Buy cob led strips key tips and considerations, COB LED Strip Lights Buying Guide

COB (Chip On Board) LED strips have been a popular DIY lighting solution for years. As a new type of soft light strip, COB light strip has more advantages such as higher brightness, more uniform lighting, etc. COB LED light strip is welcomed by many architects and lighting designers.
This article will tell you what is a COB LED light strip, what are the advantage of a COB light strip, What is the difference between COB and SMD，how to choose COB led strip lights, top 9 consideration for buying a COB light strip, how to install a COB lighting strip, how to apply a COB light strip, how Maintaining COB Strips.

With more than 10 years in the LED lighting business, Yiford owns a lot of experience in the lighting field. Yiford now offers some new type of non spot light strip COB light strips.
This new type of light strip offers uniform luminescence, and is popular among many different types of customers for a variety of reasons. uniform luminescence, high brightness, good flexibility, and a wider range of applications. It is highly respected and loved by users. This is definitely the buying guide you need.

What is COB LED Strip lights?

below is the video for cob light strip overall display:

Play Video about Observe the Flexible COB LED Strips Tape Lights

Warm white, neutral white, cool white, tunable white.
Red, green, blue, yellow, pink, purple,
RGB Color Change and RGB addressable COB LED strip Lights.
Outdoor waterproof light strips.
Different voltages 5V 12V 24V.

COB LED Strips Lights Range

RGB Color Changing LED Strips

RGB Color changing, 12V/24V COB LED strip lights. Rich and varied colors. Indoor & Waterproof RGB LED Strips.

RGB Addressable COB LED Strips

Magic Dream Color Changing, RGB IC COB LED Strips, each led could be controller, digital and addressable. 5V, Indoor & Waterproof.

Tunable White LED Strip Lights

Dynamic tunable white LED strip lights, produce any CCT from 2300K-4000K-6500K. warm white+neutral white+cool white

Cool White LED Strips 6000K-6500K

Brightest 12V / 24V cool white LED strip lights, high efficacy and consistency.

Neutral White LED Strips 4000K-4500K

Neutral white 12V / 24V LED strip lights, clearer and brighter than warm white.

Warm White LED Strips 3000K-3500K

Warm White 12V / 24V LED strip lights. High quality and built to last long.

Red LED Strips

The red is eye-catching, it feels warm and hot, and it also means happiness

Green LED Strips

Green is freshness, health, hope, and a symbol of life; it has a sense of security, peace and comfort

Blue LED Strips

Blue can relieve tension, bring elegance, tranquility, reason, and depth.

Ice Blue COB LED Strips

Quiet like the sky on a sunny day and the deep sea,bringing a fresh and peaceful.

Violet COB LED Strips

Purple brings dreams, nobility, elegance, mystery, and also represents an extraordinary status.

Pink COB LED Strips

Pink looks very romantic, soft, sweet and lovely, with a sweet smell.

What is feature for COB led strips? what's the difference between COB led strip and SMD led strip lights? below video will show you

18 major characteristics of COB light strips

COB LED strips Lights Features: What makes them so special?

Play Video about What's COB LED Strips Lighting Features and Advantages?

>>>>>>If you have never read our LED Strip Light Guide
then you should start there first, because this will cover all the basics of LED Strip lighting.>>>>>>If you are already familiar with light strips,
hope you are happy to learn how COB light strips make the world of LED lighting better than reading!

This guide will guide newer and experts on
How to buy the most suitable COB LED strips for work
How to overcome common installation problems, and how to better use them.

What is COB LED strip?

COB (chip on board) LED strips are different from traditional led SMD LED strips. COB strip lights are strips that encapsulate the chip on a flexible circuit board. Chips are mostly flip chips, which are linearly solid bonded on the PCB, and then a layer of packaging glue mixed with phosphor is directly dropped on the surface of the chip light source. The appearance resembles a strip of ramen glued to the PCB board.
The light emitted by the chip is refracted, reflected, and interacted with the phosphor in the packaging colloid. phosphor coating reflective surface made cob led strip lights single color or rgb dream colorful, The colloid evenly emits light of different colors and color temperatures.

The difference between SMD leds and COB leds light

1. Due to the structural characteristics of the COB (chip on board) light strip, the light emitting surface is a linear colloid; while the ordinary SMD (smd surface mount) type light strip, its structure is a luminous lamp bead, which is attached to the PCB board. Therefore, the light emitted by the high quality COB light strip should be much more uniform, linear, and there is no light spot;

2. Since the COB chip is directly solidified on the PCB board, the heat of the chip can be quickly transferred to the PCB board. Therefore, the heat dissipation speed of the chip of the COB led light is faster than that of the SMD type strips, and the light decay of the COB light strip is smaller and the life span is longer;
compared to cob leds, new led technology led strip light brings better lighting solution. heat sink not necessary, cost effective. energy efficiency.

3. The luminous angle of the light emitting surface of the COB led light source can reach 180°.

4. The main components of the COB light strip include: led chip, fluorescent agent, FPC board, double sided adhesive.

The new COB (chip on board) LED lighting technology consists of many small chips integrated into a large single led chip

Compare COB and SMD leds:

COB and SMD LED Strips

Let’s look at this SMD light strip. This is an SMD LED lamp bead. The white outside is the bracket frame. It has a certain thickness.
The COB light strip does not have this bracket, so on the same length PCB circult board, the COB light strip There are more chip light source that can be arranged, and the density is higher. One thousand or even two thousand chips can be reached per meter.
The brightness and uniformity of this COB light strips far exceed the SMD light strips.

Summary COB and SMD Difference

COB LED achieves higher brightness, and the appearance is more uniform than its predecessor. COB flip chip technology provides a higher level of light scattering, eliminating those dark and then bright spots produced by narrow beam accessories. In addition, COB led light has higher reliability, better energy efficient, and longer service life than SMD LED lights.

COB LED strip technology innovation

With the aid of the newly developed “chip on board” flip chips technology, LED strips can achieve uniform beam quality because individual LED dots are no longer visible.

Using continuous flexible led light strips, you can create delicate, narrow light. This is especially due to the high density of LED strips, with up to 500 chips per meter. linear light cob encapsulation solved SMD led strips with dark areas, led chips package direct on the circuit boards, flexible led strips has good heat dissipation, The effect of using cob led strip lights as effect light or path and direction lighting is particularly impressive.

COB LED Strips production process:

Traditional SMD LED strips use SMT surface mounted technology. The lamp bead of the light strips is welded on the circuit board by SMT process, and then the waterproof process level is achieved through the outer glue.

The COB LED strip is directly fixed on the PCB ( printed circuit boards ) by the packaging manufacturer using high precision flip chip technology, and then the light emitting color is directly realized through the silicone coating and different waterproof levels are processed. each stage has quality control staff inspect to be sure good quality, kindly visit here to get know more about process of the COB led strip lights. you can read led strip factory process and machine

Cost of COB LED Strip Lights

Traditional SMD LED strips have been developed for more than 10 years. All supply links and suppliers are very mature. Every supply chain has fierce competition and a transparent market. At present, enterprises are operating models with low profits and high turnover.
Compared with COB LED strips, it has a great advantage in cost. Flexible COB LED strips have a short development time. In the short term, compared with traditional light strips, there is no advantage in cost. As the technology matures, COB LED strips have great advantages.

The Top key points for buying LED strip Lights

LED light strips purchase all inclusive guide

What color do you need?

White color features

what color temperature do you want for white light?

If you need to install a white light, the color temperature of the white color light must be considered.
Color temperature is a professional concept. It simply means the color of light. As far as white light is concerned, the color temperature is generally expressed in thousands of digits. The smaller the number, the yellower and redder the color, and the larger the number, the whiter and bluer the color. The unit is represented by K.
The color temperature of conventionally produced LED has 2300K, 3000K, 4000K, 6500K, this range, for example, 2400K represents yellow white light, and 6500k represents white blue light.

How to choose the color temperature of the LED strip?

Let me talk about some basic common sense first. The human eye’s sensitivity to light is in the very limited range of visible light. The human eye can perceive different feelings in the white light field with different color temperatures.
For example: 2300K, 3000K warm white perception is a very warm color, this color temperature is more suitable for people to use when they are relaxing or resting, such as bedrooms, coffee shops and other places;
4000K, neutral white, more suitable for business occasions, so it will not be too warm, and will not make people very excited;
5000K and 6500K belong to the range of cold white light. This color temperature gives a sense of spirit and excitement. This color temperature is suitable for shopping malls, offices, schools and public places with many people.

The specific color temperature to choose depends on your needs and where you are using it. At present, the color temperature of LEDs produced by YIFORD Technology is relatively complete. All color temperatures are available, which can also provide you with more choices according to your own preferences. How to choose the right color temperature will let know the role of the led lighting’s color temperature.

Play Video about Warm White led strip lights?--2300K white to yellow COB LED Strips

Play Video about natural white

Play Video about 6000K white

Play Video about cct tunable white

Color of COB LED Strip Lights

Adjustable white CCT LED light strips

Also called tunable CCT white light strips, can produce lights with a color temperature of 2700K to 6500K. They are made by using both warm white light and cold white light LEDs on the same FPC board. The light of warm white and cold white LEDs are mixed to different relative brightness levels to produce lighting of different color temperatures.

What is tunable white CCT COB Strip Lights?

below video about tunable white dotless led strip lights tunable white COB strips will let you know:

Play Video about color change cct led strip lights

Review CCT White tunable cob led strips

1.2700K-6000K color temperature can be switched at will

Intelligent control, color temperature change, Composed of two chips, cold white, natural color, and warm white can be switched as you like, you only need one light strip

2. The brightness of the light can be controlled on demand

Whether it is too bright and dazzling, or too dark to see clearly, it will affect vision health. Low voltage three color stepless dimming, and the controller can adjust the brightness steplessly, you can always find the brightness state that you feel comfortable.

3. More extensive applications

Even, bright and non glaring light, although it is not the C position in the light, it is used as a decorative technique to render a delicate, light and luxurious space atmosphere, which makes people feel comfortable and experience better. Use different color temperatures as the environment changes.

Best color temperature for room

Living room color temperature

When the living room is mainly illuminated, the color temperature is generally recommended to be between 4000-6000K for the best experience. Such as watching TV at night, switching to the warm light of 2700K is both eye protection and comfort.

Bedroom color temperature

The bedroom is used as a place to sleep and rest. In fact, nobody like seeing dazzling lights. Therefore, it is very important to install a two color temperature light belt in the bedroom. The light belt not only plays the role of beautifying the shape and space, but also conveys the sensory atmosphere.
It is recommended to adjust the normal color temperature of the bedroom to between 2700-3500. If you need high brightness lighting, you only need to switch the white lighting mode, which is very suitable.

Placed on the top of the bed can replace or cooperate with the bedside lamp to create a different visual effect and space atmosphere. At night, it is a weapon to turn off the main light and exaggerate the mood, giving the bedroom a romantic and warm feeling. if you are designer and wonder how to simple use the led strips for your room lighting, you could refer this article 3 Step get interior lighting design wonderful

Colorful Light strips

What is colorful RGB led strip lights

But, If you want colored lighting, you can choose single color strip lights, such as red, green, blue, or purple, pink and so on. Or you can choose multi-color changing COB RGB LED light strips or RGB IC PIXEL light strips

Different colors of light create a visual sense of various postures. It has many different forms and subtle effects on our emotions, such as the light and shade of space, color, atmosphere, etc., which stimulate our perception of the world and indirectly affect our emotions. you may wonder How different colors of light affect our lives
here is the video for all different single color led strip lights.

How much light density do you want? That is, how bright a light strip you want

The density of LED strips refers to how many LEDs there are in an area. For LED flexible light strips, the density is measured by the “number of LEDs per meter”. To be more accurate, LED strips should indicate how many LEDs per meter or how many LEDs per foot. It is often referred to as the LED density of the light strip.
LED density indicates the distance between one LED and the next LED, expressed in the number of LEDs per meter or per foot. Taking SMD light strips as an example, there are 60 LEDs/meter, 120 LEDs/meter, and 18 LEDs/foot. Or 36 LEDs/foot.
The density of COB light strips are: 210LEDs/meter, 320 LEDs/meter, 378 LEDs/meter, 384 LEDs/meter, 480 LEDs/meter, 528 LEDs/meter, 680 LEDs/meter, 768 LEDs/meter, 1134 LEDs/meter.

How does LED density affect the brightness of LED strips?

Generally speaking, when all other factors are comparable, high density LED strips are brighter than low density LED strips. This is because there are more LEDs that emit light on higher density LED strips. Comparable factors refer to the same current drawn by the same type of LEDs and LED strips.
A higher density light strip equates to higher quality, brighter light. The following table shows the difference between standard and high density strips. Please pay attention to the difference in lumen output and the cutting length and maximum running length of each.
Because the surface of the COB light strip is completely sealed by the luminous agent, the number of chips cannot be determined, but it can be seen from the markings on the PCB board.

No.	Density LED Qty/Meter	Color	Cuttable Length	Voltage	Effect （±10%）	Lumen Watt（±10%）
1	312 LEDs	white	19.23mm	12V	8W/M	>70Lm/W
2	312 LEDs	white	38.46mm	24V	8W/M	>70Lm/W
3	320 LEDs	white	50mm	12V/24V	8W/M	>100Lm/W
4	320 LEDs	white	25mm	5V	8W/M	>100Lm/W
5	384 LEDs	white	41.66mm	12V/24V	10W/M	>100Lm/W
6	384 LEDs 5mm	white	41.66mm	12V/24V	10W/M	>100Lm/W
7	480 LEDs	white	50mm	12V/24V	11W/M	>100Lm/W
8	528 LEDs	white	45.45mm	12V/24V	14W/M	>100Lm/W
9	608 LEDs	White CCT	26.31mm	24V	14W/M	>100Lm/W
10	768 LEDs	RGB	31.26mm	24V	14W/M	>100Lm/W
11	756 LEDs	RGB	23.81mm	12V	14W/M	>100Lm/W

The definition of lumen?

Lumen is a measure of the brightness perceived by the human eye. In LED lighting, lumens can measure the brightness of light. This is different from Watt, which measures the energy of light. The word lumen means “light”, and it only makes sense when you understand what it measures. In other words, lumens can measure the amount of light your LED lights emit. The higher the lumens, the brighter the light will be.

What is luminous efficacy?

Luminous efficiency is another important factor regarding brightness. It is the ratio of the lumen value of the light strip to its wattage. Through this definition, we can see that the ratio measures the luminous efficiency of the light strip when using one watt of power.
With the same power consumption, LED strips with higher luminous efficiency can produce more lumens. To put it another way, in the case of producing the same brightness, the LED light bar with higher luminous efficiency consumes less power, thereby saving more operating costs.

The relationship between brightness and wattage?

The brightness of the LED strip is related to its wattage, that is, the power consumed by the flexible LED strip. Similar to a light bulb, the higher the wattage of the light strip, the brighter the light produced.

How many lumens does a space need?

When installing LED strips for homes, we often encounter this question: How many lumens does the space need? How many lumens per square foot should be planned to illuminate the room in the best and comfortable way?
In order to achieve the best brightness in different rooms, you can refer to the following table as a general guide:

Application Area	How many lms/sf
Bedroom lighting	10-20 lumens/sqft
Stairs and corridor lighting	10-30 lumens/sqft
Under the cabinet lighting	20-40 lumens/sqft
Understage lighting	20-40 lumens/sqft
Kitchen island baseboard light	20-50 lumens/sqft
Bathroom lighting	50-70 lumens/sqft
Kitchen countertop lighting	60-80 lumens/sqft

How much voltage do you need? 5V, 12V, or 24V?

12V light strip

For new users of LED strips, we recommend 12V LED strips, because 12V power supplies or power adapters are more common in the market.
In addition, the cutting increment of the 12V light strip is shorter than that of the 24V light strip of the same model. The smaller cutting increment means that it is easier to cut and adjust the LED light strip to the exact installation length required.
Most cars, RVs, boats and yachts have 12V power systems. Therefore, 12V LED strip is the only choice.

24V light strip

The working current of 24V LED light bar is half of that of 12V LED light bar, which is determined by the relationship between power, current and voltage.
If a lighting project needs to install LED strips for a long time, the 24V version is better. The reason is a well known problem “voltage drop”. Voltage drop is a phenomenon in which the voltage drops along the light strip, because resistance in the path of the light strip is inevitable.

why 24V LED lights is better than 12V?

Due to the voltage drop, the light at the beginning of the long strip of LED strips will be brighter than the light at the end of the strips. The voltage drop of a 24V LED light bar is less than that of a 12V LED light bar. Many 24V LED light strips can run continuously for up to 10 meters (about 32 feet), and the brightness will not drop significantly from the start to the end of the light strip.
To put it simply, the 12V light strip has a relatively small power and is used in small scale occasions. The power of the 24V light strip is relatively large, and it is used in a wide range of spaces.

Constant current light strip

Current controlled LED strips can solve the voltage drop problem to a certain extent. However, current controlled LED strips are more expensive than ordinary 12V or 24V LED strips because they have more complicated circuit designs, use more electrical components, and require longer manufacturing time.

5V light strip

If you want to connect the COB light strip to the power bank, computer host, or TV, you can use 5V. The flexible light strip has a USB interface at one end, and you can plug it in and use it.

Lighting length and width

The length of our LED strips is usually 5 meters (16.4 feet). Why is the LED strip made 5M long? This is because of the voltage drop of the light strip. For a 12V LED light strips, if the length exceeds 5M, the brightness of the LED at the end of the light bar will be significantly reduced, and a large amount of heat will accumulate at the same time, which is not conducive to the life of the light strip.

The width of the COB light strip is usually 5mm, 8mm, 10mm and 12mm to choose from. The 5mm ultra thin version is designed to meet the needs of special lighting projects. Yiford also has a 3mm wide COB light strip, which is convenient for some projects that require a smaller size LED light strip.

CRI / Color Rendering Index

CRI is a measure of the ability of a light source to render the original color of the object illuminated by the light source. The original color is defined by the color of the object when it is illuminated by sunlight.
The closer the color of the object rendered by the light source is to the color of the same object under the sun, the higher the color rendering index of the light source. The value of CRI ranges from 0 to 100. By definition, sunlight has a perfect CRI with a value of 100.
Note: The higher the CRI value, the better the quality in terms of the light source’s ability to render colors. This is important for lighting applications where color is important.
For example, if you need to light up your meat counter, then if you don’t want the meat to have an old, brown hue, then the color rendering of red is essential. The best CRI is to faithfully replicate the colors of goods and products in the store.

You may have noticed the produce area where the supermarket sells vegetables and fruits.
When using a light strip with a high color rendering index, the product presents a natural saturated color, which looks juicy, shiny and fresher. Therefore, they are clearly more attractive to customers.
The same goes for fresh meat. Under the light zone with high color rendering index, the meat is purple red and looks fresher. If the CRI is lower than 80, the color of the illuminated object will be distorted, as if it is covered by a gray veil. The object looks lacklustre and dull.

From the perspective of protecting human eyesight, long term use of light strips requires a CRI higher than 80. Light with a CRI lower than 80 will affect the human eye’s ability to distinguish colors. Prolonged exposure to light with a color rendering index of less than 80 may cause various vision problems. you may have some question about the CRI, what’s different with high CRI and low CRI? here you will get answer: What is CRI? What is high color rendering index?

All Yiford LED COB strips have CRI 90+. In order to meet your professional needs, we also provide CRI 95+ strip lights.

Do you need a shaped shell or protective cover?

For indoor applications, please choose IP20 indoor LED strips. For outdoor or semi outdoor applications, please use outdoor waterproof LED strips with IP65 or above.

Waterproof LED strips are also suitable for indoor use because their outer waterproof tube can protect electrical components from dust and impact.

Ordinary light strips are IP20, and the waterproof grades of waterproof light strips are IP65, IP66, IP67, IP68, etc. For SMD LED light strips, how many ways are there to be waterproof? as follows:

1. Epoxy waterproof LED linear light strips, many of which are made of epoxy resin and PU glue. Place the LED linear light strip flat on the glue table, and fix the LED light strip with double sided adhesive on the reverse side, and then put a layer of glue on the outside of the LED light strip to achieve the effect of waterproofing.

2. Hollow full tube waterproof light bar, generally used sleeves are silicone full tube and PVC full tube, or aluminum profile.

3. Semi sleeve drip waterproof or semi sleeve glue waterproof, that is, the bottom is covered with a semi sleeve, and then do the drip or glue treatment.

4. A full set of tubes is filled with glue or a full set of tubes is drawn with glue, which is the highest waterproof level among the current LED linear lights, and can be used completely in the water. For COB light strips, because there is a layer of fluorescent glue on the surface, it is not suitable to add glue on the surface. The waterproof treatment of COB light strips generally uses transparent sleeves or silicone tubes or aluminum profiles, and then waterproof treatment at the end, that is, the second type of waterproof treatment.

From this article how to install the cob led strips for your project you will get know how to install the soft light strip, but more often, lighting projects not only need the strip lights, but also need the shell or protective cover or shape shell, which could make the lighting look more beautiful, more spacious, and more artistic.

Which type shells could be used?

YIFORD provides three kinds of housings for LED light strips to meet the needs of users in different places：

1. If you want a flexible shell, please choose Silicone led channel system series. Strong flexibility, arbitrary bending, 30 degree to 360 degree light is available.

2. If you want hard line lighting, please choose LED Aluminum Profile series. Small shell, hundreds of different sizes, all corners can be applied.

3. If you want to use in commercial lighting, please choose the Ceiling Lights special shaped series. Large scale shell, large-area lighting, easy to combine into different shapes.

Neon Silicon Tube series

How to use the Neon Silicon tube?

Silicone tube is not only superior in performance, but also very convenient to use.
The LED light bar silicone sleeve installation is divided into the wired and non wired ones:
It is very simple and very convenient to tie the light strips tightly with the wire directly. For LED lights with silicone sleeves without wires, what we are talking about installation is to pass the wires through the LED light bar silicone sleeves, and only an air pressure machine is needed.
Tie one end of the board with a rope, and finally plug it with cotton. Because the cotton is very light and easy to deform without scratching the surface, put it in a little bit, and blow it with air pressure. Straighten it on one side and it’s OK!

YIFORD’s silicone tube is generally 50 meters per roll, 100 meters per roll, 200 meters per roll. There is a pulling wire in the casing. When using it, tie the pulling wire to one end of the LED light strip and pull it directly in from the silicone tube. It’s okay.

Play Video about u shape silicone led tube

Play Video about silicone led channel system

NEON SILICONE TUBE performance:

1. Non toxic, odorless, high transparency, high flame retardancy, no yellowing after long term use;
2. High flexibility, good elasticity, ozone resistance, voltage resistance, kink resistance and no deformation;
3. No cracking, long service life, cold and high temperature resistance;
4. Has high tear strength and superior electrical performance;

Flex LED Channel System For LED Strip Lights

Silicone LED Neon Strips Applications:

Widely used in the LED flexible light belt industry, suitable from 4mm to 28mm flexible circuit boards (through casing, glue filling, glue dispensing processing technology), play a waterproof and protective role. the product is non-toxic, odorless; highly transparent, transparent High light rate; long term use does not change yellowing, embrittlement, or cracking; and has superior properties such as ozone resistance, voltage resistance, cold resistance, high and low temperature resistance.

Silicone LED Tube Range

According to the light emitting mode of the light strip, the silicone flexible light strip can do:
Ⅰ Single side light
Ⅱ Glow on three sides
Ⅲ 360° lighting
Ⅳ Curved surface light

How to install silicone led strip lights?

Play Video about silicone led channel system

Neon silicon led strips lights Installation method:

How to install the silicon led tube lights? In practical applications, the installation methods of flexible light strips mainly include: embedded installation, ceiling installation, suspension installation, snap in installation and other installation methods. The installation process is relatively simple and convenient.

Snap in installation

Fix the buckle in position with screws;
Align the light strip with the buckle and lightly press it to the concave point.

Embedded installation

Make a groove according to the size of the light strip, and fix the glue on the picture around the groove;
When the fixing glue is not dry, align the light strip with the slot and insert it, and wait for the fixing glue to dry.

In fact, the advantages of the COB flexible light strip are also reflected in the installation method. It is a split structure, and the bottom bracket and the light strip are separated, which is convenient for later maintenance.
If the lamp bead is broken, there is no need to remove the entire lamp, just pull out the lamp strip and replace it with a new one. However, traditional lamps need to disassemble the whole set of lamps, which requires a large amount of work and will cause certain damage to the application carrier!

This split design not only reduces the workload, but also greatly reduces the labor and material costs in terms of the later maintenance of the lamp and the operation of the repair personnel! In addition, if one of the COB flexible lights is necrotic, it will not affect the normal light emission of other lights.

LED Aluminum Profile series

High quality anodized aluminum LED strip channel, also known as LED aluminum profile or aluminum extrusion, is another best choice for LED strip project installation and functional companion. They are widely used as LED light bar diffusers to achieve better diffusion and creative lighting effects. They are used as LED light bar installation channels to assist the installation of LED light bars. They are a must for personalized lighting that many lighting designers love element.

These specially designed LED light bar aluminum troughs can be perfectly installed in the grooves of cabinets, ceilings, stairs, walls and floors. Due to its elegant linear shape, spotless diffusion, low key and unobtrusive contours, the resulting lighting is aesthetically beautiful and stylish.

LED light channels with diffusers are usually surface mounted and used for lighting under cabinets. Ceiling LED lights with channels, embedded LED lights with channels and corner LED lights with channels are the first choice for LED light strip applications. The aluminum channel provides housing and protection for the LED light bar. As heat sinks, they greatly improve the thermal management of LED strips.

The LED light strip in the aluminum channel with diffuser provides softer and more comfortable light than the light without diffuser. The diffuser eliminates the glare of the light. Light is more eye friendly and helps protect your eyesight. The lighting of the aluminum channel looks more beautiful. When installed in a suitable aluminum channel with a diffuser, it can provide pointless lighting.

Advantages of LED aluminum profiles

1. Improve the beauty of lighting.

The aesthetic appearance of the linear lighting improved by the aluminum channel creates a wonderful lighting shape for the space. When installing the light strip, its outline can increase the layering of the indoor environment.
If the shape of linear lighting is applied well, a simple structure can produce amazing results. It can be said that the light strip is the little make up at home! For commercial use, it displays more attractive products. It is very elegant to install at home. On the stage, it is very eye catching.

2. Strengthen heat dissipation.

The LED aluminum channel acts as a heat sink, which absorbs the heat generated by the LED light bar when it is working, and dissipates it into the air through the channel surface. The improved thermal management system extends the life of the LED light bar.

3. Protect the LED light bar.

The anodized aluminum tube provides a sturdy housing for the LED light bar, which prevents water, dust, ultraviolet radiation, weather conditions, and unnecessary influences. For example, it can be used for strip lighting in splash areas.

4. Easy to install.

Aluminum profiles can be seamlessly embedded in the grooves of cabinets, stairs, walls and floors. They take up very little space, but can provide lighting exactly where you want it to be illuminated without seeing bulky lamps.

5. Work as an LED light strip diffuser.

The cover layer of the aluminum extrusion is usually called an LED strip diffuser. It can be frosted or opal to provide the best light diffusion, achieve perfect spotless and more uniform lighting effects, and avoid glare.

6. Help the installation of LED strips.

Aluminum profiles can help to install LED strips in different ways. Some surfaces are not flat, rough or too oily, and are not suitable for attaching LED strips. Aluminum channels help to install LED strips to these surfaces. The aluminum channel can also be used as a bridge to fill the gap between two independent mounting surfaces.

7. Easy to form different shapes.

DIY lighting shape is easy. Aluminum channel steel can be easily cut at different angles at the end for angle connection to form a square, triangular, L shaped or tree shaped lighting design. Easily create more personalized lighting.

8. The LED light bar can be easily replaced.

The internal light strip can be easily removed and replaced, in case the user wants a different color light strip.

9. Security.

The LED light bar channel is designed for low voltage light bar. It is very safe to install and use.

Ceiling Lights special shaped series

LED ceiling light speical sharped, also known as Led linear light, it is a free design lighting material. It can make many shape according to your design. LED linear lights are also very popular. They are usually composed of aluminum profiles, LED strips, power drivers, wires, and installation accessories.
LED linear lights come in different sizes, from small to large, from thin to thick, from square to round, linear lights of various basic shapes can be combined into countless kinds of personalized shapes.

This simple design is widely used in office lighting, hotel lighting, factory lighting and some shopping mall lighting. Yiford now has different types of LED linear lights with lengths ranging from 2ft/4ft/6ft/8ft. We can design LED linear lights according to your requirements.

What kind of power supply is best for your project ?

Led strip light driver is power supply, also called transformer . It change the high voltage AC110V/220V to low voltage, such as DC12V/24V. Then the led strip light can safe use.
Choosing the right power supply for your LED Strips is very important to achieve the optimum result in combination with a maximum lifespan of your LED strip.

Do you want to use it outdoors or indoors?

Where to use the LED light strip determines the waterproof level of the required power supply. Outdoor or indoor, humid or dry place. If you use it outdoors in a humid place, or where it might rain, then you need a waterproof power supply. If used indoors, the place should be dry. Just like in ceilings, kitchen cabinets, TV cabinets, non waterproof drives are OK.

Waterproof power supply

Non waterproof power supply

What purpose will you do for it

Do you want to use it for DIY or engineering projects?

We use it in DIY. If a few meters of LED strips are not used in a lot of LED strips, then we don’t need to use BIG power supply, we can choose the following power supply. Wall mounted power supply and desktop power supply. Wall mounted power supplies are generally not large in wattage, 1A, 2A, 3A. Desktop power supply is bigger, 4A, 5A, 6A. So this is convenient for us to make some small DIY lighting.

Play Video about waterproof power supply

Play Video about led power supply

Do you need more functions? Such as controller/dimming/amplifer.

LED pixel light strips and RGB full color light strips need to use a controller to achieve a changing effect, and the control distance of each controller is different.
Generally speaking, the control distance of a simple controller is 10 to 15 meters, and the control of the remote control The distance is 15 to 20 meters, and the longest distance can be controlled up to 30 meters.
If the connection distance of the LED strip is long, and the controller cannot control that long strip, then a power amplifier is needed for tapping.

Refer to the figure below for the connection method of the controller and amplifier. Both the controller and LED dimmers led amplifier can be used separately with the power supply.

There are 3 kinds of dimmable power supplies, three different dimming methods, with different functions

Use branded led driver

High quality power supply and high quality power adapter can provide complete indication current to ensure continuous operation. The amperage provided by the inferior power supply is lower than the indicated value. During continuous operation, inferior power supplies can become overheated and usually fail within a short period of time.

I suggest you buy a branded led power supply. For example, MW Power Supply has many distributors around the world, so you can easily buy it.

How many watts of power do you need?

Voltage.

The LED light bar power supply should provide a suitable voltage for the light bar. 12V LED strips should use 12V power supply 24V LED strips should use 24V power supply.

Watts.

The power supply should be able to provide enough power for the light strip. The required power or wattage is determined by the wattage of the light bar to be installed. The formula for calculating the wattage of the light bar: wattage = LED light bar length x wattage/meter. For example, you are installing a 5m LED strip with 10W/m output. Total wattage = 5mx 10W/m = 50W.

Then we calculate the wattage of the power required. The rule is that the power supply should not be used at full load, because a full load will cause the power supply to overheat and shorten its service life. It is recommended to increase the capacity by 20%.

For example, for the above installation, the power supply should be: (1+20%) x 50W = 60W. If there is no power supply with this precise output power, then we choose the next level of output, which is 72W. The power supply higher than the necessary output will not damage the LED light bar, it will only provide the necessary output wattage for the strip light.

For more connection methods and power supply issues for LED strips, please refer below article and video:

How to Cut | Connect | Power COB FOB LED Strip Lights

Where can LED strips be used?

The LED light strips is soft, can be curled like a wire, can be cut and extended, is not easy to break, and has a long service life. It has perfect advantages of other light sources. Its function is far beyond your imagination, and it has become the most widely used.
The light source is also the most creative and versatile lighting for lighting design professionals. Whether it is for civilian or military use, whether it is large stage lighting or small electronic products, you can see LED tape lights.
It is easy to make graphics, text and other shapes; it has been widely used in decoration and lighting of buildings, bridges, roads, gardens, courtyards, floors, ceilings, furniture, cars, ponds, underwater, advertisements, signs, signs, etc.

Another article by Yiford explains the application of LED light strips in detail from 13 aspects. Each application scenario lists corresponding pictures or videos for your reference.
Welcome to read What are the application ideas of LED light strips?

LED Strips Application area

1. Furniture, wood products, metal products, glass products, stone products, etc.
2. Home lighting, indoor and outdoor lighting and decoration
3. Display cabinets, shelves, wine cabinets, wardrobes, display boxes, etc.
4. Car wash room, fitness club, meeting room, multi function hall, etc.
5. Stairs, corridors, corridors, passages, etc.
6. Background walls, background lights, artistic modeling, etc.
7. Ceiling lights, ceiling lights, linear lights, modeling lights, etc.
8. Atmosphere lighting for stage bars, cafes and other leisure places
9. Vehicles such as cars, trains, airplanes, and cruise ships.
10.Hotels, clubs, shops, exhibitions, etc.
11. Exterior wall decoration, architectural outline, artistic modeling, etc.
12. Lighting for professional places such as museums and art galleries
13. Innovation of existing products

LED Strip Lights DIY For Rooms

Play Video about led strips application

DIY cob led strips to the flower frame for decoration

What is the effect of adding a soft COB light strip to the flower stand for decoration? Added “COB LED STRIPS” design. It not only adds contour lighting to the flower stand, enhances the bright environment, and makes the space colorful. It also allows plants to grow faster under the influence of growth lighting, and because the soft light strip itself has a waterproof function, it can withstand water.

Play Video about led strips application

DIY COB led light strip in the transparent storage box

An ordinary storage box, no matter where it is placed It is unremarkable, but with the addition of a flex cob light strip, it is completely different. The outside looks crystal clear, and the inside is very bright when you open it. It is very convenient to find what items.

Play Video about led strips light for room --Best lighting ideas

What is the effect of installing a COB soft light strip on the drawing board

maybe you want it to be more eye-catching, maybe you want more people to appreciate it , Try this COB soft light strip, high color rendering index, so that your paintings are more reductive, what other ideas can you think of? You can create more surprises with COB light strips

Play Video about led strips application

Want to make your painting more eye-catching? Use this COB soft light strip

COB is the abbreviation of CHIP ON BOARD, which means that flip chip is arranged on the soft light strip, and the COB soft light strip looks like a soft tie Belt, with strong flexibility, folding and bending, the overall light is uniform, soft and not dazzling, and the brightness is high. It usually replaces traditional lighting fixtures,

Play Video about led strips application

RGB digital pixel COB led strips for decoration

do you know? The COB light strips also has RGB Symphony! What is the concept of encapsulating 600+ LED chips in a 1 meter led strips? Please see the effect.
magic led strips: There is an IC chip in each pixel, and each pixel is given a different light-emitting state through the program of the control system, so as to achieve the effects of water flow, horse racing, scanning, popular tailing, etc. It is also richer. There are 256 gray levels for each of the RGB three colors, and there are more than 16 million colors in total. In addition, the magic light strips can also display text, pictures, animation, and video through the programming of the control system.

Play Video about led strips application

DIY to transparent glass with rose flower

Bright and dazzling roses represent love and enthusiasm. People who receive flowers are always happy. If you add some soft COB led light strips to the flowers, what is the effect? The light of the LED soft light strips penetrates through the transparent glass, the glass is more crystal clear, and the roses inside are blooming, more vivid, richer, beautiful, dazzling, colorful, and full of romance.
Add some lovely led lighting to any part of your home by placing this light bulb flower lamp on display.Make the every day a bit more magical by creating an enchanting ambiance with these LED rose lamps.

Play Video about 5 step make led sign

5 Steps to make your own signs

10 minutes to make a colorful lighting on background? we know led strip is light, high brightness, flexible,slim,and with a lot of applications. Today I will show you how to use the COB led strips to make a beautiful light for this background.

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LED Lighting for background

This product is suitable for hotels, shopping malls, home furnishing, cabinets, exhibition racks, etc., cooperate with aluminum profile can used for main lighting, indirect lighting, dark slot lighting, outline drawing, decorative lighting and other purposes.

Play Video about DIY Decorating room with fairy attractive lights

DIY Decorating room with fairy attractive lights

Add some COB color soft light strips to instantly become brighter and more atmospheric. Use COB light strips to make your room shiny, right? DIY Decorating room with fairy attractive lights , Insufficient Lighting In Living Room? Stick COB Led Strips | Effective Much Better，

Play Video about LED Light For Bed--Best Lighting ideas for bedroom

What is the effect of installing a COB soft light strip on the sofa

In addition to the main light source, home lighting also needs some auxiliary lights to illuminate. Partial decorations often give you different surprises. Want to add some auxiliary lights at home? But you don’t want to destroy the original structure and shape, the COB strip is worth a try.

Here is a special case about furniture
Case: With these lights, the chair is no longer an ordinary chair

How can the soft light strip be used at home？

In terms of function, LED strips are very suitable for ambient lighting, accent lighting, task lighting and decorative lighting.

Ambient lighting.

Ambient lighting is called general lighting or mood lighting. It is the starting point of the basic amount of light in a room. It is general lighting, not only allows you to move safely, but also sets the tone for the entire room.

Want to know how to design ambient lighting? How do different colors and design lights affect the mood of the residents?
Welcome to Unique Lighting Ideas For Rooms Without Main Lights

Accent lighting.

Accent lighting is the lighting concentrated in a small area or part of the room. The strip lighting under the counter is usually a special design to highlight the area. Accent lighting is also used to make the area stand out. Accent lighting is usually used to display works of art, photos or trophies.
Want to know the effect of using light strips in every corner of the home?
Welcome to Use LED strips in these 8 locations/how beautiful the lighting at home is!

Task lighting.

When you work, you need task lighting. It helps you process tasks by improving the alertness and attention level of the brain, as well as illuminating objects or areas through details. Task lighting often appears in areas such as home desks and kitchen countertops. The light strip lighting under the cabinet can be a good example of task lighting.
Want to know the effect of cabinet lighting?
Welcome to 6 amazing LED lights with lighting ideas, so suitable for your cabinet

Decorative lighting.

Bias lighting is the backlight used on the back of a TV, screen, or monitor. It provides soft lighting in the back area, which is usually very dark. The design purpose of offset lighting is to improve the performance of the TV screen and reduce the burden on the viewer’s eyes.
How to correctly design the TV background wall lighting?
Welcome to Best TV Wall Backlight Design Ideas

How to identify the quality of LED flexible light strips

The LED light strip market is uneven, and the prices of products from regular manufacturers and those from cottage factories are very different. If the quality of LED strips is identified from the professional technology, I am afraid that many customers do not have this ability. But we can make a preliminary identification from the simple appearance, and basically tell the quality of it.
It can be distinguished from the following aspects:

1. Look at the solder joints.

The LED strips produced by regular LED strip manufacturers are produced by SMT patch technology, using solder paste and reflow soldering. Therefore, the solder joints on the LED light strip are relatively smooth and the amount of solder is not too much. The solder joints extend from the FPC pad to the LED electrode in an arc shape.

2. Look at the quality of FPC.

FPC is divided into two types: copper and rolled copper. The copper foil of the copper clad board is protruding. If you look closely, it can be seen from the connection between the pad and the FPC. The rolled copper is closely connected to the FPC and can be bent at will without the phenomenon of pad falling off. If the copper clad board is bent too much, the pad will fall off, and if the temperature is too high during maintenance, the pad will fall off.

3. Look at the cleanliness of the surface of the LED strip.

The cleanliness of the surface of the LED light strip produced by SMT process is very good, and there are no impurities and stains. The counterfeit version of the LED light strip produced by the hand soldering process will have stains and cleaning marks on its surface no matter how it is cleaned.

4. Look at the packaging.

The regular LED light strips will be packaged in anti static coils, 5 meters per roll or 10 meters per roll, and the outside of the package will be sealed with an anti static and moistureproof packaging bag. The counterfeit version of the LED light belt uses a recycled reel, without an anti-static and moistureproof packaging bag. If you look carefully at the reel, you can see that there are traces and scratches left by the removal of the label on the outside.

5. Look at the label.

There will be printed labels on the regular LED light belt packaging bags and reels, not printed labels.

6. Look at the attachment.

The regular LED light strips will be enclosed in the packaging box with instructions for use and light strip specifications, and will also be equipped with LED light strip connectors or card holders; while the cottage version of the LED light strip packaging box does not have these accessories, because After all, some manufacturers can still save while saving.
Of course, this also depends on the buyer’s requirements for the configuration list of the product. After all, one more accessory will increase the cost, and the wholesaler will configure these lists on its own.

Other matters needing attention when choosing LED soft light strips:

1. The requirements for brightness are different for different occasions and different products. For example, if LED jewelry counter lights are placed in some large shopping malls, we need to have higher brightness to be attractive, and the same decorative function is also divided into different products such as LED spotlights and LED colorful light strips.
2. Antistatic ability: LEDs with strong antistatic ability and antistatic ability have a long life, but the price will be higher. Generally, antistatic is best to be higher than 700V.
3. LEDs with the same wavelength and color temperature will have the same color. This mass combination of lamps is particularly important. Do not produce too much color difference in the same lamp.
4. Leakage current is the current when the LED conducts reversely. We recommend using LED products with a smaller leakage current.
5. Waterproof capability. The requirements for outdoor and indoor LED lights are different. For outdoor use, a waterproof cover should be added to the light strip, especially where it is connected, it must be waterproofed.
6. The light emitting angle of LED has a great influence on LED lamps and has great requirements for different lamps. SMD light strips are 120 degrees, and COB light strips are 180 degrees. The range of illumination is larger, but a luminous cover with changing optical angle can be added.
7. LED chips determine the core quality of LEDs. There are many brands of LED chips, including foreign brands and Taiwanese ones. The prices of different brands are also very different.
8. The size of the LED chip also determines the quality and brightness of the LED. We also try to choose a larger chip when choosing, but the price will be correspondingly higher.

Can you cut an led strip?

Since LED strips are designed to be flexible and can be placed where you need them, you need to choose the right size for your room. With this in mind, the strips can be cut to fit the space.
However, you cannot cut the light strip anywhere. Many people don’t realize what they are doing with light strips and damage the entire roll.
Basically, each set of LED strips is made up of a series of connected circuits. As long as you cut the lights between this set of circuits, you won’t break either of them, and both will still work when connected to power.

So how to safely cut LED strips? It’s easy: look for cutting lines. it is on the top of print circult board, on the back of PCB which need to remove the adhesive tape.

Where to cut LED strips?

The strip will have a series of solid lines across the width of the strip. Cut there carefully and straight with a sharp knife or scissors. Depending on the type of LED strip you buy, these cut lines may be closer together or spread out.
cutting led strip lights, usually they are about every three LEDs, but 12V strips will have more cutoff points, usually twice as many as 24V strips.
For this reason, 24V strips are better for longer straight lines, but if you have a lot of corners, consider a 12V strip with multiple power supplies.

how to connect two strips of led lights?

Connecting Multiple LED Strips, LED Strip Connection Types Depending on the pin count, connecting LED strips together is relatively easy once you know what you’re doing.
Useing those led strips connectors, you will find connect two led strips together is very easy, and could complete complex lighting projects.

The easiest way to do this is to use a plug, which can be a straight, 90 degree angled L shape or 3 way T shaped plug.
how to reconnect cut led strips, All you need to do is insert the end of the strip into the connector, making sure to align the polarities. Then add a second light bar on the other side and you’re done.

If you don’t want to use a connector, you can solder it directly. how to wire led strips, You’ll need to strip the wires from the connecting light strip and unscrew the frayed ends.

Next, you need to melt the solder directly onto the copper pads of the LED strip you want to connect. Connect the wires to the solder joints (black to negative, red to positive) and you’re done.

How to power led strip lighting

Install led strip lighting, We need to know the power of the light strip per meter, how long the light strip is, how to connect it, and how to configure how many power supplies. In this article, it will be explained in detail, and you will know all the problems related to cutting, connecting and controlling the light strip.

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Maintenance instructions for LED flexible strips

1. Anti static:

As LED is a static sensitive component, if the anti static measures are not taken care of when the LED strip is being repaired, the LED will be burned out, causing losses. It should be noted that the electric soldering iron should use an anti static soldering iron, and the maintenance personnel must also prepare anti-static measures (such as wearing a static ring and anti static gloves, etc.).

2. Continue high temperature:

the two main components of LED strips are LED and FPC. If the FPC is continuing to high temperature or may exceed its acceptable measurement, it will crack the FPC’s covering film and indirectly form the waste of the LED strip. At the same time, LEDs cannot continue to withstand high temperatures, and their chips will be burned out by high temperatures for a long time.
Therefore, the electric soldering iron used when repairing the LED light strip is a temperature controlled electric soldering iron, which limits the measurement to a certain range and prevents arbitrary changes and settings.
In addition, even so, it is necessary to pay attention that the soldering iron cannot stop on the LED pin for more than 10 seconds during maintenance. If it exceeds a certain time, it may burn the LED chip.

3. Short circuit:

Many LED strips do not light up because there is a short circuit at the pin. It is necessary to investigate the real reason for the lack of light before repairing. Otherwise, after rashly changing the LED that is not bright, the chip that forms the LED will be broken down by the short circuit direct current when the power is recycled again.
Therefore, in advance, you must first find out the real reason for the lack of light, and you can get half the result with half the effort if you have a target.

Troubleshooting: the reason why the LED soft light does not light up

1. The packaging protection of the LED flexible light strip is not perfect, causing the lamp bead to be damaged by impact during transportation.
2. The welding point of the LED flexible light strip has a phenomenon of virtual welding, and the vibration during transportation causes the welding point to fall off and the light strip does not light up.
3. The LED flexible light strip has a small amount of solder, and the solder joints are easy to fall off
4. The soldering tin quality of the LED flexible light strip is not good, and the solder joints of the LED flexible light strip are prone to brittle cracking and falling off during the bending process.
5. The bending angle of the LED flexible light strip is too large when it is installed, which causes the LED flexible light strip to separate from the copper foil and cause no light.
6. Excessive squeezing of the product during the installation of the LED flexible light strip causes damage to the LED flexible light strip chip or the deformation of the solder joints and does not light up
7. The solder mask of the LED flexible light strip circuit board is too thick, and the solder and the circuit board cannot be completely fused together during soldering, which is also a kind of virtual soldering phenomenon.
8. The LED flexible light strip should not be twisted excessively during installation. If it is twisted too much, the solder joints of the LED flexible light strip will fall off and cause no light.
9.Static burnout, because LED is an electrostatic sensitive component, if there is no protection against static electricity, it will cause the chip to burn out.

The above is all information for cob led strip lights, you will get know: what’s COB led strips, how to use led strip lights better, how to choose the suitable cob led strip lights, how to install the lights to main, What are application ideas for LED Strip Lighting, and so on,

Contact with Yiford

If you have any other questions, please contact YIFORD, and we will be happy to reply to you.

Thank you for reading this article. Those who can see here must be those who really love LED lighting. You may be an interior designer, product designer, electrical engineer, architect, LED wholesaler, lighting distributor, factory, trade…

If you are looking for a high quality LED lighting manufacturer, with 3 years after service, As long term partners who are familiar with the market and end users, please contact YIFORD. Yiford is happy to provide free samples for your testing.

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