The choice of the LED strip for the kitchen
Cooking in the kitchen becomes simple and enjoyable with the right light distribution. Ceiling and wall lights create the main lighting, LED strips are chosen as an addition, but they can also be used as the main light source. LED strips divide the room into zones, and provide additional light for convenient cooking. Such lighting helps to place accents in the interior.
For the kitchen, most often (95% of cases) they immediately select a set: Ice tape, profile, screen, plugs, power supplies. In addition to them, sometimes they order a control system (sensors, buttons or remote control).
If a person understands electrical engineering, installing a light strip is easy. But with what kind of LED strip to choose to illuminate the kitchen, sometimes difficulties arise. Therefore, we will consider this issue in more detail in our article.
A wide variety of lighting for the kitchen
Depending on which blue led light strips you decide to choose for the kitchen, the impression of the entire interior largely depends. When looking for lighting and installation location, it is worth considering:
- area of the room;
- design;
- location of interior items.
The advantages of the LED strip for the kitchen in a large selection of brightness and colour of the glow. Lighting can be made cold or warm, monochrome or multi-coloured. This is very convenient, as someone likes subdued light, and someone likes bright cold tones. Most often, we recommend daylight (neutral), as it does not distort the colour of the food during cooking (which is important, for example, for confectioners) and is familiar to the eye.
There are several other important factors that make LED strips the best option for the kitchen:
- small size – compact light sources do not spoil the design of other interior elements, but, on the contrary, emphasize advantageously;
- low power consumption – you won’t get huge electricity bills;
- safety – LEDs can be used with temperature changes and high humidity;
- durability – the backlight will serve flawlessly for several years.
Which LED strip to buy for the kitchen, first of all, depends on your project. The scope for design ideas is unlimited – the product can be cut to any desired length and mounted in places inaccessible to traditional light sources. You can install lighting along the entire wall, interrupt with a hood or focus on individual cabinets.
Where can I install LED strips?
The choice of led lights strip 10 meter for kitchen lighting largely determines the tasks that such lighting performs:
- at the bar counter – visually highlights this space, creating the effect of a real bar;
- near wall niches, and cabinets – illuminates the dishes and other contents of the shelves. You can make a backlight with sensors when the light turns on only when the doors are opened;
- under the upper cabinets, inside the backsplash or in the hood above the stove – highlights the cooking area, and creates a spectacular environment;
- on cornices – focuses on windows and curtains;
- above the hanging cabinets – visually makes the room higher, gives a feeling of “airiness”;
- underfloor cabinets – creates the effect of “floating” furniture;
- near shelves, stained-glass windows, paintings – focuses on interior elements, etc.
As you can see, different lighting options are possible. The choice depends on the desires and budget of the owners. The main thing is that the lighting in the kitchen should be beautiful, safe, and fulfill its functions.
How to choose an LED strip
In order for the LED lighting in the kitchen to meet your expectations, it is important to choose the right brightness for the LED backlight. It depends on the type of LEDs, as well as the density of their placement. Here are some recommendations on how to choose an LED strip for the kitchen.
A large number of multi-coloured highlights tires the eyes. Designers usually recommend choosing one option with soft natural light. With such lighting, you get tired less and it is pleasing to the eyes. Therefore, owners usually buy products with single-colour SMD diodes for the kitchen:
For decorative lighting, for example, decorating shelves and cabinets, you can choose LED backlighting with 3528 diodes with a placement density of 60 pieces per 1 meter. Such lighting helps to focus on certain areas of the room and to create a romantic, pleasant atmosphere. 9 Reasons to Choose Organic Skin Care Products
To illuminate tabletops, LED strips with 5050 type diodes and a placement density of 60 pieces per 1 meter or 3528 type LEDs with a placement density of 120 pieces per 1 meter are suitable. Thus, the working area is illuminated brightly and evenly.
Choosing the right power supply
LED-backlight can not be connected directly to the network. This should be done only through the power supply, which is selected depending on the power and length of the tape. Its power should be 15-20% higher than the total power of all connected devices. You can find out the necessary indicators from the store consultant or read the instructions for the product.
Usually, the power supply is made small, so it is easy to hide it even in hard-to-reach places. It is worth considering in advance where it will be located. The power supply must be in an accessible place, for example, in a separate box, so that it can be accessed for equipment maintenance in case of failure.
Profile for LED strip for kitchen
Considering the question of what LED strips are, it is worth mentioning aluminum profiles. LED strips can be glued to any surface using an adhesive backing, but for the kitchen, this is not a very beautiful and safe option. Therefore, often products are ordered immediately with profiles. These elements perform both an aesthetic and protective function. They are used for the following reasons:
The LED profile is produced with a standard length of 2 meters. They are overhead U-shaped, corner and built-in. The latter option is rarely used since no one is usually going to disassemble the kitchen to install the backlight. It is chosen only if such lighting is conceived at the design stage.
The plastic profile screen can be matte or transparent. Matte is usually chosen, as this smooths out the dots from the tape diodes. Plugs are placed at the end of the structure.
Conclusion
In response to the question of which LED strips are best for the kitchen, many designers unequivocally call white backlighting, since it does not strain the eyes and fits well into any environment. But if you wish, you can make multi-colour lighting.
And if you want fun multi-colour lighting, RGB strips are worth considering. In their design, there are 3 diodes (red, green and blue), which are combined into one LED. Therefore, such tapes can glow in different colours. The colour effect is due to mixing in different proportions of the glow of three diodes. For the backlight to work, you need a controller that regulates the intensity of the glow and sets different flicker modes.
Before buying, you need to determine the length of the light strip for the implementation of your project. LEDs are sold in rolls of 5 meters. Manufacturers make lines along which you can cut the tape to the desired length. Thanks to this, it is very convenient to measure the required size.