Installing Led strip lights in your home serve many purposes: like creating the perfect ambient lighting or entertainment. While these lights look the same, they are far from it. Strip lights differ in size, length, color, brightness, and quality.
It is easy to spot the difference between cheap and quality lights. Many will experience problems like uneven color, dark spots along the strips, and a decrease in brightness. Outside the strip may appear the same but in products like Philips Hue, the inside comprises standard materials and durable heat sinks.
Moreover, the price is a major component when determining cheap strips because they are lower. Below is a guide that tells the difference between strip lights and which is best for your project.
Cheap VS Quality Strip Lights
If you are going to have your strip lights for long-term use, it is best to invest in ones that are durable and produce consistent lighting throughout. Cheaper lights have different BIN (Batch Identification Numbers) so, sometimes you may notice a huge drop in brightness at the end.
Other signs include flimsy circuit boards and inner copper tracks that don’t disperse heat properly. The resistor in the strip may light too bright, decreasing its life span. Quality Led strips last longer, and it is on the expensive side. A Hue can range from $50-$100. The color does not change at the end, nor do they lack brightness.
Color and Brightness
LED strips come in various shades of colors, with white being the popular choice for indoor lighting. For entertainment, people opt for strips with millions of colors and temperatures. When measuring shade quality color temperature (CCT) and color rendering index (CRI) is critical to know. Low color temperature bulbs usually fit in the (2700K) while natural daylights have a kelvin of 6500.
The brightness of the strips is measured in lumens, and it is what our eyes see when we look at a fixture. Like color temperature, strip lights differ in brightness. Some may look a bit dim, while others can appear very bright. Smart strips allow you to control your light brightness through an app or remote.
Lastly, the color- there are two types of strips: fixed and color changing. A fixed LED strip is available in one color. While color-changing has multiple colors and channels, the three primary colors are red, green, and blue.
Smart Light Strips And Lenght
Smart light strips have many benefits: they use voice commands for hands-free use and connect to third-party devices. Other features include brightness adjustability, and creating timers and schedules with pre-set lighting scenes.
Strips like Govee Wi-Fi RGB can sync beats from television, music, or your voice. Overall, Govee light strips are affordable, bright, and have a lot of amazing features you’ll want in smart lighting.
With strips, there are a lot of lengths available, so it depends on the project you are using them for.
To sum up, light strips have many differences, so it all boils down to your budget and project. You’ll find cheap light strips are best for occasional use: like for party entertainment. Their quality counterparts are used for gaming set-up and ambient lighting.
Therefore, if you are looking for an affordable strip, Govee is my number one choice because they are durable and functional. For homeowners without a budget, Philips Hue is your best bet.
