LED Strip Lights - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes and No.  We recommend buying only from a registered Company that specialises in LED Strip Lights, such as us.  We have the knowledge and experience to make sure the Strips that we are selling are safe!

There are many unscrupulous individuals that may be selling very poor quality LED Strip, that may not be able to handle the load being placed upon it.  There are also other factors that could make it unsafe and a potential fire hazard, such as poor quality transformers.  This is especially the case for larger installations of more than 5 Metres of LED Strip.  We have had people calling us for advice when they have purchased cheap strip from auction sites.  One of them, we had to warn that he was creating a potential fire hazard from the type of wire, massive power supplies, and method he was using to link the LED Strip. 

If installing LED Strips in vehicles, Fuses are VITAL.  NEVER, EVER, install without the appropriately rated In-Line Fuse.  

We have to say, get a qualified Electrician to install in your home, and Auto Electrician in your vehicle.

That said, if you are an Electrician and have a large installation of LED Strip, please call us, we can supply LED Strip that will not cause you problems, and provide the right advice for a safe installation.

It must be stated, all LED Strips that are not Constant Current will reach their peak brightness at 1000 hours and begin to decline after this, regardless of the LEDs used.  With our Constant Current LED Strip the light continues at an even level with a useful lifetime of at least 50,000 hours.

Our Waterproof LED Strip has a double protective coating with a UV stable filler Injected .  This is much more durable, does not smell, and will not split like Resin LED Tape.  This even allows the LED Strip to be unpeeled and reused elsewhere.  Unlike  Resin LED Strip our Waterproof Strip will notl turn milky white after a few months exposure to sunlight

The LEDs on our LED Strip are from an established (1996) Manufacturer in Taiwan called Epistar. In the past 10 years we have been selling LED Strip, these LEDs have proved themselves to have a long lifetime and are of very high quality. A lifetime of around 25,000-30,000 hours can be expected for our standard LED Strip.  

Many of the low-grade LED Strips and Tapes sold elswhere may use LEDs which from the outside look identical to Epistar or Samsung LEDs but could be cheap Chinese copies of them with poor internal materials, which give rise to a short lifespan - perhaps as short as 6 months!  The LEDs on these cheap strips are usually mounted to a very thin circuit board with copper tracks which do not adequately dissipate the heat away from the LEDs further shortening the lifetime of the product. Most of these LED Strips are designed for short term use such as festival and holidays.

The cheap Chinese LED Strips can also have LEDs which are poorly graded for colour consistency so the colour along the length of the same strip can look very uneven, for example some LEDs may appear a different white colour to others which can look blue or warm white in colour.  RGB or Colour Changing strip can have poorly matched LEDs resulting in a patchy light along the length of the Strip.  It is cheap for a reason!

For long term use and professional installation our Constant Current LED Strip is a much wiser choice, it will out last most other LED Strip currently on the market.

Click here for more information regarding different Grades of LED Strip.