LED tapes have found their application in many areas. Such a part consists of small semiconductor type lamps that are mounted on a flexible tape, on one side having an adhesive base. The colors of the bulbs may vary. You can make them highlight the garden, cabinets, make a decorative ceiling. At present, their main purpose is advertising signs.
There are two types of tapes:
- monochrome, those that can shine with just one color,
- RGB, which have the ability to change colors. These tapes are considered universal, and hue control in them is regulated by the remote control.
Understanding them is not difficult. How to connect LED strip? At home, this can be done without the help of expensive equipment.
RGB tapes
There are three types of RGB elements:
The first is products that use LEDs in three colors: green, red and blue. They are soldered in that order throughout the tape. To change the light, you need to change the intensity of each color.
This tape is suitable for installation where only the beam of its diodes is visible. Otherwise, the visible ones will not be able to give a good backlight. This option presents interesting and profitable LED strips for the home. How to connect such products? Great skill is not required.
The second type of RGB tape can be attributed to those that have the following structure: three colors are arranged sequentially along the entire length. Due to this, a greater change in hue can be achieved. The lamps are located almost at one point. This type of tape has practically no restrictions on its use. They are perfect for any interior.
The third type of LED strip can be called advanced. According to its external data, it is similar to the second type. The main difference is the built-in controller, which allows you to change colors on any part of the tape. The purchase of such a tape can only be stopped by the price for it and the need to purchase an expensive controller. Otherwise, the product will not fulfill its function - to shine.
How to connect the LED strip at home? A detailed description of the installation of various types can be found below.
Difference of elements in relation to humidity
According to such a criterion as moisture resistance, products are divided into three types:
- waterproof. Apply them only in rooms with normal humidity. These are the most suitable LED strip for home. How to connect them? They are the easiest to install, and this will be discussed later.
- waterproof. They are mainly used where humidity is high, but water does not get on the tape.
- moisture resistant. You can apply them directly in water. This tape is completely covered with silicone protection, it does not pass moisture at all. But it is worth considering the moment that the intensity of the glow will be lower.
Difference in Diode Density
The larger the number of semiconductor elements on the tape, the more intense its glow. There is also a dependence on the nutrition received.
If these are 12 V tapes, then from one to one meter from 30 to 120 light bulbs can be placed. When it comes to 24 V power, there can be up to 240 elements per meter. The number of light bulbs per meter depends on how much power the product will consume, whether a suitable controller will be needed. By the way, its cost increases accordingly power. A small power supply is enough to install LED strips for the home. How to connect such a unit yourself? You just need to follow the attached instructions.
It is necessary to determine how many elements per meter will be enough. Typically, the lamps are located at a distance of up to three centimeters from each other, and this is acceptable.
LED strip has many advantages:
- profitability;
- reliability;
- small size;
- the ability to change the color mode with the remote control.
She also has disadvantages:
- loses color saturation;
- cannot be repaired.
All the disadvantages and advantages depend on the manufacturer and will affect the cost of the product.
Connect this thing is not difficult. You can do this yourself.
Mounting
Before you begin, you need to decide on the devices that will be involved. What can I connect the LED strip to at home? Directly to the outlet will not work. To get a beautiful highlight you need:
- the tape itself;
- controller for color management;
- remote control (necessarily compatible with the controller);
- power supply (its type does not matter much).
There are several ways to connect the tape to the power supply.
LED Connector Installation Method
This is a mechanical way: just put the ends of the tapes into the connector and pinch it. Plus - in ease of use, but a big minus in cash costs. At a cost, one connector costs half a meter of tape.
If you make an independent installation, it is better to use the soldering method. The following method is more beneficial if you want to install LED strips for the home. How to connect them to the controller?
Brazing tapes
With enough experience, even in some form of soldering, this method of splicing an LED strip will seem simple. In this case, the soldering iron should not be high power, and the tip should be narrow, not more than two millimeters. At one end of the tape, there may be a different number of pads. They need to solder the same number of conductors separately. That is, to each site - the corresponding conductor.
Both components before the solder must be tinned (cover with a layer of solder). After this, it is necessary to check whether neighboring sites are in contact. With this option, a short circuit may occur. In order to exclude such a probability, you can use the device - a multimeter. It is not necessary to isolate the soldering points, since the voltage is small (up to 24 V). For safety, you can wrap a couple of times with insulating tape.
Fastening individual pieces of tape to each other
How to connect the LED strip at home? The instruction will tell you how to assemble decorative lighting from individual elements. There is a rule for cutting LED strip. You need to do this in accordance with the step of the segments, then it can easily be merged with another segment. You need to cut in the middle of the contact pads. Usually in such places on the tape there is a special icon.
The fastening of individual tapes can be carried out both by the LED method and by soldering.
Soldering can be done in two ways: segments directly or using wires. If the length of the tape is more than five meters, then you should not merge it: the diodes at the end of the tape in this case will shine with a dim light.
Fastening pieces of tape by soldering (without wires)
The tape cut into pieces is prepared for soldering. If it is not oxidized, you can immediately apply solder. To do this from the side where the LEDs are located, you just need to apply solder. But from the side of the sticky layer you have to work a little. The first step is to move the adhesive tape, and only then proceed to the solder. Next, the prepared segments overlap each other by three millimeters. Then each contact is separately heated with a soldering iron.
How to connect the LED strip at home?
Having read the photo, you can see that there are many types of tape placement. Accordingly, the installation methods will be different. The fastening of the segments by wires using soldering can be carried out according to the same technology as described above. Any wires can be used. The only condition is the correct section. When using rosin, it is not necessary to remove residues.
Its presence will not affect the further operation of the entire tape. The product sections fastened by this method can be mounted in hard-to-reach places and corners, without fear of damage to the fastening.
After installing the tapes, you need to connect them to the power supply or controller. This may be special equipment or a computer power supply.
Tips for proper installation
LED strip - the design is not very reliable. Therefore, installation is best done taking into account possible dismantling.
The sticky layer serves to facilitate fixation. To simply attach the product to the surface, just remove the protective film. But such convenience does not always serve well. Sometimes this is not enough - you can improve the mount and stick a strip of double-sided tape.
In addition to self-adhesive products, there are profiles specially attached to the installation site, after which the tape itself is placed on them.
For a uniform illumination of the ceiling, it is better to step back five centimeters from it, or hide it under the ceiling baseboard.
When illuminating the interior of cabinets or display cases, care must be taken that the LEDs are not directed into the eyes. When installing a powerful power supply unit, its noise can be very loud, especially in a quiet room. To avoid such an irritant, it is better to place it in a place where it will not be heard. After reading all of the above, connecting the LED strip at home will not be difficult.