One of the greatest advantages of LED strip lighting is its versatility. By trimming your LED strips, you can easily achieve seamless illumination around corners. Whether you're enhancing your kitchen work surfaces or creating a backlight for your TV, LED strips can be customized to suit your specific needs and space.
How to Cut LED Strip Lights
Although LED strip lights are highly flexible, cutting them correctly is crucial to ensure functionality. LED strips consist of multiple individual circuits, and the designated cut lines indicate where one circuit ends and another begins. Always cut along these marked lines, typically located between the copper dots.
Where to Cut LED Light Strips
As long as you only cut along the marked cut lines, LED strips – including certain Philips Hue lightstrips – will work after cutting. Many people experience issues with their LED strip lights if they cut outside of these lines. The cut lines are also the safest place to cut LED strips, as the circuits here are closed.
Can You Cut Philips Hue Lightstrips?
Yes, you can! With the Philips Hue Lightstrip V4, it's even easier to reuse cut-off pieces. This version includes a connector that allows you to reattach trimmed sections to other Philips Hue Lightstrips. This feature ensures no leftover pieces go to waste, giving you more flexibility to customize the placement of your LED strip lights.
How to Bend an LED Strip Light
LED strip lights are designed to be flexible, making it easy to curve them around surfaces like the back of your TV or computer screen. Here are two effective methods:
1. Bending the LED Strip Directly
The simplest way is to bend the strip directly, but ensure you only bend along the designated cut lines to prevent damage. Philips Hue Lightstrips, for example, provide clear cut lines to guide you.
2. Using a Connector for 90-Degree Bends
For right-angle corners, such as along countertops or stairs, a corner connector is the ideal solution. These L-shaped connectors join two LED strip sections seamlessly, providing a clean and professional finish compared to bending the strip directly around sharp corners.
How Long Do LED Strip Lights Last?
On average, LED strip lights have an average lifespan of 50,000 hours! However, this is an average estimation. A LED's impressive lifespan depends on the manufacturing quality and how you use them in your home.
You can get approximately six years of continuous use out of your strip lights if you properly maintain them. For example, you should always turn your LED strip lights off when you’re not using them: this will prevent unnecessary electricity wastage and increase their lifespan.
LEDs are sensitive to temperature changes, a fact few may know! Extremely hot or cold temperatures can significantly reduce their lifespan. That’s why we recommended keeping your LEDs at a stable room temperature.
