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Do you offer Custom LED Aluminum Channels?

I'm wondering if you can offer custom aluminum-led channel and diffusion sizes. Specifically your corner channel. I can see on your website they're offered only in 3.3 ft. lengths. 

Though we unfortunately do not have the ability to offer custom sizes of the product at this time, we have recently heard of other customers who have utilized a hacksaw in order to create smaller segments of the aluminum channels.

However, there may also be third-party channels available elsewhere that would fit the 10mm width of our LED strip lights while offering different sizes.

Is there a 3rd party company you recommend that could provide a relatively low profile corner and diffusion channel?

You may want to check the Klus Design for their broad catalog of LED extrusion products. They appear to have many good options and accessories available.

Klus Design - LED Extrusions: 

https://klusdesign.com/products/led-extrusions?category=1

LED Panel that Mimics Sunlight for Bacteria Growth Research

For our research on light-dependency of bacteria growth we are searching for a lightning system that mimics sun-light the best. Therefore I would be happy, if you could recommend on some products that you offer that meet this demands the best. We do not work with plant but with bacteria. The light should fit the spectrum of natural sunlight the best. 

Based on the details provided, we would likely recommend our ABSOLUTE SERIES™ 99 CRI line of products, as the 99 CRI (Ra) value of these products means that the light output is virtually indistinguishable from daylight. We have included the product links for below for your convenience.

ABSOLUTE SERIES™ LED Linear Module - 99 CRI - 1 ft / 280 mm MCPCB: https://store.waveformlighting.com/products/absolute-series-99-cri-led-linear-module

ABSOLUTE SERIES™ LED Flexible Strip - 99 CRI - 16 ft / 5 m Reel: https://store.waveformlighting.com/products/absolute-series-led-flexible-strip-99-cri-16-ft-5-m-reel

For more information regarding this line or 99 CRI products, you might find value in the below article from our website.

ABSOLUTE SERIES™ New Spectrum LED Technology: https://www.waveformlighting.com/absolute-series

Installation Configuration for Kitchen Lighting

We are in the middle of a kitchen remodel and need advice. On our current configuration, we have a 3 ft cabinet, then an opening for the microwave, and then a 2 ft cabinet corner followed by a sink and a 2 ft cabinet. I would like a direct wire, dimmable led configuration. We want a continuous bright setup along the countertop and backsplash. With the spaces with the microwave and sink what would be a good choice for us?

Based on the details provided, we might recommend our 3000K CENTRIC HOME™ LED Strip Lights for Home & Residential product for your kitchen installation.

If you would like to install this product utilizing the wall wiring, we would recommend a matching voltage TRIAC Dimmable Power Supply for LED Strip product. When installed within a junction box or wall cavity, this product can be paired with wall switches and dimmers for light control. For mounting the LED strip light product, you might also be interested in our Aluminum Channel for LED Flex Strip product.

Using the measurements provided, it appears that your installation would require about seven feet of LED strip light product. As such, one 16.4 ft (5 meters) reel of the CENTRIC HOME™ product should provide more than enough lighting for your installation.

However, please note that our LED strip light products are not designed to come into contact with water. If your installation runs across the sink backsplash, your installation might encounter enough moisture to cause product failure or create a safety hazard. That being said, many customers have connected similar lighting segments using hidden 16 AWG wiring behind the drywall, safely away from potential hazards.

We have included some links to our layout diagrams below, which we hope prove to be useful for your planning purposes. This link provides a configuration description and includes links to each of the connector accessories. As you can see, the individual segments can be pretty easily connected to a single power supply.

LayoutMaps™ - LED Strip Light Layout 3001-1B: https://www.waveformlighting.com/layoutmaps/3001_1B?px=-2190&py=-2213.5&pw=1380&ph=1427&s=0.1

LayoutMaps™ - LED Strip Light Layout 3001-1C: https://www.waveformlighting.com/layoutmaps/3001_1C?px=-2190&py=-2213.5&pw=1380&ph=1427&s=0.1 

LED Dimmer Dimension and Wiring Length

I recently purchased: 3 x 3001.56 LED strips and 2 x 3093J Power supplies I'm trying to find a single gang wall switch with two rotary knobs. (I for each power supply). Assuming the need for forward phase dimming I'm not finding anything suitable. I'm thinking it might be best to buy a 2 x 3081 flicker-free LED dimmer. Can someone send the dimensions of the dimmers so I can look into building a desktop enclosure? Also, how long are the input/output wiring leads? The LEDs will be installed and used for safety step lighting in a reference-grade color correction theater (post-production). 

While we generally recommend utilizing an in-wall dimmer for installations which includes the TRIAC Dimmable Power Supply, I believe that the FilmGrade™ Flicker-Free LED Dimmer would be compatible if a barrel-jack adapter is installed between the supply and dimmer products.

There may also be third-party dimmers available online that could be utilized for individually controlling the segments of light strips, such as Lutron Caseta products. Though I do not have any specific products to recommend at this time.

We have attached a marked-up image below, which contains the rough dimensions for the FilmGrade™ Flicker-Free LED Dimmer. We can also confirm that the two wires of the product are each 4 ft (1.2 meters) in length.

Are the 24V TRIAC power supply compatible with Lutron Caseta LED dimmers?

I am interested in purchasing LED strip lights to use with the Lutron Caseta LED dimmers in residential kitchens and baths. Are the 24V TRIAC power supply and Centric Home LED strip the best option for this? Or 12V? Or something else? 

Based on our familiarity with the Lutron Caseta system, we are happy to confirm that 12V or 24V installations should be compatible.

As such, it does not appear that the Lutron Caseta system has any limitations regarding one option being preferred over the other. That being said, there might be some voltage considerations depending on the class or circuits used within your home. To that end, we might recommend reaching out to a local electrician for information on the electrical systems utilized within the residence.

Generally speaking, we strongly recommend selecting the compatible voltage for the lights and power supplies within installations. In case they prove to be helpful for your planning purposes, we have attached two blog post links from our website below, which discuss the options in detail.

Advantages of a 24V LED system vs 12V https://www.waveformlighting.com/home-residential/advantages-of-a-24v-led-system-vs-12v

Pros and cons of a 12V LED system https://www.waveformlighting.com/home-residential/12v-led-system

We are happy to confirm that the CENTRIC HOME™ LED Strip Lights for Home & Residential could be a great option for your kitchen lighting. We generally recommend 2700K for living rooms and bedrooms, or 3000K for kitchens and dining areas. 

I am going to place an order for the Centric Home LED and TRIAD power supplies along with some aluminum track and have a couple more questions. What is your expected shipping time for these products and accessories? Would you be able to provide any promo or coupon code for trying this product out?

Based on my review, it appears that both items are available to be shipped without delay. Further, we unfortunately do not have any special promotional pricing available at the moment, and we do apologize for any inconvenience this might cause.

Regarding accessories, you might find value in the below links from our website. These pages contains illustrated, interactive guides that describe the common product layouts and link to the accessories that we recommend for them.

LayoutMaps™ by Waveform Lighting: https://www.waveformlighting.com/layoutmaps/

LayoutMaps™ - LED Strip Light Layout 3001-1B: https://www.waveformlighting.com/layoutmaps/3001_1B?px=-2198&py=-2213.5&pw=1396&ph=1427&s=0.1

LayoutMaps™ - LED Strip Light Layout 3001-1A: https://www.waveformlighting.com/layoutmaps/3001_1A?px=-2190&py=-2213.5&pw=1380&ph=1427&s=0.1

12V vs 24V Power Supply

I am building some bookcases and am looking for a 16' roll of led lights and accessories. I am using a wall dimmer, but not sure of the difference between using the 12v dc power supply or the 24v power supply. Why the two offerings?

Generally speaking, there is not an extremely significant difference between 12V and 24V systems so long as the correct accessories are chosen. For example, we would discourage the use of a 24V Power Supply when using a 12V LED Strip Light product.

For more information regarding the differences and disadvantages of each type of system, you might find value in the below articles from our website:

Advantages of a 24V LED system vs 12V: https://www.waveformlighting.com/home-residential/advantages-of-a-24v-led-system-vs-12v

Pros and cons of a 12V LED system: https://www.waveformlighting.com/home-residential/12v-led-system

Recommended Lighting that Best Resembles Daylight

I am working on trying to find the best lighting for a test I am working on. Basically, I need to find a light that best resembles daylight due to the regulation I working on. It looks like the 99 CRI could work but I was wondering if the conditions make sense. 

We're happy to confirm that the 99 CRI ABSOLUTE SERIES™ products produce light output which is extremely similar to daylight. 

It might also be helpful to know that we offer a 30-day return policy for all orders. If these products wind up not being the right fit for your tests, simply let us know and we would be happy to issue a prepaid return label so that the items can be returned for a refund.

Can you please provide the photometric reports? I believe this will greatly help me in my decision on finding a product that could work for my testing. Also, is there anything special I would need to purchase to use the bulbs (ie certain setup or can I put in a normal lamp?)

We have attached the links for the 99 CRI photometric reports below, as requested. Please note that, unlike our traditional A19 and BR30 bulbs, these products are not designed for standard lamp bases, and will require additional power supplies such as the 12V FilmGrade™ DC Power Supply for LED Strip.

ABSOLUTE SERIES™ LED Linear Module - 99 CRI - 1 ft / 280 mm MCPCB: https://store.waveformlighting.com/products/absolute-series-99-cri-led-linear-module

ABSOLUTE SERIES™ LED Flexible Strip - 99 CRI - 16 ft / 5 m Reel: https://store.waveformlighting.com/products/absolute-series-led-flexible-strip-99-cri-16-ft-5-m-reel

5000K Photometric Report: https://www.waveformlighting.com/photometrics/TR_7001.50.pdf

6500K Photometric Report: https://www.waveformlighting.com/photometrics/TR_7001.65.pdf

Fixed Single Color LED Strip Light

We need to find a LED strip of a specific color to integrate into one of our products. I think it needs to be RGB since our color is not one of the basic colors, but we'd like a controller that allows for the configuration of a single color so that the strip lights up with this color whenever there is power on it. Any ideas?

Based on the details provided, we might recommend our FilmGrade™ DMX LED Dimmer & Decoder with 5 Channel Output product with the FilmGrade™ FiveSpect 5-in-1 LED Strip Lights. The FilmGrade DMX product can provide a granular level of light output control for the FiveSpect LED strip lights product, and can also be paired with a third-party DMX controller.

For more information regarding the setup and configuration of this product, the below links might prove to be useful.

Product Instruction Guide: https://www.waveformlighting.com/datasheets/UM_3082.pdf

FiveSpect 5-in-1 LED Strip Lights LED Spectrum Simulator: https://www.waveformlighting.com/led-spectrum-simulator

LED Lights that Simulates Sunlight and UV Output

I'm an avid salmon fisherman. I tie a lot of flies and painting lures for salmon. I'm looking for a light that best simulates sunlight but also has UV down to about 350nm. Do you have a light that would work? 

While we can confirm that many of our products (such as the ABSOLUTE SERIES™ LED Flexible Strip) offer light output which closely simulates direct sunlight, these products generally do not offer UV output as well. 

As such, we, unfortunately, might not have the ideal lighting product available at the moment.

I was looking for a simple bulb. I have a light box I built where I can put different colored filters to simulate different watercolors. However, currently, it just uses a standard bulb. About UV, is there a single 350-400 nm light you guys sell?

If your light box is designed to utilize an E26 base lightbulb, we unfortunately might not have the ideal ultraviolet product form factor available at the moment. However, depending on the dimensions and design of the lightbox, you might also be able to utilize our 365 nm realUV™ LED Strip Lights. This product is designed to output UV-A light which is centered within the referenced range.

Recommended LED Products for Under Cabinet Lighting

I plan to install under-cabinet lighting in our kitchen and need assistance selecting the proper products - 4 sections need lighting. The first section is 50 inches. It is separated from section 2 by a sink and window. The second section is 50 inches and connects at the right angle to a smaller 30-inch section. The fourth section is separated from the third section by a range hood. I assume I need one standard reel of 2700K LED strip lighting. How many power supplies/DC converters do I need? Do I need just one coupler? 

Based on the details provided, it appears that a total length of 130 inches of LED strip lights is required. As such, we believe that one 16.4 ft (5 meters) reel of the 2700K 12V LED strip lights product should be sufficient for your installation. 

​If the length of the fourth segment is known, we would be happy to check to ensure that the single reel contains a sufficient length for the four combined segments.

Further, we believe that your installation would only require a single DC Power Supply if it utilizes four segments of strip lights, connected by lengths of wiring.

Though many of our customers prefer to utilize the Aluminum Channel for LED Flex Strip products for discretely mounting their lighting products, the 3.3 ft length of the item may not provide convenient housing for the 50 and 30-inch lengths of lighting which you mentioned. As such, we might recommend a third-party mount that could be trimmed to more precise lengths.

If you would like to utilize wall-wiring with this installation, you might find interest in our 12V TRIAC Dimmable Power Supply for LED Strip products. This product has the benefit of being compatible with wall dimmers. Alternatively, our plug-in 12V DC Power Supply product is an easy solution for most installations.

If it proves to be useful, I have attached a layout map below which illustrates the 12V TRIAC Dimmable Power Supply installation method. This link also includes information regarding the various connectors recommended for the installation.

LayoutMaps™ - LED Strip Light Layout 3001-1B: https://www.waveformlighting.com/layoutmaps/3001_1B?px=-2239.5&py=-2209&pw=1479&ph=1418&s=0.1

I neglected to mention that the 4th section is 24 inches. I still don’t understand how the single power supply unit and its connections will be inconspicuous. I would like the lighting to be wired in, but not being an electrician, I don’t know where or how the power source would be mounted. Sections 1 and 2 are separated by a sink with a window. Sections 3 and 4 are separated by a range hood. I don’t understand how the long wire connections you propose can be installed without being visible. 

Based on the length provided, we believe that the single 16.4 ft reel would still provide ample product for the four segment installations.

Generally speaking, these TRIAC Dimmable Power Supply for LED Strip products are installed within the wall (such as installed behind the drywall in a junction box or cavity) and are directly connected to the housing wiring to power the lighting products.

If the sections are divided by range hoods and other barriers which might make a continuous connection difficult to inconspicuously install, we would then recommend utilizing a dedicated power supply for each section. For your installation, this might look like ordering four power supplies which would be installed to independently power the sections of strip lights. ​

Film Grade LED Panels for Photographic Printing

Film Grade LED Panels for Photographic Printing

I am a professional photographic printmaker and require High CRI High R9 value print view lighting to just prints. I print using 5000K print view lighting but many times also view the print with 3200K lighting which is closer to the gallery and museum lighting. It looks like your Film Grade 9.5" x 18.9" flexible LED dimmable panel would work well for my needs. My print viewing area is 36" high by 60" wide. I want to determine if I need 1 Film Grade Flexible panel or 2 Film Grade Flexible panels to cover my print viewing area with even illumination. I will also want to be able to select 5000K precisely using the dimmer device. 

Our FilmGrade LED panels would certainly meet your color point needs, but unfortunately, we currently do not have any dimming solutions that would meet your requirements. (We currently support DMX only, for use in TV studio / theatrical installations).

​We do apologize for the inconvenience!

​As an alternative, we would perhaps build a panel using our single-color LED strip lights which can be used with our in-line dimmer. For example, please see below for an example layout:

https://www.waveformlighting.com/layoutmaps/3002_3E

Is your Strip Lighting UL Certified?

We are happy to confirm that many of our LED strip light products are UL Listed, such as our CENTRIC HOME™ LED Strip Lights for Home & Residential products.

Full Spectrum LED Lighting for Big Aviary and Horticulture

I would like to confirm that your CENTRIC DAYLIGHT™ Full Spectrum Flicker-Free T8 LED Tube Light can be used for lighting in my indoor aviary (dimensions: 80" H, 86" L, and 62" D). I cannot use the Full Spectrum BR30 LED Bulbs 4000K / 5000K / 6500K as I would need several of them and my ceiling is glass (the aviary is inside the sunroom). If my assumption is correct, can the tubes be plugged in or are they only hard-wired? I can only plug them in based on my setup. If there is no plug-in version of the tubes, are there alternative LED strips I can use that are full-spectrum? Finally, are the horticulture tubes hardwired or can they be plugged?

We can confirm that the CENTRIC DAYLIGHT™ Full Spectrum Flicker-Free T8 LED Tube Lights are compatible with 4 ft fluorescent tube light fixtures which utilize the G13 base.

However, it might be helpful to know that these lights are not compatible with all ballasts present within fluorescent fixtures. Generally speaking, product incompatibility with ballast models may cause flickering, or a lack of functionality. For a full list of ballasts that have been tested as compatible, please review this link: https://www.waveformlighting.com/files/CD4020.txt

For further instructions regarding the installation methods available for these lights, we have provided a link to the product specification sheet below.

Product specification sheet: https://www.waveformlighting.com/datasheets/CS_4020-4000.pdf

If you would like to let us know which light fixture models you intend to use for the indoor aviary, we would also be more than happy to check to see if they are compatible with these lights.

Are the Aluminum Channels trimmable?

Are these channels trimmable?

 While the aluminum channel product is not specifically designed to be trimmed, we've heard of other customers who have utilized a hacksaw to create smaller segments of the product for installations.

Red LED Lights for Gym Lighting

We have fluorescent bulb lighting in our gym. Approx 3500 sq ft. We wanted a safe red light for night classes and to avoid using fluorescent and blue-green spectrum LED lighting. What would you recommend for us? Whether it’s bulbs or LED strips?

Based on the details provided, we might recommend our SimpleColor™ Red LED Strip Lights product. These strip light products are compatible with dimmers and can be easily mounted in spaces within channels such as the Aluminum Channel for LED Flex Strip products.

How many strips would I need to fully light the 3500 sq ft room?

As the SimpleColor Red LED Strip Lights are generally not used for visibility, it can be difficult to estimate the item quantity that would be required to allow for full visibility in the space.

Generally speaking, we would say that a 3500-square-foot exercise space would be fully illuminated with 130,981 lumens. This light output would be possible through utilizing seventeen 16.4 ft (5 meters) reels of LED Strip Lights such as our FilmGrade™ WHITE LED Strip Lights, which offer 450 lumens per foot. However, as the lumen output of the SimpleColor LED strip lights is quite different, that quantity may not directly track.

For your installation, we might recommend purchasing a smaller quantity and testing the output in the space order to see whether a larger order quantity would illuminate the area to your liking, and provide the ideal level of visibility.

Do the Centric LED Strip Lights require the Centric Power Supply? 

Do the Centric strip lights require the centric power supply? Or would the Film Grade power supply also work (for half the cost)? Alternatively, would any SMPS do the job as long as it provided the correct voltage and current? (16ft of 24V centric strip requires a minimum 3.75A @ 24V (90 watts)

You are correct that any 24 volt constant voltage power supply (including commonly available switch-mode power supplies) would work with our 24 volt LED strip lights as long as the power capacity of the power supply is sufficient.

​The FilmGrade power supply is a great option and will work fine and may even be more convenient if you are looking for a wall-plug solution rather than a permanent hard-wired installation.

Color Critical Lighting for Cultural Heritage Field

I would like to know if you have a product using the Toshiba TRI-R LEDs. We are involved in the Cultural Heritage field and need a better solution for lighting than currently available products. I am looking for a lighting solution similar to your flexible panels with the lighting spectral quality of the TRI-R-led specifications for proof of product assembly. 

We are not affiliated with Toshiba but we do have a line of 99 CRI products that may closely approximate the color rendition performance you are looking for.

​Below is our product page showcasing our ABSOLUTE SERIES 99 CRI products - please let us know if this is something that may work for your needs, and we would be more than happy to assist with any additional questions or concerns!

https://www.waveformlighting.com/absolute-series

From your link, I think we would need the equivalent of 52 strips to make 2 panels approximately 22”x 11” with full coverage over the area. Is there a connector solution that would work for that? Or do you have an option for the absolute series in an already-made panel about that size?

I would also need a power supply/driver to power 2 panels about that size. As well as a dimming module to work with to set output.

​Unfortunately, we do not have any panel-type products, although I completely agree that this would be an ideal use case for such a product.

​As such, the best alternative would be to use an array of LED strip lights as you suggest. In back-calculating from the suggested quantity, it appears that you would be looking at 26 rows of 22-inch length LED strip sections per panel.

This works out to approximately 48 feet or three reels of 16.4 feet each.

The general limitation for LED strip wiring is 16.4 feet (one reel) per power supply and dimmer connection. This is due to the current carrying capacity limitations in the LED strip as well as those of the power supply.

​As such, your single panel will require three separate sets of power supplies and dimmers, which may or may not be an issue for you from a feasibility perspective.

Each LED strip reel can be cut into as many shorter sections as needed; so each 16.4 ft reel, for example, can be cut into 9 separate sections of 22 inches each, and then re-joined using our solderless connector accessory PN 3071.

(For a visual overview of the components, here is an example layout for a similar configuration using our 24 volt / 95 CRI product which operates nearly identically from an electrical perspective: https://www.waveformlighting.com/layoutmaps/3002_3E)

LED Lights in Overhead Soffit to Reflect Off the Ceiling

I generally sit in that recliner at the far end to read. Want to put sufficient light in the overhead soffit to reflect off the ceiling and illuminate the read. The table lamp shown is decorative the task light, barely visible by the chair, is what I use now. Has an LED bulb in it. Glares for the wife seated on the couch. It works well if I bring it down close to the read (magazine or newspaper) bulb is white.

It sounds like we have a few lighting fixtures in your space. To start, are you able to confirm what type of lamps or bulbs your fixtures can accommodate?

​For example, the soffit looks like it may accommodate fluorescent fixtures, but it's a bit difficult to tell from the photo.

​Similarly, are the table lamp and task light standard fixtures that use medium-screw Edison bases (E26)? (E26 is the most commonly seen, traditional screw-in lamp type with a base that is approximately 1 inch in diameter).

Once you can let us know what types of lamps may be compatible with your existing fixtures, we'll have a better idea of what options we have available for you. 

​Additionally, can you let us know what challenges you're facing with your existing lighting - is it the color, clarity, brightness, or a combination of these factors?

​The soffit has a string of incandescent mini lights, circa 1992. We do not use the table lamp but it and the task light use standard e26 screw-in bulbs, the problem is insufficient illumination. The task light if I bring it close to the reading material will work but is ungainly and if it is set higher is not quite enough light but glares at anyone sitting on the couch. I had thought that linear LEDs in both soffits above the chair reflecting off the ceiling might work but leave that to your expertise. Using dimmers they could also provide illumination for the room. The soffit runs on three sides of the room.

We are in full agreement that improving the brightness from your soffit lighting fixture would be the best approach here to simultaneously increase brightness without causing additional glare issues.

​Unfortunately, despite their ubiquity, standard light bulbs induce significant amounts of glare due to their high brightness levels from a relatively small size.

Our first thought here would be to recommend our CENTRIC HOME LED strip lights in 3000K. These LED strip lights emit approximately 450 lumens per foot, which is approximately equal in brightness to a 40-watt incandescent bulb. 

It's a bit difficult to determine from your photo, but my best guess would be that your soffit is approximately 10 feet long. If you were to install the LED strip lights across the entire soffit, this would provide you with approximately 4500 lumens, or 400 watts worth of incandescent bulb brightness.

The LED strip lights could of course extend and span multiple soffits across the three sides of the room as you suggest.

The LED strip lights do require some in-wall wiring and assembly work, but I do believe that this would be an excellent option for you. Below is an example wiring diagram that shows how the LED strips can be wired to a wall dimmer:

https://www.waveformlighting.com/layoutmaps/3001_1A

Sometimes sitting on the end of the couch to utilize the halogen Torch which almost does the job but could be better. The new light needs to be dimmable, and maybe the color change? 

Each one of the curtains is approx 6 ft across giving us approx 12 ft of the strip light. Approx 5500 lumens per your calculations. You mentioned 3000 Kelvin. Is that overly yellow for reading? Are your strip lights disabled and what dimmer do you suggest for the best performance? 

Is there an approved dimmer for 3-circuit control? I note that LeGrand makes a couple although I am partial to Lutron. 

I personally do not believe that 3000K is "too yellow" although that would certainly be within the realm of personal preference. Do you know what the color temperature of the lamps in your current space is, and what your thoughts on those might be? (Incandescent bulbs are typically 2700K and lower).

To cover the distances you quoted, you will likely need three sets of 16.4 ft LED strip reels, each with its own dimmable power supply. The cost estimate is as follows:

CENTRIC HOME™ LED Strip Lights for Home & Residential: $99 ea

TRIAC Dimmable Power Supply for LED Strip: $139 ea

​We do not have any three-circuit control suggestions, but we do have a list of tested dimmers which are available here:

https://www.waveformlighting.com/files/DC_3093.pdf

The reading lamp has a 790-lumen GE REVEAL built therein. It is I think overly bright white. If I bring it clues to the reading material it works but is glary with poor contrast and if further away not bright enough but not heavy. The soffit has a string of very old very small incandescent. I think we might try one set in the two soffits over the Chair to see how this indirect lighting works. 

We believe the GE Reveal lamps use a modified 3000K spectrum. If you find the incandescent lights in the soffit to be acceptable from a color perspective (i.e. not too yellow), then 2700K could also be a good option for you.

Below is an article that might help choose between the two options:

https://www.waveformlighting.com/home-residential/choosing-between-2700k-and-3000k

LED Strips for Space Lighting Upgrade

I'm trying to decide what I need to set up your product in my space. Currently, I have fluorescent tubes in a 500 ft. workspace. I would like to replace these with your 99 CRI LED strips and hardwire them to my existing wiring and use a dimmer. I'm not sure if I need 12 or 24, or if I need the Junction box on my power source. 

Our 99 CRI ABSOLUTE SERIES sounds like a great option for upgrading your space's lighting! The flexible LED strip version is available in 12 volts only, so you will want to use the 12 volt TRIAC dimmable power supply to power the LED strip.

​Below is the direct link to the dimmable power supply:

If you intend to install the power supply unit directly inside the fixture, I do not believe that there will be a need for the junction box; typically the junction box is used when the power supply is mounted in an interior wall location.

If you are comfortable with and able to solder your own wires, that would perhaps provide you with the most flexibility and cleanest wiring installation, however, if not, our PN 3070 and PN 3071 connectors may be convenient options for you.

I am replacing five T12 tubes in this space (2500 lumens each), and it seems to be about 60% as bright, even though the lumens should be very close. 

The strip that is wired to the power source is brighter than the second strip, which is wired to the first strip. 

The brighter strip also seems very noticeably brighter closer to the connection that goes to the power source. The channel is also quite hot close to the connection, and warm at the other end. The second strip channel is not warm. 

The brightness drop you are observing may be caused by voltage drop, which can occur during longer LED strip installations. Can you provide some additional detail on how the two LED strip reels are connected?

For voltage drop and safety reasons, the maximum run length specification for any LED strip section is 16.4 ft. Therefore, if you are attempting to connect multiple reels to a single LED power supply, this would likely cause the voltage drop and reduction in brightness you are observing in the second reel.

​As such, we generally recommend connecting each 16.4 ft reel to a separate power supply unit to ensure that the maximum run length is not exceeded.

Can you point me to where in your documentation you recommend using a separate power supply for each 16 ft strip? 

Please see below for the datasheet which indicates the "max run" specification of 16.4 ft.

​https://www.waveformlighting.com/datasheets/CS_7101.pdf

How much LED Lights are needed for Office Lighting

I have a 12x12 home office. I’m wanting to run your LED lights (power supply, connectors) around the perimeter of the office, but I’m unsure of how many complete systems (LED lights, power supplies, connectors, etc) I need to order. From what I see the strips come in 16’ sections, and if I need to go around the entire perimeter I’d need 3, of your complete systems, but I need to how bright the three systems would be would it be better to split one or two up? The LED lights need to be dimmable. 

I've plugged the 12 x 12 foot dimensions into our lumen estimation calculator (https://www.waveformlighting.com/lumen-calculator), which suggests a total brightness of 5850 lumens for an office space (approximately 40 footcandles).

​Our LED strip lights emit 450 lumens per foot, so 14 feet would be sufficient (just short of 1 reel) to meet this brightness level.

If you plan on installing a dimmer, however, there is no such thing as being "too bright" since this can always be dialed down if needed, and having the LED strip lights installed along the entire perimeter of your office space on each side might be a nice way to provide even and well distributed lighting.

One more thing, just so I understand what I need to do to get this operational, could you please provide me with a simple diagram from power in to the LED the entire diagram of this project. Would you suggest breaking the 16' strip into 4 equal parts or even 8 equal parts and place around the perimeter. Also, can you tell me how soon you can ship once we know exactly what is needed?

Below is a simplified wiring diagram showing two 16-ft reel circuits connected to a single dimmer. In your setup, you will want to replicate this a third time for the third circuit.

​https://www.waveformlighting.com/layoutmaps/3001_1C

​I would recommend installing the LED strips as three equal parts at 16 ft each. The reason is that if we do four equal parts (or more), that would potentially require installing four separate power supplies (or more) as each power supply is limited to powering a maximum of 16.4 ft for any given connection.

​Given the dimensions of your space, turning the corners at each 12 ft mark may be a bit of a challenge depending on the configuration of your interior. An additional diagram link below shows how the LED strip sections can be cut into shorter segments and rejoined using our various accessory items. I suspect that PN 3071 may be helpful for you when turning the corners of space.

​https://www.waveformlighting.com/layoutmaps/3001_1B

​Below is an preliminary shopping cart I've put together for you which includes the three sets of LED strip reels and corresponding power supplies. I've also included a 10-pack of the aforementioned PN 3071 accessory.

https://store.waveformlighting.com/27932316/invoices/96f20fd5f0df2415844ff452f475d2dd

​Our order turnaround time is typically 1-2 business days, and we do offer complimentary standard shipping which is typically delivered within a 5-10 business day timeframe. We also offer expedited shipping options for an additional charge; expedited shipping times and costs are calculated at checkout, but I would be more than happy to assist in calculating those for you if you can confirm your shipping address and cart contents.

Does the ColorSpace product produces white light?

Can this light strip produce "white" light (2800K - 6500K) as well as the color spectrum?

Yes, the ColorSpace product can produce white light by mixing the red, green, and blue channels in a specific proportion. (Do keep in mind though, that the spectrum and CRI values would not be ideal for indoor lighting applications). The controls would need to be accomplished through an external control system such as DMX.

What is the SMD diode size of Film Grade LED Strips?

Can you please tell me what size SMD diodes are used on the Film Grade White LED strips?

The diode dimensions are 2.8 x 3.5 mm.

Layout Design for Tape Light Installation

If I provide you with a sketch of my planned tape light installation, can you provide information regarding the appropriate transformer and all other parts? 

​In the meantime, I've linked to our layout maps page which shows several sample installation configurations and may be a helpful starting point for you:

​https://www.waveformlighting.com/layoutmaps

Attached is a draft of my layout. I plan on hard-wiring the power supply to a wall dimmer switch. I'm sure you will have questions. If you do let me know.

​Your layout looks great, and I do not see any issues apart from a potential power capacity limitation.

​From your drawing, I see five sections of 46 inches each. If I've done the math correctly, this works out to approximately 19.2 ft in total.

​Each foot of our LED strip light draws approximately 5.5 watts. This equates to a power capacity requirement of approximately 106 watts.

The drawing does not indicate the voltage (12 or 24 volts), but this will likely determine what is permissible here. While the 12-volt version of our TRIAC dimmable power supply will be able to support up to 120 watts per connection, our 24-volt version is limited to 96 watts. As such, the 12-volt version would be the only way to connect the entire circuit to a single power supply.

The only downside to the 12-volt version is greater susceptibility to voltage drop and the fact that the circuit would not comply with NEC Class 2 power limitations, making electrical code compliance potentially a bit more challenging (if that is a concern).

Based on the LED length per segment being less than 4 feet and the feeds being relatively short (max 72 inches) I do not foresee any voltage drop issues even with the 12-volt version.

Finally, we do not have any in-house products/adapters to join all five segments near the power supply, so you may need to create your wire junction or utilize third-party products for this connection point.

Please elaborate on what you meant by the fact that the circuit would not meet NEC Class 2 power limitations making the electric code compliance potentially a bit more challenging.

Would this cause a problem with house inspections, hard wire connections to a wall dimmer, etc?

If so, how could the design be changed?

When it comes to building inspections (typically subject to NEC standards), our LED strip lights themselves are rated for use in Class 2 circuits only. As such, the use of our LED strips on a Class 1 circuit would technically be a violation of the NEC rules and regulations. We would therefore recommend staying with a Class 2 installation.

At a basic level, our 24-volt TRIAC dimmable power supply (96-watt capacity) is a Class 2 power supply that can power up to 16.4 ft of LED strip lights. As such, as per my calculations, you would be able to connect up to four segments of 46" each, as that would total 15.3 ft, which would be below the 16.4 ft limit.

Recommendation on LED White and UV Lighting for Imaging Application

For one our research projects on inspecting meat products, we are using different technologies to assess quality of fresh produce. in one of them we use RGB camera as an visual assessment in visible length, and also as contamination/disease assessment using fluorescence effect. We do need the lighting system both in visible white and UV for this. This will be done through an inspection dark tunnel, were samples are in trays (~600mmx400mmx150mm size), tray moving on a conveyor passing through the tunnel. When it reaches the RGB camera (stand off of ~500mm ), tray stops, white light turns on for one image in visible range, then white lights turns off and UV light turns on to take another image, then UV light turns off. 

We believe that for your application, our ABSOLUTE SERIES LED strip lights would be the best fit for your needs. I've included a link to the product below:

​Each reel can be powered with our 12 volt power supply, which can be found below:

​The LED strip lights can then be cut into shorter sections and rejoined using the PN 3071 connectors:

Can I purchase a separate power supplies with dimmers to connect the cut LED strips?

I'm excited about your products and I want to purchase FilmGrade™ WHITE LED Strip Lights. I need a 16ft LED strip but I need to cut it into small pieces, and separately control the lights by dimming them. Can I purchase separate power supplies with dimmers, so I can connect the parts that I cut? 

We are happy to confirm that the LED strip light segments can be individually powered and connected with dimmer products. 

Below are some product configurations from our website, which could be useful for your planning purposes.

Configuration Links:

LayoutMaps™ - LED Strip Light Layout 3002_3D

LayoutMaps™ - LED Strip Light Layout 3002_3E​

LED Strip Lighting Recommendation

I'm looking for LED strip lighting gotten 12volt lights approximately 18" each it is for an RV and the current lighting is strenuous on the eyes.

We are happy to confirm that we sell many 12V LED strip light products, such as the 5600K FilmGrade™ WHITE LED Strip Lights.

These products can be installed in several ways, are available in many color temperatures, and are compatible with dimmers.

However, it might be helpful to know that 12V RV and vehicle batteries can potentially output up to 14.4V. By exceeding the recommended voltage, these LED strip light products may encounter performance issues that could void the warranty.

Under Cabinet Lighting

Would you mind informing me when the undercabinet lighting will be available for purchase?

Though we currently do not have plans to manufacture under-counter lighting products at this time, I am happy to confirm that several customers have utilized our LED light strips and aluminum channels in order to mount lengths of under-cabinet lighting.

Are the FilmGrade White LED Strip Lights dimmable?

I just ordered film grade white led strip lights 5600K and 3200K. My question is are these dimmable? 

Yes, our FilmGrade LED strip lights are indeed dimmable when connected to a dimmer. Please see below for an example layout:

https://www.waveformlighting.com/layoutmaps/3002_3D

Here is a direct link to the dimmer product:

What I was looking for was a Hybrid version that had both 3200K and 5600K LEDs on the same strip. Do you have anything along those lines?

The closest option we currently have would be our hybrid LED strip at 3200K/6500K - please see below and let me know if this will work for your needs.

The controller setup will be a bit difficult without a dedicated DMX control system, however, so if you do not have that we would perhaps recommend staying with the two separate LED strip reels controlled individually.

LED Strip Lights Components Installation Layout

We are new to LED lighting and need help in selecting the necessary LED components for a home project. We have a simple drawing we can send along to show what we are doing. 

I've evaluated the LED layout sketch and would be more than happy to provide some information and recommendations on your proposed layout.

​First of all, unfortunately, the "splitter" approach you describe is certainly feasible from an electrical perspective, but it would be not supported with the range of components and adapters that we currently offer. You will need to convert the power supply output plug to bare wire, and then purchase some third-party wire splitters such as the one shown below:

​https://www.homedepot.com/p/Ideal-In-Sure-Push-In-Wire-Connector-3-Port-Orange-10-per-Bag-Standard-Package-is-6-Bags-30-1333S/203734796

One alternative, depending on the location and wiring distance, would be to connect the LED strip light sections in an end-to-end configuration. Please see below for an example layout diagram, as well as a list of products needed to accomplish this installation:

https://www.waveformlighting.com/layoutmaps/3001_1B

We offer both a 12-volt and 24-volt power supply, which will need to be selected based on the LED strip light voltage that you choose to use (both 12 and 24 volts are generally available). The power supply includes the plug-in wire which is 4 ft long.

​There are no switching features on the power supply or cable, so you will need to use a switched power outlet, or install an inline switch between the power supply and wall outlet.

For your suggested layout, it would not work in getting from one shelf down to the next and then over to one on the other side of the stove to the third shelf. We would have wires tacked to the wall. We were looking for these to be mostly hidden under the underside of the shelf and with minimal wires tucked inside a wall track we have. 

Our neighbor had what we are describing and it was done with one manufacturer, they just don't remember what manufacturer, and it was done about 3 years ago. The electrician also explained how LED is not really a common trend yet and probably not a DIY project. 

The splitter method is actually very much a viable option with our LED system - the only issue is that this will require the use of third-party components which we are unable to support directly.

Many of our customers have found that their local electricians have quite a bit of experience installing LED systems, so that may be another option for you should you want to consider that.

​

LED Light Panel for PBR Material Scanner

Were developing a material scanner here that we use in-house, it's a box with 6 light panels illuminating a subject. The top panel has a circular cutout for a camera lens. Stumbled upon the ABSOLUTE SERIES™ and I'm wondering if one could custom-order that in a matrix in the dimensions of 45x45 cm? Or is there some other product that would that you would recommend? The key points for the panel are -High CRi -even lightspeed, -45x45 cm illuminated area. -power consumption of each panel shouldn't exceed 50W

Unfortunately, we are unable to accommodate custom requests at this time, however, I do believe that some quick and light assembly will be able to achieve the 45 x 45 cm matrix configuration you are looking for.

The 50-watt power consumption is a crucial starting point for the recommended configuration, as this can tell us the maximum number of rows we can install.

Each 45 cm long section is approximately 6.5 watts in power consumption. Therefore, to stay below the 50-watt limit, you will need to stay under a total of 7 rows. These rows can be spaced approximately 5.5 cm apart to achieve even illumination.

​Each of the individual sections can then be connected end-to-end using our PN 3071 solderless connectors, which I have linked to below:

Below is a sample configuration diagram for our FilmGrade 95 CRI product which utilizes a similar "matrix" concept by joining shorter sections together. This may be a helpful guide in providing you with a concept-level overview of how the installation could be configured.

https://www.waveformlighting.com/layoutmaps/3002_3E?px=-2199&py=-2552&pw=1398&ph=2104&s=0.1

on without worrying about the spectrum and CRI just yet.

I bounced this with our engineer here and think we could possibly go up to 100W if we change out some components here, but he was worried about the distance from the bedsheet to the diffuser to get a perfect even illuminated area. The panels we're using right now are about 15 mm thick and I don't think we could go over 30mm in our construction. Do you have some recommendations on what distance from the LED to the diffuser would be needed for an even illumination? And is there something that can be done to reduce it? lenses for the LEDs or anything?

Our current led manufacturer for our side-lit panels stated that an 8 mm LGP would be needed for an even light distribution as well but would you say it could be possible for a thinner one and keep quality? If we would go for a side-lit setup in the next version that is. 

Based on the 120 degree beam angle of the LEDs, one quick rule of thumb would be to place the diffuser no closer than the distance between the LED strip rows. So, for example, if the LED strip rows are spaced 5.5 cm apart (as per our previous layout), the diffuser should be placed no closer than 5.5 cm away.

​This ensures that the light falling onto the diffuser surface is relatively distributed; even the best diffusers will be unable to create a smooth light surface if the LEDs are too far apart relative to the distance away.

​As you mention, the performance of the diffuser panel will also come into play and while I understand the limitations on thickness, I do believe that other factors such as the "diffusion angle" and transparency will also come into play here so these may be good questions for your diffuser supplier to see what options are available without increasing thickness.

In my experience, empirical testing is also a very effective tool in this type of situation for determining light distribution. I might even suggest that if you have some low-cost LED strip lights (non high-CRI) available for purchase locally, that might be a good starting point just to see how the light is distributed in your installation without worrying about the spectrum and CRI just yet.

Can you assemble the individual segments of the LED Strip?

Can you assemble a 4 (1m) section with disconnect pins? If I had to remove one section.

We are happy to confirm that the individual segments of our LED strip light products can be reassembled using several different configurations.

While some customers prefer to solder the segments together, we also sell the ‘Solderless Gapless Connector for Single Color LED Strip’ product which could be valuable for your installation.

Full Spectrum and Flicker-free LED Strips for a Dark One-Bedroom Apartment

I want to put hidden lights all around the ceiling of a dark one-bedroom apartment. I like a full-spectrum LED. Please help me understand and choose the right product. 

We believe that a great first step would be utilizing our standard bulbs in the lighting fixtures in your space.

Based on the details that you provided, we believe that replacing the existing light bulbs could make a large difference at a significantly lower cost than the LED strip light products. As such, we have provided some product links below.

Due to the stated preference for lighting which is similar to direct sunlight, we recommend the 5600K color temperature option of the FilmGrade™ Flicker-Free A19 LED Bulb. 

​This product can be easily installed into standard lighting fixtures, has a 3-year warranty, and offers full spectrum lighting that will appear visually identical to that of natural sunlight.

Product link: https://store.waveformlighting.com/collections/a19-bulbs/products/filmgrade-flicker-free-a19-led-bulb?variant=16011563991142

ColorSpace™ RGB Color Changing LED Strip Datasheet

I'm interested in your ColorSpace™ RGB Color Changing LED Strip but couldn't find a datasheet. Is there some more information about the lights, especially the peak wavelength of the RGB LEDs?

Unfortunately, we do not have a datasheet for this product complete yet, but we can confirm that below are the wavelength ranges for the ColorSpace RGB LED strip light:

Red 620-625 nm

Green 520-525 nm

Blue 460-465 nm

Proper LED Products for Art Studio Lighting

I am an artist and have been on a long quest for proper lighting for my easel that will not distort colors. I have an east-facing window. I have read through much of your fantastic website, which is well done and very informative. I have a few questions:

Noting that I have an east-facing (not north) light source and think I would like the dimmable NorthLux™ 95 CRI BR30 LED Bulb for Artwork & Studio Edison bulbs would you recommend the 5000k or the 6500K?

​Both color temperatures should work well for your needs; however, 6500K is generally a better fit for north-facing windows. As such, you may prefer the 5000K for your east-facing window setup. 

​Please see below for additional insights from our blog:

https://www.waveformlighting.com/art-painting/difference-between-5000k-and-6500k-bulbs

​What would 800 lumens equate to in incandescent wats? I couldn’t find a scale to show me how lumen output compares to incandescent wats, which is what I am used to when comparing light brightness. If I get two of these which are 800 lumen or 60W halogen will these give me essentially 1600 lumens on my painting surface (depending on the distance of course)?

​800 lumens is approximately equal to a 60-watt incandescent bulb. You are exactly right that two bulbs would add up directly to 1600 lumens and provide twice the brightness.

​Do keep in mind, though, that incandescent lamps emit a much warmer 2700K color tone, so it can be a bit difficult to compare brightness when discussing daylight-calibrated bulbs. Nonetheless, it is certainly a good ballpark estimate when it comes to relative brightness levels!

​There are so many different light sources to consider when creating a painting: reference source (photo, print, iPad, computer, life), natural outside light (weather dependent), studio light (intensity, color, placement including projection on both paintings and palette), photographing final work for publication and giclee printing, and gallery or home viewing of the finished painting. I read on your site that a device’s screen can emit blue light. So, is it probable that this is the first point where color can become distorted?

​That is exactly right - most digital displays will be calibrated to D65 (6500K) but of course, depending on the level of sophistication and quality, the calibration may or may not be accurate. Even natural daylight, as you mention, can change depending on the weather and season, so that can be difficult to navigate as well.

​That is where high-quality studio lighting comes in and can provide some consistency and accuracy. I have seen some customers even block out their windows and replace them with our lamps because the natural lighting was too inconsistent due to changing weather and time of day. Ironically, the only way to ensure consistent lighting would be to only use a high-quality, full-spectrum artificial light source, day and night.​

​If an artist is working primarily from an iPad should they choose the 6500K light because it matches the blue light from the iPad or goes with the 5000K because it will color compensate?

​Unfortunately, it does not seem that Apple likes to publish technical data about their iPad product and I was unable to confirm if their screens are calibrated to D65 (6500K). That being said, I believe almost all digital displays are calibrated to D65, so there is a strong likelihood that the iPad product line is also D65 calibrated.

​If so, the 6500K light source will be a better match to the iPad, since as you mentioned correctly, the 5000K will be a bit "warmer."

​(Here is some additional information on D65: https://www.waveformlighting.com/color-matching/what-is-d65-and-what-is-it-used-for)

​So many questions, but your team seems to have the technical expertise to answer them and for the various combinations of light. If these bulbs and your recommendations turn out to be the Holy Grail of Art Studio lighting, I would like to share it or see it as a feature article or workshop with my local, national, and international art society membership because many artists seem to struggle with this lighting issue because it is such a science complicated by the ever-changing variety of bulbs and diverse lighting comparison scales. Also, would you have any discounts available for our membership? 

We would be honored to have you share your experience working with our products! As a general policy, we do not offer any group or membership discounts, but I would be more than happy to share the opportunity with our team at that time.

Are the NorthLux 95 CRI T8 LED Tube Bulbs Dimmable? 

Are these NorthLux™ 95 CRI T8 LED Tube dimmable? Are you aware of any clamp-on, swing arm, or drafting table-style fixtures that would accept this 4' T8 bulb? I have a large 63" wide drafting table which I use for drawing/painting. I am looking for two clamp-on swing-arm style lamps which I can position on each side of my table to illuminate the whole surface evenly with one of your 5000k high CRI lamps. But am having difficulty finding the right fixture/lamp combination. 

Unfortunately, the NorthLux™ 95 CRI T8 LED Tube for Art & Studio products is not compatible with dimmers. Though we would love to recommend a compatible lighting fixture for your drafting table, we are unaware of any products which match the description provided at this time.

That being said, our NorthLux™ 95 CRI T5 LED Linear Light Fixtures might be of interest to you as well. Though these products are also not dimmable, they can be conveniently installed, are available in 5000K, and do not require fixtures or power supplies for functionality.

Please feel free to reach out if we can provide any further product information or recommendations, and we would be glad to help!

For your T5 Linear Fixture, how would you propose those be installed for my application? Do you have compatible clamp/swing arms to hold two or three in a desk lamp configuration? Or some other way to hold and manipulate them for drafting table use?

As the linear light fixtures can be linked together end-to-end to share one power supply, I imagine that a connected set could be mounted together as one length to an adjustable swing arm above the drafting table. 

​If a stable arm was found, we believe that the included mounting accessories could make such an installation easily re-configurable. Unfortunately, we do not have a specific clamp or swing arm that we could recommend.

However, you might also be interested in installing a length of LED strip lights onto a fixture above your drafting table. These products are compatible with dimmers and can be mounted within fixtures such as our Aluminum Channel for LED Flex Strip products. I have linked to a great article from our website below, which explains how to get started with LED strip light products.

LED Strip Lights - Everything you need to know before you buy: https://www.waveformlighting.com/led-strip-lights

How is the CRI of the LED strips affected when mounted inside the channel with the diffuser? 

Based on our experience, the diffusers do not affect the CRI values of the products mounted within. Further, we have found that the effect that this diffusor will have on color temperature is small, likely resulting in a difference of +/- 25 kelvin.

LED Dimmer and Installation Questions

I am installing the CENTRIC HOME™ 3000K / 12V DC with a TRIAC Dimmable Power Supply. Can you suggest the best dimmer to use? In terms of this installation, I plan to reuse the existing wiring from my old under-cabinet fixtures. I think that I may need to attach leads to the old wiring so that the wire is stepped down to a size small enough to solder on the LED strips - any advice/tips/tricks for a neat(er) install? This install will have 7 discrete lamp sections ranging from 8" to 32" in length - altogether it's under 12' - all lamps will be housed inside the channel that I purchased from you too. Is the power supply I selected capable of driving this load? Lastly, the track comes with 5 end cap pairs - can you provide an additional 5 pairs so that I have a few extra for the installation? 

First of all, with respect to dimmer compatibility, our TRIAC dimmable power supplies are designed to work with virtually all phase dimmers so you should not have any significant issues with compatibility.

That being said, below is a list of the dimmers we have tested and their dimming range results:

https://www.waveformlighting.com/files/DC_3093.pdf

We do see that the Lutron DVCL series is a popular choice among our customers and we have not received any reports of flickering or other compatibility issues.

Second, for soldering, I do not believe there should be any significant challenges regardless of the incoming wire type or size. Since the solder pads are quite large, they should take solder quite readily without any issues.

One recommendation, however, would be to consider using our PN 3070 solderless connectors. The two wire ends can be joined together using standard twist-on wire connectors (aka "wire nuts")

As long as the total connection length is at 16.4 feet or less (you mentioned 12 feet), you will be fine with the single power supply unit.

We, unfortunately, do not have any additional mounting hardware on hand for the aluminum channels, but I'll be more than happy to see if we have any extras available to send to you!

I’d prefer solderless connectors but I think I read in your literature that they don’t fit inside the tracks. can you clarify this - or perhaps send a photo of an install so I can plan for it?

You are correct that the solderless connectors are too wide for the aluminum channels, unfortunately. I'm sorry for the oversight here as I had not realized that the LEDs would be installed in the aluminum channels (I should have reviewed your order in greater detail!)

​The "workaround" would be to have the LED strip protrude from the end of the aluminum channel by about half an inch, thereby allowing the connector part of the solderless connector to connect outside of the aluminum channel. I would imagine that this would not be ideal from an aesthetics perspective in most cases, but at a practical level, this would technically work.

Otherwise, the alternative solution would be soldering the wires directly onto the copper pads, as was originally proposed.

Acceptable Thermal Rise for FilmGrade White LED Strips

I recently installed your 24V FilmGrade WHITE LED Strips to the underside of a plastic shelf. A thermocouple pressed to one of the LEDs reads 155F in a 77F ambient room. Is this an acceptable operating temperature? Is it severely degrading the LED's life? 

Our test measurements have shown that the LED strip circuit board can increase in temperature by up to 50 degrees (F) during operation.

​Your measurement of 155 degrees is a bit on the high side but is well within the maximum allowable temperature of 185 degrees (F) and therefore we would not expect any issues with reliability or longevity.

What is the CRI value of 3000K LED strips under an Aluminum Diffuser?

What is the CRI value of your high CRI LED strips at 3000K when used in an aluminum extrusion with a diffuser? It has been my experience that aluminum profiles with diffusers specifically worsened the appearance of warm color temperature high CRI (95+)LED strips. What material are your diffusers in the aluminum extrusions and how does it affect light quality as described above?

We can confirm that the diffusors are made with a polycarbonate material. Based on our experiences, the effect that this diffusor would have on color temperature is small, likely resulting in the difference of +/- 25 kelvin. Further, these diffusors do not affect the CRI values of the products mounted within.

Dimmable Power Supply Compatible with Centric Home LED Strip Lights

I'm building a light fixture for my dining room, which is roughly 10' x 10' x 15' high (it's an open space). I've calculated that I need 1,673 lumens and that 3' of your CENTRIC HOME™ LED Strip Lights for Home & Residential will provide that. What dimmable power supply do I need (assuming I use a Lutron or Leviton wall dimmer)? 

You are correct that the 3-foot section will provide approximately 1650 lumens, which should be sufficient for your needs. Do keep in mind, however, that depending on the design of your fixture, you may want a bit more brightness depending on the orientation of the LED strip lights as well as the fixture.

​As far as connecting the LED strip lights to a dimmer switch, you will want to use our TRIAC dimmable power supply product. we've included the product link below for your reference.

​https://store.waveformlighting.com/products/triac-dimmable-power-supply-for-led-strip?variant=27978821435494

Additionally, our layout map for the product may be helpful in understanding how the product can be wired to your dimmer circuit: 

https://www.waveformlighting.com/layoutmaps/3001_1A

Can you specify one or two specific Leviton or Lutron wall dimmer switches that are compatible with my order? 

We've tested a wide range of Lutron and Leviton wall dimmers for compatibility. Some of the most popular include the Lutron DVCL-153 series, which we have linked to below:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Lutron-Diva-LED-Dimmer-Switch-for-Dimmable-LED-Halogen-and-Incandescent-Bulbs-Single-Pole-or-3-Way-White-6-Pack-DVCL-153PR-6-WH/301353737

For further reference, you may want to review our list of tested dimmers, which can be found below:

https://www.waveformlighting.com/files/DC_3093.pdf

Power Supply and Voltage Drop

I received and installed the CENTRIC HOME LED Strip Lights, FilmGrade™ 24V Power Supply, and Aluminum Channel. I have a couple of questions:

For turning the light on and off is it ok just to switch the 24 VDC output or would it be better to switch the 110 VAC input? 

The on/off switching on the 24-volt DC side or the AC line voltage side is both acceptable.

​We do agree that the only difference would be the concern for "stand-by" power consumption if switching on the DC side. Unfortunately, we do not have the stand-by power specification, but we believe it to be very negligible if not completely 0.

​On the other hand, we have noticed a short delay when switching the power on from the AC side, so if this is a concern for you, switching on the DC side may be preferred.

From the power supply to the furthest light tape is about 20 ft(16 ga wire), so the voltage drop is 0.60.V resulting in the voltage to the furthest tape being 23.4 VDC. Are these 0.6 volts going to make these furthest lights noticeably dimmer? 

Based on some informal testing we have conducted, we would estimate that the voltage drop of 0.6 volts would equate to a power/brightness drop of approximately 10%.

​This estimate is based on the chart shown in the article below titled "Input Voltage vs Power Draw (24V Rating)"

https://www.waveformlighting.com/home-residential/can-you-operate-a-12v-led-strip-at-less-than-12v

Do keep in mind that the 10% reduction would apply only at the extreme ends where the voltage drop is most significant. Across the majority of the LED strip run, your actual voltage drop is likely less than 0.6 volts, and would therefore be well below a 10% brightness drop overall.

Power Supply Needed for LED Strip Light Installation

I will be installing 2 16ft reels of the Centric Daylight 4000K LED strips for my business. I am curious as to how many power supplies I will need. Will a single 24V power supply power 32.8 ft of these two LED reels? I also will be installing the RED LED 16.4 ft reel, which I notice has a 12V requirement. Would a single 12V power supply for the RED plus a single 24V volt power supply do the trick? Or might I need 3 power supplies? 

Though the 24V LED Strip Light products have a maximum combined length of 32.8 ft, at 5.5 watts of power draw per foot, two 16.4 ft reels would require 180.4 W power output, which is greater than the 120 W power output of our power supply.

As such, we would recommend utilizing a dedicated power supply for each reel of the 24V CENTRIC DAYLIGHT™ LED Strip Light product.

However, there may be third-party power supplies available elsewhere which might be capable of powering two full 16.4 ft reels of product.

How do you change the colors on the RGB LED Light Strip?

The color space RGB color changing LED strip because I don’t know if you provide a remote or use an in-app controller

We're happy to confirm that the ColorSpace™ RGB Color Changing LED Strip Lights product can be controlled using several third-party apps and Bluetooth controller systems, such as the Lutron Caseta system.

However, we, unfortunately, do not have any guides which describe these configurations in detail available at this time.

What are the minimum bend radius and cut length of the LED strips?

We are interested in your LED stripe products. What is the minimum bend radius of the strips? What is the minimum cut length of the strips? We are mainly interested in 365, 415, and 450 nm wavelengths.

The minimum bend radius is 0.8 inches, and the minimum cut-length interval is approximately 1.0 inches.

​For your convenience, I've included the product specification sheets below.

https://www.waveformlighting.com/datasheets/CS_7021.pdf

https://www.waveformlighting.com/datasheets/CS_7041.pdf

Ripple Specification Using a 24V LED Strips

I'm specifying your LEDs into a retrofit application. The power supplies are full wave rectified and smoothed toroidal from Q-train and I would like to know your specification for a maximum 120 Hz ripple voltage when using your 24-volt strips.

Our 24 volt LED strip lights are rated for DC and PWM waveforms only, however, I do not believe that there should be any issues with using a magnetic LED driver with our products as long as the maximum voltage does not exceed 24 volts at any point during the input signal cycle. (I.e. < 24 volts absolute, rather than < 24 volts RMS or otherwise).

On a related but separate note, we have received numerous customer inquiries concerned with flicker produced by magnetic LED drivers at 2x line voltage frequency. Should you have any requirements with respect to flicker performance, we may recommend reviewing those specifications in the context of using the existing magnetic LED drivers.

Is it best to be using the 95 CRI products for Art Lighting?

We are wrapping up a project with an art wall for a special piece of art and need to light it with even light intensity and would like to learn more about your products. 

To light art, it is best to be using your 95 CRI products right?

Yes, the higher the CRI, the better the appearance of the colors in your artwork.

What is the difference between a Centric Home 3000K strip (3003.27) vs. a film grade 3200K tungsten strip (3001.32)?

The primary difference between the CENTRIC HOME and FilmGrade LED strip lights is the color temperature. The former is offered in 3000K, compared to the latter, which is offered in 3200K. The CENTRIC HOME at 3000K will be a closer match to halogen lighting used in art galleries, whereas the FilmGrade at 3200K is closer to tungsten lighting used in TV and movie sets.

It would seem all the strips have a max light intensity of 450 lumens per foot, are there higher lumen strips in the 3000K - 3200K color temp range?

Unfortunately we do not have any brighter LED strips. If more light is needed, we would recommend "doubling up" the number of rows.

How much lumen can be expected to be lost if used behind the lens of the corner aluminum channel?

We generally observe light loss of 10-15% when the diffuser cover is applied over the LED strip light.

Safe to assume all the strips are dimmable?

Yes, all LED strip lights are dimmable as long as they are connected to a dimmable power supply unit. (See below)

For about 13.5’ of stip lighting, what’s the best power supply to get and do you guys offer a hard wire remote transformer product to power the lights?

Please see below for the product link for our dimmable power supply which can be hard-wired to a dimmer circuit. One popular solution for controlling this power supply is using the Lutron Caseta dimmer system.

Below is some additional guidance on using the Lutron Caseta system with our LED strip lights:

https://www.waveformlighting.com/home-residential/dimming-led-strip-lights-and-led-bulbs-using-smart-lighting-systems

For dimming of the light strip, what’s the best wall mount switch type dimmer to get that won’t cause flicker?

As long as you use our dimmable power supplies, you will be able to achieve flicker-free output regardless of the wall dimmer model or manufacturer.

​

Corner Aluminum Channel Dimensions

My Flex strips are RGB-W and are 12mm in width. Please let me know if your corner channels can accommodate my LED strips. 

Our corner aluminum channel products are designed to accommodate for the 10mm width of our LED strip light products. Unfortunately, this may mean that your 12mm flex strips may not fit comfortably within these channel products.

What would be the downside if it’s used? Do you have a product that would accommodate my strips? 

A 12mm LED strip is unlikely to fit within the 10mm space allocated for the product within our aluminum channel products due to the fact that there would likely be issues in properly seating the light strips within the inset mounting channels.

As can be noted by the illustration found on the product page, these channels were not designed with an excess of clearance that could accommodate the installation of light strips wider than 10mm.

Product page: https://store.waveformlighting.com/collections/led-strip-connectors-accessories/products/aluminum-channel-for-led-strip

LED Strip Lights in Creating a Vanity Mirror

I’m in the process of creating a jewelry box in solid oak, and I’m exploring the possibility of putting a vanity mirror in the lid of the box which contains a mirror. 

​From what I can see, do you have a dimmer built into the vanity mirror? The dimmer must be really small. Is that one you sell separately?

​We, unfortunately, do not sell and separate dimmers, but would perhaps recommend something like our FilmGrade inline dimmer, which we have linked to below:

​Do you use LED strips for the lighting? - Can the LED strips be in direct contact with the wood or will I need to place a strip of aluminum or plastic behind for safety reasons? 

​LED strip lights can certainly be used for such an installation. There are no significant safety concerns with direct contact on a wood surface.

​I’d like to use USB as my charger but can’t find any USB chargers on your website. Do I need a transformer to build in to use USB for charging?

​We, unfortunately, do not have any USB-based products or chargers, as all of our LED strip lights are based on 12 volts or 24 volts DC. You will instead want to use a standard 12 or 24-volt power supply to operate the system.

It seems to me that the biggest advantage of a 24V LED is that one can have long lines of LEDs using the same charger. Would you choose 24V or 12V for a project like this?

​That's correct, although, for a small installation, the maximum run length would be less of a concern. Here is an article going over some additional details:

https://www.waveformlighting.com/home-residential/advantages-of-a-24v-led-system-vs-12v

​Many of the vanity mirrors out there has a feature that enables their users to choose between different light levels. Is this simply done with a light diffuser?  

​The best way to adjust light levels would be through the dimmer, as discussed in your first question.

Do you have the TLCI and TM-30-15 data of the Absolute Series 99 CRI LED Strip?

Do you sell the "99 CRI" LEDs used in your Absolute Series individually? I'm asking as currently you only offer packaged strips. I need a product that can produce a nice and compact beam for macro photography. 

Unfortunately, we do not sell the individual LEDs used in our LED strip lights at this time.

Do you have results for one or more of these additional standards: CRI Re, TLCI, TLMF, TM-30-18, and SSI?

Below are the TLCI and TM-30-15 data exports for our ABSOLUTE SERIES 6500K LED products.

LED Strip Lights for Photographing Artworks

I'm looking to create a lighting setup for digitally photographing artworks (mainly paintings) and then printing the files. 

I intended to make 4 panels around 40x50cm from 2-3 5m led rolls cut to lengths and attached to a backboard. I would like to be able to dim these panels also.

​This sounds like a great approach and excellent use case for the ABSOLUTE SERIES LED strip lights. The LED strip lights include double-sided adhesive and should allow for quick installation onto the backboard.

​For dimming, we recommend our FilmGrade flicker-free LED dimmer, which can be installed in between the LED strip lights and the power supply. Please see below for the product link:

​I am looking at the 99% absolute series and would like advice on how much light I may need (how close to space led strips on the panels?) and which driver I may need for say 7.5-meter strip cut to lengths.

​The amount of light needed would depend on the brightness needed for your photography (perhaps determined by your shutter speed, aperture, and ISO settings) as well as the distance away from the artwork. As a general ballpark estimate, each meter emits approximately 1250 lumens, which is equivalent to a 75-100 watt incandescent bulb.

​The maximum run length for the product is 5.0 meters. If connecting 7.5 meters per panel, you will need two separate power supplies (and perhaps, unfortunately, you will also require two separate dimmers for the separate circuits). The link to the power supply is shown below:

​Our general recommendation for spacing is to space the LED strip lights no farther apart than the distance from the illumination surface. In other words, if the panel is to be placed 20 cm from the illumination surface, the LED strips should not be spaced farther than 20 cm apart.

​Also, would the absolute series be good to record digital colors from paintings? I may install a linear polarizing sheet across the front of the panels also. They will likely be set at 45 degrees to paint.

​Yes, the ABSOLUTE SERIES is a great option for digital image capture! The 99 CRI rating is the highest that is currently available in the industry and informs us that the color accuracy as captured by your camera would be nearly perfect.

​The polarizing sheet, as well as perhaps a diffuser sheet, can help ensure even and smooth light distribution across the paintings.

​I notice a beam angle referenced in preassembled lighting panels - can you briefly explain this? and is it possible to recreate it with the strip LEDs?

The beam angle refers to the angle at which the light is dispersed. Our LED strip lights have a beam angle of 120 degrees, which you can think of as being a very wide conical light dispersion angle.

An led strip shows a lumen output of 6250. What would be a comparison in Lux at 1m or 3m? I suspect I am a little underpowered at 6250 lumens / 416 watts approx.

​A single row of LED strip lights will provide approximately 300 lux at 1 meter, and 25 lux at 3 meters. If using multiple rows, however, you would be able to add these lux values up in a linear fashion to determine the illuminance on that particular surface.

​You mentioned a space of 20cm between strips at a 20cm distance. I had guessed placing led strips at around an 8cm gap (mainly for estimated panel size using a 1x 5m reel, but I think I may need the strips much closer. 

Closer together than the 20 cm distance I had somewhat arbitrarily suggested is not an issue at all.

​I think I may need 4 panels of 5m strips cut to lengths (with a driver and dimmer for each panel) although this becomes pricy. Would you concur that with your products a 5m strip is the maximum for the drivers and dimmer?

Unfortunately, the maximum run length would indeed be 5 meters due to the power supply capacity as well as the limitations of the LED strip circuitry.

I generally understand CRI and the wavelengths of color and your absolute series seems to be as good as a "roto light" or "Gemini lite panel" and possibly as good as it gets. I see another figure being used for color perception and described as TICI. Do you have a rating for the Absolute series and what is TICI? (can't find it on google)

TLCI is the Television Lighting Consistency Index, frequently used in TV and broadcast environments in Europe. Similar to CRI, the TLCI determines color accuracy in the context of cameras and photography. Our ABSOLUTE SERIES has been tested to 99 TLCI (please see attached).

Are your LEDs flicker-free? I presume 4x 5m reels could all be exactly the same intensity and color? And the best color accuracy would be from a fixed-temperature LED. I note the preassembled panels from others have control over temperature, intensity, and hue in some cases.

Our LEDs are flicker-free when used with a flicker-free power source. All reels are calibrated to the same brightness and color point and are not adjustable, unfortunately.

​Would you happen to know what the import charges would be?

Unfortunately, import charges are quite variable and it is difficult to provide estimates up front, as these can depend on the specific port of import as well as customs officer discretion.

​If you would like to inquire with local customs authorities in advance, you might want to check on the estimated costs for products with HTS code 8539.50.0090, which is what is typically used for LED strip lights.

Compatible Dimmer & Power Supply for 24V LED Strip Lights

I am putting an order together for two of your 5m 24v 4000k 95 CRI LED light strips and need your help choosing a MeanWell 24V 150W Power Supply to drive an 18.5-foot segment. I am considering the MeanWell ELG-150-24AB and Lutron Caseta Wireless ELV. Will this work with these strips? Is there a better 150W power supply?

We've reviewed the product literature for the Meanwell product model numbers supplied, and all of them appear to be compatible with an 18-ft installation of our CENTRIC DAYLIGHT 24-volt 4000K LED strip lights. The primary electrical requirements for this installation would be 24 volts DC constant voltage output and a power capacity of at least 120 watts (5.5 watts x 18 ft = 99 watts, 20% overhead added).

​All three of the Meanwell products you mentioned appear to have the ability to provide this output, so they should be compatible; for further differences and recommendations between those options, we would recommend reaching out to Meanwell to better determine the best fit.

We did notice that you're looking to use a Lutron Caseta dimmer, which uses a phase-cut dimming signal. From what we understand, Meanwell products are NOT compatible with phase-cut dimmers and therefore may present some compatibility issues, so we would recommend reviewing this as well.

Can UV-C LED Strip Light be daisy-chained?

I see that you only offer this product in lengths of 3.2 ft. I suppose that is sufficient for most applications (i.e. air ducts). I am trying to do a similar space but the length I am interested in is roughly 50 to 60 feet. What are the engineering challenges when implementing this product at such lengths? This would be something I would be interested in pursuing long-term at large volumes. 

​The UV-C LED strip light can be daisy-chained using the PN 7096 daisy-chain connector up to 5 reels at a time. As such, you should be able to span distances up to 16.4 ft for each installation unit.

​Unfortunately, due to power supply and circuitry constraints, we would not be able to support longer distances. Therefore, a longer run of 50-60 feet would require multiple installation units (perhaps 3-4 separate runs).

Choosing between T8 LED Tube and LED Strips for an Existing Electrical Boxes

I'm trying to choose between tube and strip lights and I need info on how I can hook it into my existing ceiling outlet box. 

While each installation can differ, we generally recommend using our LED tube lights if there is an existing 4-ft fixture already in place. Our LED tube lights can be used without a ballast and therefore can be used without any additional electronic components.

LED strip lights, on the other hand, can provide you with some additional versatility and installation options. This approach, however, will require additional wiring and configuration, including power supply units and LED strip assembly.

I have six separate track lights on separate dimmer switches. The reasons they interest me are that they look to be very low profile and you have a 99 CRI strip light but only 95 CRI tube lights. Are there any other advantages or disadvantages I should be aware of for strips vs ubes? If I go with the strip light option, what do I need to do? How does it connect to the end feed and will the extra transformer fit inside the end feed? Will I need new dimmer switches? I currently use these(Lutron CTELV-303P-WH Skylark Contour 300W Electronic Low Voltage Single Pole / 3-Way).

Since you don't have a fluorescent fixture at all, the LED strip light option is definitely worth considering.

The challenge with installing an LED strip light in a location like this is that the existing track systems operate at a completely different voltage type and level. Typically, they are 120 volts or 12 volts AC, while the LED strip lights require 12 volts DC.

As such, the electrical wiring and systems inside the track lights will not be useful here and will need to be bypassed completely.

Below is a configuration diagram for a simple LED strip setup:

https://www.waveformlighting.com/layoutmaps/3001_1A

You will see the TRIAC dimmable power supply, which is the key component here that you will want to determine where you can fit this in your current installation. It is a somewhat bulky device and you will want to ensure it is installed in a location compliant to local electrical code. (Most frequently, it is installed inside of a junction box mounted inside of the wall).

The TRIAC power supply appears to be 9 inches, so it won't fit in the current electrical box in the ceiling. Could I just purchase your junction box and attach it to the ceiling? Do you sell it in white? Alternatively, I could install the TRIAC in the attic near the switches, but then it would need to feed into the current wires that run to the ceiling position. I'm thinking that those standard wires must be different than the ones needed for the DC, is that right? If so, I guess the TRIAC has to go right next to the strip lights. 

We are not sure about the electrical code requirements and considerations of mounting the junction box on the ceiling, so that is something you will want to confirm before going down that path. The junction box is unfortunately not available in any other colors.

The concern with installing the TRIAC dimmable power supply far from the LED strip lights is that large distances between the power supply and LED strip lights can result in voltage drop, whereby the brightness of the LED strips become diminished by the reduction in voltage supply. Generally, we recommend keeping the LED strip sections within 32 feet of the power supply unit to reduce the impact of voltage drop.

My understanding is that your tube lights are not dimmable, is that correct? 

That is correct. We agree that the LED strips would be the best option for a dimmable + flicker-free lighting solution.

​Do you sell L pieces for the aluminum channel so I can turn corners with the flex strips?

Unfortunately we do not sell any "L" shaped corner pieces. The best way to accomplish this would be to solder wires directly between the LED strip segments that meet at the corner. The aluminum channels can also be cut at 45-degree angles to create a gapless 90-degree turn.

​Do I need the centric series power supply rather than the triac to get flicker free? 

​The most recent batch of TRIAC dimmable power supplies is also now rated flicker-free. Therefore, you will be able to use the TRIAC dimmable power supply and achieve flicker-free and dimmable light output.

​Do you sell a junction box that covers the centric? 

​We do not sell a junction box for the CENTRIC SERIES power supply. We would recommend going with the TRIAC dimmable power supply since it also provides flicker-free light output.

Can I connect two separate 8 foot strips to one power supply? 

Yes, they can be connected "in parallel" - please see the blog post below:

https://www.waveformlighting.com/home-residential/connecting-led-strips-in-series-vs-parallel

I'm just about ready to order the absolute strip. I'm still trying to decide on whether to go with 6500k or 5000k. What connector will I need for that? 

Both the 5000K and 6500K should be good options for you. Here is an article, in case you haven't had a chance to yet see it, that might help you make a more informed decision one way or another:

https://www.waveformlighting.com/art-painting/difference-between-5000k-and-6500k-bulbs

Once the LED strip is cut, it cannot be re-joined using the pre-mounted female DC cables. They can be re-joined using the PN 3071 accessory that you have correctly identified.

Difference between NorthLux and D50 A19 Bulbs

I ordered the NorthLux™ 95 CRI E26 A19 LED Bulb for Art & Studio - 1-Pack / 5000K and D50 5000K A19 LED Bulb for Color Matching (ISO3664:2000) - 1-Pack / E26 (North America). Are they the same product? 

Regarding the products mentioned, we can confirm that the NorthLux™ 95 CRI E26 A19 LED Bulb for Art & Studio and the D50 5000K A19 LED Bulb for Color Matching (ISO3664:2000) are the same product.

We do apologize for any confusion caused as the product is shown on multiple pages for marketing purposes. This can be noted by the shared part number (4005.D50) listed in the item description for both products.

I have a new question about the aluminum channel for LED Flex Strip. How are the corner channels mounted? I only see the mountings pictured for the flat channel.

We're happy to confirm that the Aluminum Channel for the LED Flex Strip product arrives with installation accessories, including ten mounting brackets and screws that can be used for affixing the channels upon a surface.

Does High CRI LED Strip Light Flicker-free?

Does high CRI LED strip flicker-free? In that, if we use the dimmer, it will be flicker-free or not? We need to use your LEDs for our test equipment and we need to control the lux level with your diffuser, will it be recommended that any other products be available with you? 

We're happy to confirm that our LED Strip Lights are flicker-free when paired with a flicker-free power supply, such as our FilmGrade™ DC Power Supply for LED Strip, as well as our FilmGrade™ Flicker-Free LED Dimmer.

Please note that as our LED Strip Light products are available in both 12V and 24V versions, it will be important to select a compatible 12V or 24V power supply. 

LED Strip Lighting Layout

I am only putting the best into this place, so that means quality lighting. I am in a 19 x 16' space with 10' high ceilings and am curious as to what layout would be best. I plan on installing both the 4000k LED strip lighting alongside the red LED strip lighting for nighttime sessions. I will likely have both on during the day to put some Red back into the spectrum. When I install them, what is the recommended spacing between the two? Or have them right next to each other? I want what looks best and most balanced. 

Based on the measurements provided, we calculate that the space would be sufficiently illuminated by 14,960 lumens. As such, we might recommend utilizing 34 feet of LED Strip Lights in your studio space, which is just about two 16.4 ft reels of the LED strip lighting products, which emit 450 lumens per foot.

It might also be helpful to know that our 12V and 24V LED strip light products have maximum run lengths that can be powered by a single power supply. The maximum length for 12V is 16.4 ft, whereas the 24V maximum length is 32.8 ft.

As such, depending on the product selected, you will require a dedicated power supply of the matching product voltage. Further, each dedicated length and power supply will require a dedicated dimmer unit, in the event that you would like to dim the connected lengths of strip light products.

​We have attached a link below, which illustrates a common LED strip light configuration that utilizes multiple connected segments.

LayoutMaps™ - LED Strip Light Layout 3001-1B: https://www.waveformlighting.com/layoutmaps/3001_1B?px=-2201.5&py=-2227.5&pw=1403&ph=1455&s=0.1

Regarding light configuration, you may find that the ideal distance between the red and 4000K white LED strip lights may come down to personal preference and layout. As such, there is unfortunately not a precise alignment recommendation that we could make.

That being said, it might be helpful to know that many customers choose to install these lights along the ceiling perimeter to wash the walls in light.

While these LED strip lights can be installed in multiple ways, we also sell the Aluminum Channel for LED Flex Strip product which can be used for mounting the lights within corners or flat surfaces.

Do you have an Emission Spectra Data of LEDs

Do you have data on the wavelengths your LEDs emit? I am interested in something that emits a little bit of UV as well as visible light, ideally with varying intensity.

We do provide the spectral data on our LEDs which can be found on the Photometrics page, found below:

https://www.waveformlighting.com/photometrics/

​We unfortunately do not have any products that simultaneously emit UV and visible light.

​For such applications, we would recommend using our UV LED products in conjunction with our standard white LED products. 

My application is in research and I am trying to get diffused, full-spectrum lighting in a small chamber (a paint bucket) to study varying fluorescence in biological samples. This also has to work in conditions with a lot of water, so I need to figure out a mobile power supply and computer controls if possible.

I will probably need around 4 strips in total. Is it possible to do a call where we can discuss setting up a power supply and perhaps which strips work best for this application? The most important part is consistent light output and ideally some control over intensity.

Our LED strip lights should be a great option for your needs. We do offer several options, including our ABSOLUTES SERIES in calibrated 5000K/6500K color options as well as our realUV LED strip lights which can provide the 365 / 395 nm wavelengths for the fluorescence effects you are looking for.

You also mentioned that you are after the ability to vary the intensity, and this is also something that can be accomplished via our flicker-free LED dimmer:

Below are some installation diagrams that you might find useful:

https://www.waveformlighting.com/layoutmaps/3002_3E

RGB LED Strip Light Solutions for Residential Lighting

I am interested in your RGB strip lighting solutions for a new home I am building. If I understand correctly, your 24V ColorSpace RGB may be a good solution for me. However I am a bit confused about a few aspects: This light strip only does one color at a time, correct? And if I connect multiple light strips together, they will all show the same color at the same time, correct? Can the strip also produce white light? If so, at what Kelvin and CRI? How many lumens/feet does this strip produce in various colors? Besides the power supply, what accessories are required for this strip light? Is a DMX controller required to control the color settings? I could not find the associated accessories on your website. Can you please show them to me?

First off, our RGB LED strips are not individually addressable. This means that the entire strip will emit one color at a time.

​Secondly, the LED strip is capable of emitting white light, but the color rendering and color temperature value precision would be inferior to a standard white LED. We would perhaps recommend our 5-in-1 LED strip as an alternative:

​The 5-in-1 LED strip light emits approximately 180 lumens per color (warm white / daylight) and has a 95 CRI rating, in addition to full RGB control. The product can be used with a DMX controller or a third-party 5-channel controller such as the one linked below:

​https://www.amazon.com/GLEDOPTO-Controller-Compatible-SmartThings-Lightify/dp/B07R32CS17

Each 16.4 ft reel should be connected to an individual power supply. The power supply is linked below:

Width of LED Strip Lights

How wide are the LED strips?

Our LED Strip Light products are designed to have a width of 0.394 inches (10 mm). 

Does Infrared 850 nm IR LED Strip Light RoHS Compliant?

Can you advise if part number 7031.85 is RoHS compliant?

We are happy to confirm that the Infrared 850 nm IR LED Strip Light product (PN7031.85) is RoHS compliant.

Will the voltage drop be visible at 24V and 20-ft run of Centric Home LED Strip Lights?

My power supply will sit at one end of my light strand only. If I run these strip lights a total of 20 feet at 24V, will the voltage drop be visible from the beginning of the strand to the end of the strand? Would you recommend that I run two legs from the power supply in parallel to cover the 20 feet? 3 legs? If so, what gauge of stranded wire would you use for the leg(s)? 

The 24-volt versions of the CENTRIC HOME LED strip lights are rated with a maximum run length of 32 feet. As such, we do not anticipate any voltage drop issues for a 20-foot run. We use 4-oz copper for the LED strip circuits, which allows for a much higher current carrying capacity, thereby reducing the potential for voltage drop that you may have seen with lower-cost products available elsewhere.

​The product draws 5.5 watts per foot, however, so we would recommend ensuring that the 20-foot run is powered by a power supply with approximately 120 watts or higher capacity (5.5 watts/foot * 20 feet * 110% overhead).

​Depending on the installation location, you may also need to consider Class 2 circuitry compliance, for which the primary requirement is that a circuit does not exceed 96 watts in power draw. 

LED Strip, Power and Control for Under Cabinet Lighting

I wanted a tunable light under the cabinet. My preference would be if could dim the lights at the switch, but control the "color" of the light with an app. Is this possible? We have three individual cabinet areas: 1) 80" span with a 30" gap over the stop and then continues for another 18" (we would not need to light under the stove) 2) 52" span (nothing special here) 3) 74" counter span (nothing special here, either) What products do we need to accomplish this? 

Our FilmGrade Hybrid LED strip lights are designed for cinematography applications, but they could certainly be repurposed for an under-cabinet installation.

A very nice feature of the FilmGrade Hybrid LED strip lights is the ability to change the color temperature of the lights between 3200K (warm white) and 6500K (cool white). This will, however, require some additional third-party controllers to achieve, and would not be compatible with a wall-dimmer installation.

For under-cabinet installations, most of our customers utilize a single-color LED strip light installation using our CENTRIC HOME LED strip lights. While this product is fixed at a single color temperature, this product may be better suited for an under-cabinet installation as the color temperature options of 2700K or 3000K are better suited for residential installations. Additionally, it can be hard-wired to a wall switch, and also includes UL safety ratings for permanent residential installations.

Below is a link to an example installation diagram along with a parts list, which you may find helpful:

https://www.waveformlighting.com/layoutmaps/3001_1A

Based on the cabinet dimensions we have approximately 18' linear feet of cabinets in three unique areas that will need lighting. Do we need three reels and three power supplies or could we do two reels and three power supplies?

The LED strip reels can be cut into shorter lengths, so the two reels with three power supplies sound like a better option for you!

​The two reels will provide you with sufficient length to cover 32.8 ft, which is more than the 18 feet required for your cabinet dimensions.

​In fact, a single reel will provide you with 16.4 ft, so if you are OK with shortening the LED strip lights for some of your cabinets (the LED strip lights most likely do not need to go all the way from one end of the cabinet to the other), that might also save some of your cost as you would be able to use just a single reel instead of two.

Here is an example layout diagram that you may find helpful:

https://www.waveformlighting.com/layoutmaps/3001_1B

We're not sure if we need the 12V or 24V, and also do we need a junction box with the power supply?

I also want to confirm our dimmer switches will be compatible with this. Below are two different dimmer switches I'm planning to purchase:

Lutron MACL-153M-TP Maestro

Lutron MRF2-10D-120-TP Maestro 

Both the 12-volt and 24-volt versions will work OK for your installation, but generally, we recommend our 24-volt versions as they perform slightly more efficiently than their 12-volt counterparts. For additional details, you may find our article below helpful:

https://www.waveformlighting.com/home-residential/advantages-of-a-24v-led-system-vs-12v

The junction box is an optional accessory for the power supply but can be useful for mounting the power supply safely and securely.

In terms of dimmer compatibility, our dimmable power supplies are designed to work with the majority of Lutron and Leviton dimmers. Below is a list of all dimmers we have tested for compatibility:

https://www.waveformlighting.com/files/DC_3093.pdf

We do see both the MACL and MRF2 series dimmers on our tested list (I believe the letters and digits that follow are designators for non-electrical variations such as color, etc), so I do believe that either of those options should work well for your installation!

I don't believe we have any further guidance or recommendations, but you may want to review the following layout map for a visual preview of what you have in mind for the installation configuration:

https://www.waveformlighting.com/layoutmaps/3001_1B

Full Spectrum LED Lights for Home Gym and Film Studio

I am converting a barn into a home gym that will also be used as a film studio to create content. I've been told that full-spectrum LED lights would be ideal. Hoping you can guide me to determine if your products are right, and which ones to choose. 

Based on the details that were provided for your gym and studio space, there are a few products that we might recommend. We would be more than happy to provide further details and advice about each product mentioned upon request, as well.

For example, we sell the NorthLux™ 95 CRI LED Shop Light Fixture, which is a great option for installations where non-permanent lighting options are preferred, as it can be easily re-arranged and mounted using the included hanging chains and hooks. This integrated product requires no accessories and can be daisy-chained with other units, but it is unfortunately not compatible with dimmers.

If you would prefer to utilize new T8 tube light fixtures in your space to have the benefit of easily swappable lighting, we might recommend the NorthLux™ 95 CRI T8 LED Tube for Art & Studio products.

Further, we also offer our LED strip light products. As an overview, these products are sold in reels and are compatible with in-wall power connections and wall dimmers. These strip lights can be configured in multiple ways and can be mounted using products such as our aluminum channels. These lights are also compatible with third-party lighting systems such as Lutron Caseta.

For more information regarding our LED strip lights, we have attached an article from our website below.

LED Strip Lights: Everything you need to know before you buy: https://www.waveformlighting.com/led-strip-lights

By using our lumen estimation calculator tool, we estimate that the space described would be fully illuminated by 18,821 lumens. As each product emits a different amount of light, we might recommend either 5 LED shop light fixtures (at 4200 lumens emitted per fixture), 11 T8 LED tube lights (at 1800 lumens emitted per light), or 42 feet of LED strip lights (which emit 450 lumens per foot) for your space as options.

How to cut the LED Strips into smaller segments?

I'm trying to build a small light panel, and am wanting to cut the LED strip into smaller segments. However, I am wanting to cut at every soldered joint for the build. I'm wondering if it's possible to do so without needing to desolder the joint and if just plain cutting will make it hard to resolder those ends with wires for the end product. 

While most of the LED strip cut lines do not have any solder on them, the LED strip reels are assembled in approximately 19.6 inches (50 cm) sections at the factory, and these cut lines will have solder on them.

Directly cutting through the solder is certainly an option and will not affect the reliability or longevity of the product. You will likely want to ensure that the scissors or knife that you use are sufficiently sharp, and as always, please be sure to exercise caution when cutting.

The solder can then be re-used to connect wires and other accessories. If using our solderless connectors, the solder will prevent the LED strips from sliding into the connectors, so we would recommend avoiding this cut-line altogether.

I keep getting confused by series and parallel wiring methods for LED strips, so I have come up with a wiring diagram that I'd like to run by you.

I have attached the diagram below, and it is one Hybrid tape reel split into 10 x 50cm sections that are cut at the soldered points. From what I have gathered from your website, it is still a parallel circuit, even though it appears to be a series circuit with daisy-chained soldered points. It looks like the easiest and most effective way to connect the small strips so far, so please let me know if this is actually very wrong!

We have indeed confirmed that this is what we would call a "series" wiring configuration, though as you correctly mention, the LED sections are still wired in parallel from an electrical circuitry standpoint.

This is the exact wiring configuration that comes to mind when one suggests connecting 10 x 50 cm hybrid LED strip sections, in "series." We do not foresee any issues with this configuration and I think you are good to go!

As we had discussed before, unfortunately, the 50 cm sections will overlap exactly with the pre-soldered ends, so you will need to cut through the solder and solder those wires onto those sections.

Do you have a flicker-free controllers for the RGB LED strip lights?

I have epilepsy so I’m very interested in these flicker free LED’s. I want the RGB color changing LED strip. Do I have to get the FilmGrade one to get the flicker free or does the ColorSpace give me flicker free as well? 

Unfortunately we do not offer any flicker-free controllers for the RGB LED strip lights, so that this will be much more challenging to accomplish a flicker-free LED strip set up.

​On the other hand, the FilmGrade White LED strip lights can be controlled with our FilmGrade power supply and FilmGrade LED dimmer, providing for completely flicker-free light output. Please see below for a installation diagram for your reference:

​https://www.waveformlighting.com/layoutmaps/3002_3D

LED Strip Lighting for Floating Shelves

I want to use strip lighting on 4 individual shelves, 2x2ft, and 2x3ft. Two shelves are mounted on either side of the TV. I want to use the existing wall switch for on/off and feed power from the attic down as I’m on the slab. Ideally, I would like to have voltage conversion in the attic and feed 12v/24v wiring out a hidden hole behind each shelf to led strips. Can you provide suggestions and equipment list? 

Based on the details provided, it appears that your installation can be accomplished using one unit of the 16.4 ft reel of LED strip lighting product divided into the 2 and 3 ft segments, as well as one unit of the TRIAC dimmable power supply in order to connect the LED strip lights to the wall switch and wall wiring. 

​It might also be helpful to note that our LED strip light products are available in both 12V and 24V. As such, it will be important to select the appropriate power supply voltage option.

​You may also find value in the below wiring products, which can be utilized for connecting the power supply to the LED strip lights, as well as connecting the LED strip segments together. 

​16 AWG Wire for LED Strip Lights - 33 ft / 10 meters: https://store.waveformlighting.com/products/16-awg-wire

LED Strip to Wire: https://store.waveformlighting.com/products/led-strip-to-wire-solderless-connector-for-single-color-led-strip-10-pack-1

LED Strip to Strip: https://store.waveformlighting.com/products/led-strip-to-connector-solderless-connector-for-single-color-led-strip-10-pack

I have also attached a link to a layout map below which illustrates the configuration closest to the description provided. ​

LayoutMaps™ - LED Strip Light Layout 3001-1B: https://www.waveformlighting.com/layoutmaps/3001_1B?px=-2255.5&py=-2110.5&pw=1511&ph=1221&s=0.1

LED Strips and Accessories for Under Cabinet Lighting

For under cabinet lights, I believe I have everything needed. Please check this and make sure I have everything needed and recommend any additional items or different items that would be better. The kitchen lights would have two zones, each turned on and off individually. Off of one power supply and one dimmer, there would be two parallel light loops each with its own on/off switch. 

PN 3003.27 (16 ft), PN 3092 , PN 3081 , PN 7094 , PN 3060 

We've reviewed the proposed purchase list and confirmed that the items are sufficient for your installation. During checkout, please be sure to select the correct 24-volt LED strip light option (PN 3004.27) to pair with the 24-volt power supply (PN 3092).

​In terms of the required components and parts, it appears that our installation diagram shown in the link below would be the closest representation of the proposed installation:

https://www.waveformlighting.com/layoutmaps/3002_2D?px=-2154&py=-2089&pw=1308&ph=1178&s=0.1

​The main difference, of course, is the single LED strip run as opposed to the two separate runs you have in your proposal.

​With respect to the two parallel runs that are to be switched separately:

I plan on using a 110V AC wall switch as with a shallow box it tucks up underneath the cabinet, is hardly visible, and works very well. I don't see any switches like this on your website so if this switch won't work could you suggest a switch (with a mount if necessary) that will fit under the cabinet?

Would the power supply be harmed if the output is an open circuit?

As for the power supply, FilmGrade™ DC Power Supply for LED Strip 3092, can it mount in the cabinet above the microwave?

Can extra end caps and mounting brackets be purchased?

From an electricity perspective, I do not see any concerns and agree with you that the switch should be able to handle 24 volts and 5 amps. If there are electrical code compliance concerns, however, I would be sure to double-check as I know there tend to be some strict requirements in terms of product fit, even if it may be deemed safe from an electrical and fire safety perspective.

We, unfortunately, do not sell and switch products, but I would perhaps recommend searching for a third-party supplier for a dedicated DC switch. I do recall seeing a few "DC inline style" switches that could be used, for example, this product here (please check for max current limitations).

Next, if we have understood your question about the open circuit correctly, there will be no issues in terms of power supply damage or reliability. The open circuit would be electrically equivalent to powering the power supply without plugging it in anywhere (as is common with laptop chargers, etc).

Generally speaking, the power supply does require open airflow for sufficient cooling. However, if running the LED strips at 48 watts, the heat generated will be limited and should not be a concern for the suggested installation.

Yes. We do sell extra mounting brackets and end caps as separate items. Please see the product page below:

Do you have different product variants that allow the LED strips to lower brightness? 

We are interested in purchasing an LED strip we previously bought an LED strip with 9W 24V and 3000K. But after fitting it inside the LED profile and fixing it inside a kitchen cabinet it's still too bright that we have to cover it with silicon inside. Kindly advise if you have something suitable for our needs.

​Unfortunately, we do not have any different product variants that would allow for lower brightness. We would recommend one of two options:

LED Tube vs Strip Lights: Which should I choose?

I'm trying to choose between LED Tube and Strip Lights, and I need info on how I can hook it into my existing ceiling outlet box. 

While each installation can differ, we generally recommend using our LED tube lights if there is an existing 4-ft fixture already in place. Our LED tube lights can be used without a ballast and therefore can be used without any additional electronic components.

LED strip lights, on the other hand, can provide you with some additional versatility and installation options. This approach, however, will require additional wiring and configuration, including power supply units and LED strip assembly.

I actually have six separate tracks on separate dimmer switches. They connect to the ceiling wiring through the standard round plastic end feed box that is recessed into the ceiling. Are there any other advantages or disadvantages I should be aware of for strips vs tubes?

If I go with the strip light option, what do I need to do? How does it connect to the end feed and will the extra transformer fit inside the end feed? Will I need new dimmer switches? I currently use these (Lutron CTELV-303P-WH Skylark Contour 300W Electronic Low Voltage Single Pole / 3-Way).

Since you don't have a fluorescent fixture at all, the LED strip light option is definitely worth considering.

The challenge with installing an LED strip light in a location like this is that the existing track systems operate at a completely different voltage type and level. Typically, they are 120 volts or 12 volts AC, while the LED strip lights require 12 volts DC.

As such, the electrical wiring and systems inside the track lights will not be useful here and will need to be bypassed completely.

Below is a configuration diagram for a simple LED strip setup:

https://www.waveformlighting.com/layoutmaps/3001_1A

You will see the TRIAC dimmable power supply, which is the key component here that you will want to determine where you can fit this in your current installation. It is a somewhat bulky device and you will want to ensure it is installed in a location compliant to local electrical code. (Most frequently, it is installed inside of a junction box mounted inside of the wall).

The TRIAC power supply appears to be 9 inches, so it won't fit in the current electrical box in the ceiling. Could I just purchase your junction box and attach it to the ceiling? Do you sell it in white?

Alternatively, I could install the TRIAC in the attic near the switches, but then it would need to feed into the current wires that run to the ceiling position. I'm thinking that those standard wires must be different than the ones needed for the DC, is that right? If so, I guess the TRIAC has to go right next to the strip lights. 

Do you all plan to offer tube lights with 99 CRI soon?

We're not sure about the electrical code requirements and considerations of mounting the junction box on the ceiling, so that is something you will want to confirm before going down that path. The junction box is unfortunately not available in any other colors.

The concern with installing the TRIAC dimmable power supply far from the LED strip lights is that large distances between the power supply and LED strip lights can result in voltage drop, whereby the brightness of the LED strips become diminished by the reduction in voltage supply. Generally, we recommend keeping the LED strip sections within 32 feet of the power supply unit to reduce the impact of voltage drop.

​We are hoping to be able to incorporate our 99 CRI LED technology in our LED tube lights in the future, but we do not have any firm release dates on that at this time.

Are the FilmGrade LED Strips able to be cut into shorter sections?

Are the FilmGrade LED strips able to be cut into shorter sections? And if so, what accessories would I need to make each section work independently? Would each segment need its power source, or could I link them, if so, what would I need to purchase to achieve that? Lastly, is there a way I could synchronize or program multiple strips together? 

Our FilmGrade LED strip lights can indeed be cut into shorter sections, in 1 or 2-inch intervals (depending on whether you select the 12-volt or 24-volt option). They can be reconnected using our solderless connectors, or ordinary low-voltage wire and solder.

Below is a connectivity diagram showing how multiple sections can be joined together to a single power source:

https://www.waveformlighting.com/layoutmaps/3002_3E

If you do need the sections controlled independently (e.g. one section is off while the other is on), you will require separate power supplies for each section.

Addressable LED Strip Lights

I didn't read on your website that the LED strips are individually addressable. Could you please confirm that it's the case? I'm particularly interested in true strips. 

Thank you for reaching out. Unfortunately our LED strip lights are not individually addressable. This means that all of the LEDs will be synchronized in terms of brightness and color, and cannot be individually controlled.

LED Lights with Motion Sensor Integration for Staircase Lighting

I'm looking for help with the product and layout (motion sensor at the top and bottom). I would like to run up one side, cross over (remodeling staircase) up the other handrail, and snake thru the wall to the adjacent room with the power supply. 

We currently do not have any motion-activated products, but we do offer a range of 95 CRI LED strip lights that should be a great fit for your staircase installation. Please see below for the product link:

Additionally, we have some configuration illustrations which may help determine which components should be installed. I suspect that our Layout Map 3001-1B may be a close match to the installation you have in mind. Please see below for the link:

https://www.waveformlighting.com/layoutmaps/3001_1B

Dimmable LED Lights for Kitchen Cabinet Installation

I have an electrician coming after the first of the year to install uplighting above my kitchen cabinets. Any suggestions? Would like it hardwired. Dimmable too? 

Our LED strip lights have been a very popular option for under and above cabinet lighting installations. Please see below for the product link.

This installation can indeed be hard-wired and dimmable. Please see below for an installation diagram that shows the components and configuration needed:

https://www.waveformlighting.com/layoutmaps/3001_1B

High CRI and R9 Lighting for Textiles and Leather

I make handbags that incorporate textiles and leather. I need to get accurate color when photographing my pictures. I am taking pictures myself and am not a professional photographer. Is there any LED lighting that you can recommend? I’m taking pictures indoor. I also have an adapter that can fit LEDs into a soft box. I’ve tried natural light but I’m trying to get consistent pictures for my online website. 

Based on the details provided, there are a few products that we might recommend depending on your ideal installation method.

The primary product that we might recommend is the 99 CRI ABSOLUTE SERIES™ LED Flexible Strip product. This product feature light which is virtually indistinguishable from natural daylight, which could prove to be useful with your photography.

Alternatively, in the event that you would prefer to use traditional light fixtures, we might recommend our NorthLux™ 95 CRI BR30 LED Bulb for Artwork & Studio products. However, please note that this product is currently backordered.

As a final recommendation, our NorthLux™ 95 CRI T5 LED Linear Light Fixtures can be easily mounted in multiple configurations, and contain integrated lighting within the product housing, which reduces the amount of required accessories.​

Lifetime (L70) of FilmGrade LED Strips

What is the LED lifetime (L70) for your FilmGrade™ WHITE LED Strip Lights (3200K and 6500K)? 

Our tests for the FilmGrade White LED strip lights show an expected L70 lifetime of > 36k hours based on TM-21 projection methods.

Can the Centric Series Power Supply handle (2) units of 16' LED Strips?

We would like to connect two 16' CENTRIC HOME LED strip lights in series to one CENTRIC HOME Flicker Free Dimmable power supply. Can the CENTRIC SERIES Flicker Free Dimmable power supply handle this, or would we need two power supplies (one for each 16' strip light)? 

We can confirm that the 24V FilmGrade™ DC Power Supply for LED Strip product has a power output of up to 120 W.

Further, we can confirm that the 24V CENTRIC HOME™ LED Strip Lights for Home & Residential have a maximum combined length of 32.8 feet (10 meters).

As such, a power supply that has a greater power output than our 24V FilmGrade™ DC Power Supply for LED Strip products could be used to supply power for a combined 32.8 feet of the 24V LED strip lights.

Alternatively, as mentioned, you may want to consider a dedicated power supply for each 16.4 ft reel of the LED strip light product.

LED Strip Lights for Living Room Installation

I'm trying to buy "CENTRIC HOME™ LED Strip Lights for Home & Residential". I'm planning to use "Aluminum Channel for LED Flex Strip - 5 PACK" Can this be set up by someone like me? And what other products do I need to purchase?

The CENTRIC HOME™ LED Strip Lights for Home & Residential product is available in both 12V and 24V. As such, it will be important to select a compatible 12V or 24V power supply, such as our FilmGrade™ DC Power Supply for LED Strip.

​It might also be valuable to know that the LED strip lights have a maximum combined length that can be powered, which varies depending on the voltage selected. For the 12V product, the maximum combined length is 16.4 ft (5 meters). For the 24V product, the maximum combined length is 32.8 ft (10 meters).

If you would like to dim the lights, you can utilize the FilmGrade™ Flicker-Free LED Dimmer product, which can be connected between the LED strip lights and the power supply.

To connect the LED strip light segments, you can combine both the Female DC Barrel Jack Plug Adapter as well as the LED Strip to the Wire product.

I have attached a link below that illustrates the configuration I have described in greater detail:

LayoutMaps™ - LED Strip Light Layout 3002_2B: https://www.waveformlighting.com/layoutmaps/3002_2B?px=-5007.5&py=-4686.5&pw=1511&ph=1221&s=0.125

Temperature & Humidity Rating of DC Plug Adapter (PN 7095)

I'm looking for the temperature and humidity rating/ranges on your Male DC Barrel Jack Plug Adapters (PN 7095). Also, do you have any spec sheets, drawings, etc. on this product?

The operating temperature range for PN 7095 is -25˚C to +85˚C , and the humidity range is 45~85%.

​Unfortunately we do not have any additional drawings or technical specs on the product at this time. 

LED Dimmer Compatible with Centric Daylight LED Strips

I have one Centric Daylight Strip that I would like to be able to dim without flickering. There is a possibility that I may add more strips later and I would want to be able to dim all of the strips at the same time. Can film grade dimming be accomplished using a standard wall dimmer or is there a way to gang the Film Grade Dimmers?

The FilmGrade dimmer is a standalone dimmer unit, so it would not be well-suited for use in an installation where synchronized dimming is required.

​As an alternative, we would perhaps recommend our TRIAC dimmable power supply units, which can be wired in parallel and synchronously controlled from a single dimmer switch. The product provides the flicker-free output and you should see comparable flicker performance. Please see below for an example layout of how this can be accomplished:

https://www.waveformlighting.com/layoutmaps/3001_1C

LED Strip Lights for Stair Lighting Installation

I have a staircase with 16 steps. Each step is 32" in length. They need to be hardwired to 120V. I want to have a timer so that they come on in the evening (7:00 pm) and off in the morning (6:00 am). Single color with blue being prefer, but white will also work. I'm having a difficult time putting this package together. Can you help by recommending the items that I would need for this project? 

To start off, our SimpleColor Blue LED strip lights sound like a great option for you. These LED strip lights feature just a single color light output and should provide you with the simplest lighting installation. Below is the product link for your reference:

In terms of spanning each of the 16 staircase steps, the configuration will require a bit of careful planning due to some limitations in the "maximum run length" per LED strip light.

​For the SimpleColor Blue LED strip lights, the maximum run length is 16.4 ft. If I have done the math correctly, this means that each run can cover 6 steps at a time (6 steps x 32 inches / step = 16 ft). In order to cover all 16 steps, you will require three separate runs, each powered with an independent power supply.

Depending on the distance between each of the stairs, you will likely want to use PN 3071, or a combination of PN 3070 + PN 7098.

​The power supply we would recommend in this installation would be our TRIAC dimmable power supply, which is designed to be hard-wired to the wires in your wall. To control the lights on a timer, you may want to consider using a "smart home" type dimmer switch such as the third-party Lutron Caseta, which can be programmed to turn on and off at certain times during the day.

​Below is a configuration diagram for our CENTRIC HOME LED strip lights, which uses the same 12 volt low voltage architecture and may be useful for better visualizing the wiring needed to complete the installation:

https://www.waveformlighting.com/layoutmaps/3001_1C

Please note that you may want to consider using PN 7095 to connect the power supply output wires to the LED strip DC input jacks:

Finally, should you prefer a plug-in approach, our FilmGrade LED power supply can also be a nice alternative that can also be programmed using a third-party electrical timer similar to those used for Christmas tree lights.

Is the Film Grade DC Power Supply Compatible with different LED Strips?

I looked at the 24V plug-in transformer, and I noticed that it seemed to be specific to film-grade products. It is compatible with other strip lights such as the 95 CRI or 99 CRI 5000K products. The application I am using it for is a display cabinet that will not be hardwired. 

The 24V FilmGrade™ DC Power Supply for LED Strip products is compatible with the 24V CENTRIC DAYLIGHT™ LED Strip Lights for Commercial & Retail products.

However, the ABSOLUTE SERIES™ LED Flexible Strip - 99 CRI - 16 ft / 5 m Reel product utilizes 12V, and would not be compatible with the 24V power supply.

Additionally, please note that an adapter such as the Female DC Barrel Jack Plug Adapter would be required to connect the 24V CENTRIC DAYLIGHT™ LED Strip Lights product wires to the barrel jack of the 24V power supply.

Will the CRI change when the LED Strips are dimmed?

If I reduce the brightness of a LED strip (dimming) will be the CRI the same as before? Or the CRI is a constant value, like a feature or how to define, a "passive skill" so does not matter that I reduce a 20W LED strip consumption to 10W and reduce the brightness highly, the CRI will stay constant, and the same as before? 

When LED strip lights are dimmed via PWM, the LEDs are pulsed "on" and "off" at a very rapid rate. During the "on" phase, the LEDs will exhibit the same color and spectral properties as when the LEDs are at full power. During the "off" phase, the LEDs are completely turned off.

(Here is some additional information on the PWM frequency as it relates to flicker-free dimming).

​With PWM, various brightness levels are achieved by adjusting the ratio of the time between the "on" and "off" phases (aka PWM duty cycle). Since the quality of the light during the "on" cycle remains the same regardless of the PWM duty cycle, we also see that the CRI value will remain constant across the dimming curve.

What if I use another dimming way, like resistance with a potentiometer? So when we control the current or voltage they will get, then what does happen with CRI? If so, then the only good way is PWM, but does PWM work only with a PWM receiver or can it work without a receiver? 

If you are looking to implement your own dimming solution, using a potentiometer or voltage splitter can be an option. With high-power LED strip light installations, however, this is known to be tricky due to the high amounts of energy that must be dissipated. (This is why PWM is usually the preferred method for dimming in high-power LED installations).

For an example of a PWM dimmer, please see our inline dimmer product below:

If you were to reduce the brightness of the LED using current or voltage reduction, you may see some changes to CRI. Based on the data I have seen, however, the changes are typically in the 1-2 point range and are not significant.

Do you have UV-B LED Light Strip Lights? 

I'm wanting to know if light strips in the UV-B frequency range are available. If so, what hardware might I purchase to power and control these?

Unfortunately, we do not have any LED strip lights in the UV-B wavelength range. All products are either in the UV-A or UV-C range. 

Absolute Series LED Strip Lights Testing Samples

I am looking to place an order for the Absolute Series flexible strip 16ft. The application will be for a custom product photography box. I need the best color production possible in my photos to represent the depth of the colors themselves. It seems the 5000k temp may be best for my applications but I can't decide between the 5k or the 6.5k temp. Do you have small samples of the LED strip of both temperatures you could send me so I could test them in my photo box? 

Unfortunately, we do not have samples of our products available at this time. We do offer a 30-day free returns policy and would recommend purchasing both to test!

RGBW LED Strip Light for Slat Wood Panels Wall

I'm planning on building a wall with slat wood panels. The slats will have a profile on the side which will house the RGBW lights. I'll need around 30 runs of 2.4m RGBW strips so the total length would be approx 80m. What's the best voltage to use on such a long length? Should I go for 12v? Also, can I power everything with just a 1500w power supply? 

Unfortunately, we do not currently sell RGBW LED strip light products at this time. Further, our LED strip light products have a maximum run length that varies between 16.4 ft (5 meters) for our 12V products, to 32.8 ft (10 meters) for our 24V products.

Due to this, our products would not be capable of being powered in a combined run of 80 meters.

Centric Daylight LED Strip Lights voltage drop questions

On this LED strip, if I power only one end with 24V, how far along would I see a brightness or color difference due to the voltage drop? Can I get 8 ft to look even/consistent without injecting power somewhere in the middle or tail end? Also, what would be better for a conference room? 4000K or 5000K?

Based on my calculations using our voltage drop calculator tool, it appears that the total voltage drop for an 8 ft length of this 24V product, which has a power draw of 5.5W/ft, would be approximately 0.029V.

At this voltage drop amount, we do not believe that there would be any diminished light output. Further, it might be valuable to know that the distance between the LED strip light reel and the power supply, as well as the gauge of wiring, will affect the voltage drop.

Do you have a 12mm Aluminum (corner) Channel?

Do you have a 12mm aluminum corner channeling for LED light strips? If you do, do they come in 3 ft or 6ft? 

Unfortunately, our aluminum channels are only available in 10mm at this time. 

Avian LED Strip Lights for Racing Pigeons

I raise racing pigeons. I need some Avian Strip Lights. I have 2 -4x8 sections for breeding that do not get enough natural lighting. I do have 2 ceiling lights I could put two screw-in bulbs for natural lighting in. What do you recommend at the price? Also, I would like to install a couple of strip lights. What do you have for that? 

Based on our calculations using our lumen estimation calculator, it appears that each 4x8 ft space would benefit from roughly 1,524 lumens. This means that your space should be sufficiently illuminated with 2 of the 6500K Avian Full Spectrum E26 A19 LED Bulb for Birds items, which each have an 800-lumen output.

If you would like to add additional lighting, we might recommend the 12V 6500K FilmGrade™ WHITE LED Strip Lights, which match the 6500K color temperature of the avian bulbs. This product also has the benefit of being used with dimmers, which might be valuable for your installation. These light strips can also be mounted within our Aluminum Channel for LED Flex Strip products, which are available in flat and corner-shaped options.

Please note that this product does require the use of a 12V DC power supply, such as our FilmGrade™ DC Power Supply for LED Strip product.

However, as an alternative, we might also recommend the 6500K NorthLux™ 95 CRI T5 LED Linear Light Fixture products.

These products are designed for easy installation, can be daisy-chained together for power, do not require additional housing or power supplies, and contain LED lighting within the integrated fixtures. This option could also be less expensive than the LED strip lights after the additional costs of power supplies and mounting accessories are considered.

High CRI LED Strip Lights for Light Boxes

I have a design client that I'm working with on a living room update. The short story is that a series of 5 clerestory windows have had to be covered over because of a roofing change. I'm looking at the idea of converting the 'empty' overhead windows into lightboxes using high CRI-led strips to simulate the same overhead lights. I'd appreciate some guidance to make sure I spec the right products. 

Based on the details provided, there are a few different products that we might recommend.

If your client would like to simulate the different stages of natural daylight, we might recommend the FilmGrade™ HYBRID LED Strip Lights product, which can be controlled remotely to achieve any color temperature between 3200K and 6500K.

This product can be controlled and adjusted using several different methods, such as an RF remote or Bluetooth app, which are described in the following article: https://www.waveformlighting.com/film-photography/how-to-connect-hybrid-cct-tunable-led-products

Alternatively, if a single color temperature output is preferable then we might recommend the FilmGrade™ WHITE LED Strip Lights.

Wiring Multiple UV LED Strip Lights

I have an application where I need to daisy chain 112ft of UV led strips (7021.95.5M) in 31" lengths in area 30" x 35". This would take 8 x 16.4ft lengths, but what's the power requirement of this, and what would be the best way to wire this? What other product numbers would I need? 

Our PN 7021.95.5M LED strip lights are very easy to set up and require just a plug-in power supply unit. Each power supply has a DC plug that can connect directly to the LED strip reel.

​Below is an example layout showing our 3.2 ft short reel (the 16.4 ft long reel would be configured the same): https://www.waveformlighting.com/layoutmaps/7021_4A?px=-2155&py=-2617&pw=1310&ph=2234&s=0.1

​We've linked to the power supply product below:

Unfortunately, the LED strips cannot be daisy-chained past the 16.4 ft length per run. As such, you will need to utilize 8x separate power supplies to power the 8x reels of 16.4 ft. This is due to the internal circuitry as well as power supply capacity limitations when running low voltage electronics.

LED Lights Recommendations for Digital Photo Studio

I'm converting a utility room in our garage to be a dedicated digital photo studio. As such, I know I need much more controlled/accurate lighting. Note, that I do not plan to shoot photos/video in the room, just edit, evaluate, and display.The skylights have remote-controlled blackout shades. My initial thoughts about your products are as follows:

I was thinking of using your 16' LED strip mounted in an aluminum channel on the ceiling ridge, e.g. Centric Daylight strip 5000K. For the LED strips, do your aluminum channels have a system to interlock end-to-end or would you recommend other types of aluminum channels for reasonably diffuse light?

While the linear light fixtures could allow for an easier installation than the LED strip lights, the linear light fixtures are not dimmable. As such, your space might benefit from the LED strip light products, which allow for dimming functionality.

Further, the aluminum channel products unfortunately do not feature the ability to interlock. However, there may be third-party products available elsewhere which would allow for a continuous length of mounted LED light strips for installation along the trusses of the room.

I was thinking of using your FilmGrade Hybrid LED strip mounted in your corner aluminum channels mounted under the bottoms of the trusses in the photo to illuminate the right side wall where I would hang/display prints. How accurate are the hybrid strips in simulating various color temps, etc.? Equally important, what's a simple solution for a controller that would allow me to specify the desired color temperature and it would set the appropriate LED values? Is this doable, what would you recommend?

The FilmGrade™ HYBRID LED Strip Lights could be a great option for your space, and I am happy to confirm that this product can be used to simulate any color temperature between 3200K and 6500K by adjusting the intensity of each color temperature.

However, it might be valuable to know that a LED strip light product featuring a single dedicated color temperature is able to emit more light per foot than the individual colors of the HYBRID LED Strip Lights are able to. For example, the HYBRID LED strip lights emit 225 lumens per foot, per color, whereas the single-color FilmGrade™ WHITE LED Strip Lights emits 450 lumens per foot.

This product can be controlled using several different methods. Though the easiest implementation would likely be to utilize a color tunable LED controller, which would allow for you to easily adjust each color point. The below article contains detailed descriptions for each configuration method available for the product.

How to Connect Hybrid CCT Tunable LED Products: https://www.waveformlighting.com/film-photography/how-to-connect-hybrid-cct-tunable-led-products

You sell your T5 Linear light fixtures (D50) in 4 ft. I was thinking of using a couple of those to set up a dedicated print viewing station. Your website says they are out of stock but will ship on 12/14. Is availability still accurate as I would like to go ahead and order them to start experimenting?

We can confirm that the 5000K 4-ft NorthLux™ 95 CRI T5 LED Linear Light Fixture product is currently expected to be available by December 14th. In the event that you would like to place your order prior to that availability date, we would process the shipment as soon as the items become available.

Do all of your 5000K lights actually meet D50 spec or only where specifically indicated?

Not all of our 5000K color temperature products are designed to be compliant with the D50 standard. However, if you had a specific product in mind, I would be happy to review the item to check for D50 compliance.

Anything else you would advise or suggest that I consider?

Regarding installation suggestions, the primary consideration which comes to mind would be to test the LED strip light products within the space prior to cutting the product into segments or installing them completely, as we are unable to accept returns for these products as soon as they have been cut or altered.

Our second suggestion is to keep in mind that the FilmGrade™ HYBRID LED Strip Lights requires a 24V power supply.

Third, the HYBRID LED Strip Lights product has a maximum run of 32.8 ft, and draws a variable amount of power per foot depending on the color point adjustment. Details regarding this can be found on the product specification sheet. As such, you may want to consider a power supply which is capable of outputting enough power to accommodate the power draw needs of the lengths of your installation.

On the FilmHybrid LEDs, I saw the referenced setup with the two dimmers. But to use that, I need to figure out the dimmer settings that correspond to different Kelvin temperatures. I'm assuming to do that I would need to have a spectrophotometer that can measure incident light which I don't have. Is there another 3rd party solution that you could recommend that wouldn't be too complicated or expensive that would allow me specify the color temp and then set the appropriate values on the two LED channels of the hybrid film strip?

Any 3rd party aluminum channel manufacturers you recommend that might have interlocking sections? I'm still going to take a look at yours as well.

Unfortunately, the dimmer uses an analog dial to control the relative brightness levels of the two channels, so there is no way to digitally map the two output levels to a specific color temperature level. You may want to think of this as being similar to a traditional shower faucet, with one for hot and one for cold, without the ability to set a specific water temperature.

We are not aware of any third-party products or solutions that could incorporate our LED strip light to achieve the lighting controls you are looking for, but do hope to be able to offer such solutions in the near future. For the time being, we may recommend searching for cinematography and photography lighting products such as those manufactured by ARRI or Kino Flo, although these will likely be a much higher price point.

I've got a few questions on your 24V dimmable transformer that I purchased:

Is this designed to be driven at 100% rated load (96W) for a prolonged period of time? Is there any issue with splicing a pigtail and plugging it into an outlet (that has an AC dimmer upstream)? Is there a minimum load requirement on the transformer? Any issues if there is a GFI on the circuit?

The 24 volt dimmable power supply load is de-rated at 100% (full 96 watt capacity) until ambient temperatures exceed 105 F. Maximum allowable ambient temperature is 140 degrees F, at which the power supply output load is de-rated to 60% (59 watts capacity).

​We do not maintain a minimum load requirement on the power supply unit, but all dimmer tests are performed at 85% load.

With respect to your questions regarding installation through a wall outlet and the use of GFI components, I would consult with an electrician for further recommendations. From what I understand, there may be code compliance issues arising from:

From a pure electrical standpoint, I do not believe there would be any performance issues, but such installation methods would be beyond the scope of our safety and reliability assurances.

.

Recommended LED Lights for Building a Tower Floor Lamps

Building tower lamps pseudo shoji style with lighted section 34" high behind a 5.5" sheet of acrylic on all four sides. Either white or a remotely adjustable color would be kind of cool. Could you recommend your products I should look at? 

It's a bit difficult to provide exact recommendations given the unique nature of your lamps, but it does sound like our high CRI LED strips could work very well for you. The LED strips are offered in a wide range of color temperatures, all of which offer 95 CRI or higher, providing excellent color quality both highlighting the Shoji material as well as illuminating the surrounding area.

Unfortunately, we don't have any solutions for remotely controlled color temperature, though that is certainly something we would like to see implemented in the near future!

If the floor lamps are for residential and home use, we would generally recommend our 2700K and 3000K options, which I have linked to below:

For commercial or office spaces, you may want to consider a higher color temperature such as 4000K or 5000K:

How to control the color temperature of FilmGrade™ HYBRID LED Strip Lights?

What is needed to control the color temperature of FilmGrade™ HYBRID LED Strip Lights? 

The first method would require the use of a DMX or controller solution. Below is an example of a third-party controller available on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/LEDUPDATES-Controller-remote-Temperature-Changing/dp/B07DVHXGTD/

​Alternatively, you can also use a combination of two inline dimmers to control each color channel independently. The product link is below: https://store.waveformlighting.com/products/filmgrade-flicker-free-dimmer-for-led-strip

Additional accessories and components are needed for this approach, which is outlined in the connection diagrams shown in the article here. 

Beam Angle of Centric Daylight LED Strip

I would like to know the beam angle of the Centric Daylight LED strip. I’m trying to light a display that’s 30” deep and approximately 24” below the valence holding the strip of LEDs. The valence is about 6” in front of the display shelf.

Our LED strip lights have a beam angle of approximately 120 degrees.​The math works out such that the coverage width is approximately equal to the distance away from the light source.​For example, if the LED strips are mounted 24 inches away from the illumination surface, the width of the illuminated area will also be approximately 24 inches.

If we've understood your installation location correctly, you're looking to illuminate a 30-inch width from 24 inches away. As such, we would perhaps recommend using multiple LED strip rows spaced apart, so that you can achieve even illumination across the 30-inch width.​This would be especially important if the objects on your shelf have any substantial height, as the effective distance between the top of these objects and the LED strips would be far less than 24 inches.

FilmGrade™ HYBRID LED Flex Panel - Transformer & Dimmers

Our architect specified your product - FilmGrade™ HYBRID LED Flex Panel. We have already purchased one panel and would need to order 7 more. We are also looking for a transformer that would be able to power 8 panels at the same time and two dimmers - one regular and one for switching the colors. 

Can you please advise on the product that would be suitable for this project? 

Our LED flex panel requires 50 watts per color to operate. If both colors are to be operated simultaneously, each panel will require up to 100 watts.​As such, 8 panels will require 800 watts to operate. This is a very high power capacity level and we, unfortunately, do not have any products which can support this configuration. Instead, we would recommend operating each panel with an independent power supply unit.

If we follow your recommendation and operate each panel with an independent power supply unit, would you be able to provide this unit?

Can you please advise on the quantity we would need and a price per one? 

Each power supply unit costs $49, and the link to the product can be located below.

Each of these power supplies would be sufficient for one panel. Therefore, for 8 panels, you will require 8 power supply units. You will also need a third-party controller to vary the color and output of the panel. (The sample setup you have from the one panel should simply be replicated by a factor of 8).

Can you please also advise if this power supply unit will work for dimming and color-changing? If not, will it be compatible with Lutron Caseta dimmer? 

Unfortunately, our product will not achieve the color-changing features you are seeking.​Do you have information on how you had the single-panel sample unit set up? Please let me know and I can assist in replicating that setup for you.

You mentioned earlier, that we would need a third-party controller to vary the color and output of the panel. Can you please advise if this device from your website can be used for dimming and color-changing? 

If not, can you recommend a different product? 

We want to be able to dim 8 panels from one dimmer at the same time, and also change the colors on all 8 panels from one device at the same time. 

We would recommend daisy-chaining eight of our DMX decoder units, controlled from a single DMX controller. Below is the product link:

LED Lighting and Dimmers for Laundry Room Lighting

I'm hoping you can help me a little with my laundry room lighting. Here are the specs: basement location - 1 small window in a well (almost no natural light). Room is 7.5' by 11.8', ceilings is 7.5' high (currently lit by a 4 t8 tube troffer fluorescent light in a drop ceiling). Block wall is off white -all wiring is surface wiring in conduit. 

Our high CRI LED products sound like a great fit for your retrofit installation, and the use of our LED strip lights in your fluorescent fixtures sounds like a great idea.​I don't foresee any issues from a performance perspective, but if there are any electrical code or inspection concerns, we would recommend confirming that this is a permissible installation method as regulations can differ depending on the specific inspectors as well as authorities having jurisdiction.

One alternative option would be to keep the fluorescent fixtures in place and utilize our T8 retrofit lamps, which offer the same level of color quality.

Should I use 2 strips or 4 by my calculations 4 would be giving me almost 8000 lumens, and this is not a baseball field. Will 2 strips look like 2 long blobs up there? or will I have even light over the troffer? 

I inputted the provided room dimensions into the lumen estimation calculator (https://www.waveformlighting.com/lumen-calculator). Based on a target of 60 footcandles (which should provide you with a very nice level of brightness for most laundry-related tasks without being overly bright), the recommended lumen output for the lights would be approximately 6000 lumens.

​Your calculations are correct that four 4-ft rows of the LED strips would provide you with approximately 7200 lumens (450 lumens per foot * 16 feet). I do not think this is an unreasonable amount of light, especially if you have a troffer diffuser that will reduce the light output a bit.

I'm a little confused about dimmer options...I see that you have a triac dimmer compatible power supply. Are all wall dimmers triac? or just the standard incandescent ones. Do I still need to get an LED or other specialty dimmer from Lutron etc...i.e. low voltage electronic dimmer?

Most wall dimmers utilize TRIAC phase dimming, and our TRIAC dimmable power supply is compatible with most standard residential wall dimmers. Some of the most commonly seen wall dimmer brands include Lutron and Leviton. Please see below for a list of dimmers which we have tested compatibility for: https://www.waveformlighting.com/files/DC_3093.pdf

 I was thinking I would use the 24 v option since I might like to run some of the strips in the hallway outside the laundry room and that would require a little more distance between the power supply and strip light. Does that make sense? I will be having an electrician do the actual installation.

Generally, 24 volts is almost always a better option when running longer wire connections. This is because a higher voltage option requires lower amperage, which is typically what causes voltage drop issues. For additional information on voltage drop, please see our article below: https://www.waveformlighting.com/home-residential/what-is-led-strip-voltage-drop

In order to connect my troffer strip to the next strip out in the hallway, I would use your 16 gauge wire that you sell by the spool, I believe. Would I be using the strip to wire pigtail connector that you sell? If so, how do I join the two wires? wire nuts in a junction box? or is there a way to solder the wire to the strip at either end and add a cover for protection?

The best way to accomplish this connection would be to use our PN 3070 solderless connector, joined to the 16 AWG wire using wire nuts. Please see the screenshot below, taken from the layout maps found at this link: https://www.waveformlighting.com/layoutmaps/3001_1B

You may of course also forgo the PN 3070 component and solder the 16 AWG wires directly onto the LED strip copper pads as needed.

Also, is it possible to buy smaller quantities of the various connectors? I don't want to buy 10 if I only need two.

Unfortunately the connectors are pre-packaged packs of 10 and we would have no way to offer just two of them. Sorry for the inconvenience!

Aluminum Channel Dimensions

I am looking for the outside and inside (maximum width of the light strip) dimensions of both the corner and flat aluminum channel. 

Below are the dimensions of the product you requested:​Flat Channel - 0.43" inside, 0.69" outsideCorner Channel - 0.43" inside, 0.63" outside

LED Lights for Volumetric Lighting

I need to light a volume about the size of a phone booth. Besides the task lighting, I want to include some indirect lighting that can be adjusted to fill the volume. I also need that lighting to have the capability of reducing the blue wavelengths for sleep prep. Our current design would place LED strips behind diffusers or some barrier along all the interior corners of this box. Can you recommend something?

The 95 CRI 2700K LED strip lights have a relatively low amount of blue light and should be a great option for the current design. The product link is below:

One option that would further reduce blue light exposure would be to use our amber or red color LED strip lights, which contain no blue light whatsoever. I've included those product links below:

Recommended LED Strip Lights with a brightness level equivalent to a Retail Showroom

I am interested in the LED strip lights to light an area 15m long by 6m wide and 2.8m ceilings to a brightness level equivalent to a retail showroom. The calculator says I will need approx 42,000 lumens however I want to confirm that the led strip lights will be suitable. The purpose of the room is mostly storage for area rugs; however, customers regularly request more photos, so colour-accurate lighting throughout the entire area would be ideal. If I was to run two lines of the led strip lights from one end to the other which would equal about 6 reels total, would this actually light the area to the required level? Other than the 6 reels what else would I need to install this? 

To confirm, I've also run the numbers on my end based on the dimensions provided (converted to approximately 50 x 20 ft = 1000 square feet).

​The 42,000 lumens would provide you with approximately 40 footcandles, which is a great brightness level for general color evaluation, especially for larger surface areas such as rugs

Each reel emits approximately 7500 lumens, so the 6 reels sounds like a great target (7500 lumens per reel x 6 reels = 45,000 lumens). Each 16.4 ft (5 meter) reel requires its own power supply, so you will also need to purchase 6 power supply units.

I've linked to some example layouts which show how the power supplies can be connected for a non-dimmable, and dimmable setup, respectively:

https://www.waveformlighting.com/layoutmaps/3002_2A?px=-2183&py=-2023&pw=1366&ph=1046&s=0.1

https://www.waveformlighting.com/layoutmaps/3001_1C?px=-2183&py=-2023&pw=1366&ph=1046&s=0.1

Going with the same target of approx 43,000 lumens and using the linear light fixtures I would need 24 fixtures however I am not sure of the difference between the Northlux 95 CRI and the D50 for color matching, is there a benefit of one over the other for my use case?

Both the NorthLux and D50 T5 linear lights are actually the same product listed on different product pages for marketing purposes (PN 4026.4F.50) - sorry for any confusion!

We will also be creating content for social media, photos and videos (will the lights flicker?).

Our next batch, expected to be available in Feb 2021, will be 100% flicker free and will be suitable for photography.

We would like to have the warehouse look like it is a bright naturally lit room, and are considering the 5000K colour temperature.

This sounds like a great choice! 5000K is generally a nice, neutral light color that approximates noon sunshine. (6500K would be closer to north-facing blue sky).

We will be running the fixtures down two rows the length of the warehouse approx 1.5m from the sidewalls, if we ran 12 along each side would this create the evenest lighting or is there a better method? 

The best way to achieve even lighting would be to space out the fixtures as evenly as possible. Of course, with wiring and aesthetics that may not always be realistic. If I recall correctly, you had mentioned that the width of the space is 6 meters, so running the fixtures 1.5 meters (or perhaps 2.0 meters) from the walls would indeed provide sufficiently distributed light.

How many lights can be daisy-chained together? how many fixtures can be grouped per power plug, and do you have international plugs available at all?

The maximum connection is 70 feet (21 meters). If using the 4-ft fixtures, this would work out to approximately 17 fixtures per daisy-chain link. Unfortunately, we do not provide any additional plug converters, but you may also want to consider locating a C8 plug wire locally, should you prefer avoiding the use of a plug adapter.

LED Strip Lights for Copying Film with DSLR Camera

I'm planning on replacing the fluorescent tubes in the 24"x36" light table I use for copying film negatives and positives with a DSLR camera. High CRI is important and I want to stay in the D50 or 5600k color temperature range. Do you have any recommendations or know of customer experiences for this kind of application? I'd like to do some tests with the FilmGrade and Absolute series, but I don't see a sample kit for the Absolute D50 lights.

Our D50 and 5600K light sources with 95/99 CRI sound like a great fit for your needs. While we do not have any specific case studies that we could point you towards, I'm confident that these specifications will optimize for color fidelity and accuracy in image capture.

You mention that the dimensions of the light table are 24" x 36" - in which case, it may not be feasible to fit our 4-ft T8 LED tube lights in the fixtures unless your light fixtures happen to be 48".

As you mention, our LED strip lights may be a great alternative option. While some additional assembly and wiring will be required, our ABSOLUTE SERIES D50 LED strip lights, or our FilmGrade 5600K LED strip lights could be installed into your current fixture and provide you with a nice improvement in color quality.

We unfortunately do not offer a sample kit for the ABSOLUTE SERIES LED strip lights. We do offer a free returns policy, however, so you may want to take advantage of that to test and compare the two products. All we ask is that you keep the LED strips in tact, including keeping the adhesive liner in place.

When evaluating the options for the Absolute LED series the linear modules 5 pack made the most sense for my application, both from a cost stand point and installation in the light table. The listing for the Absolute module 5 pack says they are individually packaged, but they are all on one board. There’s no way to properly compare the FilmGrade strip and the Absolute modules in the light table without separating the modules. Also there’s no information about how to separate the modules.

What should I do? I feel the Absolute linear module listing on the web site is misleading. From the listing I expected to get 5 separate Absolute modules. That would be easy to compare to the FilmGrade by putting two Absolute modules on each side within the light table and running the FilmGrade strip around the perimeter inside the light table. With the 5 modules on a single board it will be very difficult to get even lighting to compare to the FilmGrade strip.

The 5-pack of the ABSOLUTE SERIES are joined together along the long-edge, and can be separated by bending the modules along the score-line. They can be a bit difficult to separate, and may require a bit of force before they begin to loosen a bit.

The 5-pack modules are eligible for return even after they are separated into individual modules, so please feel free to proceed with the installation for testing. Should there be any need to return the modules, we would be more than happy to accept your return.

LED Grow Lights for under-cabinet and herbs and sprout seeds

I remodeled my kitchen and want perfect under-cabinet LED low profile strips but I want to grow herbs and sprout seeds on my kitchen counter, so am looking for full spectrum as close to daylight bright lighting. Which accessories do I choose of yours to build the perfect lighting in (4) 24” lengths and one 18” length? I have a dedicated switch on the wall to control them.

Based on the details provided, we can recommend our 5000K CENTRIC DAYLIGHT™ LED Strip Lights for Commercial & Retail products. The 5000K light which is emitted by this product will be very similar to that of natural, bright daylight. 

To connect the individual LED strip light segments, we recommend the Solderless Connector for Single Color LED Strip products.

When this product is paired with the 12V TRIAC Dimmable Power Supply for LED Strip, it can be adjusted and controlled using a wall dimmer product.

Here is a LayoutMap which illustrates this configuration, which might prove to be useful.

LayoutMaps™ - LED Strip Light Layout 3001-1B: https://www.waveformlighting.com/layoutmaps/3001_1B?px=-2321&py=-2245.5&pw=1642&ph=1491&s=0.1

We also offer the Aluminum Channel for LED Flex Strip products which can be used for easily mounting the LED strip lights. However, the lengths currently available may be too long for the LED strip light lengths that were described. As far as we can tell, one 16.4 ft reel of the LED strip lights, as well as one unit of the dimmable power supply, should be sufficient for your installation.

Absolute Series D65 LED Flexible Strip for Color Matching

Can your Absolute D65 modules be used for color matching? I see you offer D50 T8 lights for color matching, however, we require D65 for textiles. Do you have any plans to offer this light in D65? 

We're happy to confirm that our 6500K ABSOLUTE SERIES™ LED Flexible Strip product is D65 Illuminant-compliant, and can be used for color matching.

We can also confirm that the 6500K NorthLux™ 95 CRI T8 LED Tube for Art & Studio product is compliant with the D65 Illuminant standard as well.

LED Lighting Suggestion for Photography

I am looking for an equivalent of 50 W bulb D65 to screw in (for a dim room lighting 8'x13'x8'), another one around 75-80 W D50 also to screw into my desk lamp to hard proof my prints, and another one of around 3700K also for prints evaluation. 

While we, unfortunately, do not offer D65 bulbs that would into traditional lamp fixtures, we do offer the D65 ABSOLUTE SERIES™ LED Linear Module product, which might be an alternative depending on your installation.

We also offer the D50 5000K A19 LED Bulb for Color Matching (ISO3664:2000) product, as well as the D50 5000K T8 LED Tube Lights for Color Matching (ISO3664:2000) product, which may also be worth consideration. However, these D50 calibrated products are currently only available in the 5000K color temperature.

If I understand correctly, your lights are “full spectrum” eg 6500 K seems to be not far away from D65. Would it be wrong, if my display is on D65, to use one of your bulbs for my ambient light? centric? Northlux? Ultrahigh 95 jewelry? Avian? I do not see any difference between them except that one of them is Flickr-free but same price. 

If this does not work (800 lm could be too bright), and those LED are not dimmable without any further installation, another option could be bias lighting. I have an NEC PA302W: it is a 27.1 x 18 monitor on a stand. Should I use the sidewinder reels? How many? I understand a portion of 24” horizontally, and half of a foot on both sides with 1 reel. Will it be OK like that? Will it be necessary to use a dimmer? I have a black curtain on my window, so it is pretty dark when the door is closed.

We're happy to confirm that the majority of our products are indeed a full spectrum.

Further, we can also confirm many of our products are quite similar. If you have a specific set of products in mind to compare, I would be more than happy to explain the differences between them.

Regarding bias lighting, the Sidewinder™ LED Flex Strip for D65 Bias Lighting product could be a great option for your space.

Based on the measurements provided of your monitor, we recommend two 3.2 ft (1 meter) units of the Sidewinder™ LED Flex Strip product to wrap the back of the display in lighting, depending on the layout that you choose for installation.

This product can also be paired with a dimmer, in the event the level of the emitted light is too bright for all use cases. We recommend pairing this product with the 24V DC power supply, as well as the FilmGrade™ Flicker-Free LED Dimmer product.

I am looking for a D65 bulb for the ceiling but that will be probably too bright as ambient light and this will send some light directly to my computer screen. Moreover, they are non-dimmable or necessitate an installation too complex for me. Anyway, there is a bulb over there, and I will choose one which is adapted; I am a photographer. Flicker-free? 

1. What is the difference between the lights?

Based on the details that have been provided of your space, the A19 bulb that I would primarily recommend would be the 6500K NorthLux™ 95 CRI E26 A19 LED Bulb for Art & Studio product, which was designed to be D65 Illuminant-compliant. This means that the product strictly aligns with a global standard designed for color work. However, please note that while many of our A19 bulbs are flicker-free, none of the A19 bulbs previously mentioned are dimmable. As such, these products may not be beneficial for your space.

That being said, we can confirm that some products are indeed the same item, such as the CENTRIC DAYLIGHT™ A19, as well as the Ultra High 95 CRI A19 bulb. This can be noted by the shared product number, listed as PN 4005.65. This is also true for some other products that we offer. 

​We do apologize for any confusion which may have arisen, as these products appear on multiple pages for marketing purposes.

2. How to connect the 2 strips: daisy chain? connectors?

We're happy to confirm that the Sidewinder™ LED Flex Strip product is designed with plugs on each end of the reel, which allows for the product to be daisy-chained together without additional hardware. I have attached a photo of the product, which may prove to be helpful. That being said, please note that a compatible 24V DC power supply, such as our FilmGrade™ DC Power Supply for LED Strip product, would still be required.

3. What do you mean about “depending on the layout you choose for the installation”?

We do apologize for any confusion caused by my wording. Some bias lighting is installed as one horizontal strip behind the monitor. If this was the installation that you would prefer, we might recommend one unit of the Sidewinder product.

Alternatively, we have seen other bias lighting installed as three strips of lighting. Two vertical strips are applied to the back of the monitor parallel to the sides, and one horizontal strip is applied to the back of the monitor which runs parallel to the top. If this is the installation that you would prefer, we might recommend two units of the Sidewinder product.

How much UV Light does ABSOLUTE SERIES™ LED Flexible Strip produce?

I have this product- ABSOLUTE SERIES™ LED Flexible Strip, and it is great. I just want to know how much UV light it produces. How does this compare to the amount of UV light from the sun?

The ABSOLUTE SERIES products do not produce any measurable UV output when defined as energy < 380 nm. Below is our photometric report which you can reference and verify:

https://www.waveformlighting.com/photometrics/TR_7001.50.pdf

Do you have White Light Diffuser and partial reels of CRI 99 LED Strip for Light Pad Design

I am designing a tiny light pad to rest on a 35mm negative film holder resting on a 35mm camera lens hood. (The camera is facing the ceiling.) 

1. Need a neutral white light diffuser that is grainless/textureless/featureless/tintless. Do you offer this?

We, unfortunately, do not offer any light diffusers as a standalone product. The closest option I can think of would be our aluminum channels, which include snap-on diffusers.

2. Don't know how many LEDs the light pad would need, maybe only one, or at what lumen. The negative, in its holder, is 1 inch from the lens. I desire an LED with a CRI of 99 and a similar R9, neutral white, ie, not an off-white with a blue, yellow, or green tinge. (Keep in mind that negatives have an orange tint that I don't want to worsen. Maybe there is an LED that lessens it?)

The best product from a photometric perspective would be our ABSOLUTE SERIES LEDs, which offer 99 CRI and R9 > 90. The D50 / D65 color points should be a great fit for your needs, especially with respect to your concerns about color tint.

3. Then I have a concern that the LED light may damage the camera's CCDs, like when photographing the sun. So, what's the minimum lumen that would reveal all shadows and highlight details in a negative photo? 

We, unfortunately, do not have any data on this but believe that with sufficient distance away from the LEDs, damage risks should be minimal.

4.  If I don't need a $55 16-foot reel, can I order just one 1.6 inch segment, the connectors and appropriate power supply? If not, please point me to your retailers that do sell a short strip of your CRI 99.

We sincerely apologize, but we are unable to offer partial reels as we are not equipped to manage this from an inventory management as well as quality assurance perspective (LED strip reels are factory-sealed to reduce moisture exposure during warehousing and transit).

Also, we are a direct-to-consumer company and do not work with any retailers.

Do you have a 24-volt DC solution for the cleanUV UV-C LED Strip Light?

We have only 24V DC available in place, where we are planning to use this UV-C light. Do you have a 24V DC solution for this UV-C strip light? 

Unfortunately, we do not have any 24-volt DC configurations of our UV-C LED strip light products. If you do not have any other viable option, you may want to consider the following approach, which is not officially supported but may be workable, depending on your needs:

https://www.waveformlighting.com/pcb-designs/using-a-12v-led-strip-in-a-24v-system

Also, I have to ask for your help with UVC-dose calculations. You have very good specifications and data sheets, but this is a new thing for me. With this led strip, what is UVC-dose in a 50cm distance within 20 minutes? Do you have some program or formula to share, on how I could easily calculate UVC dose for shorter LED strips?

For the UV-C product, the exposure dosage charts can be found below:

https://www.waveformlighting.com/datasheets/BP_7026_EXPOSURE.pdf

The nearest data we have is 30 cm at 15 minutes, for which the exposure dosage is 171 J/m2. For additional calculations, you may find our exposure dosage calculator below helpful:

https://www.waveformlighting.com/uv-c-led/uv-unit-calculator

UV LED Strips Lights for Screen Printing

I am looking to build an exposure unit for screen printing. I am looking for strips of UV LED lights. I am not sure of the specs of the lights I need, but do you guys have any idea? Also, would I need a controller or anything from you guys for them?

We, unfortunately, don't have any official documentation or support for building a screen printing exposure unit, but we would be glad to offer suggestions and recommendations to the best of our ability.

We certainly have had customers successfully utilize our LED strip lights for screen printing applications. For example, here is a photo provided by one of our customers. Other product reviews on the product page may serve as an effective starting point or inspiration.

​It's a bit difficult to know "how much" UV is needed, as this can depend on a variety of factors such as the distance from the screen printing surface as well as the type of emulsion being used. If the emulsion material manufacturer has any discrete data on irradiance (typically expressed in mW/cm2) we may be able to provide additional guidance here.

While we do not have any test data on hand, we believe that 365 nm would be the superior choice given that it is a strong UV-A wavelength that should provide far more energy than 395 nm for curing and other photochemical processes. For further information, please reference our article comparing 365 nm to 395 nm.

The only essential components needed for the installation would be the LED strip reel itself, as well as a 12-volt power supply. The power supply can plug directly into the LED strip reel, and no controllers or any other equipment would be needed.

​If you were looking to build an array of LED strip lights, you may want to use our PN 3071 solderless connectors to join the cut LED strip sections. Our layout diagram along with product links can be found below:

https://www.waveformlighting.com/layoutmaps/7021_4C

LED Lights to Stimulate Daylight for Winter Depression

I am looking for a lamp that simulates daylight as accurately as possible to combat my winter depression. 

I'm not sure exactly which light fixtures are being used in my house. They appear to be standard spot lights. I sincerely doubt there is anything special about them. I am looking for a colour temperature of about 5000K - 6500K.

I'm interested in your full-spectrum products. Whatever reproduces the spectrum of sunlight must be the best. Let's take the LED strip as the starting point and figure out a solution around that. I would also like it to be dimmable if possible.

The closest measurement I can get is 13 metres for my small room and 30 for my large room.

Based on your needs, it seems as though the ABSOLUTE SERIES LEDs at 6500K would be the best fit for you. From a spectral and chromaticity standpoint, this is the product that most closely resembles natural daylight at noontime, and should be an excellent choice.

​To address some of your questions about the technical aspects of the product:

Regarding the power supply, we can confirm that the ABSOLUTE SERIES™ LED Flexible Strip product would require a DC power supply for every 16.4 ft (5 meter) of length, such as our 12V FilmGrade™ DC Power Supply for LED Strip. Our DC power supply is compatible with global input voltages (100 - 240V AC, 50-60Hz), though you may require an additional wall socket adapter. 

​Further, the ABSOLUTE SERIES™ LED Flexible Strip product can be paired with the FilmGrade™ Flicker-Free LED Dimmer product for additional dimming capability. 

Depending on your installation, we might also recommend placing the LED strip lights within an enclosure which features a diffusor, such as our Aluminum Channel for LED Flex Strip product, which is available in 'flat' and 'corner' options.

​For a detailed illustration of the configuration options available for this product, the below links may prove to be useful:

LayoutMaps™ - LED Strip Light Layout 3002_3D: https://www.waveformlighting.com/layoutmaps/3002_3D?px=-2252.5&py=-2245.5&pw=1505&ph=1491&s=0.1

LayoutMaps™ - LED Strip Light Layout 3002_3E: https://www.waveformlighting.com/layoutmaps/3002_3E?px=-2252.5&py=-2245.5&pw=1505&ph=1491&s=0.1

It is going to be pretty difficult to install a power supply for every 5 metres of strip. If I run a strip around my whole room, I'm going to have a huge number of power supplies everywhere. Is there some way to hide them?

Unfortunately, we don't have a proper recommendation to hide the power supplies. However, the cords for the DC Power Supply products are of a decent length, and could be helpful in hiding the power supply some distance from the LED strip lights.

Difference between FilmGrade and ABSOLUTE SERIES™ 99 CRI 5000K (D50) / 6500K (D65)

What is the difference between Film Grade vs. ABSOLUTE SERIES™ 99 CRI 5000K (D50) / 6500K (D65)?

The primary difference between the FilmGrade and ABSOLUTE SERIES LED product lines is the color rendering index. The FilmGrade product line has a CRI rating of 95, while the ABSOLUTE SERIES LED products have a CRI rating of 99.

Furthermore, the FilmGrade product line is offered in 5600K and 6500K, while the ABSOLUTE SERIES LEDs are offered in 5000K and 6500K.

Are these lights DC powered?

Yes, our LED strip lights and LED modules are powered via 12 volts or 24 volts DC. They will require a dedicated power supply to operate.

Do either of these lights flicker? 

If the LED strips and/or modules are powered via our power supply units, they will not produce any flicker.

Can I wire these lights in parallel (2 1-foot strips side by side)?

Yes, they can be wired in parallel, as long as the total connected length does not exceed the maximum power capacity of the power supply (e.g. do not exceed 16.4 ft for LED strips, in total). For additional information, please see our article below:

https://www.waveformlighting.com/home-residential/connecting-led-strips-in-series-vs-parallel

Or must I have a power supply for each strip of lights?

As long as the total power draw remains below the power capacity of the power supply unit, you should not see any issues. Below is a calculator which you may find helpful:

https://store.waveformlighting.com/pages/led-strip-power-supply-calculator-requirements

How can I order a sample 6-inch strip plus a power supply?

Please see below for the direct link to the 6-inch LED strip sample pack, which includes a power supply unit:

How can I link separate strips together? Do you have a picture of this showing the connector? I want to link 4 l foot strips side by side.

You may find our Layout Maps helpful. Specifically, see below for an illustration showing how multiple sections can be connected:

https://www.waveformlighting.com/layoutmaps/3002_3E?px=-2183&py=-2023&pw=1366&ph=1046&s=0.1

Do the link connectors come in the 16-foot reel kit? 

The LED strip reel includes DC power ports pre-installed on both ends, so you will be able to connect the power supply directly to the DC port without any issues.​The PN 3071 solderless connectors can come in handy if you're looking to cut the LED strip reel into shorter segments and are looking to reconnect them.​Finally, the 6-inch sample pack also includes all of the components to set up a short 6-inch demo circuit.

Does Waveform make housings for these lights? Can these be cut?

Please see below for our aluminum channels which would be a great option for housing the ABSOLUTE SERIES LED strip lights:

Cuttability is not an officially supported feature of the aluminum channels, but I have had customers report that this can be done quite readily using a hacksaw.

Do you have a 23 foot long pure white LED Strip?

I have a wall that is 23' long. I want to place the aluminum Channel for the LED Flex Strip on the floor along the bottom of the wall using just a bright pure white LED. No blueish or warm tones. Just plain white. Do you have the length I am looking for in the LED? 

Depending on your installation, we might recommend a few options:

For example, one option could be to order two 16.4 ft (5 meter) reels of the 5000K CENTRIC DAYLIGHT™ LED Strip Lights for Commercial & Retail product. While these products have a maximum run length of 32.8 ft which cannot be exceeded, you could connect two reel segments together in order to meet the 23 ft length required.

In this installation, we would also recommend selecting a third party power supply which can meet the 126 watt power requirement, as our 24V DC Power Supply products only offer 120 watts, and is therefor incompatible with the power requirements for the length described.

As another example, you could purchase two reels of the 5000K CENTRIC DAYLIGHT™ LED Strip Lights for Commercial & Retail product, as well as two units of our 24V FilmGrade™ DC Power Supply for LED Strip product. In this installation, each LED strip light length would be powered by a power supply.

​We have recommended the 5000K color temperature option due to the cool white light which is emitted. This color point is typically perceived as being neither too warm, nor too blue. However, please note that we are happy to offer a 30 day return policy in the event that another color temperature winds up being preferable. 

In order to fully occupy the length of the 23 ft wall, it appears that 6 units of the Aluminum Channel for LED Flex Strip product should be sufficient. However, as each unit of the Aluminum Channel for LED Flex Strip is 3.3 ft (1 meter) long, we can imagine that there would be some amount of gap present.

Do you sell Absolute Series LED Products?

I'm looking for an LED to use in a measurement tool that we're building internally. We found your ABSOLUTE series which, looking at the spectral characteristics would be a great fit, due to the uniformity of the spectrum and how quickly it ramps up around 400nm. Do you sell individual LEDs with these characteristics? And if not, how viable is it to buy a strip and desolder them? Can you provide some technical information on these LEDs - like the physical dimensions of individual ones, their electrical characteristics, etc? 

We unfortunately do not sell the individual emitters on our ABSOLUTE SERIES LED products, and correspondingly, we do not provide any technical documentation on the LED emitters.

While I unable to provide any further guidance in an official capacity, I can attest to having de-soldered some of the LEDs from the LED strip lights and can share that it is definitely doable if you are able to heat up the substrate sufficiently.

​Furthermore, you should be able to reverse engineer the drive current information by looking at the resistor values used on the LED strip lights. Below is an article that might help: https://www.waveformlighting.com/pcb-designs/when-and-why-do-leds-need-current-limiting-resistors

Do you have a D50 5000K and 4000K in 90+ CRI?

We are interested in your D50 5000K model 4026.2F.50 light fixture, T8 tubes model 4024.50.4P, or perhaps the Flexible Strip 7101.50 mounted to the aluminum channel and quite possibly a combination of all. Key is D50 5000K 90+ CRI. Also looking for something similar in 4000K

​The ABSOLUTE SERIES is not available in 4000K, but the T8 lamps and T5 integrated fixtures are available in 4000K. The part numbers are 4024.40 and 4026.2F.40, respectively.

We are concerned about UV and IR from the above lamps. I realize output in these regions would be low, but is there a way to quantify what level is considered damaging to artwork, photographs, documents, etc.

We do not have any data on hand for this, but I would expect that this can certainly be quantified in irradiance units (e.g. mw/cm2) accompanied by a wavelength range (e.g. UV-A), or 340-400 nm). If your customer has any specific requirements in terms of irradiance, that would be very helpful for us to verify compliance; if not, a starting point may be showing them our photometric reports which show essentially no energy emission in the UV and IR regions.

Absolute Series LED Strip Lights Installation Questions

I’m working on a prototype product, which is a Lightbox for photographing original artwork and/or printed materials, color accurately. I need help with some technical questions.

I must be doing something wrong because only half the strips light up.  

Upon looking at the photos provided, it appears that the "3-LED jumper" segment is connected in reverse. In other words, it looks like the positive wire (red) is being connected to the negative copper pad on the LED strip segment. If you can simply flip the LED strip segment by 180 degrees and reconnect the sections, that should immediately resolve the issue!

Can I just cut those wires and splice them together without the small strip of lights in between? 

I completely understand why the 3-LED jumper is there due to the limitation of the cable length. You certainly can connect other wire components to achieve the same electrical connection here, and we would recommend looking at our PN 7098, which can also be used with our PN 3070 wire connectors. 

For an illustration showing how those components can be used, I would recommend referencing our Layout Maps diagram. Linked below is a diagram for a slightly different product, but the connectivity demonstration remains the same: https://www.waveformlighting.com/layoutmaps/3001_1B?px=-4112.152690063189&py=-5318.5634471544645&pw=1806&ph=1814&s=0.458662083452406

My question is, if we add more lights will we get more lux? And, is there a way to calculate how many lights I might need to achieved the desired lux at the surface (which is the bottom of the box).

Yes, that is correct, and the nice thing is that lux is a linear measurement. In other words, if you are at 500 lux now, doubling the light quantity will get you 1,000 lux. If you have an existing lux measurement, a quick "scale factor" calculation could be the best way forward here.

We’ve already gone ahead and ordered 2 more strips with 2 more DC power supplies yesterday. I’m wondering, though, if I need a DC power supply for each strip or if I could connect 3-16’ strips together with 1 power supply?

Unfortunately, each LED strip reel (16.4 ft) will require its own power supply. This is due to the current carrying limitations in the LED strip lights, as well as the power capacity limitations in the power supply.

Running these lights at 100%, how much voltage are they using and how long will they last? And, what is the core temp of each LED?

When operated at 12 volts DC, the lights are rated to last 50,000 hours. As long as the LED strips are not subject to any voltage fluctuations (such as those introduced by battery systems), you should not have any issues with longevity. The product is also covered by our 3-year warranty.

The LEDs are designed with thermal management in mind, and will therefore not require any heatsinks or additional components.

Based on the photos provided, there do not appear to be any issues or concerns with respect to longevity or reliability.

LED Strips Lights that provides similar output to Avian Bulbs

I would like to know which of your LED strips provides output most similar to your Avian bulbs. I would also like to know the same info about your LED tubes. 

Because our products offer a 95 CRI color quality level, virtually all of our 6500K color temperature products will provide light quality similar to those in our avian line.

For example, please see below for the LED strip lights and LED tube lights that best match:

Below is a link to all of our 6500K products:

https://www.waveformlighting.com/color-temperature/6500K

TRIAC Dimmable Power Supply Compatible with Centric Home LED Strips

Can I use the TRIAC dimmable power supply with Centric LED strips?

Yes. We're happy to confirm that the TRIAC Dimmable Power Supply for LED Strip products is compatible with our CENTRIC HOME™ LED Strip Lights for Home & Residential and CENTRIC DAYLIGHT™ LED Strip Lights for Commercial & Retail products.

Below is the layout guide, which illustrates the configuration of these products.

LayoutMaps™ LED Strip Light Layout 3001-1A: https://www.waveformlighting.com/layoutmaps/3001_1A?px=-4896&py=-3269.5&pw=1464&ph=1491&s=0.125

Power Supply Needed for (3 lengths) of 5m 365nm LED Strip Light

We are wanting to purchase and then join 3 lengths of 5m LED strip light together to form a 15m length. What is the best option to power this? If a single 5m length requires a 12V, 108W power supply, would a 12V, ~360W power supply work to power the 15m length?

Our 12V LED Strip Light products have a maximum run of 16.4 ft (5 meters). These products are not designed to carry current beyond that 16.4 ft maximum length. Unfortunately, this is the case even if you were able to locate a third-party power supply with a higher power capacity of 360 watts.

As such, each 16.4 ft (5 meters) length would require a dedicated power supply and would be unable to support additional lengths.

For the installation described, we would recommend pairing each 16.4 ft reel to a dedicated power supply product, such as our FilmGrade™ DC Power Supply for LED Strip.

356 nm UV LED Strip Lights for Cyanotypes Application

I am trying to make a UV lightbox for making cyanotypes. I want to make a box that will print up to 16x20, Will 9 strips at 20" long spaced to fit the 16" wide box be enough to print cyanotype? That would be using your largest roll. 

Our UV LED strip lights sound like a great fit for the cyanotype application. Unfortunately, however, our experience and data on cyanotype exposure are limited, and we would not be able to provide any definitive answers about whether or not a certain amount of UV exposure would be sufficient for your needs. If you do have any data on UV exposure values (typically measured in mW/m2, for example) we would be more than happy to assist in calculating this for you.

On the other hand, if you have any previous experience with fluorescent UV bulbs, that may be a good starting point for estimation purposes. Our UV LED strip lights emit approximately the same amount of UV as a fluorescent bulb on a per-foot basis. Therefore, if we calculate out the 9 rows of 20 inches, that works out to approximately 15 feet, which would be around the same amount of UV output as four 4-foot lamps.

We see that you've settled on the 365 nm wavelength, which is most likely the most effective wavelength so that certainly sounds like a good choice.

Can you provide a custom LED strip light with a CCT of 9000K or similar?

I'm interested in purchasing an LED light strip similar to the one in the link below but with a CCT of ~9000K. Are you able to provide a custom product? https://store.waveformlighting.com/products/absolute-series-99-cri-led-linear-module

Unfortunately, we are unable to offer any customized color temperature products at this time. That being said, if you can let us know a bit more about your requirements, we would be more than happy to see what other options may be available.

Essentially I’m looking for an LED lighting solution ~9000K similar to the product in the link below in terms of the form factor and I’m flexible on the CRI requirements.

As mentioned, we are unable to accept any custom requirements at this time, and that would include the 9000K color temperature requirement.

The best alternative we can recommend would be to use the existing ABSOLUTE SERIES LED module product with a blue LED strip light, which can lower the effective color temperature. Please see below:

ABSOLUTE SERIES™ LED Flexible Strip for Photographic System for Meat Product Image Analysis

We would like a set of lights with a more accurate representation of daylight, and ABSOLUTE SERIES™ LED Flexible Strip - 99 CRI seems the best option. We would like to mount it in a black box, so we need to standardize lumens in the whole box, without reflections, is it possible to use these LEDS flexing them in a circle of around 60 cm diameter? If not, we should go for the bulbs, in this case, which one of them would you recommend to us? 

Our ABSOLUTE SERIES LED strip lights indeed sound like a great fit, as they will indeed provide you with the most accurate representation of natural daylight.

​The one challenge I foresee with the product is that while it is flexible in an up/down direction, it cannot be made to curve in a left/right direction. As such, creating a circular design with the product would be quite challenging.

​If you can work with a polygonal shape that approximates a circle, such as a polygon with 8 sides or more, you may want to consider using the LED strips in short, straight runs joined together using a connector such as our PN 3071.

For similar lighting quality, we would perhaps suggest our NorthLux A19 lamps, which can be found at the link below:

About the power supply, since we are in Europe, so maybe is better if we buy a European plug, or do you have this option? I understand we need a 120W 12V 10A output. So the female barrel jack and one of the strip-to-strip connection is enough to make the connection, is it right?

You can certainly utilize a European version of the 12-volt power supply. As you mention, the primary requirements are electrical (120 watts, 12V/10A) and to ensure that the output plug is compatible with the ABSOLUTE SERIES LED strip light barrel jack DC connector (included on both ends).​Our North American version can also be used in Spain but will require a plug adapter for the wall outlet ​which you will need to purchase from a third party locally.

As mentioned above, the ABSOLUTE SERIES LED strip light includes the DC connector pre-installed on both ends of the reel. As such, PN 7094 is likely unnecessary.

PN 3071 is the correct accessory to join the cut sections back together at any angle needed.

What temperature range does Centric Home LED Strip Lights operate in a sauna?

I am considering using Centric Home LED light strips in a sauna. The sauna will operate at 200 degrees Fahrenheit. What temperature range will these strip lights operate in?

Unfortunately, our LED strips are not rated for use in a sauna. Due to the high heat and humidity, our LED strips would likely exhibit severe reliability problems.​Generally, the maximum recommended ambient temperature for our LED strip light products is 100 degrees Fahrenheit.

Do you have a DMX or ArtNet Controller for FilmGrade Hybrid LED Strip Lights

I am looking to purchase 16 (5m) pieces of the Hybrid LED Strips. I am planning on controlling them through DMX or ArtNet. Do you have any ArtNet controllers? Also, how many can I control through one of your DMX controllers? Do you have larger power supplies to support more than 1 strip at a time?

We currently offer a DMX decoder that can be paired with our FilmGrade Hybrid LED strip lights, however, a separate DMX controller (third-party) would be needed to control the color temperature and output levels.

Each reel of the hybrid LED strip lights requires approximately 3.8 amps of power capacity. Therefore, with each of the 5 channels being able to support up to 8 amps, the maximum number of reels per DMX decoders would be 10 reels.

This would, in turn, require a power supply that is capable of supplying at least 38 amps (3.8 amps x 10 reels) which we would need to recommend a third-party supplier such as MeanWell for further options.

Connectors and Wires Required for Absolute 6500K LED Strip

I am interested in getting set up with a set of Absolute 6500K LED strip lighting. I need help with the type of connectors and wires required. I plan to purchase the 5m roll of strip lighting because it’s the best deal. I will be photographing my artwork with these lights. The plan is to set up two sets of lights 6 feet on either side of the painting when photographing. 

We currently offer two types of ABSOLUTE SERIES products - one in a rigid module format, and another in a flexible LED strip format.

It sounds like you're after the flexible LED strip as you mention needing the 5-meter reel. In this case, the installation accessories will be quite straightforward, as the LED strip lights include a plug on both ends of the reel that is pre-installed.

To power the flexible LED strip, all that you need is our 12-volt power supply, which I have linked to below:

The LED strip lights can be cut to length based on your needs. If you need to re-connect any sections together, we would recommend our PN 3071 connectors.

Unfortunately, we don't have an exact layout map for this product, but you may want to reference an electrically similar product for some ideas. Below, I've linked to our FilmGrade LED strip light product using a similar layout, which may be of interest:

https://www.waveformlighting.com/layoutmaps/3002_3D

https://www.waveformlighting.com/layoutmaps/3002_3E

LED Strip that runs from Warm Glow to Midday Sun for Conservatory Building.

I am building a conservatory and looking for an LED strip that runs from the warm glow of sunrise to the midday sun of 5000k and back to the glow of sunset. And with a high CRI during mid-day. The area I want to light is 2m x 3.5m from a height of 3.5m (approx 6ft 6" x 11ft 5"). In which case can you recommend your product to meet the 5000k and high CRI? 

Currently, we don't have a product that will accomplish the color temperature tuning "out of the box," but we do have some suggestions which may help achieve what you are looking for.

​First off, our 5000K LED strip lights should be a great fit for your mid-day sun, high CRI requirement. We have a 95 CRI and 99 CRI option, for which I have linked to below:

Then, to simulate a warmer color tone (while maintaining high CRI), you may want to consider our 3000K or even 2700K color temperature LED strip lights:

Our recommendation would be to use these two products with a pair of dimmers that can adjust the relative amounts of brightness of each, thereby simulating various natural lighting conditions. Please let us know if you have any questions on dimming and we would be more than happy to assist further with parts and accessories needed. In the meantime, you may find our layout maps helpful:

https://www.waveformlighting.com/layoutmaps

Finally, in estimating the total brightness needs, we would recommend using our lumen estimation calculator, which can help in determining the total amount of LED strips needed for the dimensions you've provided:

https://www.waveformlighting.com/lumen-calculator

(For your reference, natural daylight will generally range from 100 - 1000 footcandles during mid-day, depending on the weather).

Accessories and Guide for Individual LED Strip and LED Strip to Power Supply Connection

I'd like to place an order for some LED strips. My question is, I need some adaptor cables: while I cut strips from the reel and plug to the female DC power plug that I ordered. I like to have (10) pcs, can you tell me how to order?

I have provided explanations below describing the method for connecting the LED Strip Lights to power supplies, as well as the method for connecting the LED Strip Light segments using connector accessories. Included below are product links for the recommended accessories, as well as guides that further illustrate these configurations.

For connecting the LED Strip Light segments to the DC Power Supply, we recommend using a combination of the LED Strip to Wire product (PN 3070, sold in 10-Packs), as well as the Female DC Barrel Jack Plug Adapter (PN 7094, sold in 4-Packs).

Configuration guide: https://www.waveformlighting.com/layoutmaps/3002_2D?px=-2063&py=-2245.5&pw=1126&ph=1491&s=0.1

For connecting individual LED Strip Light segments, we recommend using the LED Strip to Strip product (PN 3071, sold in 10-Packs). Please note that our 12V LED Strip Light products, such as the ‘CENTRIC HOME™ LED Strip Lights for Home & Residential, have a maximum run of 16.4 ft (5 meters). As such, these LED strip light products cannot be powered in runs that exceed this length.

Configuration guide: https://www.waveformlighting.com/layoutmaps/3001_1B?px=-7151&py=-4861.5&pw=1126&ph=1491&s=0.125

Lighting Systems Suggestion for Aquaponics Product Development

I am developing a new aquaponics product and I would like to use your lighting systems in it.

Would a diffuser reduce the growth potential of the lights within? And are you able to have these made and finished to custom lengths?

At the moment, we do not offer any customized services, so we would recommend working with the standardized offerings that we have. Our aluminum channels will certainly reduce the amount of light due to the transmissivity loss of the diffuser cover. While I understand these may be preferred for aesthetics purposes, they will likely hinder light output by 10-15%.

We don't have any specific "light recipes" for different species, as this will also depend on the light intensity, distance, temperature, and grow medium/nutrient supply. In general, however, we believe that full spectrum lighting that mimics natural daylight (i.e. 95 CRI or higher) is a great starting point given that plants generally thrive under natural daylight.

We would perhaps recommend experimenting with several of our LED strip lights to determine which colors and wavelengths work best for your device. Please see below:

Can you tell me what the process would be to cut long reels down into 30cm lengths that can then be wired into a plug socket? 

How would it be best to cut down the length of the diffusers if we decided to use them?

If the diffuser reduces the light by <15%, would it work to simply use a stronger light to counter this effect or does it not really work like that?

Which of those products do you think may be best as a general grow light?

Also, do you provide products that can be used with a light strip to control cycle lengths and to turn up and down the intensity of the light?

The LED strips can be cut into shorter lengths as needed, generally in 2.5 or 5.0 cm intervals using a pair of scissors. They would then need to be connected to a power supply using a layout similar to the one shown below:

https://www.waveformlighting.com/layoutmaps/3002_2C

The diffusers are not designed to be cut into shorter lengths, but our customers have reported success using a hacksaw. A stronger light would indeed mitigate the effect of the lower light output. For example, a 100-lumen output reduced to 85 lumens could be counteracted with 115 lumens of light output being reduced to 100 lumens.

It does sound like you are in the initial conceptual design phase for your product, for which we unfortunately are not equipped to provide extensive assistance. We would suggest working with a product design specialist or determining the lighting requirements for your system after which we would be more than happy to suggest the best products that would meet your needs. 

Can you point out one specific product that mimics natural light most closely as well as the necessary strength that we have discussed?

Here is our ABSOLUTE SERIES product line which has a 99 CRI rating, indicating that this is as close of a match to natural daylight as possible:

https://www.waveformlighting.com/absolute-series

The strength of the light would depend on a variety of factors such as quantity, placement, and distance away. We would perhaps recommend starting with a target lux or PPFD requirement and we can assist from there.

LED Lighting and Dimmers for Entertainment Center

The plan is to recess the LED strips behind the face boards. The part that I am finding most difficult is the dimmer (or maybe I’m just screwed up on everything). The LED lights need to have the ability to select a color including white. I need the width of the LED strips to be 10mm or less and the height to be as low as possible. We want a remote-controlled dimmer that can be used to change the colors and brightness of the LED lights. Can you please review and provide me with an itemized list of the materials that I need to complete this project?

Unfortunately, we currently do not have any remote-controlled dimmers or power supplies available which would be capable of changing the color and brightness of the LED strip lights. Most of our customers that utilize our color-changing LED strip lights are in the entertainment or theatrical industries, where DMX systems are commonly used.

​For a more consumer-friendly remote-control solution, we would recommend searching for third-party providers of such products.

In terms of our LED strip options, our ColorSpace RGB LED strip light may be a good fit for your needs. The product features an 8 mm width, high brightness, and very narrow wavelength tolerances to ensure consistency within and among LED strip runs.

Furthermore, you may also find that our FilmGrade™ FiveSpect 5-in-1 LED strip lights may be of interest to you. This product is designed to have a high level of customized light spectrum output with the inclusion of a warm white and daylight white channel, in addition to the standard RGB channels.

To connect the LED strip lights to the power supply, we recommend our Solderless Connector Cable for a 5-in-1 LED Strip product.

Regarding the mounting of the lights within the structure, we currently do not offer mounting channels which would accommodate the 12mm width of the FiveSpect 5-in-1 LED Strip Lights. That being said, there may be third-party options available that could diffuse the light.

LED Strip Lights Compatible with Lutron Caseta Dimmer

I have a Lutron Caseta dimmer connected to rope lighting in a tray ceiling. I am having trouble finding LED strip lights to replace the rope lighting. Do you know if your LED strip lighting will be compatible and fully dim with the Lutron Caseta dimmer switches?

We are happy to confirm that our LED strip light products are compatible with the Lutron Caseta system.

To integrate our LED strip lights with the Lutron Caseta system, they will need to be connected to a dimmable power supply, such as our TRIAC Dimmable Power Supply for LED Strip. The dimmable power supply will then need to be connected to a dimmer, such as your pre-existing Lutron Caseta dimmer switch. During our testing of this configuration, we found that the dimming range was 0.2%-100%. 

​However, there are certain limitations to consider. For instance, not all dimmable power supplies are compatible with the Lutron Caseta system. Further, the Lutron Caseta system only works with single-color LED strip lights, and can only provide brightness control.

For more information regarding the integration options, we recommend the below article from our website.

Dimming LED Strip Lights and LED Bulbs using Smart Lighting Systems: https://www.waveformlighting.com/home-residential/dimming-led-strip-lights-and-LED-bulbs-using-smart-lighting-systems

Desktop Viewing Station for Prints

I am looking for a desktop viewing station and would like to get one that uses your lights. Can you tell me which manufacturers make such products using your lights?

Unfortunately, we are unable to disclose our partnership details.

That being said, we are happy to confirm that our lamps can be used within viewing booths, so long as they are compatible.

I will have a bit of calculation and juggling to get the right distances for the light strips from the print position. Do you happen to have a reference to some guidelines for this calculation? I would build one for a viewing area of 27" x 13". Do you have a diagram for the diffusion pattern for the diffuser that is on the channels?

Are your power supplies quiet? I installed over 30 feet of strip that could be dimmed and color temp changed in a large room. Sadly, the power supply had a rather noisy fan. 

Unfortunately, we do not have any calculations or references that would be applicable for the installation described.

Further, we unfortunately do not have any diagrams related to the diffusion patterns of our aluminum channels. However, we can confirm that the use of the diffusors does assist in reducing uneven illumination and hotspots created by the LED strip light segments.

Further information regarding the aluminum channels can be found at the link below, which may prove to be useful.

https://www.waveformlighting.com/home-residential/aluminum-channels-for-led-strip-lights-are-they-worth-it-an-in-depth-look

Personally haven't noticed any noise being emitted by the DC Power Supply units while connected to a reel of the LED strip lights. It is possible that the previously used power supply may have utilized a CPU-style fan, which is not a feature of our DC Power Supply products.

Soldering Segments of Absolute LED Strip

Can cut segments of Absolute strip LED be connected into a chain using soldered wires on the brown (copper?) pads rather than using slip-on connectors?

Yes, the ABSOLUTE SERIES LED strip lights can certainly be connected together via soldered wires. The copper pads are located in 3-LED intervals and include a positive and negative terminal.

ABSOLUTE SERIES™ 99 CRI LED Flexible Strip for Dental Practice Installation

We are establishing a dental practice. I am very interested to have Absolute series LED in our practice, I would like to have your recommendations on ceiling design ideas in terms of the covers we can use while maintaining the high CRI. 

Our ABSOLUTE SERIES 99 CRI LED strip lights sound like a great fit for a dental office where high CRI and full spectrum coverage would be essential.

​The recommended housing and fixture solution for this product would be our aluminum channel. I've included the product link below. Our measurements indicate that while there is a minor shift in color temperature, the CRI values are essentially unchanged.

We are establishing a dental practice, and we are planning to relay on these LEDs to lighten the inside for of the operating rooms. Is there a recommended number of meters of LED to have to cover a square meter?

While your specific brightness needs will depend on the installation location, room layout and even personal preference, we would recommend a starting point of 50 footcandles. This works out to approximately 5000 lumens for every 10 square meters.​At 1250 lumens per meter, you would then need approximately 4 meters installed for every 10 square meters of space.

The 4 meters/ 10 square meters would allow to depend on these LEDs as the only source of my lightening?

The estimate of 4 meters per 10 square meters of space was based on a 50 footcandle requirement. This is a generally sufficient amount of lighting for a brightly lit office space, but for dental work we would imagine additional lighting near the patient would be desired.

​Of the projects we work on, the brightest lighting requirements are up to 100 footcandles for applications such as art and photography studios. In this case, you will want to more than double your lighting budget to 8 meters per 10 square meters of space.

Does it matter if install 2 LED stripes in a 5 cm width profile? Or is it preferred to have single stripes in narrower profiles?

Installing two rows of LED strip lights in.a 5 cm width should not be a problem. The only concern would be if there are any aesthetics concerns, as larger gaps between LED strip rows can result in dark spots that are visible on the diffuser.

We are installing the absolute series LEDs. We are facing problems with the available profiles with same dimensions as yours, as we are seeing the dots. Therefore, we will instal deeper profiles (by 5mm- total 12 mm in depth). Do you think this would affect the quality and strength of the light? 

We have not tested any deeper aluminum channels, but we would not expect any significant changes in color quality. Light intensity may diminish slightly, due to the increased distance between the LED strip and the diffuser layer, so we may recommend testing prior to any permanent installations.

The profile your company sells doesn’t have the dots issue, is that guaranteed? 

The ABSOLUTE SERIES LED strip lights have a lower LED density, so the dots are likely to be visible if one looks directly at the diffuser cover.​We would recommend either using a higher density LED strip light, or a deeper aluminum channel as you suggested in our prior email exchange.

The dots will be reduced significantly, but not completely hidden with the ABSOLUTE SERIES LED strip lights.

Black Light LED Strips for Industrial Applications

Looking for a fixture manufacturing that is making linear LED black lights for industrial applications

We don't have any "linear" fixtures, but a close alternative product may be our UV flood lights. Below is a link to our realUV LED flood light, available in 365 nm and 395 nm. Please let us know what questions you have and we'd be glad to assist further!

Do you have a UVC LED 12v or 24v or 110v DC 60-watt strip?

We currently offer a 12 volt LED strip light that operates at 14.4 watts per reel.

​Multiple reels can be linked together to reach the 60 watt level as needed. Please see below for the product link:

Full Spectrum Strip Lights for Bathroom Installation

I am in the middle of a master bathroom renovation. Are the 4000k Centric Daylight strips full-spectrum? If not, is there any custom strip that can be made or can you recommend any other product or manufacturer for my application?

We can confirm that the 4000K CENTRIC DAYLIGHT™ LED Strip Lights for Commercial & Retail product feature an ultra high 95 CRI, offering a full spectrum of light output which is extremely similar to that of natural daylight.

In case it proves to be useful for your installation planning, further information regarding CRI and full spectrum can be found at the links below.

Full Spectrum Lighting: https://www.waveformlighting.com/full-spectrum-led-lighting

High CRI LED: https://www.waveformlighting.com/high-cri-led

cleanUV™ Ultraviolet LED for Food Container Interior Sterilization

Your info on cleanUV™ Ultraviolet LED Technology mentions that "Additional form factors are in development and will be released soon." I am interested in a form factor that could be used to sterilize the interior of food containers.

We are indeed working on a few MCPCB form factors that are 6 x 6 inches as well as 2 x 12 inches. We do not have an ETA at this point, but do hope to have this available in the near future.

Unfortunately, we don't have any application-specific advice or recommendations that may apply to the food container sterilization application.

realUV LED Flood Light Safety Risks

Can you tell me if there are any safety risks with working around the UV flood lights? Other than looking directly into them that is. Can prolonged exposure to the light result in any damage? If so, what is the safe time frame? 

Each application will entail different levels of safety risk and we recommend performing some rigorous analysis prior to any installations.

We are aware of the following guidelines published by the ACGIH which you may find helpful:

For the UV-A or near ultraviolet spectral region (315 to 400 nm), exposure to the eye should not exceed 1 milliwatt per square centimeter (1.0 mW/cm2) for periods greater than 1000 seconds (approximately 16 minutes).

For direct comparison of these exposure limits to our flood light UV irradiance values, you will want to reference our UV irradiance charts below:

https://www.waveformlighting.com/photometrics/BP_7022.pdf

How to Connect LED Strip Light to Connector?

How to Connect LED Strip Light to Connector PN 3071? 

Attached is a video link which displays the method for attaching the PN 3071 product to the light strip segments.

Video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FR_ML49gBlI

We also attached the link to a LayoutMaps™ diagram below, which further illustrates the methods for connecting the LED strip light segments using the PN 3071 product.

LayoutMaps™ LED Strip Light Layout 3002_2B: https://www.waveformlighting.com/layoutmaps/3002_2B?px=-10111&py=-2838.5&pw=1002&ph=1221&s=0.125

One thing that we have found can help improve the reliability of the connection is to remove a quarter inch or so of the adhesive from the end that is being inserted into the connector piece. The added thickness of the adhesive can prevent the LED strip from being inserted fully into the connector piece, resulting in poor connections in some cases.

Other than the solderless connectors, we, unfortunately, do not have any alternative solutions, apart from soldering wires directly onto the copper pads.

Do you have a selection of “T” connectors?

Unfortunately, we do not have any T-shaped connectors for the LED strip lights available at this time.

Flicker Free LED Strip Lights

Do you offer LED strip lights that are flicker-free? I'm considering Filmgrade White LED and Absolute Series LED strips. Are these flicker-free? Am I correct in assuming that the benefits of the Filmgrade flicker-free dimmer apply only when the light is dimmed and not at 100% output?

When any of our LED strip light products are paired with the FilmGrade™ DC Power Supply for LED Strip product, they gain the ability to be flicker-free.

When the LED strip light products are paired with both the FilmGrade™ DC Power Supply for LED Strip as well as the Flicker-Free LED Dimmer, they gain the ability to be both flicker-free as well as dimmable.

In this configuration, the LED strip lights will remain flicker-free at any level of dimming, from 0% to 100%.

LED Strip for Warehouse Lighting

I need 38016 inches of led strips to place under shelves in a warehouse environment. Can you tell me the brightest lights available? How many strips can link together, and how many power sources are required?

Our brightest LED strip lights are our CENTRIC DAYLIGHT LED strip lights, which linked below:

If we've done the math correctly, the 38016 inches works out to a total installation length of 3168 linear feet. Approximately 193 reels of our LED strip lights (16.4 ft each) would be needed to cover this distance.

The maximum run length is 32 ft, so you will require approximately 97 separate power supply units if they are equipped with sufficient power capacity. For Class 2 installations, you would be limited to 16.4 ft per run, so the power supply needs would be double (193 power supply units).

FiveSpect 5-in-1 LED Strip Lights Recommendations

I am building my own LED Tube Lights, and would absolutely love to use your FilmGrade LED Strip Lights for my build. Few questions: 

1) I am building 4-foot tube lights. Can the 16-foot LED reel you sell be cut into four, 4-foot sections?

2) Would one, 4-foot LED strip be adequate for creating one tube light? Or would you recommend doubling up strips to get better brightness?

3) Can your LED strips be controlled via Bluetooth? Is there an app, specific software, or hardware controller(s) that works seamlessly with your product?

Our FilmGrade 5-in-1 LED strip lights sound like a great option for your DIY project!

​The LED strip lights can be cut to length in approximately 2-inch and 4-inch intervals for the 12-volt and 24-volt versions, respectively. Therefore, either one should work well for your needs to be able to create a 4-ft run.

​One foot emits approximately 180 lumens per white color, which works out to approximately 580 lumens per 4-ft tube. Most 4-ft T8 tube lights will emit approximately 1800 lumens, so you may want to double or even triple up if you are looking to get the same amount of brightness as a typical 4-ft T8 tube light.

​Most of our customers use the product via DMX, but if you're interested in a smartphone / Bluetooth controller, we would recommend searching for third parties who may have such products.

Color Tunable Recommendations

Would it be possible to send me a lecture about wiring your product to a lighting control system as a Lutron homeworks with dimming and color-tunable?

Unfortunately we do not have any support for color tuning of our products using Lutron systems. If you have any additional information on the specific Lutron product you are interested in, we would be more than happy to provide further information on our color tunable products to see if they would be a good fit.

For standard single-color dimming, our layout diagram below may be of help for you:

https://www.waveformlighting.com/layoutmaps/3001_1B?px=-2395&py=-2315.5&pw=1790&ph=1631&s=0.1

We want to use the Filmgrade Hybrid Led Flex Panel 3004 HY. We can use Lutron Caseta with GRX-tvi to have ability to dim 0-10V.

A few comments:

As such, it does not seem that our hybrid LED flex panel would be compatible with this system as it requires a low voltage DC system (i.e. 24 volts DC) with dimming control over channels (warm white and cool white). 

Dimmable 3000K (>90) CRI 3000K Strip Lights with Triac Dimmer Switches for an Open Staircase Installation

I wish to put Strip Lights on an open staircase under each tread. I need help in determining the correct method to instruct the fabricators to install wires and what combination of power supplies/dimmers to use. I have 17 treads, each will have 48" of illumination - for a total of 21M. 

I intend to have each tread individually drop wires to the basement so that I can wire them all independently (would you recommend this?). I would like to do white, dimmable strip lights with high (>90) CRI, and so I’m looking at the centric home, 3000K strip lights. What’s the best way to do this? The Triac Dimmer switches indicate 150W only – so how would I use multiple power supplies (each at ~120W) with a single dimmer?

Our CENTRIC HOME LED strip lights sound like a great fit for your staircase installation. The 3000K and 95 CRI colors will be sure to add some excellent lighting to your space while highlighting your staircase.

There are several ways the proposed installation can be accomplished. The constraint, however, will be in the power capacity limitations of our TRIAC dimmable power supplies, which are 120 watts and 96 watts, for the 12-volt and 24-volt versions, respectively. Converting that into the number of stair treads, it looks like each power supply will have enough power to cover approximately 4 stair treads (5.5 watts x 4 ft x 4 stair treads = 88 watts).

As such, you will likely need 4 or more separate LED strip runs to be able to cover the entire staircase, with each run being powered by its own TRIAC dimmable power supply. The good news is that the 4 TRIAC dimmable power supplies can be connected to a single dimmer switch so that all of the LED strip runs can be dimmed in unison. For a connectivity diagram, please see our layout diagram below:

https://www.waveformlighting.com/layoutmaps/3001_1C?px=-2395&py=-2315.5&pw=1790&ph=1631&s=0.1

Additionally, in connecting the separate 48" sections between the stair treads, we do offer a variety of connectors that you may find helpful. Please see below for a similar diagram but with separate LED strip segments being rejoined using our various accessories:

https://www.waveformlighting.com/layoutmaps/3001_1B?px=-2395&py=-2315.5&pw=1790&ph=1631&s=0.1

It's mentioned that I can use a single Triac Dimmer to control 4 dimmable power supplies. However the dimmer indicates only ~100W for LED - and each of the power supplies would be ~100W x 4 =400W total.

Your calculation and interpretation there is correct. If the dimmer manufacturer recommends only a minimum of 100 watts, we certainly would not recommend exceeding that level.

We have generally seen that many dimmers support up to 600 watts, with a list of supported dimmers located here:

https://www.waveformlighting.com/files/DC_3093.pdf

We have found that dimmer manufacturers have been providing two different wattage levels for incandescent / halogen and LED / CFL systems. We are not sure what their reasoning for this is, as we believe that our dimmable LED power supplies behave similarly to dimmable incandescent loads and therefore should not be significantly different.

​To ensure safe operation, however, we would recommend following the guidance of the dimmer manufacturers as they may have their reasons for the maximum ratings.

Are the UVC LED Strip Lights waterproof or submergible?

I would like the enquire about the UVC LED Strip Lights: 1.) Are the LED lights waterproof or submergible? 2.) Is the back of the strip adhesive? 

Unfortunately, the UV-C LED strip lights are not waterproof and cannot be used in any water or damp locations. The back of the LED strip includes a pre-applied layer of 3M VHB double-sided adhesive.

Absolute Series LED modules for a color matching to a Pantone swatch book and small item product photography.

I am interested in the Absolute series LED modules, I just realized the modules won't fit into the aluminum channels you offer, so I'm not certain what to mount them on or use as a diffuser. Do you have any recommendations? Is the type of diffuser material likely to affect the CRI at all? 

I was also wondering about the brightness - each module produces 800 lumens. 

I am also thinking about getting one of your dimmers, is the panel with 2 modules likely to be too bright to use at full strength? 

I was also thinking about trying the North Lux light bulbs, but wasn't sure about the socket type - I'm in the UK. I noticed the Centric Daylight bulbs have an E27 European option though, are those actually the same bulbs as the North Lux? What is the actual CRI for either of these bulbs? The item page says they have a CRI of 95+, and an R9 of 80+, but the photometric report seems to suggest both of these are much higher. Am I reading it wrong? 

I was planning on getting the D65 modules as I'm used to working with natural daylight color temperatures. The Pantone color bridge I'm using says to use D50 for color matching, is the D65 fine for this? Pantone has further confused me by using M1 lighting for the color bridge guide, but M2 lighting without UV for the online color finder - do the Absolute series modules qualify as M1 lighting (the D50 version anyway)? 

First of all, our ABSOLUTE SERIES LED modules sound like a great option to give you an excellent "building block" for building your own light panel. The 99 CRI is an excellent fit for many color viewing and color-critical applications.

​Whether or not you will need a diffuser will depend on whether there will be any potential for glare. If, for example, you plan on shining the modules directly at the illumination subject, there should not be any issues. For more information, we would recommend our blog article here: https://www.waveformlighting.com/home-residential/aluminum-channels-for-led-strip-lights-are-they-worth-it-an-in-depth-look

​If you do decide that the aluminum channels and diffusers are indeed necessary, you may want to consider our flexible LED strip version of the ABSOLUTE SERIES as they will fit inside the aluminum channels without any issues.

Each module produces 800 lumens. It's a bit difficult to provide any recommendations as to whether this is sufficient or excessive for your needs, but you may want to take a look at our lumen estimation calculator, which you can find here:

https://www.waveformlighting.com/lumen-calculator

​Alternatively, a useful rule of thumb is to remember that 800 lumens are approximately equal in brightness to a 60-watt incandescent bulb.

​Transitioning to our household lamp form factors, the NorthLux is not available in an E27 socket variant, so we would recommend our CENTRIC DAYLIGHT versions instead. For more information on E26 vs E27, you may want to reference our article here:

https://www.waveformlighting.com/home-residential/e26-vs-e27-bulbs-are-they-interchangeable

The CENTRIC DAYLIGHT versions also offer an excellent 95 CRI color rendering at 5000K and 6500K, either of which should work well for you. The only minor difference (as noted by their part number including or not including the letter "D") is that the NorthLux is calibrated to D50 and D65 color standards, which may be of interest to you.

The actual color rendering values will depend on the specific bulb. Our guaranteed values are 95+ and 80+ for CRI, respectively, but depending on the specific bulb, these values may fluctuate. CRI, for example, can be anywhere between 95 and 98.

Since you'll be using the lamps for digital arts (rather than printing and visual assessments) with monitors calibrated to D65, our 6500K or D65 product options sound like the best option for you.

Is there a recommended type of material for this, or will any type of translucent plastic do? Are there any materials that look appropriate but I should actively avoid them due to them compromising the CRI too much? If I use completely transparent clear plastic just for a protective 'lid' over the module, will this affect the color temperature or CRI at all? My gut says no on this last one, but thought it was worth checking in case there's something I'm not aware of.

Unfortunately, all materials will absorb and reflect a small portion of the light energy across the spectrum in slightly different ways. We generally recommend using polycarbonate, acrylic, or glass, as these materials generally alter the spectrum to the smallest extent. Some anecdotal testing on our end indicates that polycarbonate diffusers can affect the color temperature by 200-300K. CRI is generally not affected.

I was hoping you might be able to give me some quick advice on setting up the modules - I've made a basic diagram of my plan, but I don't have much experience with this sort of thing, so I was hoping you could take a quick look and see if it makes sense.

I've reviewed the drawing you kindly provided, and everything looks good and reasonable.

Hopefully, this makes sense, if not, let me know! I will most likely put 3 modules on one panel and 2 on a separate one, but I am making the basic assumption that even if I put all 5 on the same panel using the same power supply, it should be ok, as the power supply is 24v, 60W, 2.5A, which seems to cover the minimum requirements for 5 modules, plus a bit extra - is it ok?  

Yes, the power capacity appears to be perfectly fine for this installation. The only thing to be careful of would be to make sure that the wires used to connect the modules have sufficient thickness. Generally, if you're just connecting a single module, you should be fine with 20 AWG or thicker.

Is it okay to use an inline switch sold as a 12V switch, as long as the amp rating is high enough? I found some that say 2 amp max at 12VDC, and one that says suitable for 5-24V but doesn't mention amps... They're all very basic barrel jack connected on/off switches that look identical, but I've read conflicting information online about this issue, mostly regarding the possibility of arcing with higher voltage, so I thought I'd better ask even though most people say it's ok. I'm guessing the current that will go through the switch will only be the 420mA / 10W for a single module though, given how it will be set up.  

There should not be any significant safety issues here, but we would recommend checking with the switch manufacturer to ensure that operation at 24 volts would be permissible. I believe that both the arc voltage, as well as current ratings, would both be of concern here.

Not too bothered about having to replace the switches if they break, but I don't want anything bad to happen to the LED modules. And I'm assuming that connecting and disconnecting the modules via just unplugging any of the connecting wires between the individual module and PSU while it's all switched on is a bad idea? This sort of thing is generally frowned upon, hence my idea about adding inline switches for each module for some brightness control... Sorry if any of these are silly questions, I'm learning this on the fly! 

There should be no issues with the modules, as long as they are not suddenly flooded with voltage or current.

As for the A19 style bulbs, does the article you linked basically mean it's always unsafe to use E26 bulbs in an E27 socket, even when they are compatible with 240V AC?

That is our assessment based on the dimensions and input voltage levels.

Would it be safe to use a NorthLux E26 bulb with a B22 (bayonet socket) to an E26 adapter at 240V? (E27 to E26 doesn't seem to be a thing...) Given that the product page says it's compatible with 240V AC, I assume I wouldn't have to use a step-down transformer or anything?  

Yes, the product is compatible with global input voltages and will operate with 240 volts AC despite having an E26 base.

Do you know if NorthLux bulbs (the D50 version anyway) conform to the M1 lighting standard at all? 

Unfortunately, our D50 products do not conform to the MIUV metamerism requirement for UV fluorescence. As such, you will see our conformance is limited to ISO 3664:2000 and not any of the later standards.

Do the lights emit anything into the UV range at all, or are they closer to the M2 UV-excluded type lights in that respect? Doesn't help either that the bridge guide uses M1 standards and photoshop uses M2 when the paper the guides printed on is full of OBAs.

All of our products do not emit any UV (defined as < 400nm) except for our realUV products.

Except for our ABSOLUTE SERIES LED products, the LEDs are based on a royal blue 460 nm emitter with phosphor downconversion, so virtually no energy is emitted below 430 nm or so.

I saw the section about white rendering on the Absolute series product page, does this mean they can activate the OBAs in paper and textiles, at least somewhat? 

You are correct that the ABSOLUTE SERIES LED products do have some potential to excite OBAs to improve white rendering. This is due to the underlying emitter being based on a violet emitter which peaks at 420 nm. You'll notice, though, that this is still well within the visible range of the spectrum and does not produce enough ultraviolet energy to provide meaningful improvements to MIUV rendering.

One thing you may want to look into is the realUV LED strip or floodlights​ in combination with our existing visible wavelength range products to improve UV rendering. Unfortunately, we don't have any test data or full solutions here, but this may be worth experimenting with on your end.

Can I solder the PN 7041.592 directly to a 12V battery with a flasher relay?

I am looking at your PN 7041.592. Can this be soldered directly to a 12V battery with a flasher relay? Or does your power connector need to be used? Also, is this the brightest amber LED you have? The application is for use in a directional signal.

We currently only have one amber LED strip light (PN 7041.592), but it does sound like a great option for your installation with a 12-volt battery.

The power connectors are there for convenience only, and they can be cut or desoldered as needed. You can directly solder wires to the copper pads on the LED strip lights, or if you prefer not to solder, you can also consider several of our accessories such as the ones shown below:

How bright is it? I am not sure how to compare the brightness of various LEDs using the provided Specs. What spec should I be looking for to assess brightness?

The amber LED strip lights have a brightness of 185 lumens per foot. A 40-watt incandescent bulb emits approximately 450 lumens, so that might be a helpful comparison point.

Below is the specification sheet should you require any additional technical information:

https://www.waveformlighting.com/datasheets/CS_7041.pdf

What is the beam spread angle of the White LED Film Strip?

Regarding your White LED Film Strip product, I’m thinking about mounting and housing. What is the beam spread angle of these lights? More specifically, at 3cm from the source how wide does the “fixture” opening need to be?

Our FilmGrade WHITE LED strip lights have a beam angle of 120 degrees.​Based on some simple geometric calculations, the beam would span approximately 10 cm, if measured 3 cm from the source.

3M VHB Tape Datasheet

We are considering using your "24V LED Strip for Commercial & Retail" in an industrial system that we are designing. I was wondering if you had any information on what the particular tape family or product number is for the 3M VHB tape that you use. I would like to be able to reference 3M's data sheets for the tape. Our main concern is heat. Our system will be at 100 degrees Fahrenheit all the time and we would like to know if these LED strips and their tape would be able to survive in those conditions for years. 

Our LED strip lights and 3M adhesive should not have any performance or longevity issues at 100 degrees Fahrenheit.​Below is the datasheet for the 3M VHB adhesive that is used on the product.

What do I need to connect the 365nm UV LED 16 ft strip to a spare battery in the trunk of the sidecar?

I want to mount these in the sidecar of the motorcycle. What do I need to connect this to a spare battery in the trunk of the sidecar? Can my alternator power it? I do have a 12V receptacle. The strips are DC powered, so I don’t see why I would hook it up to your AC transformer.

It is correct that the LED strips operate on DC 12 volts, so if you have an existing 12-volt battery source, such as an automobile battery, you can go ahead and skip the AC power adapter altogether.

Our LED strips come with DC barrel jacks mounted on each end. We may be incorrect, but we assume you have a 12-volt receptacle that is the size of a traditional cigarette lighter. While we don't sell any adapters, a third-party adapter such as the one below may work to connect the LED strips:

If you do intend to connect an entire 16.4 ft length, be aware that the high power draw may be an issue for battery capacity as well as the wires and components used in any third-party products.

Can you give me an idea of the amperage needed to power the whole 16 feet?

The LED strips draw approximately 0.4 amps per foot. So, for an 8 ft section, that would be approximately 3.2 amps.

Do I need to have a DC-DC step-down buck converter between the LED strips and the 12V DC marine system illuminating the boat's engine room using LED strips?

If I want to illuminate the engine room of my boat with your LED strips, do I need to have a DC-DC step-down buck converter between your LED strips and my 12V DC marine system? Oftentimes, the 12V system is cranking out as high as 13.7V.

Our 12-volt LED strip lights are not rated for use above 12 volts and use with a 12-volt battery that outputs more than 12 volts would unfortunately reduce the reliability and lifetime of the product. As such, we would recommend using a step-down voltage converter to ensure the LED strip input does not exceed 12 volts at any point.

Do you sell a step-down?

Unfortunately, we do not sell any voltage step-down or any similar DC-DC equipment. We would recommend searching third-party suppliers for appropriate equipment.

Are the NorthLux™ 95 CRI T8 LED Tube and FilmGrade™ White LED Strip Lights flicker-free for shooting video?

I’m wondering if two of your products are flicker-free for shooting video:NorthLux™ 95 CRI T8 LED Tube for Art & Studio flicker-free for shooting on video? & FilmGrade™ WHITE LED Strip Lights

We can confirm that both our FilmGrade™ WHITE LED Strip Lights and the NorthLux™ 95 CRI T8 LED Tube for Art & Studio product mentioned is flicker-free.

If a light isn’t mounted in a ballast, is there another solution in which I’d be able to operate a bank of lights of a switch in a similar way to a typical shop-light setup?

For installing our T8 LED tube lights into fixtures, such as ‘shop light’ style fixtures, we generally recommend that the fluorescent ballast is removed. Alternatively, these bulbs can be installed using the ballast-bypass method.

The instructions for both installation options can be found in the link below.

https://www.waveformlighting.com/datasheets/CS_4020-4000.pdf

Alternatively, the FilmGrade™ WHITE LED Strip Lights can also be mounted within lengths of our flat Aluminum Channel for LED Flex Strip products.

Acceptable RH/Temp environment for Absolute Series 5000K strip lights

I am considering using some of your Absolute Series 5K strip lights in an indoor sunroom where I grow plants. It is not a wet (condensing) environment and the temperature and humidity are generally controlled between 50-85 degrees F and 65-80% RH, though some days peak out at 95 degrees F and 90% humidity for a few hours over a few days. I would be running the lights for a maximum of 8 hrs/day, mostly during daylight hours. Would there be any problems using this product in these conditions?

As long as the elevated humidity is a temporary situation, you should not see any significant issues.​In personal experience with LEDs for personal grow projects, the only issues seen are when large leaves begin to grow directly into the lights and shelves above them.​The leaves themselves, of course, end up shriveling up where there is direct contact due to the heat, but a more concerning issue observed is that the leaves that are in direct contact with the LED circuit board produced lots of condensation onto the LED circuit board surface via transpiration. As a result, there were rusting and circuit damage caused by this particular situation.

Over what wavelength range does the light output for the 365nm LED?

I'm a little confused by the spectrum test report for the 365nm LEDs. Over what wavelength range does the light output?

Our 365 nm UV LEDs have a peak wavelength value of 365 nm. The FWHM is approximately +/-10 nm, which indicates that there is a significant amount of UV output between 355 and 375 nm.​The "TYPICAL EMISSION SPECTRUM" charts are shown on our product specifications page below.

https://www.waveformlighting.com/datasheets/CS_7021.pdf

Do you have a bigger vision of the typical emission spectrum?

Also, I have seen FWHM listed sometimes as a number, rather than as a ±. For example, we have a light filter with an FWHM of 16nm. Is that equivalent to ±8nm?

Unfortunately, the LED strip lights are flexible only in an up/down direction and cannot be curved to create turns to the left or right as shown in your diagram. The closest alternative would be to use our solderless connectors to create U-turns at the end of each LED strip section.

https://www.waveformlighting.com/layoutmaps/7021_4C

Using the solderless connectors, can we place the side of the strip by side? Or is there a thermal limitation for how closely the strips can be placed?

While the LED strips do warm up a bit during operation, their proximity to each other should not have any significant effect on their longevity or reliability.

Is there a way to waterproof the 365 nm strips?

I'm interested in your 365nm strips - any idea if there's a way to waterproof those? Or would putting them into some kind of plastic sleeve block the UV produced?

Unfortunately, we are unable to assist with waterproofing. The intended usage as described is beyond the scope of what we do, as we do not offer waterproof enclosures.

We discourage the use of our products in any installations where they may come into contact with water, including submersion. Doing so introduces safety hazards, and any contact that this product has with moisture will void the warranty.

As a final note, it has been our experience that plastic sleeves do indeed block the UV being produced by the realUV™ LED strip lights.

Does the plastic diffuser cover cut down or mitigate the 365 nm strip LED output?

I'm interested in using your 365nm strip and am wondering if the plastic diffuser cover cuts down or mitigates the LED output. I'm using this in resin curing for headlight restoration purposes. 

The plastic diffuser is likely to absorb the peak wavelengths of the 365 nm LED strip light, so for maximum efficacy, we would recommend removing the diffuser cover if at all possible.

Do you have LED panel lighting for a television show?

We need lighting for a television show and will require a lot of LED panels in the ceiling.

Our FilmGrade product line sounds like a great fit for your upcoming TV production.

https://www.waveformlighting.com/film-photography

Can we control them on a professional dimmer, and what do we need in between the lights and the dimmer? How many can we loop together to limit cables all over?

The LED panel can certainly be controlled via a professional dimmer, and we do not need any additional components between the lights and the dimmer. You will of course, require a power source at 24V to ensure we are able to power the entire system.

How many panels can we use a 24V source power ?

We would recommend using no more than two panels per 24V power supply.

LED strip lights for under-cabinet lighting: 12V or 24V?

We are installing LED strip lights for an under-cabinet application. There are two 8-sections that are approximately 10 feet apart, for a total of 16 ft. Should we use a 12V or 24V setup?

Both 12V and 24V LED strips should work fine, as long as the corresponding power supply voltage is selected.

For your setup, however, 24V may be preferable as it will reduce the risk of voltage drop (lower brightness at the far end of the LED strip). Since you do have a 10-ft span between the 8-ft LED strip segments, the 24V might be a better option.

To further reduce the risk for voltage drop, we would recommend using sufficient wire gauge for the 10-ft wire span. For example, see our 16 AWG wire (PN 7098) available here.

The only significant downside of the 24V versions would be the longer intervals between cut lines. The 12V versions can be cut every 1 inch, while the 24V versions can be cut every 2 inches.

For further reference, we recommend referencing the following:

Diffusers' effect on LED strip light output

I'm very interested in your range of high-CRI LED strip lights. For my application, I will also need diffusers to "soften" the light, but I'm concerned about color quality (color shift / CRI reduction) due to absorption or filtering of the diffuser. What can you suggest?

You are correct that poly-carbonate and acrylic diffusers do tend to alter the light spectrum. In our experience, however, most diffusers and plastics will absorb the light in a "full-spectrum" fashion in which energy attenuation occurs across the entire spectrum. As a result, while light intensity may be reduced, there is no significant loss in light quality.

If you are working with a very narrow tolerance color requirement (e.g. D50), diffusers may cause enough color shift to be of concern; otherwise, the magnitude of color shift is generally acceptable. Our tests show that generally, daylight color temperatures can be reduced by approximately 200-500K, depending on the diffuser.

LED strip power supply capacity with dimmer

I have two reels of your 2700K 12V 95 CRI LED strip lights. I will be using the entirety of both reels, so a total of 33 feet, which based on my calculations, will require 178 Watts at 12V (5.5 watts / ft x 33 ft). I plan on connecting the system to a wall-dimmer to reduce the brightness. If I don't ever plan on exceeding 50% on the dimmer setting, can I get away with using just one power supply, even though it can only supply a max of 120 watts @ 12V?

While we completely understand the the logic behind this, the LED strips and power supplies do not work in this manner. The LED strips operate at a fixed power, voltage and current, so there is no way to adjust this, even if the LED strips are used with a dimmer. As such, you will need two separate power supplies for your two LED strip reels.

We know this is counter-intuitive, so below is a technical explanation of why this is the case.

If you operate the LED strips at a 50% dimmer setting, you will indeed get 50% of the brightness and use only 50% of the power. This is accomplished via a mechanism called PWM (pulse-width modulation). In PWM, the light output is actually "chopped up" into short bursts of on/off periods.

During the "on" period, the LED strips operate at 100% power, and during the "off" period, the LED strips operate at 0% power. The power supply adjusts the perceived brightness level by adjusting (i.e. "modulating") the proportion of "on" vs "off" time. Even at a 50% dimmer setting, the LED strip will draw its maximum power during 50% of the time period, and will cause the power supply to exceed its power capacity.

Below is on the product page, you will find the wiring diagram for the multiple power supplies connected to a single dimmer switch:https://store.waveformlighting.com/collections/power-supplies-and-dimmers/products/triac-dimmable-power-supply-for-led-strip

LED strip layout for cove lighting

I have a room with dimensions 15' x 15' and vaulted ceilings that go to 17'. I would like to line the perimeter of the room with LED strip lights. There is a "cove" space for lighting and I will utilize this space to install the LED strips. What layout and parts would you recommend for a dimmable setup?

Our LED strip lights sound like a great fit for an indirect lighting application. Assuming room dimensions of 15' x 15' and that you want to install LED strip lighting along the entire perimeter, this would require a total of 60 feet of LED strip lighting.

Each 16.4 reel of LED strip lights requires a separate TRIAC dimmable power supply. To cover 60 feet, you will likely want to use 4 reels and 4 power supplies. Each power supply can be connected to the same wall-dimmer as shown below:

Finally, inputting room dimensions and ceiling height into our calculator below, we can confirm that the 60 feet of LED strip will provide more than sufficient levels of brightness for all activities.

UV LED strips that don't emit purple or violet light

Ultraviolet (UV) LED strips I have purchased in the past emit a lot of purple / violet light. Does your product emit any purple or violet light?

We would recommend our realUV LED strip lights with the 365 nm wavelength option to minimize the amount of visible purple or violet light. Many LED strips on the market will market themselves as a UV light strip but will have an actual peak wavelength at 400 nm or higher. The result is a significant amount of violet and purple light emission.

We also offer a 395 nm version, and you can read more about how wavelength affects the amount of visible light emitted: https://www.waveformlighting.com/tech/what-is-the-difference-between-365-nm-and-395-nm-uv-led-lights

Our 365 nm LED strips emit most of their energy in UV region, which is not visible to the naked eye. A trace amount dull, bluish-white light can be observed from our 365 nm sources.

What is the current draw on the line voltage side (amps at 110V) for each LED strip reel?

Our electrician needs to know the amperage draw for each LED strip reel (16.4 feet) connected to our electrical system (110V). How is this calculated?

The simplest way to calculate this is to calculate the power draw of the LED strip. Waveform Lighting's LED strips draw 5.5 watts per foot, so 5.5 watts multiplied by 16.4 feet gives us approximately 90 watts.

Then, to determine amperage draw at 110V, we simply divide the wattage by 110 volts.

Amperage draw at 110V = 90 watts / 110V = 0.82A

Keep in mind that the amperage draw on the 12V or 24V (low voltage DC) will be a different value.

LED strips at 90 degree angles to fit in corners

How can LED strips be easily cut and reconnected at 90 degree angles to fit in corners?

LED strips are flexible and can be bent, but not laterally. While this is usually not an issue, you may need to turn a corner or otherwise change direction within an LED strip run.

For the 90 degree turns, PN 3071 would be the perfect accessory item.

This product includes clip-on connectors on both ends of a cable, which allows you to cut the LED strip segment, and then simply rejoin the segments again quickly and easily without having to use solder. The cable is approximately 6" in length and can be bent at an angle to turn corners and change direction.

Power supply and voltage selection for a long run of LED strip lights

I need to install a 19-ft run of LED strip lights am confused about whether I should pick 12 or 24 volts.

The LED strip spec sheet for the 24 volt version says it can have a max length of 32 ft, but when I calculate out the wattage for the 19-ft run, it comes to 105 watts, which exceeds the power capacity of the 24 volt power supply (96 watts). Your 12 volt power supply has a capacity of 120 watts. Should I choose the 12 volt versions instead?

In terms of the run length and power draw question, there are two separate limitations that we will need to consider.

First, the 12 volt LED strip lights to have a recommended max run length of 16.4 feet. Exceeding this 16.4 ft maximum length may lead to safety risks, resulting from the excess heat generated by the higher levels of electrical current that a longer run length would require. While the 19 ft run does not exceed the 16.4 ft limitation by much, we would nonetheless not recommend exceeding this length for safety reasons.

On the other hand, as you mention, the 24 volt LED strip lights can safely be used at a 19 ft length, as their maximum run length specification is 32.8 ft.

(The reason for the higher max-run length specification is that the 24 volt versions operate at half the electrical current, which is the limiting factor).

Secondly, we will want to take a look at the power draw and capacity of the power supply units. The 24 volt TRIAC Dimmable Power Supply has a maximum capacity of only 96 watts, which is unfortunately insufficient for the power draw needs of a 19 ft length of LED strips lights. The reason for this specification is to allow for installation as a Class 2 power supply, which is a commonly designated electrical code rating.

Although the 12 volt version of the TRIAC Dimmable Power Supply has a capacity of 120 watts and could theoretically power the entire 19 ft length, due to the maximum run length mentioned above, this would unfortunately not be a recommended option either.

This may not be a convenient solution, however, for maximum safety, we would recommend installing separate sections that do not exceed 16.4 ft, or depending on the flexibility of the installation, modify the run lengths to two runs of 16.4 ft each. Alternatively, a third-party 24 volt power supply with a capacity of 105 watts or higher may also be an option.

How bright are LED strip lights?

Brightness, of course, is one of the most fundamental and important aspects of an LED strip lighting installation. Most of our LED strip products will provide 450 lumens per foot (see individual product pages for further detail). Check out our interactive lumen estimation calculator, or see our general guidelines below:

1 ft LED strip = 450 lumens = 40 watt IncandescentEvery 450 lumens gives you approximately the same amount of light as a 40W incandescent bulb. If, for example, you're trying to reproduce the brightness of 4x 40 watt incandescent bulbs, make sure you have approximately 4 ft of LED strip lighting.

1 ft LED strip = 450 lumens = 1-ft T8 Fluorescent4-ft T8 fluorescent lamps emit approximately 3000 lumens. However, because it emits light in all directions, much of it is "lost" in the fixture. When replacing T8 fluorescent lamps with an LED solution such as LED strip lights, we recommend budgeting 450 lumens per foot as a direct replacement. For example, a 2-lamp 4-ft T8 fixture would require approximately 3600 lumens (8 x 450 lumens).

1000-2000 lumens Per 100 Square FeetIf you're lighting up a new space or don't have a reference point to compare with incandescent or fluorescent lamps, you can also estimate your lighting needs by square footage. Determine the total square footage of the space, and divide that number by 100, and then multiply the result by a value between 1000 and 2000, depending on your brightness needs. 1000 lumens is sufficient for low-light level areas such as living rooms and lounge areas, while task-oriented spaces may require up to 2000 lumens.

Finally, keep in mind that we offer a free returns & exchanges program. We encourage customers to test out our LED strip lights prior to installing them to make sure the brightness and color meet or exceed their expectations. As long as the LED strips are in their original condition (e.g. segments uncut, adhesive liner not removed), we will gladly accept returns and exchanges of LED strip lights. See our full return & refunds policy here.

What is the difference between 12V and 24V LED strip lights?

You will see that many of our LED strip options are available in both 12V and 24V. Unsure which one to choose?

If you are installing the LED strips into a system with a fixed voltage, you will want to choose whatever makes the most sense for that application (e.g. 12V LED strips for an RV with a 12V battery system).

If you are purchasing new power supplies as well, you may be wondering which is a better choice. The short answer is that while the light output of both systems are the same, 24V systems will run a bit more efficiently due to the lower electrical current. The only downside is that the cut-line intervals for 24V LED strips will typically be twice that of 12V LED strips (e.g. every 2 inches vs every 1 inch).

The light output specifications of the 12V and 24V, in both brightness and quality, are identical. We offer both options to accommodate customers who may have an existing electrical system (e.g. 12V battery in an automobile).

If you do not have any existing voltage level requirements, we generally recommend 24V as this allows for longer runs (see below) and reduced voltage drop.

For further information, take a look at our blog post on LED strip voltage selection.

How to dim LED strip lights

All of our LED strips are fully dimmable, but to successfully implement a dimmable system, they must be paired with the correct accessories.

If you are looking to dim your LED strips from a traditional wall-dimmer switch (e.g. Leviton/Lutron brands) you will need a power supply that is "TRIAC dimmable."

Alternatively, you can also dim LED strips using an in-line PWM dimmer. For example, see our FilmGrade Flicker-Free LED strip dimmer.

For further information, take a look at our blog post on LED strip dimming.

What kind of power supply do I need for LED strip lights?

Waveform Lighting's LED strips all operate on low voltage DC current. Therefore, they cannot be directly plugged into a wall outlet and require a power supply unit that converts AC 120V to the correct DC 12V or 24V level.

When choosing a power supply unit, you must ensure that the output voltage matches the LED strip voltage (i.e. DC 12V or DC 24V), and that the power supply capacity is sufficient to operate the length of LED strip.

The power supply capacity needed is determined by the total length of LED strip connected. Each 1 foot section consumes 5.5 watts of power - so, for example, a 10 foot section will consume 55 watts of power, and we would therefore recommend a minimum power capacity of 55 watts.

Additionally, the power consumption of an LED strip system must not exceed that of the power supply's capacity. The power consumption of an LED system is determined by the LED strip's power draw per foot, multiplied by the length of LED strip in the system.

See our LED strip power supply calculator here.

Testing LED strip lights while keeping them eligible for return & refund

Waveform Lighting proudly offers a 30-day free returns policy, which also includes our LED strip lights.

If for whatever reason, you find that the LED strips you purchase from us will not work for your project, we would be more than happy to pay for return shipping and offer a full refund.

All we ask is for you to keep the LED strips in their original condition, meaning that the adhesive liner must not be removed, and that the LED strips must not be cut into any shorter sections or otherwise altered.

Keeping the LED strips "in their original condition" can be a bit of an obstacle when it comes to testing LED strip lights, since many of our customers' projects involve cutting and mounting the LED strip lights into their final installation location.

While there certainly are some limitations, we recommend using masking tape, or painter's tape, to temporarily mount the LED strip in the desired location and position to get a rough approximation of the brightness, color and overall feel.

Painter's tape will typically not leave any adhesive residue upon removal, which will help to prevent any damage to the LED strip or its components. This will also ensure that you do not damage or leave any adhesive residue on the mounting surface.

Covering several of the LED emitters with masking tape should not cause any thermal or electrical issues as long as the setup is temporary, and care is taken to ensure that the surface of the LED emitters is not exposed to any excess force or pressure.

Finally, we recommend testing at various times of day and ambient lighting conditions, as this can have a significant effect on how we perceive the same lighting installation.

How to wire and power a long LED strip run (100 ft+)

I am looking to install LED strip lights across a 100 ft section. How many power supplies do I need, and should I use 12 volts or 24 volts?

Our recommendation is to set up six separate LED strip runs of 16.4 ft each. We would recommend our 24 volt LED strip lights, and each of the 16.4 ft runs should be powered by a TRIAC dimmable power supply. All of the power supplies can be connected to a single wall-dimmer so that the entire 100 ft section can be controlled from a single dimmer switch.

If you're wondering why we need a separate power supply for each 16.4 ft run, see our article below which should provide some additional insights, as well as some third-party options:

Which is safer - DC 12 volts or 24 volts?

Do 12 volt LED strip light systems also have lower shock risk than 24 volt? I have heard that "it's not voltage that kills, it's current" - in which case the 12 volt LED strips would appear more dangerous given that it has twice the amperage.

Generally, we believe that "shock risk" increases as the voltage increases. At a very basic level, this suggests that 12 volt LED systems would have the lowest possibility of causing an electric shock, while 24 volt would be slightly higher but still relatively low, and 120 volt line voltage would be much higher in terms of the possibility of causing an electric shock.

Shock risk, however, is not the same as the potential to cause bodily harm or injury. The zap from static electricity that you feel on a dry winter day, for example, has a very high voltage of tens of thousands of volts, but does not cause any harm due to the inherently low amount of energy (as you mention, it lacks the "current which kills").

The primary reason lower voltage systems have a lower shock risk, is simply due to the fact that low voltage systems generally lack the voltage potential to overcome the high electrical resistance in our human skin. Therefore, a 12 volt system, even one with a higher amperage rating, is seen as generally lower risk because the 12 volts is usually insufficient to penetrate skin and other objects.

Low voltage systems do have a lower risk, but that is not to say they are risk-free. Please use caution and consult with an electrician when installing any LED systems you are not familiar with.

Are 24 volt LED strip lights brighter than 12 volt LED strip lights?

Many of our LED strip lights are offered in a DC 12 volt and DC 24 volt option. We're accustomed to thinking that higher voltage means higher power, so it's quite natural to assume that our 24 volt LED strip lights are twice as bright as their 12 volt LED strip light counterparts.

While it is true that 24 volts does provide twice the voltage of a 12 volt LED strip light, this does not necessarily correspond to an increase in brightness. In fact, both our 12 volt and 24 volt LED strip lights generally produce the exact same amount of brightness.

How can this be?

The reason is that voltage is only part of the equation when it comes to power and brightness. You may remember learning the following equation in high school:

Power (watts) = voltage (volts) x current (amps)

As the equation suggests, we need to consider the current of an LED strip light as well as its voltage, to determine the total power output, and therefore brightness output.

Our 12 volt LED strip lights have twice the current draw of our 24 volt LED strip lights. For example, our CENTRIC HOME LED strip lights have the following specifications per reel:

Both variants have the same 90 watt power consumption, because the 12 volt version draws 7.5 amps per reel, which is 2x the current draw of the 24 volt version, which only draws 3.75 amps. As a result, both offer the same amount of light output and similar performance.

The next logical question, then, might be: what's the point of having two voltage options if they produce the same light output? The reason here is that the two voltage options are offered for our customers who have an existing power system in place. For example. our customers who are installing LED strip lights in an RV may have an existing 12 volt battery system. For such installations, 12 volt would be much easier than having to convert the 12 volt power feed to a 24 volt input, specifically installed for the LED strip lights.

Generally, we recommend 24 volt systems for a slightly higher efficiency boost. We recommend reading our article which goes over the advantages of our 24 volt LED strip lights over the 12 volt versions.

How to span a long distance in between LED strip sections

I'm installing the CENTRIC HOME™ LED strip lights in my kitchen, and I have a 10 ft distance I need to span, in between cabinet sections. I would prefer using the same power supply, because the total run length is still less than 16.4 ft. What is the best way to join these sections together?

We offer a 32-ft spool of low-voltage wire listed under PN 7098, which should be a good option for you. The wires will essentially act as a "jumper cable" to bridge the distance between the LED strip sections to carry power to the next LED strip section. The wires can either be soldered directly onto the LED strip ends, or be connected using solderless connector accessories such as PN 3070 in conjunction with twist-on wire connectors.

Below is a chart from our LayoutMaps™ diagram which should help visualize our recommendation.

 As you mention, as long as you keep the total LED strip run length below 16.4 ft, you will be able to stay within the maximum run length limits. The wire span length is not included in the max run length calculation.

LED strip light options for photosensitive manufacturing environment?

I am searching for LED strip lights to install in an inspection booth at our manufacturing facility. The products that we are inspecting are photosensitive and cannot be exposed to any light less than 500 nm. What are my options?

Many industrial materials and components are indeed sensitive to blue and even green wavelengths of light, so these environments require specialized lighting solutions to ensure adherence to these blue light exposure limits.

The two product options that come to mind are the SimpleColor™ LED strip lights in Amber (592 nm) or Red (630 nm). Both of these color options will ensure that your lighting environment does not contain any blue or green wavelength energy.

The important thing is that even warm white LEDs contain some blue light energy, so despite their warmer appearance, they will still not be appropriate for a photosensitive manufacturing environment.

Are your LED strip lights flicker-free?

I see your CENTRIC HOME™ A19 bulbs are rated as flicker-free. I don't see the same designation for your LED strip lights. Are they also flicker-free?

All of our LED strip lights are flicker-free, when used with a flicker-free power supply. The reason we do not show a flicker-free rating for our LED strip lights is due to the fact that flicker performance with third-party power supplies depends on the power supply unit, rather than our LED strip lights.

Our own power supply units and dimmers provide flicker-free power and are an excellent choice for our LED strip lights. You can be assured of flicker-free LED strip light performance with any of the following combinations:

Are your LED strip lights UL listed?

We currently have UL listing obtained for the following LED strip light products:

The following LED strip light product lines do not have UL listing at this time:

Can I get more brightness by supplying more voltage to an LED strip?

Can I operate your 12 volt LED strip lights at a higher voltage to get more brightness? For example, can I use a 15 volt power supply to get more intensity?

Our LED strip lights are designed to be used at a specific voltage level (the "rated voltage") and exceeding this voltage level will likely cause damage and lead to premature LED failure. Therefore, a 12 volt LED strip light cannot be operated by any power supply units that exceed a 12 volt output.

The best way to get more brightness from an LED strip installation is to install multiple rows of the LED strip. With twice the number of LED strip rows, you will be able to directly double the amount of brightness.

Operating a TRIAC-dimmable LED power supply from wall outlet

Can a Triac-dimmable power supply such as the CENTRIC SERIES LED power supply be connected to a wall outlet and controlled by a wall-dimmer?

Electrically speaking, this could be accomplished. However, this would not be an advisable configuration from an electrical safety standpoint. This is because, in general, a wall dimmer should never be connected to a wall outlet.

Wall outlets are used for a wide range of non-lighting related electrical appliances. If a non-lighting product is inadvertently plugged in and "dimmed" from the wall-dimmer, there may be some catastrophic failures and/or safety issues that arise. For example, a microwave oven is most certainly not designed to be "dimmed" from a wall-dimmer, and could potentially lead to some serious issues.

As an alternative, we would recommend using an in-line PWM dimmer in conjunction with a plug-in power supply.

Protecting LED strip lights for avian applications

We would like to use your LED strip lights to build a flicker-free lighting array for our bird cages. However, we can't have any lighting parts in contact or within reach of our animals as they will destroy them, so I am curious what suggestions you might have as to how to mount these behind the wire/mesh screening.

Our LED strip lights indeed sound like a great option for your needs. Paired with our flicker-free power supplies, you will be able to achieve a nice, flicker-free light output that fits the specific mechanical dimensions of the installation location.​

We understand the concerns with respect to mounting and keeping the LED strips away from your animals. The best immediate solution that comes to mind would be our aluminum channels, which will provide a certain degree of mechanical protection and act as a housing for the LED strip lights. Please see below for the product link:

https://store.waveformlighting.com/products/aluminum-channel-for-led-strip

Do your LED strip lights require heat sinks?

Do your LED strip lights require heat sinks?

Our LED light strips do not require heat sinks. That being said, they will warm up quite noticeably during operation. Aluminum channels can be helpful in dissipating some of the heat.

Eye safety for realUV LED strip lights

I was wondering under what conditions either the 365 nm or 395 nm realUV LED strips could present an eye safety hazard. Are there viewing conditions that could be hazardous with a short LED strip segment?

Generally speaking, it's a bit difficult for us to provide assurances and guarantees regarding the safe use of ultraviolet LED products, as each installation and application can vary significantly, so we recommend consulting a UV safety expert if you have specific concerns.​

Both the 365 nm and 395 nm wavelengths fall under the UV-A wavelength range, which is a weaker form of ultraviolet radiation that is found in natural daylight so there are fewer concerns than other ultraviolet products that fall under the UV-B or UV-C wavelength ranges, for example.​

That being said, below are some general safety guidelines that we would recommend following:​

The use of a short segment should present a relatively low risk given their correspondingly low energy output. We would recommend ensuring that the LED strip lights are pointed away from any people, and perhaps install them as far away from eye level as may be practical.

LED strip light material composition

I am looking to install your LED strip lights in a manufacturing environment which prohibits the use of any glass. Do your LED strip lights contain any glass in its composition?

With the exception of our cleanUV LED strip lights, none of our LED strip lights contain any glass.

(Our cleanUV LED strip lights require a special quartz glass seal to allow the UV-C wavelengths to pass through without causing any material degradation).

12 volt LED strip light with an unregulated battery source

I would like to connect your 12 volt LED strip lights to an unregulated source such as a 14.4 volt or 11.2 volt battery. Would this be permissible?

Unfortunately, our 12 volt LED strip lights have a voltage input limit of 12.0 volts. Exceeding this voltage can result in reliability issues and reduced longevity. Operating the 12 volt LED strip light at voltage input levels below 12.0 volts would not cause any longevity or reliability issues, but will result in lowered light output.

We would recommend using a voltage regulator to ensure a stable 12-volt input to prevent any damage or stability issues.

Do you offer an 380 nm LED strip light?

I have a project which requires a strip of LED lights that produce 380 nm wavelength UV energy. Do you have a product that meets these requirements?

We currently offer UV LED strip lights that emit at 365 nm and 395 nm. We, unfortunately, do not have any products that specifically target 380 nm, but based on a reading of the spectral power distribution, we do see some residual energy output at the 380 nm level.

I've included a link below to our specification sheet, which shows the emission spectrum:

https://www.waveformlighting.com/datasheets/CS_7021.pdf

LED strip lighting for a chroma key background

We are trying to figure out how brightly your FilmGrade WHITE LED strip lights would illuminate a chroma key background surface approximately 8 ft away.

I've checked on our end, and based on measurements taken in the past, our estimated illuminance at a 4-ft distance is 20 footcandles. Our estimated illuminance level for an 8-ft distance, based on this measurement and the inverse-square law, would be 5 footcandles.

The illuminance requirements for a chroma key background would likely depend on the relative contrast levels between the foreground subjects, but should you need a higher brightness level, we would recommend using multiple rows of the LED strip light to increase the amount of illuminance falling on the chroma key background.

UV LED strip lights at 350 nm for photochemical sensitive printing papers

Do you have UV lighting products that use LEDs of the primary output of 350 nm for photochemical sensitive printing papers?

Unfortunately, we do not offer anything at 350 nm. The closest product we offer hags a 365 nm peak wavelength value.​

I've included the product link below for your reference.​https://store.waveformlighting.com/products/real-uv-led-strip-lights?variant=12339996721254

Putting LED strip lights on the backs of shelves in a three section book case

I am putting lights on the backs of shelves in a three section book case. There are a total of 4 shelves on each section and a section in the middle with one shelf to light. The tape light I choose is 3000 K. The shelves each are all 30 inches with the exception of the one in the middle being 40 inches. Total length of lighting needed is 24 ft. There is about 18 in of jumpers needed between the shelves.

Would you recommend two 12 volt power supplies in 2 parallel 16 ft runs, or one 24 volt power supply in one 24 ft run wired in series?

Generally speaking, our LED strip lights are limited to 16.4 ft per run due to power supply and/or maximum run length constraints. For your installation of 24 ft, you will likely want to install two separate LED runs​, while ensuring that neither run exceeds 16.4 ft.​

Below is a link to one of our layout diagrams which you may find useful in determining the configuration and components needed for this setup:​https://www.waveformlighting.com/layoutmaps/3001_1B

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