What LED Strip Widths Are Available?
What LED Strip Widths Are Available?
What if you find the LED strip too thick for the installation space? This will obviously mess up your lighting plan, as you won’t be able to fit the fixture into the narrow space. So, to avoid such situations, LED strip widths are a crucial consideration.
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LED strips are available in a wide range of sizes/widths. The single-row LED strips usually have widths ranging from 1mm to 15mm. In contrast, the multiple-row LED strips can be as wide as 120mm. Considering the width of the LED strip is essential to ensure proper heat dispersion, flexible installation, etc. Besides, the size of the LED chip or SMD is an important factor for LED strip width. Here, I have brought you a complete guide on the available LED strip width for different types of LED strips, their power consumption, and more. So, without any further delay, let’s jump into the discussion- What Do You Mean By LED Strip Width? LED strip width refers to the physical width or thickness of the LED strip lights. In these flexible light fixtures, LED chips are arranged on a printed circuit board or PCB, which gives it structure. So, LED strip width basically indicates the width of the PCB. It is usually measured in millimeters (mm) or inches (inch). The width size varies for different brands, yet the most common widths are- 8mm, 10mm, and 12mm. However, based on the width, LED strips can be of two types- Why Is It Important To Consider LED Strip Width? The width of the LED strip is a crucial consideration because it has a direct impact on the heat dispersion process. Besides, there are some other reasons for which you should consider the LED strip width. These are as follows- Heat Dispersion: LED strips generate heat while operating. Passing this generated heat in the LEDs to the PCB and thus to the surrounding environment is essential to keep the fixture cool. In this case, having a wider LED strip acts as a heatsink to absorb and distribute heat away from the LEDs. Compared to narrow PCBs, wider ones work more effectively. To learn more about this topic, check out LED Heat Sink: What Is It and Why It’s Important? Size of LED Chip: The size of the LED chip must fit the PCB of the LED strips. SMD numbers determine the chip size. For instance, an LED strip of SMD 5050 means the chips have a width of 5.0mm and a length of 5.0mm. So, to fit a 5mm wide LED chip, the width of the PCB or LED strip must be greater than 5mm. If your strip width is smaller than the size of the LED chip, it obviously doesn’t make any sense. Usually, SMD 5050 LED strips have a width of 10mm or higher. However, it’s a concern of the manufacturers to take care of the compatibility of the LED chip with the strip wide. Nevertheless, you should have some basic idea of different LED chip sizes as they impact the light output. The point to remember is that bigger LED chips need wider PCBs. Check this for details- Numbers and LEDs: What Does 2835, 3528, and 5050 Mean? Installation Space: If your installation space is very narrow, fitting a wider LED strip can be difficult. So, it is essential to check the width of the LED strip to ensure it fits in the space where you want to install it. Besides, for corners or edges, narrow strips are more suitable as you can easily bend them. Visual & Light Output: Wide LED strips are more visible, especially when lights are turned off and you have not hidden them. This can be visually unpleasant. In this case, you can go for the narrow LED steps that are not very visible. Using Aluminum Channels: When you are adding aluminum channels or silicone diffusers to your light strip, the width of the fixture is a crucial consideration. Adding aluminum channels provides a soft and even light output, but if the strip width is not perfect, you will face issues while setting it up. In this case, you need to consider the inner width of the channel to the PCB of your LED strip. For instance, you can’t pass a 10mm LED strip to a 5mm aluminum channel or silicon diffuser. Common LED Strips Widths LED strips come in variable widths, depending on brands. However, the width also depends on the type of LED strips you use and the size of the LED chip. Below, I have added the most common LED strip wides available for different category of LED strips and their chip size or SMD- Single-color LED strips are also known as monochromatic LED strips. These are the most common and basic variants of LED strips. You will find them in a wide range of sizes based on the SMDs. Here are the most common sizes available for single-color LED strips- If you are looking for color temperature adjustable LED strips, tunable white LED strips are surely your best choice to go for. These strips usually have a 10mm width that offers better heat dispersion. Yet you will find 5mm strips with small LED chip sizes if you want a thinner option. Here are the available wide of tunable white LED strips- RGB stands for red, green, and blue. RGB LED strips can create up to 16 million hues by combining these three primary colors. These chips usually come in wider PCBs, as SMD5050 is mostly used for RGB strip lighting. This is because SMD5050 has three diodes in one housing, which makes them ideal for RGB. However, due to the large LED chip size, the LED density is not much in these chips. If you need a more dense solution, SMD3838 is an ideal fit; it can be as narrow as 5mm. Dim-to-warm lights give you warm color temperature adjustability. These lights are excellent for residential spaces to create a warm and cozy ambiance. The most common width of dim-to-warm LED strips are as follows- LED Strip Widths For Most Popular SMDs & Their Properties If you get deep into the internal scheme of LED strips, you will find numerous LED chips arranged throughout the PCB of the LED strip. These chips are the crucial component that emits light. The LED chips come in different sizes, and SMD numbers indicate it. For larger chip sizes, the width of the LED strip also increases. So, if you need very narrow LED strips, go for smaller chip sizes or SMDs. Below, I will discuss the available LED strip width for the most popular LED strips- 5050, 3528, and 2835: How Wide Are 5050 LED Strip Lights? A 5050 LED strip light contains LED chips 5mm wide and 5 mm long. These chip sizes are popular for RGB LED strips. However, you can also find them on single-color LED strips or others. As the chips used in these LED strips are wider, the PCBs used in these fixtures are also wide. So, 5050 LED strips come in thick sizes. Regarding power consumption, these strips use more energy than the ones with smaller chips. It takes 0.24 watts to run a 5050 LED strip of density 60 LED per meter. As an example, a meter 5050 LED strip consumes 14.4 watts. The power consumption and width also vary based on the number of rows each strip has. The common width of 5050 LED strips are as follows- How Wide Are 3528 LED Strip Lights? 3528 LED strips refer to the strip lights that are 3.5mm wide and 2.8mm long. These chips are circular in shape and use less energy than 5050 LED strips. This makes them more energy-efficient. However, 3528 LED strip lights are popular for monochromatic or single-color LED strips. Besides these chips are also used in RGB LED strips. The available width of 3528 LED strip light includes- How Wide Are 2835 LED Strip Lights? 2835 LED strips are rectangular-shaped LED chips with 2.8mm width and 3.5mm length. As these chips are small in size, 2835 LED strips can be narrow in shape. The thinnest 2835 LED strips are 3.5mm wide. These are widely used for medical and thermal applications. However, these LED strips are less heat dispersion friendly compared to 3528 and 5050 LED strips. To avoid overheating issues, add aluminum profile accessories to enhance LED heat dissipation. The available width for 2835 LED strips is as follows- Do Wider LED Strips Consume More Energy? A wider LED strip doesn’t necessarily mean it will consume more energy. It depends on the LED density, size of the chip, its quality, and power supply. However, bigger LED chips consume more energy. For instance, a 5050 LED strip of 10mm consumes more energy than a 2835 LED strip of the same width. Again, if the density of two 2835 LED strips has the same density and power supply, but one is 5mm and the other 10mm, it doesn’t mean the wider one will use more energy. In this case, the width of the LED strip is not directly related to power consumption. Yet, as I said before, the power consumption of the LED strip with a bigger chip is more than that of a small chip. But the difference is minimal. For instance, a 2835 and a 5050 LED strip with a density of 60 LED/meter, the energy consumption is as follows- The average LED strip’s difference per meter is just over 2 Watts. Though it will affect the power draw, it won’t really show up in long-term cost calculations. Besides, the density of the LED strip is a major consideration regarding power consumption. The LED strip is highly dense; it has more LED chips to power. As a result, it consumes more energy. That is, an LED strip of 10mm width with 60LED/meter will consume more energy than a 10mm width LED strip of 30 LED/meter. Application Of LED Strip: Narrow Vs. Wide Width Strips Depending on the thickness or width, LED strips can be narrow or wide. The narrow LED strips are excellent for accent lighting, whereas wide-width LED strips are best for general lighting. They have versatile applications; these are as follows- Narrow Width LED Strips Narrow-width LED strips are the thinner strips that have a slim and compact size. They can be 1mm to 6mm in width. The slim structure of these LED strips works excellent for tight spaces and corner installation. You can use them to enhance the visuals of your interior creatively. The major plus point of using these LED strips is that they are highly energy efficient. But the drawback here is that due to minimal width, the heat is not easily dispersed away from the chip as there’s not much space in the PCB. That is why you should attach the narrow strips to the heat sink, like an aluminum profile or some other heat-dissipating material, to ensure the strips don’t get overheated. Application Wide Width LED Strips Wide LED strips are the ones with thick or wide PCBs. They can be 8mm, 10mm, 12mm, or as wide as 120mm! The single-row LED strips are not very wide, but there are multiple-row LED strips available that can be very wide. The advantage of using wide LED strips is that they have a good heat dispersion system. The heat produced with the LED chip is evenly distributed throughout the PCB and thus keeps the fixture cool. So, with these LED strips, you won’t face overheating issues that can keep your strip running longer. Application FAQs What is the thinnest LED light strip? Ultra-narrow LED strip of 1mm width is the thinnest LED strip in the market. You can use them in any tight or narrow spaces. The slim-fit size and flexibility allow you to install these thin LED strips to corners by bending them to the desired shape. You can further use them for highlighting artwork or other creative projects. How wide are LED strip lights? BLUE DIAMOND Product Page The width of the LED strip depends on the type of strip and SMDs. They can be as narrow as 2mm for small-size LED chips. Again, LED strips can be as wide as 28mm or even 120mm. In this type of strip, multiple rows of LEDs are arranged to give a wider structure; this is why they are also known as multi-row LED strips. Are all LED strip lights the same width? No, all LED strip lights don’t have the same width. Based on the type of LED, size of chip, LED density, etc., there are a variety of widths available for LED strips. They can be as thin as 1mm or as wide as 12mm. The multiple-row LED strips can be as wide as 120mm. Does the width of an LED strip matter? Of course, the width of the LED strip matters. It isn’t just about LED visuals or the appearance of the fixture; the width of the LED strip has more to deal with. For instance, a wider LED strip has a better heat dispersion facility. In contrast, you need to use a heat sink or aluminum profile for narrow LED strips as they are not good at heat dispersion. Again, when you use a diffuser with LED strips, its inner width must match the width of the LED strips to fit in. Besides, the size of the LED chip is also related to the LED strip width; bigger chips require a wider PCB, and they consume more energy. In this way, energy consumption is also indirectly related to LED strip width. Is the SMD and width of the LED strip the same? No, the SMD and width of the LED strips are not the same. SMD stands for ‘Surface Mounted Diode.’ It indicates the size of the chip used in the LED strip. For example, an SMD2835 LED strip means that the LED chip within the strips has a size of 2.8mm x 3.5mm. In contrast, the width of the LED strip refers to the width of the PCB in which the LED chips are arranged. Now, the relation between SMD and the width of the LED strip is that, for a greater SMD number, a wider LED strip is required. For example, an SMD5050 LED strip has a width of 5mm; you can’t fit it to an LED strip that has a PCB of 2mm width. What is the standard LED width? The standard LED strip width varies for different applications. For tight spaces or aesthetic visuals, you may need narrow strips of 2mm or 3mm. Again, for large installations, you might look for wider or multiple-row LED strips that can be 120mm thick. What sizes do strip lights come in? LED strips come in different sizes. Length-wise, it usually comes as 5 meters per reel, but it can be as long as 60 meters per reel or above. However, considering the width, LED strips usually have a width of 2mm-12mm. But still, they can be as narrow as 1mm or wider as 120mm. How wide are 5050 and 2835 LED strips? 5050 LED strips are usually wider than the 2835 LED strips as they are composed of bigger chips. The width of 5050 LED strips is 10mm, 12mm, and 15mm. However, the multiple-row 5050 LED strips can be up to 120mm (eight-row) width. In contrast, 2835 LED strips are available in a width ranging from 3.5mm to 64mm. The Bottom Line The width of the LED is essential to ensure your fixture fits the installation space properly. If you have a very tight and congested space to mount LED strips, try our Ultra Narrow LED Strip. They have a width ranging from 2mm-5mm and are highly energy efficient. However, when using these fixtures, you must attract a heat sink or aluminum profile to ensure proper heat dispersion. But with wide LED strips, you won’t need to worry much about this factor. Whatever LED strip width you are looking for in your lighting project, LEDYi is your ultimate solution. We have a wide range of LED strips that will meet your requirements. Besides, we also offer customization, ODM, and OEM facilities. So, contact us ASAP to get your desired LED strip width!
Two wire 8mm
Well-suited for accent lighting
Highly energy efficient
Ideal for DIY projectsLess visibility
Overheating issues
May not be as bright as wider strips
Bright lightConsistent and uniform lighting
Extensive coverage Consume more energy than narrow-width LED strips.
Buy Heavy Duty LED Light Strips
Heavy Duty LED Strips
The BRIGHTEST, TOUGHEST Heavy Duty LED Strip Available
Boogey Lights® has done it again! We took our already rugged, reliable Hi-Intensity Low Profile LED strips and encased them in black flexible PVC to create our new, IP67 rated HEAVY DUTY LED STRIP. The brightest, toughest Heavy Duty LED strip available!
AVAILABLE in 8 single color versions, 2 specialty color versions, 2 Multi-Color versions and 8 Dual Color versions.
Boogey Lights® HEAVY DUTY LED STRIPS are designed to be used in tough, outdoor and commercial applications where the lighting strip might be subject to direct impact or submersed in water. The flexible PVC provides an extra, dual layer of protection above and beyond our already tough LED light strips. Ideal for off-road machines, ATVs, side-by-sides, tool box compartments, vehicle storage bins, truck beds and heavy duty truck commercial applications. Also ideal for marine applications where the LEDs will be submerged in water for brief periods (not marine grade). Note: These LED strips are NOT intended for use in salt-water applications or to be submersed in water for extended periods of time. These are not marine grade LED lights which fall into another classification.
PRODUCT HIGHLIGHTS
Tougher AND Brighter. Depending upon the length, each Heavy Duty LED Strip contains between 15 and 75 high-intensity super-bright 5050 tri-chip LEDs. No other Heavy Duty LED strip on the market today has more LEDs per foot than Boogey Lights®. The PCB is black, created with 2 ounce copper and encased in industrial grade PVC with 1.2mm of 3M® VHB tape affixed to the back. Additionally, the end caps have a screw hole allowing these strips to be screwed to the mounting surface for additional holding power. Important to note that the strip's overall length can vary up to 1/2" longer or shorter than specified due to the manufacturing process. That plastic end cap where the screw hole is can be cut back if needed to fit in tight spots. You'll lose the screw hole of course but it will pick up 1" to 1.5" in overall length. We are not aware of any other product on the market today that matches these specifications for toughness and brightness. Available in five sizes (see drop down box). Available only in these five fixed lengths. They cannot be cut or produced in longer lengths (or, on rolls). If you need to cover a larger area, simply use multiple strips. We do it all the time.
The fully encased, flexible design allows these strips to flex so they can be mounted on a curved surface. The flexible PVC also protects the LEDs from a direct hit (e.g. rock, hammer, tool box, tire chains, etc) as well as allows them to be submersed in water. Boogey Lights® Heavy Duty LED strips are available in six colors and five lengths ranging from 1 foot to 5 feet. And because these Heavy Duty LED Strips are an exact color match to our popular motorsports LED strips, they can be mixed and matched with any of our lights or controllers to fit virtually any operating environment or application. NOTE: These are fixed length LED strips. They cannot be cut.
The Heavy Duty LED strips include a 36" power lead. If you wish to extend the power lead we offer a POWER LEAD EXTENSION kit in variable lengths of 10, 15, 20 and 25 feet. You can also purchase power lead by the foot.
The RGB and Single Color Heavy Duty LED strips use a super-bright TRI-CHIP 5050 LED chip. Each 5050 LED chip contains THREE diodes. For RGB, one diode is red, one is green and one is blue. For the single color Heavy Duty LED strips, all three diodes are the same color. Whether it's RGB or single color, the power lead on each Heavy Duty LED strip will have a four conductor power lead attached to it. One of those power leads is the ground (black / 12vdc-) and the remaining three are for the 3 diodes (12vdc+). The colors of those power lead wires will be red, green and blue. For RGB lights, the power lead wire color matches the color of the respective diode. For single color LEDs, it doesn't matter since all diode colors are the same. To achieve maximum brightness on a single color Heavy Duty LED strip it's important to connect all three power lead wires (red, green, blue) to 12vdc+ power so all three diodes are lit. If you want to reduce brightness, you can choose to only light two or even one diode by simply connecting only two or one of the 12vdc+ power leads to 12vdc power. The RGBA Heavy Duty LED strip works the same as the RGB except that there is a fourth 12vdc+ power lead (white jacket) coming off the lead strip. That power lead connects to the single amber diode on the led strip. The MAGENTA/HOT PURPLE single color option uses our RGB LED strip. The color is created by connecting the RED + BLUE power leads together to mix the color magenta/hot purple.
Boogey Lights® RGB, RGBW, RGBA and RGBWW LEDs are common cathode LEDs. They share a common ground and will only work with positively switched controllers. Most third party led controllers are negatively switched controllers and will not work with Boogey Lights RGB, RGBW, RGBA or RGBWW LEDs. We offer a wide selection of LED CONTROLLERs here.
AVAILABLE LENGTHS
This product is offered in FIVE different lengths. Here are the available lengths:
- 15 LED Strip: ~12" long x .5" wide x .25" high, 2.2 ounces
- 30 LED Strip: ~22" long x .5" wide x .25" high, 3.1 ounces
- 45 LED Strip: ~31" long x .5" wide x .25" high, 4.3 ounces
- 60 LED Strip: ~41" long x .5" wide x .25" high, 5.4 ounces
- 75 LED Strip: ~52" long x .5" wide x .25" high, 6.5 ounces
NOTE: These five fixed lengths are the only sizes offered. Maximum length for our Heavy Duty LED strips is 52" (75 LEDs). Sorry. They cannot be made longer nor are they sold on rolls due to the strip design. If you need to go longer distances, use multiple strips.
MOUNTING
Even though these Heavy Duty LED strips can be screwed to the mounting surface, the screws (if used) only hold the ends. DO NOT TORQUE them down. They're designed to hold the ends of the strip against the surface. The end caps are glued to the black PVC rubber that encases the LED strip itself. Torquing them down will most likely cause the end cap to spin and pull away from the PVC rubber. This is by design so the LED strip itself isn't damaged. Note that screwing down the ends will not secure the middle of the LED strip to the mounting surface. As such it's important to prepare the surface using 3M® 94 Adhesion Primer (not included). The strip must be mounted flat against a contiguous, straight rigid mounting surface. Strips cannot be bent around corners or on a horizontal plane. The entire strip must be secured to the mounting surface and that you NOT attempt to span across multiple mounting surfaces. If you do, the strip will almost certainly fail in the spot that isn't affixed firmly to the mounting surface. If you don't have a smooth, flat, contiguous mounting surface we recommend riveting (or screwing) 1.5" wide aluminum or plastic flat stock to the surface and then mount the LED strip to that flat stock. Do not use zip ties or similar to secure these strips. You must use the 3M tape and Adhesion Primer. Product failures due to improper installation are not covered under warranty. Installation instructions for these HEAVY DUTY LED STRIPS can be downloaded here.
WHAT IS RGB + AMBER (RGBA)?
RGBA is a new type of Heavy Duty LED strip we designed. It includes our core RGB tri-chip technology with the addition of a fourth diode that is AMBER. Designed primarily for commercial trucking applications, that fourth AMBER diode can be wired to a separate switch on the dash that allows you to quickly and easily turn on just the AMBER leds which meets DOT compliance regulations. Then, for those who want the flexibility to also be able to display up to 16 million other color combinations using our RGB LED Controller, they can do that too. RGB + A provides the best of both worlds. Note that due to the addition of that fourth diode, the RGBA Heavy Duty strip is wider than our standard tri-chip Heavy Duty LED strips. They're 11/16" wide (vs 1/2" for the tri-chip strips). For additional information including product specs, click the SPECS navigation tab on this product page.
WHAT IS RED + AMBER (REDA)?
REDA is a new type of LED strip we designed. It uses our single color RED tri-chip technology with the addition of a fourth diode that is AMBER. Designed primarily for motor vehicle tail-turn-brake applications, that fourth AMBER diode can be wired to the left and right turning indicator circuits. The remaining three RED diodes are wired such that one diode connects to the running light circuit and the remaining two diodes connects to the brake circuit. Of course there are other uses too.
What is RED + WHITE (REDW)?
REDW is a new type of LED strip we designed. It uses our single color RED tri-chip technology with the addition of a fourth diode that is WHITE (6500 Kelvin). Designed primarily for motor vehicle tail-turn-brake applications, that fourth WHITE diode can be wired to the reverse light signal. The remaining three RED diodes are wired such that one diode connects to the running light circuit, one to the brake circuit and one to the turn signal. Another option is for emergency, wrecker or recovery vehicles that need to flash red and white. In this scenario the REDW LED strip is often paired with our Single Color Strobbing / Flashing LED Controller. Note that the REDW Heavy Duty LED strip is only avaialble in the 15, 30 and 45 LED lengths for our Heavy Duty series.
WHAT IS DUAL COLOR?
The Dual Color LED configuration uses our RGBA LED strip but instead of pairing that LED strip with an RGB LED controller (to mix up to 16 million different color combinations), we hard wire a combination of one, two or all three of the RGB diodes (red, green or blue) along with the AMBER diode to two on/off switches. One switch operates the primary color diode(s). The other switch operates the amber diode. There are a total of seven Dual Color configuration options: RED+AMBER, GREEN+AMBER, BLUE+AMBER, MAGENTA+AMBER, YELLOW+AMBER, CYAN+AMBER, WHITE+AMBER. Instructions are included on how to wire the RGBA LED strip to achieve the dual color combination you ordered. With a Dual Color configuration you don't need an LED Controller. Instead, you only need two switches (and relays); one to control each color. The primary color is chosen from the available dual color drop down list. The secondary color is always amber.
DOT COMPLIANCE
The AMBER and RED single color LED strips are DOT COMPLIANT. They conform to applicable provisions of the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 108 requirements.
PRODUCT APPEARANCE NOTE
This product uses our HEAVY DUTY LED Strips. The PVC molding and polyurethane coating that protects the LED strip itself may have some imperfections in the material surrounding the LED strip due to the manufacturing process. It's unavoidable. We build and warranty these products for their performance in tough, outdoor environments on all kinds of heavy duty vehicles; not for their cosmetic perfection. For most applications, these Heavy Duty LED strips are never seen as they're usually mounted to the bottom of a vehicle out of sight. You only see the glow from the LEDs and even then, only when it's dark. For this product however, because of where they are mounted you will see the LED strips themselves; especially in day light. If you're looking for a super-bright, tough, easy to install add-on TAIL/TURN/BRAKE light, this product is ideal for your application. If however you're very particular on how something looks and/or are expecting a perfectly formed hardened plastic look when viewed up-close in the light of day, this product is probably not for you.
3M ADHESION PRIMER IS REQUIRED
To achieve the full adhesive strength of the 3M® tape affixed to the back of each strip 3M® Adhesion Promoter (aka Primer) must be applied to the mounting surface first. This is an important step to ensure a secure bond. The 3M® Adhesion Promoter creates a chemical bond between the tape and the mounting surface such that the LED strip will stay stuck (at least until you decide you want to remove it). Using any other solvent such as rubbing alcohol or acetone is not the same thing as using 3M® Adhesion Promoter. While these solvents will help clean the surface, they do not prime the surface. There is a difference. 3M® Adhesion Promoter is NOT included with this single strip. The promoter can be added to your order using the drop down 3M Adhesion Primerr option above. Iit can also be purchased separately on our website in one ounce, two ounce and four ounce bottles.
Want more information on thin led strip? Feel free to contact us.
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