Are you looking for a simple and easy way to improve the look of your home? Smart light strips could be the solution. Adding smart strip lights to your space is one of the most notable and underplayed upgrades you can make. Smart LED strip lights are one of the most cost-effective and versatile lights available, thanks to their flexibility and ability to illuminate long stretches of surfaces such as the underside of kitchen cabinets and along hallways.
What to Consider When Buying Smart LED Strip Lights?
When buying smart LED strip lights for your home, there are several things to keep in mind. There is no one-size-fits-all solution since each project is unique. Before beginning any project relating to smart LED strip lights, clarify the following things related to your scenario.
Location
- Type of your location
- Residential
- Commercial
- Retail
- Outdoors etc.
- Place you’ll put the lights
- Backlighting
- Display cases
- Under cabinet lighting
- Kick boards etc.
- Will the lights be exposed to water, any other liquids or the elements?
- Material used to mount the lighting
- Number of feets/ meters you require
Styling and functions
- Overall look you want to go for
- Requirement related to lighting
- Accent lighting
- Indirect lighting
- Perimeter lighting
- Principal lighting
- Specialty application lighting
- Task lighting etc.
- Materials or objects you’ll light or illuminate with the strips
- Necessity of having a high CRI for accurate color rendering
- Style of the lighting
- Only produce white light
- Single color light – red, green, or blue
- Multiple colors light
- Any other lighting in the area, and if so, what color?
- Requirement to dim your lights or use a remote or a wall switch to control them
Mood and Feelings
- Non-physical outcomes you want to achieve
- Type of atmosphere you want to create
- Bold
- Calm
- Energetic
- Enjoyable
- Hopeful
- Relaxed
- Relaxing
- Romantic
- Safe
- Sensual
- When your guests and customers walk into your space, what do you want them to think or say?
General Things to Consider When Buying Smart LED Strip Lights
After you’ve finalized the things related to above points, go over the following general considerations before purchasing LED strip lights.
Length of LED
Check the number of LEDs per unit of length. Look for strip lights with the highest number of LEDs per foot for a brighter output and better light quality (Meter, Yard, etc). If LEDs are spread too far apart across the strips, spotty lighting may result instead of a smooth, consistent line of light. Manufacturers advertise this in various units of measurement, which can be confusing. It’s preferable to stick to one measurement and then convert all others to see which strips have the most LEDs per unit of measurement.
Brightness of LED Strips
You’ll probably need a certain number of lumens depending on how you’re going to use the LED strips (brightness of LEDs is measured in lumens). Although LED technology advances, this does not imply that all LED strips will be incredibly bright. You might not even want the light to be too bright in some cases. Accent lighting within a shelf is an example of this. Also you probably don’t want something brighter than 200 Lumens per foot for accent lighting, but for other applications where you need more light, it all depends on your personal preference for brightness.
So make a note of the Lumens/length as well as the LEDs/length, as these will have a significant impact on the light quality and type of light the strip emits. If the manufacturer does not specify the lumen output, be cautious. You won’t know what brightness they will have until you buy them.
Color Temperature (CCT)
The color temperature of light, measured in degrees Kelvin, is referred to as CCT (Correlated Color Temperature) (K). The temperature of the light determines how ‘warm’ (yellowish light) or ‘cool’ (bluish hue) it appears. Warm white light, for example, is defined as a light source with a color temperature of 2000–3000 K. As the Kelvin temperature rises, the color shifts from yellow to yellowish white to white, then to a bluish white (which is the coolest white). CCT is a measurement of the color temperature of white light.
Depending on the color temperature you use, the aesthetic, function, or emotion of a space may change. It’s not difficult to choose the right color temperature, but keep in mind the colors of your walls and floor, what you’ll be illuminating, what activities will be carried out in the area, and if there are any local regulations dictating what CCT to use.
Color Rendering Index (CRI)
In comparison to natural sunlight, the color rendering index (CRI) evaluates how colors are accurately deemed under a light source. The index is based on a 0-100 scale, with 100 representing perfect color accuracy, which means the colors show up as they would in natural daylight. So, the higher the CRI, the better the light source.
- Color appearance is outstanding when the CRI is between 95 and 100. Colors pop out and are accented, skin tones look beautiful, beauty comes to life, and backsplashes and paint show their true beauty in full saturation.
- Color appearance is excellent when the CRI is between 90 and 95. Almost all colors have a unique ‘pop’ to them and are easily recognizable. A CRI of 90 indicates that the lighting is noticeably great.
- Color appearance is good between 80 and 90 CRI, with most colors rendered well. Although items may not be as saturated as you would like, most people will not notice.
- Color appearance is poor between 60 and 75 CRI. Items and colors may appear desaturated, bland, and unrecognizable at times. For example, you won’t be able to distinguish between a black and a navy tie.
Power consumption
There are plenty of different types of bulbs used for lighting, but LED bulbs are one of the most popular and well-known to be the most energy-saving lights, producing comparable lumen to ordinary bulbs while consuming less energy.
However, before you buy, double-check the wattage per foot, meter, or reel. Wattage indicates how much electricity we use while these lights are turned on, and thus how much we’ll have to pay at the end of the month.
Some people may see “24 watts” on a reel and then realize this is per meter or per foot, which means the entire reel uses much more. To make matters worse, they purchased a power supply that only covers 30 watts, assuming that would suffice.
And at last, be sure you know what voltage your flexible LED strip lights operate at. If you buy a 12-volt power supply for a 24 volt LED strip light, it will not work, and there is a risk of fire. You must select the appropriate power unit for your lights.
Additional Devices
See whether the light strip needs a hub. Unless you already have a compatible smart home hub, it’s best to save money by opting for a smart strip light that doesn’t require the use of another device.
Compatibility with your smart home environment.
Keep in mind to pick a strip light that will work well with your current smart home setup. Not all smart assistants, such as Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant, are compatible with all strip lights on the market.
Connectivity
While the majority of lights on the market are connected via Wi-Fi, some only use Bluetooth, and others can do both. However, Bluetooth connections can be questionable and slow at times, which is why choosing a strip light with Wi-Fi is recommended.
Ways to Use Smart LED Strip Lights at Home
The best thing about LED strip lights is how affordable they are. It gives you the option of scattering them throughout your home. So, here are some suggestions for you to consider.
Smart LED Strip Lights for Kitchen Cabinets and Pantry
You can light up kitchen cabinets and pantries using LED light strips. Although we all have overhead kitchen lighting in our kitchens, they can be too bright and ineffective in illuminating all of your kitchen’s dark corners. LED strip lights fill the nooks and corners of your kitchen with light.
Smart LED Strip Lights for Dark Corridors and Hallways
Smart LED strip lights are small enough to be hidden along baseboards while still providing plenty of light during the night. They are an excellent option for illuminating dark hallways, corridors, entryways, and staircases to light the way at night. Furthermore, they can be fine-tuned in brightness, schedule on and off times, and choose from millions of colors.
Smart LED Strip Lights for the Holidays
Smart LED strip lights come in handy when decorating for the holidays months (even in advance or the day before). They can make your home look festive and colorful at any time of year.
Smart LED Strip Lights for Parties
Do you want to make a big impression at your next gathering? Or looking forward to brightening up the mood at your Halloween party? Smart LED strip lights are one of the most cost-effective, environmentally friendly, and simple-to-install ways to create an impact. Crack out your favorite smart speaker, or any speaker, and put on a colorful LED light show to the beat if you’re looking for a perfect way to light up the party.
Smart LED Strip Lights for Kid’s Room
Whereas the smart LED light strips may not instantly come to mind as a fun bedroom activity for children, they can be. You can use them to outline bookshelves, mirrors, favorite posters, the inside of windows, and other items in your home, including your kid’s bedroom.
Smart LED Strip Lights for DIY Home Theater Experience
You can take a step further by incorporating immersive smart lights into your TV. It’s a fantastic feature of these smart lights, and it’s a fun way to significantly improve your home theater experience.
Smart LED Strip Lights to Decorate Drawers
You can highlight the contents of your drawers by placing strip lights along the interior of your dresser, vanity, or workbench.
Smart LED Strip Lights for Outdoor Lightning
Even though many smart LED light strips are not suitable for outside, some models, such as the Geeni Prisma Plus Strip, can. For a flawless outdoor smart lighting setup, use waterproof smart LED light strips to line your windows, porch, balcony, and other outdoor areas.
Smart LED Strip Lights for Bathroom Shower
Using LED strip lights to illuminate your bathroom shower is a nice way to get ready in the morning. For example, you can use them to set the tone for a sunset shower or a cool morning breeze. But, keep in mind to use waterproof smart LED light strips here as well.
Govee Smart LED Strip Lights
Govee offers self-developed LED strip lights which are more vibrant and brighter for a variety of room ambiances. Govee’s Smart LED Strip Lights, which can be connected via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, provide plenty of entertaining and effective lighting features with quick and easy setup, and an overall pleasant customer experience at a very low price.
Features of Govee Smart LED Strip Lights
Hands-free voice control is available with Govee Smart LED Strip Lights. The Govee Home app is what really makes these lights a pleasant to use. These 2 Rolls of 16.4ft LED strip lights work well with voice control through Alexa and Google Assistant (there’s no support for Siri). So you can free up your hands and use simple voice commands to turn lights on and off, change colors, and adjust brightness.
The Govee Home app gives you complete control over your LED lights, as well as access to amazing features like a customizable DIY mode and a handy Timer function.
Furthermore, the built-in microphone allows the LED lights to sync to any type of music – whether it’s from a speaker, TV, or even your own voice—and adjusts the light pattern to match the beat. You can use the Govee Home app or the Box to control your lights and enjoy watching them dance to the beat of your favorite song.
The 300 LED beads in the 32.8ft smart strip lights make them bright enough to light up your bedroom, hallways, porches, kitchen, holiday parties and a lot more. However, these LED lights are not waterproof and are intended for indoor use only.
This all-in-one LED light kit comes with an ETL-listed adapter, sturdy adhesive, and 5 support clips, making it easy and ready to install. Simply put, you just have to attach the lights to any dry, clean surface and secure them with the clips.
Govee’s Smart LED Strip Lights, on the other hand, are a fantastic value if you’re looking to add a touch of color to your home at a low cost. They’re bright, responsive, and packed with features for a fraction of the cost of other smart strip lights on the market.
Smart LED Strip Lights | Conclusion
LED strip lights are a creative and fun way to light up your home, with only your imagination as a limit. After all, you don’t have to learn about how to be an electrician to set up these easy light strips at your home. So go ahead and order a few of those after going over the points mentioned in this article and have fun with the colors!
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