How to install LED strip lights? How to cut them? Is connecting strip lights difficult? If you are dealing with LED strips for the first time, you may not know the answers to these questions. Luckily, we are here to help! In this article, we are going to teach you how to set up your LED strip lights in order to create mood lighting, providing a relaxing atmosphere and convenience in any area and any room you choose. Enjoy reading!
What should you know about LED strip lighting?
An LED strip light, also called an LED tape or ribbon light, is a circuit board populated by SMD LEDs. Strip lights are a simple way of creating ambient lighting in any room. LED strip lighting is a popular choice for illuminating kitchen worktops. They can be used outdoors, too!
LED strip lights are available in different colour temperatures (cool white, neutral white, and warm white), voltages, lengths, and IP ratings. They are characterised by robust appearance and versatility. We cannot fail to mention that they are energy-efficient and environmentally-friendly.
Installing, cutting and connecting LED strip lights in stages
LED strip lights are really easy to install. Anyone can do it! Each strip light comes with self-adhesive tape, which enables the users to stick the lights simply anywhere they want to. We have decided to accurately describe the whole process of installing, cutting and connecting strip lights in chronological order. In our view, this is the most sensible way to explain everything in detail.
Clean the chosen surface before you start installing LED strip lights
There is no denying that the first thing you need to do is to buy LED strip lights. However, before you adhere any strip lights, you need to thoroughly clean the surface of the area chosen for placing the lights on. It is highly recommended to apply strips especially on smooth and stable surfaces. You can pick smooth metal, marble, plastic, or wood surfaces. The choice is yours!
What you need to remember is that choosing rough plastic surfaces is not the best idea. The same applies to knitted or dusty fabrics, dusty walls, and white painted walls – surfaces which can bend or move are definitely not the best options.
Remove adhesive backing and attach your LED strip light to the surface
LED strip lights usually come rolled on a spool. That’s why the next step is to unroll the length of the strip that you are going to work with. Get rid of the self-adhesive backing and then, stick the strip light to the desired area.
Make sure that each part of your strip is firmly adhered to the chosen surface. The more precisely you press down on each part of the strip, the better results you will achieve. You don’t want any air bubbles to appear!
Don’t forget to strengthen the installation
The next step consists in strengthening the installation. Thanks to fixing clips, you can be absolutely certain that your LED strip light will stay in place. Do not hesitate to use fixing clips, it’s really worth it! In order to do that, you need to pull off the adhesive tape and then apply it to your chosen area. To be more precise, you should apply clips to non-sticky areas over the strip light. You can additionally protect the clips by screwing them to the surface.
Attach LED strip light to the power adapted and controller
When you’re sure that your lights are secured, you can proceed to the next step – attaching your strip to the controller and power adapter. After that, you can move to plugging the strip into an electrical outlet. Take the remote control — after removing the insulation sheet, you can use this electronic device to change the lighting colour with a single click.
Cut the strip… but how?
The next stage of the process is cutting the strip. Despite appearances, it’s not as complicated as you may think. All you need to remember about is that there are special designated sections along which you can easily cut the strips. Actually, each strip light has such cut marks — what’s important, dividing strips into separate units is allowed only there. Otherwise, you will damage your strip. So make a straight cut where necessary.
Take two strip light sections and connect them together
Surely you have heard that LED strip lights are one of the most flexible lights available on the lighting market. This saying did not come out of nowhere. The thing is that strip lights can make twists and turns. Not only that, they can also go round corners and over non-flat surfaces. However, this will not be possible without the corner connectors of flexible connector clips.
Use connector clips to connect two strip light sections together. Push an open end of each of the strips into the clip and then close it in order to lock it in. When it comes to corner connectors, they may come in handy in when you want your strip lights to go around the corner. Two connector clips will be useful, too.
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Make your strips go over uneven surfaces (optional)
If you want to, you can easily make your strip lights go over surfaces that are uneven. If you decide to do so, you should connect a previously mentioned strip connector to your strip lights and over the chosen uneven area. Then, it’s just a matter of connecting the other end to the rest of the lighting. You have to admit that it’s a piece of cake!
Summary
Installing, cutting and connecting LED strip lights is surprisingly easy. We hope this text will help you understand the topic more and that you proceed to the action right after reading. Buy LED strip lights that suit your needs, find the best place in your home for them, and then follow our instructions. Good luck!
