LED strip lights provide beautiful ambient lighting and are excellent for entertainment. However, most high-rate strip lights are expensive which prompts us to ask, how long do they last?
LED strip lights can last up to 50,000 hours which is about six years however, other factors can influence your strip lights life span. The quality of the product, environmental factors such as dust, extra heat, and poor care. Over time, the strips’ adhesive backing can degrade again, diminishing the LED’s longevity.
Do Led Light Strips Burn Out?
While LED strip lights have a longer life span than conventional bulbs, they don’t last forever. Many factors can cause your strips to burn out. As I mentioned above, these include environmental issues such as dust and too much exposure to sunlight can degrade your strip lights.
Cheap strips can burn out faster than their expensive counterparts, so always opt for quality brands. Like Philip Hues or Govee, these brands are popular choices and may have already fixed any problems that can cause premature strips “burn out”.
Similarly, the common mistake of not determining how much power supply your strips need can cause flickering, dim lights, or no lighting at all. Each strip uses a certain amount of power per foot (watts/ft).
Therefore, when choosing a power supply, make sure you are only using 80% of the rated power maximum to prevent your LED strips from overheating. This is called derating. This calculation is done by dividing the estimated wattage of the strip by 0.8.
Do Led Strip Lights Use A Lot Of Electricity?
No, LED strips lights do not use a lot of energy. According to Arcadia Blog LED uses 75% less energy than traditional lights like incandescent and CFL. There also consume most of their heat generated. However, if you still want to calculate how much energy your strip lights are using, try this simple formula.
Check this out: When you purchase a strip light, it usually uses 2A/5V (2 amperes at 5 volts). From here you can calculate the energy in Watts by multiplying 2 by 5 so, your LED consumes 10 Watts. If you are leaving them on for 12 hours a day, then you are consuming 120 w/h (watts-hours).
A dimmed LED strip consumes less energy than if it burns with maximum brightness. So, combined with LEDs already low energy usage, powering your strips is an excellent investment. Further, if you want to use less energy, choose a strip with smaller and fewer LEDs.
Do Led Light Strips Get Hot?
Yes, LED strips can get hot, they may not create heat like traditional bulbs, but with LED most of the heat is coming from the back. If your strip is overheating, you will not notice the effects right away. However, after months your strip light will change color or altogether stop working.
To prevent strip lights from getting too hot, always run lights on the voltage the manufactures requested. For instance, The Govee 32.8FT LED Strip Lights runs on a 12V 2A so you should not run this strip on any watts higher. Plus, LEDs use less energy and runs on low voltage. Keep your strips away from materials that produce heat as adding extra heat can again damage your LEDs.
Do LED Strip Lights Use A Lot Of Electricity?
Like LED bulbs, strip lights use 90% less energy than traditional lights. They use most of their heat and distribute the remaining along the rest of the strip. Studies have shown that they are more efficient than LED-based bulbs. They can average $2 per month and $22 per year, but this depends on the location and length of the strip.
Smart strips add to the cost. However, it is mere cents. If you are wondering if smart strip uses energy when they are off, then yes. These are known as vampire appliances- devices that use electricity when they are off. So, they are ready for use when we employ voice commands.
How much do led strip lights cost?
LEDs are fairly cheap, especially the simple ones without RBG colors. These can cost from $10-$20. However, other factors contribute to the cost of these lights, for instance, length, brand, number of LEDs per strip, and features. When comparing strips, brands like Philips Hue have top-notch smart lights with third-party integration, voice commands, etc. That’s why they can cost from $80-$180.
One brand with a wide range of prices is the Govee, which caters to every budget. But, the cheaper the lights are, the fewer features they have.
That’s not all; for a smooth look, you can use wire trays to keep strip wires hidden, which can cost $20 extra. Now, let’s look at the cost per year to run strip lights. Eugen from LEdlighting Info did a great job breaking down the cost: he said a 5-meter strip can average $3 per year.
Why are my led strip lights flickering?
Overloading your strip lights
When you overload an LED strip power supply, it sends a strong signal telling the strip to stop drawing energy. This powers down and then turns back on again quickly for more electricity to be pumped into it. The process causes LED strip flickering, and it repeats itself unless you reduce the wattage of the strip’s usage. Therefore, make sure to check specifications that are located at the back of the box or the power supply to ensure input and output requirement is suitable for installation.
Power supply is failing
Failing power supply is another problem that causes your strip light to flicker. If you ignore the mounting restrictions and install your strips where there is too much heat, this can cause overheating. Destroying your power supply in the process. While waterproof lights are more lenient, it is best to keep your strips away from harsh conditions.
Electrical Short
Many strips have built-in electrical short protection; if this is no longer working, it can cause your LED strip lights to flicker. They can cause smoke or burnt wires, which is a common indication of an electrical shortage.
LEDs are very energy-efficient so, they will not increase your electric bill as much as you think and they can last long in good care.
