Where can you cut the LED strip

Conventional 12V LED strip

The 12 V LED strip consists of blocks on which 3 diodes are installed (in 24 V products. 6 diodes). This means that they can be cut into very short pieces. The product is cut strictly along the dotted lines with sharp scissors.

Important! If this condition is not met, individual units will not burn, and it will be impossible to connect them. The damaged area will have to be cut off and thrown away.

You can cut off from the board from SMD 335 and DIP into pieces consisting of 3 diodes.

How to cut correctly

Each Led strip has many short blocks on which the number of chips and resistors is set, depending on the model. LEDs are transparent or white, current limiters are black. There is usually a mark between the blocks (dashed line and the image of scissors) along which the strip can be cut.

Attention! If there are no marks on the front side, inspect the wrong side.

On a thin strip, it is more convenient to make a cut with sharp scissors. An exception is boards installed in a silicone tube. You need to cut off between the two contact pads. When offset, it is difficult to solder wires to connect to other lengths or power supply.

strip

On the LED strip, every 50 cm there are joints in which the individual blocks are overlapped. It is not advisable to cut the tape in these places (the contact pads are too small). If it is nevertheless necessary to cut off, the scissors must be replaced with a soldering iron (unsolder the joint).

In a silicone tube

Products with an IP68 degree of protection are placed in a silicone tube. Before cutting one or more blocks, the silicone is removed. A cut is made with a knife (scissors stretch the material unevenly), the tube peels off from the ends. Sharp scissors are used to cut the strip, ring-shaped silicone connectors are used to connect.

Cutting diode tape for repair

If one diode fails during operation, the whole block ceases to glow. If the strip is 12 V, 3 chips go out, in the LED strip for 220 V. 0.5-2 meters. The light source can be restored by properly cutting off the faulty unit and installing a new one. You need to cut off along the lines located on both sides of the faulty diode.

Attention! To connect a new block, you can use special mounting elements or soldering.

The use of connectors makes it possible to carry out repairs without dismantling. Soldering requires a 25 W soldering iron and a wire with a cross section of 0.5 m 2. You cannot use acid, the wires must be fixed with a heat shrink tube.

How to cut a diode strip

To cut off an LED strip, you just need to have sharp scissors and know where to cut. Everyone has scissors, but not everyone knows where to cut, let’s figure it out.

There are low-voltage. 12, 24, 36V and high-voltage LED strips. 220V on the market. On the first, there are marked mowing lines, along which the cut should be made. They are presented in the form of dashed lines with the applied designation. scissors. The principle of high voltage cut is different, they do not have special engraving.

In any case, the cut must be made between copper conductors. When making a cut, you provide each part of the LED row with a pair of connecting pads.

To work you will need:

  • Tape.
  • Stationery knife or sharp scissors.

How to connect pieces of LED strip

LED strips with various designs are increasingly used in lighting and backlighting systems. In addition to the problem of how to cut off, self-assembly requires a solution to the connection problem. The most reliable way is soldering, but not everyone has a soldering iron, not everyone knows how to handle it. Most are looking for a more affordable and simpler method. Most commonly used 2, 4 and 5 pin connectors.

Important! Models for 12 and 24 V strips are not suitable for 220 V products.

Advantages of using connectors (compared to soldering):

  • low cost;
  • easy installation;
  • eliminating the need to buy a soldering iron, solder and flux.

The disadvantages include:

How to cut and join LED light strips tutorial. LED lights from Buller

  • the inability to use if necessary in a large current for LED chips;
  • instability to oxidation;
  • use for the manufacture of non-heat-resistant plastic.

The main criterion for choosing connecting elements is the width of the flexible board. For example, SMD 5050 models will not fit SMD 3528 products.

According to the connection method, the connectors are divided into:

When connecting, slide the plate into the clamping connector and insert the strip until it stops. Contact is made after the plate is slid into place. The advantages of such a connector are small dimensions in height and width. The disadvantage is the inability to see the density and reliability of the contact.

Models with a latch solve this problem, although they also have disadvantages:

  • connector pads do not always fit snugly enough to the board contacts;
  • at high power, the contacts melt;
  • for products with high current cannot be used.

The most advanced piercing connectors, on one side of which there are contacts for tape (for connecting to power), on the other for wires. Models available for open and insulated boards. When connecting the segments, the end of the segment is inserted into the connector; there is a cover or transparent plastic for pressing. The pins pierce the board to form a secure contact. You cannot pull out the strip, the state of the contacts is visible through the cover.

Important! Regardless of the type of connector, the board contacts must be cleaned to a shine. When connecting the segments, it is important not to mix up the polarity.

Common mistakes when using connectors:

  • varnish on contact pads;
  • bent connector leg;
  • wrong bandwidth;
  • tape is not pushed in all the way.

If the product is waterproofed, you need to remove the silicone above the contact pads and the tape from the back.

Such a tape enters the connector hard, since the silicone on the sides and glue on the reverse side interfere.

The connector cannot be closed if the contact pad is too close to the chips. In such a situation, individual blocks from the tape can be cut off not along the dotted mowing line, but leaving 2 contacts. But one segment will have to be thrown away.

How to properly cut a diode tape with waterproofing

To shorten the LED board with waterproofing, the silicone must be peeled off with a knife. This must be done carefully so as not to damage diodes and other circuit elements.

12V LED strip

Most often, for decoration and lighting, an LED strip with a supply voltage of 12V is used. The most important information about these ribbons can be found in this article.

How to connect LED strips together

It is very often necessary to assemble a longer strip from separate pieces of LED strip, sometimes literally one section of LEDs is not enough to get the desired strip length. Tapes can be cut or joined. With cutting, everything is clear, you can use ordinary scissors, but how to connect the LED strip is not immediately clear.

There are several options here, you can connect the LED strips to each other by soldering and without soldering, using a special plastic connector. The connector allows you to make the connection as quickly as possible, and with the help of soldering such a connection will be as reliable as possible.

When connecting LED strips by soldering, it is possible to connect using wires even strips of different widths with different LEDs, but for the same voltage. Basically, pieces of the same LED strip are connected by soldering, then they can be joined end-to-end at the cut, soldering the contact pads together.

To securely connect the solders of two pieces of tapes without wires, you need to clean the contact pads if the tape is covered with a protective layer of silicone, and peel off the adhesive base from the bottom of one of the tapes at the soldering point. Then you need to fold these tapes overlapping and carefully solder with a low power soldering iron. After that, the place of the adhesion will need to be insulated, for example, with a heat shrink tube.

LED strip connectors

The connector for the LED strip is a product of a special design, in which there are contacts for connecting to the current-carrying contacts of the LED strip. Connecting LED strips using connectors is much easier and much faster, since for this you just need to take the connector and place the LED strip inside it. But this method is more expensive financially.

It should be borne in mind that in this way it will be possible to connect only tapes of the same overall dimensions. Connectors are selected for a specific tape width and tape type, for example, for a single-color tape with two contacts and a width of 8 mm, or for an RGB tape with four contacts and a width of 10 mm.

Types of connectors for LED strips by tape fixation type:

With sliding clamps. This is the most compact LED strip connector option. To connect the LED strip to the connector, it is necessary to pull out the latch, which is usually black, and install the LED strip in the slot, then push the latch back, fixing the LED strip with such a cut. By this principle, the cables in the laptop are connected to the motherboard. The disadvantage of a connector with sliding clamps is the impossibility of visual control of the quality of the connection of the LED strip and the connector contacts.

With lateral pressure latches. The most common type of connectors used to quickly connect LED strips. To connect individual pieces of LED strips with it, you need to snap off the protective cover and install the LED strip in the grooves. In this case, the copper contact pads of the LED strip should be under the clamping terminals of the connector. The LED strip is additionally fixed when the lid is closed with a latch, due to the presence of special pins in it. This type of connector has one significant drawback. It cannot carry large currents and is highly susceptible to corrosion. Oxidized contacts significantly impair conductivity and, under heavy loads, can cause trouble in the form of a fire.

Piercing connectors. These connectors are considered the most reliable of all, but they are also the most expensive. Their contacts are made in the form of pointed teeth, and pierce through the LED strip in the area of ​​the contact pads. It takes a lot of effort to install the piercing connectors, so it is best to use pliers to close the lid. At the moment of closing, the prongs pierce the tape at the locations of the copper conductive tracks and an electrical connection is formed.

Connectors for LED strips with sliding clips and with pressure side latches require preliminary preparation of the LED strips themselves. The contacts must first be cleaned if they have a protective coating, and cleaned of oxides for a better connection. Over time, these contacts oxidize. Piercing connectors do not require preliminary preparation, since, due to their design, their teeth cut through all protective coatings and oxides, eventually coming into contact with copper tracks.

Corner inserts for connecting LED strips at an angle

LED strips are flexible in design, but unfortunately, it is impossible to bend them arbitrarily, their bending radius is limited. To connect LED strips at an angle, corner inserts are used, which, in combination with connectors for LED strips, allow you to connect LED strips at the required angle. Such inserts can be L-shaped, T-shaped, cruciform and with wires, for connection at any arbitrary angle. With their help, you can turn into reality a wide variety of glowing structures, almost any fantasy of the designer.

To maintain the operability of all segments of the LED strip, it is necessary to cut it only in the places of the strip provided for this. If you cut anywhere in the strip between the LEDs, then the LEDs from the cut segment of the LED strip will not work.

It is possible to connect segments of LED strips into one long strip only with the same supply voltage, and monochrome only with monochrome, RGB with RGB.

How to cut or join an LED strip

How can you cut an LED strip

LED strips are flexible enough to follow the contours of various products and are often used for decorative lighting by winding them around or gluing them to the surface. They also illuminate shop windows, shelves in wardrobes, beds in bedrooms, ceilings. In such places, using an LED strip in multiples of 1m is quite problematic, so the question often arises, is it possible to cut an LED strip, and how to cut it correctly.

You can cut the LED strip with ordinary clerical scissors, but there are several nuances that you need to know about. If you cut the LED strip exactly to the required length, then some of the LEDs at the end of the strip may not glow, because their power circuit will be broken, and they will simply remain unconnected.

If you look closely at the LED strip, then most people will see the hint and guess for themselves how to cut the LED strip correctly. This hint lies in the scissors icon applied in the place where you can cut the LED strip.

Such an icon is indicated at the junction of the individual sections of the LED strip, which are an independent complete section of the circuit that can work independently when power is applied to it. In a 12V LED strip, this section consists of three LEDs with three current-limiting resistors. If these three LEDs are cut off, they will work fine when connected to a 12V power supply.

If there is no such icon on the tape, then you need to look for the junction of the individual sections of the tape. As a rule, at this place on both sides of the sections there are contact pads for soldering wires or just noticeable long copper pads.

The length of a separate section of an LED strip with three LEDs, like a 12V strip, depends on the type of LEDs installed and on their density. For example, with a density of 240 LEDs per meter, the length of one section, when installing cheap small LEDs, will be 15 mm. And in an LED strip with 5050 LEDs and a density of their placement of 30 pieces per meter, the length of a section of three LEDs will be 100 mm.

You can even cut belts with a waterproof silicone coating, just as simply making a cut with scissors along the specified mowing line. But in such tapes, you will have to additionally cut off the section of the silicone coating that covers the tape contacts, if, of course, this tape needs to be connected to another tape, or to a power source.

24V LED strip

As you know, 12 V LED strips have a limitation in the applied length of 5 m, which is associated with large losses in the power circuit. For longer tapes, you need to use recharge wires or go another way, use 24V LED strips. In this article we will talk about them.

RGB LED Strips

Monochrome colored LED strips cannot always cope with the task at hand. If you need a much larger variety of colors, use an RGB LED strip. Read more about the possibilities of RGB linen in the article below.

How to cut an LED strip

This article explains how to properly cut an LED strip. Depending on the voltage, variety, model of the luminous strip, a different cutting method may be required. Special designations and marks will help with this, but even a tape without marking can be easily cut into fragments of the desired size.

  • Why is it needed
  • Where to cut
  • What incision steps are encountered
  • How the LED strip is cut
  • 12 volts
  • 220 volt
  • RGB color tape
  • Waterproofing tape
  • Installation cutting
  • No marking: how to cut such a tape
  • What incision steps are encountered

    Different models of tapes have a different number of LEDs per meter. They can be from 30 to 240. A standard 12-volt LED filament is cut in 3-LED increments, a 24-volt filament. in 6-LED increments. For a luminous filament with a voltage of 220 V, the range of the cut pitch ranges from 0.5-2 m. It depends on the manufacturer’s brand.

    In metric terms, the step of the cut will be:

    • for 30 diodes. 10 cm;
    • 60 diodes. 5 cm;
    • for 120 diodes. 2.5 cm;
    • for 240 diodes. 1.5 cm.

    Waterproofing tape

    There are two types of LED filaments with increased water resistance:

    • with silicone coating;
    • placed in a silicone tube.

    For the first type (with an IP54 protection class), the cutting procedure is no different from the same actions with a standard tape. Structurally, they are identical, therefore, they are cut using the same methods. The catch is that the silicone coating can interfere with making a clear cut in the middle of the pad. It is best to use a sharp knife instead of scissors.

    A waterproof LED strip placed in a silicone tube (protection class IP68) is cut like this:

    • Cut the silicone coating in the right place with a sharp stationery knife.
    • The tape itself can be cut with both a knife and scissors.
    • Both ends of the resulting trim must be carefully cut with a knife in order to subsequently connect the connector or solder.

    220 volt

    High voltage filament has a more durable coating that will require sharp scissors. In a strip with a voltage of 220 volts, 5 different brands of LEDs can be used, chips of different models, but the cutting technique for all types of LED strips will be the same. Cut off with scissors along the dotted mowing line of the contact pad.

    Where to cut

    Before proceeding with cutting the LED strip, it is important to understand: the luminous thread can be shortened only along specially marked lines. conductive strips. Structurally, they are made so that they are located between the contact pads of the diodes. Accordingly, there is no threat of damage to the LED strip. Cutting in the wrong place is almost guaranteed to damage some of the diodes. If the tape is connected to the network, a short circuit may even occur or the power supply will burn out. Along the low and high voltage tapes, 2 conductive strips are applied, along the RGB. 4.

    Why is it needed

    Installation cutting

    Sometimes, during the installation of the LED filament, you can inadvertently damage it. In the end, this thing is quite fragile, and sometimes you have to bend it strongly. Fortunately, this is not a “death sentence” for LED strip, such faults are easily eliminated. It is necessary to cut off the part that is out of order and measure its exact length. Then a new strip fragment is taken, installed in place of the old one using a connector. The best way to connect these two pieces is to use a soldering iron. If the adhesion is very noticeable, this area (or the entire tape at once) can be isolated.

    Advice. To prevent the LED strip from breaking down during installation, you do not need to bend it to a radius of more than 5 cm, wrap it around objects, weave shapes, knots.

    How to connect a cut LED strip?

    If you have two segments, you can connect together without much effort. There are two ways to splice led backlight:

    • Soldering.
    • Applications of led connector.

    In the first case, you can connect individual segments to each other through additional wires, or by directly soldering the contact pads of each of the segments. Consider a wireless splice.

    Before applying rosin to the contacts, make sure that they are not oxidized.

    Rosin can be applied to contact pads that have not been oxidized. In this case, both the platform on which the LEDs are located and the surface under the protective film applied to the back of the tape must be able to process. For high-quality splicing of segments, the thickness of the solder should be at least 3 mm on each segment of the backlight.

    The total length of the spliced ​​tape should not exceed 5 meters.

    The input voltage is calculated by the manufacturer only for the illumination of limited parameters. Its value will decrease with the formation of printed paths of greater length towards the end of the tape.

    This will result in the LEDs at the end of the backlight being less bright than those closer to the power source.

    The simplest connection method is to use a special connector. To attach an additional segment, the following sequence of actions should be performed:

    • Open the cover of the device.
    • Connect the backlight contacts, observing the polarity.
    • Close the cover of the junction box.

    How to cut a 12V LED strip?

    LED strips, like other LED devices, have an electrical circuit. At the same time, low-voltage backlighting differs in design from high-voltage backlight. Flexible and elastic 12B tape consists of separate segments. Each of them has 3 LEDs with a number of resistances. R1-R3. You can verify this by removing the protective adhesive film from the tape and applying it to the light.

    Voltage is distributed between segments along the backlight.

    The thin coating makes it possible to cut the tape into separate sections with a clerical knife or scissors. In this case, the step of separating the segments should be 3 LEDs. If you break it, some of the backlight won’t work.

    Most manufacturers indicate the place for the cut with dotted lines.

    PUTTING UP MY LED STRIP LIGHTS! TUTORIAL

    How to cut an LED strip into pieces

    To cut off an LED strip, you just need to have sharp scissors and know where to cut. Everyone has scissors, but not everyone knows where to cut, let’s figure it out.

    There are low-voltage. 12, 24, 36V and high-voltage LED strips. 220V on the market. On the first, there are marked mowing lines, along which the cut should be made. They are presented in the form of dashed lines with the applied designation. scissors. The principle of high voltage cut is different, they do not have special engraving.

    In any case, the cut must be made between copper conductors. When making a cut, you provide each part of the LED row with a pair of connecting pads.

    To work you will need:

    • Tape.
    • Stationery knife or sharp scissors.
    • Video
    • How to cut a 12V LED strip?
    • How to cut a 220 volt LED strip?
    • How to connect a cut LED strip?
    • Summarizing

    How to cut a 220 volt LED strip?

    Unlike low-voltage, 220V tape has a more rigid sheath. It is possible to divide it into segments only in specially designated areas. In the carrier board for cutting, the manufacturer provides for gaps. conductive buses. Their length can fluctuate in the aisles of 1.5-2 cm. The frequency of special breaks in silicone depends on the manufacturer and can vary in values ​​of 0.5-2 meters. For example, in ecola 220v LED strips, the cutting areas are located at a distance of 1 meter.

    Make the cut strictly in the middle of the gap with sharp scissors.

    As a result, you get several independent light sources. Between the two buses can be located from 30 to 120 LEDs.

    If you make a cut not in the area of ​​the gap, the separated section of the led strip will not work, or a short circuit will occur.

    Summarizing

    As you can see, having a certain amount of knowledge, it is not difficult to cut an LED strip. For backlighting at home, it is advisable to use led backlighting with a voltage of 12 volts. They do not cause difficulties during installation and are safer than high-voltage ones.

    How to cut an LED strip

    As you know, an LED strip is a collection of LEDs and resistors mounted on a flexible substrate with copper tracks. It is no secret that it consists of separate segments, each of which can be an independent light source (Fig. 1). Therefore, there is a natural need to cut a single piece of LED strip into smaller pieces for subsequent installation.

    Figure 1. LED strip segment

    A separate tape segment has copper contact pads on both sides. Monochrome LED strips have two contacts on each side of the segment, RGB strips. four. In the middle of these contact pads, at the junction of two adjacent segments, a thin black stripe is applied to the entire width of the tape (on some types of LED strips, the “scissors” symbol is shown in addition). this is the place for cutting (Fig. 2).

    Figure 2. Ribbon pads

    However, care must be taken when cutting the tape. Before cutting, it is imperative (!) To measure the length of the cut section of the tape several times. Do not forget that the length of the cut piece will be limited by the contact pads of the first and last segments. In other words, the length of the cut section of the tape will be a multiple of the length of one segment. After determining the length of the section to be cut, you must put a mark on the contact pads of the tape. It is convenient to use a thin black marker for this (Fig. 3). And only after that you should proceed to the direct cutting of the tape.

    Figure 3. Measuring the length of the section to be cut

    It is most convenient to cut the tape with scissors, because the substrate and copper tracks of the LED strip have a small thickness (Fig. 4). Do not use stationery or other knives to cut the tape. using them can damage the contacts of the cut segment. Attention! Use only sharp scissors to avoid damaging the tape.!

    Figure 4. Cutting the LED strip

    The cut should be made exactly in the middle of the contact pad connecting two adjacent tape segments (Fig. 5). If the cut is displaced in any direction, it will be more difficult to solder the connecting wires to the smaller contact pads, or it will become impossible to install the connectors.

    Figure 5. Cutting a part of the LED strip along the mowing line of the cut

    It is also important to remember that the LED strip consists of individual pieces of 0.5m length. In places of such joints, the tape is welded with an overlap (Fig. 6). It is highly recommended to avoid cutting the tape at the seams, as the contact pads after this cut will be too small. If it is necessary to disconnect the tape at this point, it is recommended to use soldering, i.e. unsolder the joint with a soldering iron. In this case, the contact pads will remain intact.

    Figure 6. Place of overlapping tape pieces

    Special attention should be paid to cutting different types of LED strips. Thus, cutting the tape without silicone (protection class IP20) is straightforward. Silicone coated tapes (IP54 degree of protection) are slightly more difficult to cut due to the increased tape thickness, however, the operation is performed according to the above recommendations. As for waterproof tapes with a degree of protection IP68, when cutting them, it is worth considering the possibility of displacement of the PVC sheath relative to the tape (Fig. 7).

    Figure 7. Cutting of waterproof tape IP68

    After cutting the LED strip into pieces, you can proceed to the connection process (soldering, using connectors, etc.).

    How to install LED strip

    Today, LED strips are one of the most popular options for implementing decorative lighting. Due to their low price, economy, reliability and easy installation, they are in great demand.

    In this article, we will look at how to install an LED strip and what points must be observed.

    First of all, it is worth noting that LED strips should only be connected via a 12, 24, 36 or 48 V power supply, connecting them to a mains voltage source will lead to the failure of the strip. The power supply must exceed the total power of all LED strips connected to it by 10-20% in terms of power.

    Thanks to its flexibility and adhesive backing, the LED strip can be fixed almost anywhere.

    Each tape is marked where it can be cut, it cannot be cut in other places.

    When installing the LED strip, it is most convenient to first solder the wires to it, which will be connected to the power side, since it is often very inconvenient to solder them after you stick the tape.

    When soldering wires to the tape terminals, it is not allowed to overheat the tape (the maximum soldering temperature is 250 degrees), the contact time of the soldering iron with the tape contacts is no more than 10 seconds.

    Do not strongly strip the ends of the wires before soldering, this can lead to short circuits. Before sticking the tape, it is necessary to remove dust and other dirt from the surface for good adhesion of the tape.

    To protect against external factors, the place of soldering and wires must be insulated, for this it is most convenient to use a heat-shrinkable tube (such a tube, under the influence of heat, shrinks and tightens the place of insulation), “seat” it with a construction hair dryer or a lighter.

    It is advisable to irradiate the other ends of the wires or use special tips, thanks to which it is much more convenient to insert them into the connectors of the power supply, it also provides more reliable contact.

    After this stage, you can start installing the LED strip. It should be noted that high-power LED strips (with a high density of LEDs and in particular SMD 5050 LED strips) require the use of a special heat-dissipating profile, which helps to remove excess heat from the LEDs.

    Also, when gluing, sharp bends should be avoided (bending radius less than 2 cm is unacceptable), this can lead to damage to the tracks and electronic elements.

    After pasting the tape, you need to connect it to the power supply. Modern power supplies have screw terminal blocks or screw connectors, which allows you to very quickly connect an LED strip to them.

    In case of uneven glow of the tape along the entire length, you should connect power from the used power supply and to the other end of the tape, this will allow you to achieve a more uniform glow of the tape.

    You can also use dimmers to adjust the brightness of the light, and in the case of installing a colored tape, an RGB controller must be used, through which the color and shades of the glow are set, as well as various lighting scenarios are implemented.

    The dimmer is connected between the power supply and the LED strip.

    The RGB controller is also connected between the power supply and the led strip.

    If you need to install several LED strips, you can use a parallel connection of the strips or use a separate power supply for each LED strip. In the case of connecting LED strips in series in a chain longer than 5 meters, it is not allowed due to the increased load on the first elements of the mowing line and uneven glow.

    It is not allowed to install the LED strip near heat sources, this leads to overheating of the LED crystals and significantly accelerates their degradation.

    When installing the LED strip in wet rooms and in the open air, the power supply must be connected through an RCD (residual current device).

    Do not use LED strip with damaged insulation.

    Protect the tape from mechanical stress and shock.

    Foton.ua. great for LED products

    Connecting the LED strip through the power supply

    The tape is based on a flexible strip, along the length of which LEDs are located. They are connected to each other in a parallel-series circuit with flexible electrical paths, so that the tape can be cut into pieces of 3 or 6 diodes, depending on the voltage. mowing lines of the possible cut are marked on each strap. There are special areas for connecting wires next to them.

    On the inside of the tape, double-sided tape is usually glued, which greatly facilitates its installation and fixation on the desired surface.

    There is a huge number and variety of LED strips in the construction markets. They can differ: by the type of glow (cold or warm light), by color characteristics (one color or a combination of different colors), as well as by the number of LEDs per meter (this parameter affects the energy consumption and light output).

    How to connect an LED strip at home

    Each strip is characterized by the number of LEDs per meter of length. This parameter must be indicated in the marking. Therefore, it is worth considering that the more LEDs there are per one linear meter, the greater the light output and, accordingly, the power consumption. The LEDs themselves can be arranged in one row or in two. Also, they can be coated with varnish or silicone, or be without protection at all.

    The power supply of the LED strip comes from direct current with a voltage of 12 V or 24 V. Therefore, when choosing a strip, a prerequisite is the purchase of a transformer that will lower the voltage when connected to a standard network. Its characteristics are selected in accordance with the declared power that the LED strip will consume. Basically, it is 12V or 24V.

    As mentioned above, for each type of tape there is a certain declared power, calculated per one running meter, which is indicated in the passport. Depending on these data, the necessary power supply unit is selected, suitable for these parameters. If the length of the tape turns out to be significantly longer, then it must be cut into several parts and each of them connected to a separate transformer.

    In order not to be mistaken with the parameters of the power supply when choosing it, it is necessary to know the total power of the tape connected to the network. Specification markings are indicated on the spool. Power consumption directly depends on how many diodes will be on one meter of tape.

    For example, if you are thinking about how to connect an SMD LED 3528 LED strip, then you should know that the density of LEDs on it can be: 60, 120 or 240 (pieces per meter). In this case, the power consumption will be: 4.8 W / meter, 9.6 W / meter, 19.2 W / meter, respectively.

    In this case, if we have 5 meters of 3528 tape with 60 diodes per meter (300 pcs per coil) and a voltage of 12 V, then we will need a power source: 4.8 x 5 = 24 W. It is preferable to choose a power supply with a margin of 25-30%, so the best solution would be a device designed for 36 W.

    What to look for before connecting the LED strip

    Initially, it is necessary to calculate the total length of the place where the tape will be mounted. Here it is necessary to take into account in advance that it can be cut only at certain distances, depending on the number of diodes.

    Observe polarity.

    Unlike heating devices and incandescent lamps, the LED strip is a semiconductor device, therefore, when connecting it, it is imperative to observe the polarity. But, do not be afraid to connect it to the network incorrectly. Nothing happens to the tape. it simply will not turn on, so you can safely change the connection of the supply wires.

    It often happens that only a small part of the tape needs to be connected to the network, and not all 5 meters, as in a standard reel. In this case, it is cut at a predetermined place on it. Typically, a line is cut every three LEDs. This is due to the fact that they are sequentially parallelized by three pieces.

    Of course, by cutting off the tape, not according to the mowing line planned in advance by the manufacturer, nothing terrible will happen, and a pair of diodes in which the circuit is open will simply not burn.

    Connecting pieces of LED strip

    The connection of two pieces of tape is carried out by soldering. There are special contact pads near each cut line. Before soldering, they must first be cleaned and tinned. Further, each platform at the end of one part of the tape must be connected to a similar platform at the other end, using wires with a diameter of no more than 0.5 mm2.

    We cut the tape at the specified location. Let’s take an example of how to connect an LED strip using soldering. Let’s say there are three pieces of tape that need to be connected.

    First you need to get to the contact pads, for this we remove the silicone coating on the tape (available only on sealed copies). After that, we solder the wires to these pads.

    Also, there are such LED strips that are connected to each other without soldering, but using special connectors. connecting connectors. We will talk about this in one of the following articles.

    And this is how the connector looks closed. It turns out very neatly.