LED Ribbon is a fine example of the changing technology in the lighting industry.
Many of us have used incandescent tape light for projects such as cabinet lighting, cove lighting and many other unique applications which require a small , bendable , out of sight light source. Due to the advancement in LED technology, LED tape light now is available and incandescent tape light no longer exists . The LED Ribbon or LED Tape Light is a better product over the old tape light for many reasons. Lets take a closer look and this interesting light source.
LED Ribbon / LED Tape Light
The incandescent tape light was popular as it was the only option for many unique lighting applications . It was small and flexable and worked well for those hard to light projects . The major differences between the two products are the size, plyability , simple instillation, life span and energy consumption .
This project is sponsered by BLI Lighting Specialists.
Holding the LED Ribbon in your hand you can see just how small it looks . How small is it? It’s only 3/10′s (0.30) of an inch wide and 1/10 (0.10) of an inch tall . This means the LED ribbon will fit into tighter spaces and does not protrude as much from the surface. In addition, the LED Ribbon comes with double stick tape already applied to the backside which makes installation super easy . This advancement in LED Ribbon allows the user to install the LED Ribbon in places never before possible .
If you need to cut the LED ribbon it can be cut between the copper colored dots. (see image) If you need to skip an area that you don’t want lit , simply snip the tape light , then solder leads to the copper points.
In this example I used the warm white color. The colors available are: white, warm white, red, blue and rgb. Use a LED driver to supply the proper power,then by adding your switch the lights can power on or off . By adding a controller , you can build more elaborate designs .
Just maybe LED Ribbon is a new product for you , here is some information that will help you understand the basics. LED’s are powered by what is called a driver . A driver is a transformer with a few added components for the LED’s .
This LED Ribbon is made to light by connecting the leads to the 12 volt side of the driver . Should your LED tape light not light up , reverse the 12 volt leads. Make sure to wire the LED Ribbon correctly , i.e. positive to positive and negative to negative connections. Do not use anything but a driver with the correct opperating voltage .
In summary, the LED Ribbon product is far superior to the old, obsolete incandescent tape light . It has a smaller foot print for both energy consumption and physical size . Its flexibility is outstanding and the double stick tape already installed on the ribbon makes installation a snap.
