LED Strip Lights

[andrew]

In June I asked about LED strip lights, asking about real-world experiences. Now I've had some can report that some are really good, some others...

I bought some of these for under cabinet lighting in the kitchen:

for 4 strips plus driver. I got three strips on one driver to light under a 1.2 length of cabinets. They do the job very well, providing good bright light just where it's needed.

A couple of weeks ago I reviewed the old thread and found the Ikea version for about half the price:

for 4 strips plus driver. I would say that they're about half as bright, so not enough for the kitchen setting. They'll do well enough for a display cabinet I need to light though.

So I would definitely recommend the product from Your Welcome, and can add that their service is excellent too.

I've also bought the GU10 LED lamps they sell, and they are jolly bright, though the beam spread is a bit narrow. Expensive, but if they do last 40Kh as advertised, they save on regular GU10 halogen replacements (even at Screwfix prices) for bulbs alone, never mind power consumption.

Andrew

[Dave Plowman (News)]

£62.58 for 4 strips plus driver. I got three strips on one driver to

If the colour in the pic is anything to go by I'd rather use decent fluorescents. LEDs have still got a long way to go before they give the sort of light most want.

[oh]

Just one piece of advice, don't believe the "replaces xxW" statements. My GU10 "50W equivalent" bulbs have been redeployed into the bathroom that had too many spotlights anyway. Really, these things these days should be rated in light intensity so that there's a fair chance to make any kind of comparisons...

That said, I love the LEDs in the bathroom, no more exploding GU10s when the kids throw water around with full ignorance of the building reg zones...

[andrew]

The colour is fine for me, but then they're installed in a new kitchen with a conservaory attached, so during the day the light is daylight anyway. The walls and floor are blue, the ceiling off-white, the units fake beech and counters fake slate.

All this fuss about colour temperature seems rather overblown to me anyway. Just use warmer colours on the walls and ceiling and it should look the same surely. If you're the sort of person who uses brilliant white throughout the house then you'd welcome colder lighting, neh?

Andrew - a parent of 3 who definitely doesn't use brilliant white anywhere!

[andrew]

The =A318 5W GU10s at yourwelcome are as bright as a halogen 50W (I can't look into them), but the beam angle is rather narrower. For direct light they're good but you need more to cover an area.

Andrew

[clumsy bastard]

ive fitted them underneath our kitchen cabinets and if they last as they are supposed to I will be perfectly happy.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Think you've missed the point that a paint colour which looks fine in daylight or tungsten may not using a poor quality light. And it's not just to do with colour temperature.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Surely the idea of lights under cupboards is to illuminate the work surface below - and to do this effectively you need a soft light source. Of course if it's only for effect that's down to personal preference.

[Rod]

I too think Andrew has missed the point - we (I assume many of us) don't make a fuss about colour temperature/CRI for their own sakes - but because they are usually the only objective criteria we have available.

And you can only use a warmer temperature in some places if they are available. We have had great difficulty in sourcing lamps with the characteristics we want - sometimes available in 2700 crap-O-colour but often not in other temperatures.

People sometimes use brilliant white paint in association with warmer lighting. And vice versa.

[clumsy bastard]

I read some stuff that said you get some strobe effect that makes using a knife hazardous, I haven't observed this or even understand what it meant. Each cupboard has a 3 LED strip +an extra one at the inside corner join (can't find a picture) they are fine for cutting and stuff, no noticeable shadows.

[Andy Champ]

Hand knife is fine. What they can do is freeze rotating things. Such as blender blades, circular saws, power planes.

Oh, and Angle Grinders :)

Andy

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Only light source likely to cause strobing on fast moving stuff is non electronic ballast fluorescents. But not a problem with hand knifes anyway.

[clumsy bastard]

so that's what the journalist had got hold of

[clumsy bastard]

you haven't seen my chopping skills :-)

[Dave Plowman (News)]

But if you're that fast you wouldn't need to look at it anyway. ;-)

[clumsy bastard]

good point, I might as well switch the lights off :-)

[andrew]

The ones I've fitted have 24 leds per strip, 3 strips make about a metre length, so 72 points of light per metre. Not soft, but well distributed.

Andrew