Although many LED lighting products may look similar there are subtle differences which affect the quality of the product. One of the most popular LED lighting products, flexible LED strip lighting, is a good example of how LED products can look the same whilst being very different. To explain what high quality LED lighting really is we’ve put together this page …..
Since the European Union started to phase out incandescent lighting more and more LED lighting products have been arriving in the UK and in the rest of Europe. This can only be good right? Well, not entirely no. Although LED lighting is proving itself to be the way forward due to its low energy use, it’s long lifespan, and it’s versatility it can be difficult to spot the difference between high quality LED lighting and cheaply made LED lighting.
The image on this page illustrates a comparison between ‘SDL’ supplied water resistant flexible LED strip and water resistant LED strip supplied by a different LED Lighting company. SDL Lighting flex is encased in a silicone sleeve which is then sealed at both ends. The competitors strip uses a method of covering only the face of the LED strip by melting a flexible transparent liquid onto it and then letting it set. This is know as ‘glue drop’ flexible LED strip.
Substandard LED products can come in many forms. There are flimsy LED downlighters that come with flat-pack display cabinets and produce very little illumination. There are also 12 volt power supplies which are poorly regulated and over-drive the lighting they power causing it to fail. The most common example of substandard LED lighting is poorly constructed flexible LED strip.
Price – “the cheapest price you can find on an internet search engine is not always the best”
It’s not always as easy to find the best price for LED lighting as it is for other types of lighting. This is due to a growing number of lighting retailers selling substandard LED lighting. These retailers muddy the waters meaning that the cheapest price you can find on an internet search engine is not always the best one to go for.
Products which are substandard in design and construction fail within a very short space of time and end up costing the customer more in the long run. This is because customers have to replace the LED’s that they’ve already bought, cover the cost of having them removed, and then pay for high quality LED’s to be installed in their place.
Flexible LED strip – “Lots of LED strip looks the same but it really isn’t!”
Lots of LED strip looks the same but it really isn’t! What we are seeing more and more is that factories in Asia are trying to produce the brightest strip possible for the lowest cost possible by cutting corners. This is done by producing extra bright strip that doesn’t last any longer than three to six months before sections of it, otherwise known as ‘banks’ on a Printed Circuit Board, start to fail and leave obvious gaps within the strip where the LED’s are no-longer illuminated. LED strip can also have a ‘self-adhesive’ backing which is useless as it won’t stick to anything. It can also change colour if it has been treated with sub-standard waterproofing. This colour change results in the brilliant white light given off by your newly acquired LED lights becoming a dirty yellow.
All of the lighting sold by sdl lighting is designed and built to last. The resistors mounted on our flexible strip lighting are chosen not only to do the job required of them but because they have a high rating and will not be ‘over-driven’ even when they are in use for long periods of time. The PCB (printed circuit board) is chosen so that it is thick enough and wide enough to efficiently conduct heat away from the components mounted on it. This serves to promote a longer lifespan for the components and improve safety by not letting the LED’s become too hot to touch.
Service & Expertise – “We will ensure that you have exactly the right equipment for the job”
Whilst we don’t insist that all LED products should be produced by a huge brand name we do still recognise the quality and assurance that brand names can provide which is why our flexible LED strip incorporates LED chips made by ‘Epistar’ and by ‘Samsung’. The power supply units we sell are all properly regulated meaning that they will never cause LED failure by over-powering the LED’s they supply.
If you know what you want from the lighting solution you intend to create then you need to speak with sdl lighting. We will ensure that you have exactly the right equipment for the job, it will all arrive to you fully constructed and ready to be fitted, and most of all it will all be high quality LED lighting that comes with our quality guarantee.
*Call sdl lighting today for a quotation.*