How to Solder LED Strips

Real Green Lighting LED flexible strips are a versatile option for any indoor accent or task-lighting application. Low profile, and (of course) low-voltage, these handy little strips are the perfect way to add a little extra light wherever you need it most.

To make installation as simple as possible, we offer our customers the convenience of both pre-soldered “plug & play” connectors or simple solderless connectors for DIY field work. However, we recognize that there are certain circumstances where desire or necessity may require some good, old-fashioned soldering. When this is the case, we recommend the following techniques for soldering cables and connectors to Real Green Lighting LED flexible strips.

Before you begin, please read these important soldering safety tips:

Be careful, soldering irons get extremely hot! (Our technicians recommend a temperature of 700° F.)

Be sure to work in a well ventilated area to avoid breathing fumes.

Pay attention to polarity. Mismatched positive and negative polarities will result in the LED strip not functioning properly.

Don’t rush, but work quickly once flux is applied to ensure it does not dry out.

Clean off the tip of your soldering iron by brushing against sponge between uses.

To add soldered-on connectors, you will need:






Soldering iron

Spool of solder

Flux paste

Flexible LED Strip

Scotch or painter’s tape

Scissors

12V DC power supply with 3.5 x 1.3mm plug

Real Green Lighting LED solder-on connectors (one per connection point, available for purchase over the phone)

Wire sponge or damp kitchen sponge

1. Begin by turning on your soldering iron and allowing it to heat up to about 700°F.









2. Ensure that the flexible LED strip has been cut to expose copper solder pads, these will be your connection points. Use tape to secure the LED strip in place at your work station.









3. Align your solder-on connector with the copper solder pads at the end of your flex strip, ensuring that your polarities are matched positive to positive, and negative to negative.









4. Add a drop of flux to each solder pad on the end of the flex strip, and a drop to each of the silver solder points on the end connector. This will improve the flow of solder, leaving a smooth solder joint.









5. Position connector on solder pads of flex strip for mounting.









6. Use tip of heated soldering iron to collect a bead of melted solder.









7. Touch melted solder to each silver pad on your end connector, holding for 1-3 seconds, (no longer or solder will begin to brown & burn).









8. Use a standard 12V DC power supply to plug into end connector and test functionality. If solder has made a proper connection lights will turn on.









To add a soldered-on cable lead, you will need:


Soldering iron
Spool of solder
Flux paste
Flexible LED strip
Scotch or painter’s tape
Scissors
12V DC power supply
Inspired LED cable or 18-22 AWG wire
Wire strippers
Wire sponge or damp kitchen sponge

1. Begin by turning on your soldering iron and allowing it to heat up to about 700°F.


2. Ensure that the flexible LED strip has been cut to expose copper solder pads, these will be your connection points. Use tape to secure the LED strip in place at your work station.

3. Strip back your selected cable about ¼ inch. Identify the polarity of each side of cable, (if using Inspired LED interconnect cable, white lettering indicates positive polarity).

4. Add a drop of flux to each solder pad on the end of the flex strip, and to the exposed ends of your cable. This will improve solder flow, leaving a smooth solder joint.

5. Match the positive and negative sides of cable to flex strip, position on solder pads for mounting.

6. Use tip of heated soldering iron to collect a bead of melted solder.

7. Touch melted solder to each cable lead, covering the exposed wire with solder, holding 1-3 seconds (no longer, or solder will begin to brown & burn).


8. Connect your newly soldered cable to a standard 12V DC power supply to test functionality. If solder has made a proper connection lights will turn on.

With just a bit of soldering practice, there is no limit to the types of LED systems you can create in the field

More LED information, please click Real Green Lighting Company Limited

https://www.realgreenled.com

Flexible SMD LED Light Strips- SMD 3528 vs SMD 5050

Most of the flexible SMD LED light strips that are being offered on the market today are either of the SMD 3528 or the SMD 5050 type, and it is really important to make sure that you understand their differences.

Before we dig deeper into the different features and benefits of 3528 vs 5050 LED light strips, let us first explain the meaning of the so-called SMD LED, a commonly used name for flexible LED light strips:

SMD stands for Surface Mount Devices, and these are basically very small and light LED chips that are surrounded by epoxy resin. The so-called surface mount technology (SMT) is a commonly used method for designing and manufacturing circuits in which the components are mounted directly onto the surface of printed circuit board or PCB. You can learn more about this important part of modern microelectronics in Wikipedia’s article about surface mount technology.

These flexible SMD LED consume very little energy but provide a powerful bright light, and under ideal conditions of optimal temperature, current and voltage the average lifetime of flexible LED SMD light strips can reach up to an amazing 100.000 hours.

Now let’s take a closer look at the differences between a flexible 3528 LED lighting strip and it’s more powerful cousin the 5050 type SMD LED strip and compare their features:

Basically, the flexible SMD 3528 LED light strips consists of only LED light emitting chip per lighting source, whereas the far more powerful 5050 SMD feature 3 chips in one housing, and because of this they are sometimes also called tri-chips or triple core LED strips.

SMD 3528 LED lighting strips have this name because the dimension of the single chip is 3.5mmx2.8mm, and they are often found in indoor applications such as in bars and restaurants, living room decorations and more basic illumination projects with lower luminosity or mono-color requirements and especially also when cost-controlling is the important and in order to save more power.

To sum it up, the SMD 3528 chips are more power-saving and cost effective but not as bright as the SMD5050.

Flexible SMD 5050 LED lighting strips are high-performance, bright and have a wider array of options such as their availability in single colors and also as a RGB color-changable type. The SMD 5050 RGB version requires an additional control unit but features highly flexible multi-color mode and can easily be adjusted into various colors and color combinations. SMD 5050 is about 3x brighter than the SMD 3528 type and is often used where higher light-levels are needed and can be used as a replacement for traditional fluorescent light tubes.

Both the SMD 3528 and the more powerful SMD 5050 version are usually supplied in 5 meter reels, with the average power consumption of SMD 3528 being ca. 5W per meter, while SMD 5050 consumes more power and a ca. 7.5W per meter, while sometimes LED manufacturers might also offer extra powerful ultra-white SMD 5050 LED light strips that can emit up to 7201m per meter with a power usage of up to 14.5W per meter.

From a cost perspective, the more powerful SMD 5050 LED light strips are more expensive however and for illumination settings that require high luminosity one would mostly opt for SMD 5050 because the cost per lumen is lower than with SMD 3528.

We at Real Green Lighting recommend the usages of flexible SMD 3528 LED light strips for normal residential usages with mid-power requirements and when cost-saving is the key factor, while SMD 5050 LED light strips are better suitable for RGB color settings and when luminosity requirements are higher and more 

demanding.

This article comes from: http://www.realgreenled.com

Real Green Lighting Company Limited

Your Guide on How to Buy LED Strip Lights

Light emitting diodes, or LEDs, are becoming increasingly popular for home lighting. Compared to regular incandescent and halogen lights, LEDs have a slew of benefits including that they use very little electricity, have a very long lifespan, don’t produce much heat, and can easily be controlled and programmed. As LEDs are also very durable and resistant to shock, they can also be used in a variety of ways – including as strip lights. Buying LED strip lights may seem straight forward, but there are actually many different factors that buyers need to take into consideration to ensure they get the right lights for their needs.

Types of LED Light Strips

‘LED light strip’ is a generic term used to describe the many different types of LED lights that come in strips. Depending on how you plan on using the LEDs, you may actually need one type of LED light strip over another. For example, coated LED strip lights are better suited for areas like bathrooms because they are generally waterproof. For areas like walkways though, you may want to opt for aluminum panel LED light strips.
Encased flexible LED light strips (also called LED rope)
Non-encased flexible LED light strips (also called LED ribbons)
Self-adhesive LED light strips
Aluminum LED light strips
Rigid LED light strips (also called LED light bars)

LEDs in the Length of Strip

When buying LED strip lights, a lot of people make the mistake of only looking at the length of the strip. While this is obviously important, they also need to look at the amount of LEDs in the length. Ideally, you should look for the strip lights that have the highest amount of LEDs per foot (or meter, yard, etc). If the LED lights are spaced too far apart, the strip could produce spot-like lighting instead of a clean line of light.

Figuring out the number of LEDs per strip can be rather confusing because there is no standard used by manufacturers. One brand might advertise 200 LEDs per reel whereas another advertises 90 LEDs per meter and yet another advertises 40 LEDs per foot. You will first have to choose a unit of measurement (such as feet, yards, or meters) and then do some basic math to figure out exactly how many LEDs each strip has per unit.


Brightness of LED Strip Lights

Over the past years, LED technology has significantly improved so that the small diodes can produce much brighter light. However, this doesn’t mean you should assume that your LED strip lights will be bright. In some cases, you may not even want the light to be bright, such as if you are using it for accent lighting.

The brightness of lights is measured in lumens (not watts as is commonly believed). Depending on how you are using the LED strip lights, you will require a certain level of lumens.

Use Lumens Required Per Foot
Accent lighting 150 to 250
Under-cabinet lighting 175 to 550
Task lighting near source 250 to 450
Task lighting far from source 350 to 700
Indirect lighting 375 to 575
Signs 500 to 750


Most reputable LED strip light manufacturers will list the amount of lumens their products produce. However, you have to pay careful attention to how the lumens are listed. There is no set standard, so one manufacturer may state that there are 250 lumens per foot whereas another states that there are 250 lumens per meter. The first LED strip light would be much brighter than the second.


LED Strip Light Color

LED strip lights come in a wide range of colors as well as strips that can change colors. The most basic LED strip lights are called ‘non addressable’ and will only emit one fixed color of light. They are cheap to purchase and generally easier to install.

A second type of LED light is called ‘non addressable RGB strips’. These LED lights can display any Red-Green-Blue color. These are different than ‘addressable RGB’ LED strip lights. The difference is that addressable LED strip lights have a small controller between each LED that makes it possible to control each LED on an individual basis. Addressable LED lights will be more expensive and are usually not necessary for most home needs.


Color Temperature

Color temperature is something very different than the color of an LED light. Temperature indicates how ‘warm’ or ‘cold’ the light appears. Temperature is rated in Kelvin with higher Kelvin representing cool colors and lower Kelvin representing warmer colors.

Temperature Kelvin Light Color Applications
5000K-6000K Daylight
Outdoor LED lighting
Bathrooms
Situations when bright light is needed, such as reading
3500K-4100K Cool White
Kitchens
Hallways
2700K-3000K Soft White
Living rooms
Bedrooms

Note that it is possible to find LED strip lights that have color adjustable temperatures. These adjustable temperature LED strips can be very useful if you want to use the light strips for various types of mood lighting.


Installation of the LED Strip Lights

Never buy LED strip lights without first considering how you will install them. If you are buying a flexible strip of LED lights with adhesive backing, then this may be as simple as sticking the lights where you want them to go and plugging them in. In other cases though, such as for complex installations where strips must be cut and programmed, the installation can get complicated. In regards to installation, always be sure to consider the following factors:
Required length of the strip/number of strips needed
Power and voltage requirements
Direction of the LEDS on the strip
Flexibility of the LED strip lights
Whether components such as connectors are needed
Whether the strip needs to be programmed

Wattage of LED Strip Lights

Before buying any LED strip light, you will need to look at the wattage. First off, you need to make sure that your power outlet can handle the energy demands of the LEDs. This is fairly simple to calculate by doing some basic math.

Find out how much power your power supply can handle. For example, a typical power outlet can handle 15 amps before it will short out. At 120 volts, that comes out to 1800 watts. It is advised that you never surpass 80 percent of the total capacity, so you wouldn’t want to put more than 1440 watts. On the product specifications of the LED strip lights you want to buy, you should find the wattage. Note that wattage is sometimes listed per reel, per unit of measurement, or per LED. If wattage is listed in units or per LED, then calculate how many feet or LEDs will be used in your total project and multiply that by the wattage. This will let you know whether your circuit can handle the LEDs.

Another reason to pay attention to LED wattage is because of energy consumption. Even though LEDs typically don’t use much electricity (compared to most other types of lights, at least), the electricity usage can still add up and take a toll on your electric bill.


Conclusion

Shopping for LED strip lights doesn’t have to be difficult so long as you know what to look for. Most importantly, buyers will want to make sure they understand their options for installation, power demands, and colors. There are also many LED strip lights for specialized use, such as LEDs that are programmable.

For more information about LED Strip Lights and to inquire about your specific needs for any type of project please call us at:

This article comes from: http://www.realgreenled.com

Real Green Lighting Company Limited

THE TRUTH ABOUT LED STRIPLIGHTS – 7 MUST-KNOWS’ BEFORE YOU BUY!

When considering using LED strip lights (also known as “tapelights”) in lighting projects, one quickly realizes that there are many different products being offered in the market, with various qualities and technical characteristics. There are certain criteria that we can apply to help us determine what is the right type of striplight to use in any given situation. To prevent problems, consider the following 7 must-know TIPS:

#1. Line-Voltage vs. Low Voltage

The first consideration is what voltage to use (usually 120V, 12V, or 24V). This will depend on the application and other practical considerations for installation. Line-voltage (120V) striplights come in spools of 50 metres. This allows for installation of long stretches without the need to splice various sections, thus saving labor costs and time when installing. These tapelights can be cut every half metre (50cm).

On the other hand, most 12V and 24V striplights come in 5 metre spools. They are excellent options for use in boats, trailers, kitchens, and wet locations, including swimming pools and fountains, where low voltage is required for safety reasons. The cutting unit for most low voltage products is 5cm. They require a power adapter (DC12 V and DC 24V, respectively). It is critical to ensure that you use the right power adapter for the wattage and length of the striplight that you choose to employ.

#2. Length of striplight and number of LEDs per metre

Regardless of the brand to be used, LED striplights come in many different models, and the number of LEDs per metre vary. Usually, striplights come with 30, 60, or 90 LEDs per metre. There are some products featuring also 75, 120, and 144 LEDs per metre for certain special applications. Specialty striplights used as components for machinery and high-tech applications are also available.

Real Green LightingLED Striplight PRO (120V, 50m spool) has 60 high-output LEDs per metre. Each chip emmits an impressive 23 lumens, making it one of the brightest of its kind in the market.

Some manufacturers offer products containing 120 or 144 LEDs per metre, which are basically double strips. They generate a lot of heat, and are usually sold without a silicon sleeve or any other protection to prevent them from burning and to allow the heat to dissipate. Beware!

#3. Dust and Water Protection Grade
LEDs are sensitive to water and can be damaged by the action of ambient dust. There is a wide range of striplight protection grades. One recognized international guideline is the IP standard, which is comprised of two numbers: the first one denotes the water protection class, and the second one indicates the level of protection against dust:

Type of Protection Features IP GradeUnprotected Plain striplight 20

Type A Silicon Sleeve 67

Type B Epoxy Coating 68

Type C Silicon Sleeve and Epoxy Filling 68

Type D PVC Tubing Not recommended

Type D is not recommended because the tubing turns yellow over time, and is easily damaged by chlorine, UV rays, and heat.

The protection grade is critical when comparing prices. Purchasers often overlook this feature, assuming that all products offer the same protection level.

#4. Lumens per linear metre generated

The striplight’s output is another crucial characteristic to take into account. The luminous efficacy is measured by the lumens produced per watt consumed by the striplight. This is determined by the quality of the LEDs (Wide Loyal uses high-end Epistar chips). The luminous efficacy is one of the most important points to look at when considering the use of any LED product.

The brightness of the striplight is a key factor also when considering installation behind crown moldings, trim pieces, light trays, etc. If the strip is to be exposed, bear in mind that each LED chip will be visible. For an “even”, neon-like effect, LED tubing such as Real Green Lighting Flexi-Neon is recommended instead.

#5. LED Types

There are many types of LEDs used in various striplight models, including LED SMD 5060, LED SMD 5050, LED SMD 3528, LED SMD 335, and LED SMD 5730, among others.

The LED SMD (Light Emitting Diode Surface Mount Device) is, as the name indicates, an LED chip that is surface mounted on the striplight. The chip is enveloped in epoxy resin.

The SMD is a semi-conductor that can be either indium gallium nitride (emitting light in the green and blue part of the spectrum) or gallium phosphide (emits light in the red part of the spectrum). To produce white light, an LED emitter with a phosphor coating that emits at longer wavelengths is used, giving a full spectrum of visible light.

SMD technology offers many advantages. It is shock-resistant in normal application uses, it is also vibration-resistant, and does not emit either ultra violet or infrared light.

In addition, its color-rendering index (CRI) is greater than 85% in a scale ranging from 1 (very poor) to 100 (excellent). The CRI indicates how accurate a “given” light source is at rendering color when compared to a “reference” light source. The higher the CRI, the better the color rendering ability.

LED Format

SMD 5060 5050 3528 335

DIMENSIONS 50*60 mm 50*50 mm 35*28 mm 3*35 mm

TYPE Monochrome Monochrome Monochrome Monochrome

QUANTITY 3 chips/LED 3 chips/LED 1 chip/LED 1 chip/LED

CONSUMPTION 0.30 Watts 0.24 Watts 0.08 Watts 0.05 Watts

BEAM ANGLE 120 Degrees 120 Degrees 120 Degrees Side-Emitting

SMD 35*28




SMD 50*50




SMD 3*35



#6. Power supplies, controllers, and other accessories

In addition to line-voltage striplights, these products are available for use with 12V or 24V power adapters fed from 105/230 Volt networks, usually AC.

It is important to know the watts that each strips consumes to be able to determine if the power supply can provide the necessary power without any problems. Most striplights are dimmable using an LED dimmer.

Real Green Lightingstriplights are supported by a complete line of accessories, including mounting channels and clips, end caps, various types of splice connectors, power cords, light dimmers, and controllers, etc.

The company provides the only power cord/rectifier capable of safely loading up to 600ft (200m) of striplight. This prevents one of the most common problems encountered in striplight installations: overheating and power cord failure – which may lead to fire hazard.

#7. Some Mounting Recommendations
> Do not connect the striplight to the power supply with the power on.

> Follow the striplight’s polarity; positive to power supply positive.

> Ensure that the power source is adequate for the striplight.

> Ensure that the striplight, the power supply, and all connections are properly protected as per the job requirements.

> Ensure that no elements that may damage the striplight are in its proximity, such as heaters or abrasive materials.

Ensure that the heat generated by the striplight can be dissipated effectively.

Do not light up the striplight unless the spool is unrolled. Ligting it up unrolled will overheat the materials.

LED TYPE SMD 3528 SMD 3528 SMD 5050 SMD 5050

LEDs/m 60 120 30 60

CONSUMPTION (W/m) 4.8 10 7.5 14.5

VOLTAGE 12 VDC 12 VDC 12 VDC 12 VDC

AMPs 2 2 6 6

LUMENS/m 220/360 440/720 360 720

Millicandelas (LED mcd)* according to LED type and color:

LED TYPE SMD3528 BRIGHTNESS (MILLICANDELAS) LED TYPE SMD5050 BRIGHTNESS (MILLICANDELAS)

RED 1000-1200 MCD/LED RED 3000-4000 MCD/LED

YELLOW 1000-1200 MCD/LED YELLOW 3000-4000 MCD/LED

BLUE 400-600 MCD/LED BLUE 2500-3500 MCD/LED

GREEN 1500-2000 MCD/LED GREEN 4000-5000 MCD/LED

WHITE 1600-2000 MCD/LED WHITE 4000-5000 MCD/LED

WARM WHITE 1600-2000 MCD/LED WARM WHITE 4000-5000 MCD/LED

RGB NO RGB 2500-3500 MCD/LED

*Milicandela (LED mcd) is another method used to specify the intensity of the light emitted.

Finally, it is advisable to bear in mind that not all striplights are made equal. Real Green Lighting PRO series, for example, is manufactured with pure copper wiring – no aluminum – which offers greater durability and reliability. The PRO striplights are also protected with a double anti-corrosion coating (on both sides of the strip), and high-quality PVC. These features, while not obvious to the naked eye, can make the difference between a successful application and unnecessary headaches down the road.

This article comes from:http://www.realgreenled.com
Real Green Lighting Company Limited