All posts by Tamas Toth

Purple LED strip, pink LED strip, blood orange LED strip, turquoise LED strip, goose green LED strip – but where from?

Manufacturers of single-color LED strips generally produce only the three primary colors: red, green, and blue, with some also making yellow. Pink is quite rare, and purple is even rarer. However, some people need orange or turquoise LED strips.
The answer to this is to buy an RGB LED strip and mix the desired shade yourself. Some people do not want a remote-controlled system; they just want the light to always be orange when they turn it on. For them, it seems unnecessary to buy a system capable of displaying all the colors of the rainbow, performing lighting effects, and dimming the lights when they only need one color. Why buy it if these features will never be used?

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There are two solutions, but both require either an RGB LED strip or two different colored LED strips stuck next to each other.

Continue reading Purple LED strip, pink LED strip, blood orange LED strip, turquoise LED strip, goose green LED strip – but where from?

What kind of LED light source should we choose for our vintage-style home?

Let’s face it, this question is important for interiors decorated in Mediterranean, rustic, or retro styles as well. The further back in time we go, the more attention we need to pay to choosing the right LED light source.

How vintage should a LED light source be?

We can agree that only those LED types that imitate filaments are worth considering. If not, then it should be something that mimics a glowing surface, such as a flame dancing behind an opal surface, which can also be classified as vintage style.

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Vintage-style light sources match vintage-style interiors.
Continue reading What kind of LED light source should we choose for our vintage-style home?

Flexible filament LED – for a complete vintage atmosphere

Background:

COG LEDs (Chip On Glass), which are LEDs built on glass or sapphire strips, have been known for years and are increasingly efficient. Their advantage is that achieving circular illumination is much easier with them than with SMD packaged LEDs, which often rely on opal covers to enhance light distribution with varying degrees of success. However, COG LEDs have the disadvantage that less light reaches the direction of the filaments. To solve this problem, Filament LEDs are placed in multiple positions under the cover, or we must choose an appropriate light source with the knowledge that less light reaches the filament direction.

This problem of “less light in the filament direction” could be solved if the LED filament were flexible, thus allowing shadowed areas to be eliminated by appropriate bending.

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…and yes, there is a flexible filament LED.

Continue reading Flexible filament LED – for a complete vintage atmosphere

The LED strip’s connector tab is wider than the LED profile. Therefore, it doesn’t fit into the LED profile…

The connector tab of the LED strip is wider than the space in the LED profile, so it doesn’t fit into the LED profile.
I can’t solder, so the only option left is to clip the connector clip onto the end of the strip.
But still, how can I get it into the LED profile?

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either this way or that way…

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Moreover, using a splicing element inside the aluminum profile is almost always feasible:

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Continue reading The LED strip’s connector tab is wider than the LED profile. Therefore, it doesn’t fit into the LED profile…

COG LED – LED filament, which makes it look almost like a traditional bulb

A newer LED technology that is referred to in various ways.
Some people also call this simply COB LED, as we read about COB LEDs that one of their more efficient development lines is building the chip on a ceramic substrate. Well, if they build it on glass, glass is also ceramic…

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The essence is that COG LED, or Chip On Glass, means LED built on glass. The glass is cut into thin strips, so we can talk about LED filaments. The LED bulbs or candles made this way, at first glance, may seem like a thicker tungsten filament bulb is lit, which is why its most common international name is LED Filament. Some companies, instead of using this long name, refer to it as FiLED.

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Continue reading COG LED – LED filament, which makes it look almost like a traditional bulb

What cross-sectional wire should be used for RGB LED strip lighting?

Below you can read the measurement results of practical examples.

If you buy an RGB LED strip, you will see that a 5-meter roll has about 10 cm of 4-core connecting wire. This wire has a cross-section of 4×0.2mm2.
RGB LED strips consume 6W, 10.8W, or even 14.4W per meter, depending on the type. For example, a 5-meter roll with a nominal consumption of 72W also has a 10 cm long 4×0.2mm2 cross-section connecting wire. One might think that if we want to install RGB lighting in a room, we can run the connection anywhere with such a cross-sectional wire, as long as we don’t exceed 72W consumption. This reasoning is flawed because the longer the wire, the higher its resistance, which means the LED strip will receive less voltage and will shine dimmer. To operate a 5-meter 72W LED strip, you need to ensure 6A at 12V.

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The article also addresses the resistance of the LED strip. The farther the LED is from the power connection, the dimmer it will light. This issue is also considered below.

Let’s look at some practical examples:

Continue reading What cross-sectional wire should be used for RGB LED strip lighting?

Does it flicker or not?

The question is not just whether the LED flickers, but also, if it does flicker, how much does it flicker?

It has become a habit to check with our mobile phones whether the selected LED lamp flickers or not. As if we only expected perfection from the LED. It’s better to know that traditional bulbs flicker too, as do halogens.
Why doesn’t this bother anyone? – or did it bother us, but we didn’t have a choice back then. Those who still choose this don’t care about the issue at all.
We will skip the introduction of compact fluorescent lamps.

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From left to right in the picture above, we can see the following E14 base light sources:

  • 6 Watt SMD LED opal candle
  • 4 Watt COG LED candle
  • 6 Watt SMD LED opal candle
  • 40 Watt traditional incandescent candle
  • 28 Watt halogen incandescent candle
  • 2 Watt COG LED candle

Continue reading Does it flicker or not?

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