LED strip lights are a popular choice for many businesses and homeowners. They come in various colors, they’re affordable, and they offer plenty of benefits for your home or business. But led strips also have some disadvantages that we will explore in this article. So what are the cons of led strip lights? Read on to find out!
The cons of led strip lights;
- Very Difficult To Replace A Single Led Strip Light Bulb
- Led Strip Lights Produce Low Light Quality
- High Initial Cost
- A Varying Voltage May Cause The Entire Strip To Burn Out
- Led Strip Light Adhesion Can Leave Mar Walls And Paintings
- Led Strip Lights Can Be A Fire Risk
Continue reading this article to find out more!
1. Very Difficult To Replace A Single Led Strip Light Bulb
One of the first disadvantages of the led strip lights you’re going to notice right off the back is that replacing a single bulb from the strip can be tricky.
This is because led strip lights are meant to be run as a continuous loop, so if you break the circuit by removing one led light bulb it’s likely that your other bulbs will also stop working.
When led strips to go bad they often don’t just affect one or two leds but rather several at once which means replacing them is not only tricky but can get expensive fast.
This is why led strip lights are far better suited for projects that require you to light areas up rather than targeting specifically led light bulbs.
If done properly, led strip lighting can be a fantastic way of adding accent or general lighting but if your project requires to pinpoint accuracy it makes more sense to use individual leds.
2. Led Strip Lights Produce Low Light Quality
When led strip lights were first introduced people immediately fell in love with the idea of replacing their old bulbs and tubes with led strips. There was just one problem: they didn’t produce enough light to replace standard led tube lighting fixtures.
While this can be good on the energy-saving side of things, most led strip lights are designed to provide an accent or decorative lighting, not general lighting that can replace entire led tube lighting fixtures.
This is because led strip lights are often low voltage which means they have a tendency of producing very little light.
Now, this isn’t bad per se since led strips can be used to accent your led ceiling panels, Christmas tree, or even create that romantic mood but if you’re looking for bright led shop lighting then using standard led tube lighting fixtures is a better solution.
With led strip lights you need to make sure they’re designed for general led lighting and not just accent led strip lights which offer lower light quality.
3. High Initial Cost
One of the biggest cons led strip lights to have is that they’re pricey. Not just in terms of how much it costs to buy them but also in regards to installation and setup time.
Where standard led tube lighting fixtures are simple enough for DIY enthusiasts, installing led strips can be a challenge even for professionals so if you don’t know what you’re doing, it might be better to leave led strip light installation in the hands of a led lighting professional.
The initial cost of led strips is higher than most other led lights and this can make them an expensive option for businesses that don’t have a lot of cash to spend on upgrades or renovations.
In addition, led strip lights are more prone to led strip light damage especially if they are installed outside.
Since led strips are wired together, any kind of led box or fixture will take up a lot more space than led tube lighting fixtures so it’s important to plan your led strip lights accordingly.
If you’re planning on using led strip lights then make sure that you account for the cost of led strip lights and led lighting fixtures in your budget.
4. A Varying Voltage May Cause The Entire Strip To Burn Out
One of the biggest led strip light cons is that led strip lights run on varying voltages.
This means that if your led strips are not wired correctly and they’re using more than their maximum wattage then you could burn out an entire led tube lighting fixture at once which can be very expensive to replace or repair-even if it’s possible to replace led strip light fixtures.
When led strips burn out they often take other led tube lighting fixtures with them so it’s important to double-check the voltage of led strip lights before installing them and wiring or connecting any additionally led tubes or led bar lights to your setup.
For businesses, this can be problematic since most standard LEDs are wired in series meaning they’re all the same led strip lights. If you accidentally wire them wrong or with too much power then your led lighting fixture can burn out.
So it’s important to do proper research before installing led tube light fixtures in your business location.
To avoid any problems, always check the voltage of led strip lighting and don’t allow for led tube lighting fixtures to be connected in series.
5. Led Strip Light Adhesion Can Leave Mar Walls And Paintings
Another led strip light con is that led strips can leave marks on your walls and paint when removed. Led strip lights often use an adhesive paste to help adhere the led strip light onto a wall or surfaces.
This can be bad for led strip lights that are meant to be temporary or installed and removed on a regular basis such as led tube lighting fixtures. This is because it can also damage your walls when led strip light removal is not done properly.
The adhesive paste used in most led strips isn’t known to cause permanent wall damage but if you don’t remove the led strip lights correctly then led tube light fixtures can leave marks on your walls.
If you’re planning to use led strip lighting for decorating purposes, it’s best to research which led strips are removable and how they should be removed properly.
Otherwise, led strip lights may not stick well to your surfaces or leave behind any residue when removal is complete. So it’s important to know led strip lights are removable before making any final decisions.
6. Led Strip Lights Can Be A Fire Risk
Led tube lighting fixtures are led strips that can cause a fire if not handled with care.
Thankfully, led lights are known to be led strip lighting fixtures that are safe for indoor use but led tube light fixtures can pose a fire risk if they’re not installed properly.
If led strip lights are not wired correctly or led tube light fixtures aren’t installed by a professional then the led tubes can overheat which can lead to led strip light fires.
This could usually result from improper wiring of the led strip led tube lighting fixtures or led strips. They’re also at risk of led tube light fires if led tubes are installed too close to led strip light fixtures.
For led tube lighting to be safe indoors, they need to have led strip lights installed at least 12 inches away from led strip light fixtures, and led tube lights to need to be at least 36 inches apart.
Also, overloaded led light fixtures can also cause led strip led tube light fires so it’s important to know led lights can be dangerous for led tube lighting and how led tubes should not only be installed but led strip lights should be installed to prevent led tube light fires.
Tips On How To Keep Led Strip Lights Safe
- Do due diligence when installing led strip lights yourself or get a professional to do the installation for you.
- Make sure to follow the voltage guidelines.
- Don’t overload led strip lighting fixtures with too many led tubes.
- When adhering led strip lights to your walls, be sure the adhesive does not affect the kind of painting or finishing you have.
- Always purchase high-quality led strip lights from led strip led tube lighting accredited stores.
- Do not alter led strip led tube lighting fixtures in any way if you do not know what you’re doing.
- Never connect led strip lights together into a long chain of led tubes unless you know what you’re doing.