The LED strip light is one of the multi-function lamps that both use general lighting, and are widely used in decoration, made up of LED chip technology that can light in the home. Many people believe that led strip lights are only suitable for decorative lighting, so it does not appear much in your family’s design. However, today, led strip lights are increasingly popular by improvements in designs and features from manufacturers. Because of those things, it is widely used, helping you to satisfy your passion, create new spaces.
Purchasing and installing LED lighting can be a hassle but also fun. Connecting them together sounds very complicated, but it’s also incredibly simple if you know and practices it in sequence. Now let us explore and share the problems surrounding connecting led strips with each other through this article.
Can Led Strip Lights Be Joined Together?
LED strip lights were born a long time ago – about 16 years ago, that was a great discovery of humankind. Now you can light up space with many colors such as red, orange, yellow … according to the situations and spaces you want. With one to three flashing LED string lights, you can “draw” into creative shapes such as pine trees, clouds, smiling faces or flowers, sun … on a monotonous white wall. This layout will inspire work, as well as help young children in the house, have lots of fun with interesting lights.
Can you easily connect the LED strips together? The answer is yes as long as they are the same size and use the same power supply. There are two ways to connect them: you can use the connector or solder the copper wires at the two ends to be joined together. Just use a sharp object like a knife, and pull gently to separate the outer plastic shell to reveal the inner copper joint, you can connect the strips together easily.
How Many Led Light Strips Can You Connect Together?
Talking about how many LED strips can be connected to one? Of course, it is possible and in particular:
Before connecting multiple strips of lights together, you should consider how much power is used? What is the desired length?
Using too many LED strips can cause the maximum use of the power source and the luminous power causes the circuit to heat up, so the capacity of the strip will decrease and its lifespan will also decrease.
Besides, on the market there are light strips that are 5 meters long, 10 meters long … You can refer to choosing the right strip of lights suitable for the space of the room you want to install.
So be careful in connecting led strips together.
A general rule of thumb if you still want to connect strip lights is to multiply the watts per meter of your strip by the length of the strip you’re powering. Then, choose a power source rated about 20% higher than that amount.
Through calculations, the MOST manufacturers recommend a maximum of 2 to 3 bands to power one PSU. However, the exact number of LED strips that you can connect to each other will always depend on the exact specifications of the equipment you have.
How Do You Connect Led Strip Lights?
In case, you have not calculated carefully or bought the wrong led strip, you still have to cut and connect the led strips together. As mentioned above, there are two main ways to connect led strips together.
The easiest way is to use a strip connector. This is how you can do it yourself at home without the help of a machine or a technician. A more complicated way is to use a weld for the connectors. It requires meticulousness and precise equipment.
#1. Use connector / clamp / cut
Self-separating the lamp cover and connecting them will be easier if using the Hippo Buckle LED strip connector.
This connector has space for LED strip lights on each of its ends. You just need to fit the two ends of the strip into the hippo key connector to connect the two strips together. The ‘lock’ on the connector keeps the strips in position after they are installed. A hippopotamus lock can help connect two or more strips of lights together while still safe and aesthetically.
In addition to Hippo Buckle LED strip connector, on the market, there are many other types such as Beetle Led Strip light connector, Led strip light connector, transparent connection …
#2. Solder
In case, if you are connecting the strips that will be mounted with aluminum frames, you cannot use the clamps to connect them. So you will have to solder the LED tapes together. This is not too difficult, but it does require specialized sewing and a little understanding of it.
You will need the following items: a good quality torch, wire cutters, tin wire, a clean place, a heavy object.
After preparing all the necessary tools, the power cord and the LED strip to be solder, do the following steps to solder the power cord and LED strip:
- Use pliers about 2-3mm wire cover.
- Simultaneously use the torch and tin wire on the copper core of the power cord until the tin melts. Make sure you don’t apply too much heat to get a sufficient amount of tin on the wire. Allow the weld to cool.
- Do the same with copper gaskets on top of the LED strip. You do this using soldering iron and tin wire at the same time, be careful not to use too much heat. A good rule of thumb is to count for 2 seconds, then stop and continue until enough. Then let them cool down.
- Place the end of the copper wire on the contact pad on your LED Strip. Use the torch on it and count for 2 seconds then release. Continue until the solder on it has completely melted.
- Hold the end of the power cord and the LED in place until it cools and adhesives.
Repeat the process with the remaining power cord until complete.
How Do You Reconnect LED Strips Without Soldering?
Before coming to the LED connection, be sure to go through the LED strip lights. Is cutting LED string simple?
As explained above, if reconnecting the LED strips without using a weld, the only way is to cut the LED strip lights and connect by the splice.
How to connect LED strip without welding details:
- Select the point to be cut and marked carefully. Belt connector for booting for one color. The RGB connector looks the same even though it has 4 color cables.
- Use scissors to cut along the marked line. Note: Cut lines will be marked on most LED Tapes with small scissor icons. You can easily find the cutoff point as it will be a straight line in between 4 solder pieces (or 8 for RGB). The cutoff points differ for LED Tape, they are every 3 LEDs for 12v and every 6 LEDs for 24v.
- Now take the connecting tape to the tape connector and the 2 pieces of LED tape that you want to connect.
- Open the connector.
- Slide the connector across one of your LED Tape lengths to make sure the metal pieces inside the clamp are in clear contact with the solder on the LED Tape, avoiding the remaining gap that will cause circuit loss and not close are pieced.
- Close the connector cover down into place, making sure that the LED tape at the right end is tight.
- Connect the starter connector to the transformer or extend it simply with a terminal block. The LED strip will now be active and the strip lights on.
The steps are very simple, just a little tricky.
Cutting LED strip lights is also incredibly simple. They don’t require too much skill.
However, it is important that you have the right position to cut. If the cut is not in the right position, when connecting the LED strip lights they will not light up all the LED wires. That will not only be wasteful but also cause a loss of aesthetics.
Cut the LED strip lights you need to locate.
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How Do You Set Up Bluetooth Led Strips?
Smart Home is becoming a trend for modern life. The application of smart homes as popular as smartphones is only a matter of time. Right now, you can completely upgrade your living space by yourself to enjoy the amenities that technology brings.
Low-cost Bluetooth LED light controller, a short-range wireless controller that can connect directly to a smartphone or tablet without the internet. control the LED strip lights and other lights through the LED control app. Bluetooth light controller includes color management, brightness adjustment, lighting with audio input, and on and off lights. Using the Bluetooth LED light controller is also very simple. On the controller, there are text and graphic symbols that make it easier for the user to guess and use.
You can find such controllers on e-commerce sites, markets, and supermarkets for under $ 10.This is a modern product that any LED filament user knows and has. some are indoors.
How Do I Hide My LED Strip Power Supply?
Electrical safety is at the forefront with every home built. Properly installing electrical systems is also a complex issue. There are a few people who want to install more LED strips after the house is completed. So how do I hide the power supply for the LED strip?
You can forcefully choose white rectangular plastic sheets with hollow slots to conceal the wiring. It will run from the mains supply to where the strip is fixed. The power supply should be hidden to prevent the baby from touching it. By fixing it on high or obscuring it with some other decorations.
Note that the power supply should be in a dry place away from sunlight or water.
The LED strip is a long rectangular shape so cleaning is simple. You just need to clean it with a soft dry cloth and be careful to turn off the power before cleaning.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do connect the LED strips together? Sometimes there are still a few side questions so we want to synthesize and answer them for you. In this article, we will help you answer some basic questions to help you have the right view of the connected LED strip lights together. Hope it helps you.
#1. How long can LED strip lights stay on?
When buying led lights, you are often promised a very long lifespan from suppliers. So in fact, is their lifespan really that long?
A typical incandescent bulb lasts between 1,000 and 2,000 hours. But when it comes to LEDs, lamp life is often quoted from 25,000 to 50,000 hours. Long lamp life is one of the factors that makes this technology more and more popular.
Don’t confuse the life of the LED chip for the equivalent of the luminaire. Manufacturers typically only promise the life of the chip, not the entire lamp. Important accessories such as drivers often break down ahead of time. The light source (LED chip) is still working properly but will need to replace a new driver.
One thing we should know: LEDs do not “burn”. Instead, they just fade!
When a manufacturer describes their LED products as going to last 50,000 hours, it means by that time the LED chips no longer provide the required amount of light and should be replaced, not that they burn out. glow again.
The LEDs dimmed during operation. This is called lumen loss – A characteristic unique to LED technology. This process starts as soon as the light is turned on for the first time.
However, you are assured, the decrease in the brightness of the led chip is very small and usually only noticed at the end of the life commitment. Once the lamp has been illuminated for 50,000 hours, the light will be at 70% of its original rating (also known as the L70 index).
Why 70%? Actually, this number is optional. Lighting industry engineers believe that by that time, most people could feel that the brightness of the lamp really decreased and they decided to replace the lamp.
#2. How long can LED strip lights be on?
With that said, the LED lighting time can be extended up to 50,000 hours. This equates to about six years of continuous use. Over time, LEDs will slow down and lose light output and after a period of 50,000 hours, the quality of their light will drop by up to 70%.
However, there are many factors that can affect the life of the LED. The quality and durability of the materials used for manufacturing can play a part. Therefore, you need to choose reputable manufacturers because before launching the product, they have tested the LED lights through many strict stages to ensure they can work well in all different environments.
*** Read more: [Top 9 Expert Picks] Best Task Lamp For Sewing
#3. How do you connect LED strip lights to your phone?
Absolutely and very convenient.
You can connect light strips with the Bluetooth LED light controller on your phone through apps available on AppStore (IOS), Google Play (androids) …
Access the “LED Controller” search bar. Find the appropriate application and click download to use it.
How to use smart LED strip lights in general for applications
Step 1: Download the app you wish to use (example: LampUX)
Android users on Google Play and iOS can go to the App Store and download the App to their phone, then register for an account.
Step 2: Set up the smart LED strip
Turn on the LED strip lights and wait for 10 seconds. Then, press and hold the power button on the remote for more than 5 seconds. The light will flash at a frequency of 2 times per second.
Step 3: Connect the application
Open the App and after registering and logging in you will see the button “+” in the upper right corner. Click it and find the LED strip light you want to add and select the “Confirm quick blinking indicator” to see the prompt for Wi-Fi connection. Enter your Wi-Fi username and password to connect. After a few seconds, your LED strip will be added to the App and you can modify the name for better identification, then save it. With these simple steps, you can control your smart LED strip through the Mobile App.
The above steps are default EZ mode to connect the lights to the App. Alternatively, you can connect via AP mode.
#4. What happens when you cut LED Strip Lights?
When you cut a strip of LED, the strip of lights will be immediately separated, causing the metal connection circuits to open. If not promptly handled (reconnect them), someone activates the power source, causing an open circuit when touching may be jerky, even death. When reconnecting the wrong circuit, the strip will not light up because the current cannot be passed through.
The strip lights are cut very easily, but care should be taken that they do not cause unexpected accidents.
With the knowledge and experience that we share above, we hope it will help you in connecting LED strips. Whichever way you choose, you should get to know it well and do it as safely as possible. Connect, use them to make your home more vivid.
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