it will have to compete with background ambience, or will have to travel a little further before it reaches a surface.
An example of a medium brightness strip is the 30 LED per metre 5050.
For commercial applications or where the strip light needs to be noticeable in the presence of background ambience, a high-brightness strip light is recommended. One of the most common applications is in store front windows where, during the daytime, the strip needs to remain visible. It is also suitable as an "indirect" light source, an application that requires a lot of light in order to be effective.
An example of a high brightness strip is the 60 LED per metre 5050. (twice as bright as the 30 LED)
Remember, the colour temperature of your LED Tape will effect its brightness. Cool White is slightly brighter than Warm White as it penetrates much further. Cool White is more effective at accenting and highlighting areas of interest.
Questions worth asking yourself include:
- Where am I using my strip lights?
- What effect am I trying to achieve?
- How dark is the area I am trying to illuminate?
Are my strip lights going to be for show or will they serve a practical purpose, i.e. lighting a worktop in the kitchen?
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