LED strip lighting is moving from underneath the cabinet and shelving to also provide a clean and subtle solution for the general lighting in a room. Here’s when it can be a great choice for your customer.
Relaxed lighting
LED strip lighting is generally hidden from view and throws its light onto the ceiling or walls which then reflects into the room. This spreads the light very efficiently to provide an extremely even illumination without any glare.
This diffuse light is excellent for rooms where people want to relax. As in any lighting design you should supplement this with accent lighting to pick out features and task lighting for areas where people need more direct light to focus.
It works best with a light-coloured ceiling or wall as this is the reflector, and in rooms where the ceiling height is not too high. You will also need to specify what LED strip to use, because while you may have used it for accent or under cabinet lighting, you need a higher lumen output for general lighting, read our blog “How to specify LED Strip for general lighting.”
Clean minimalist installation
Customers who want a clean minimalist look in a room often opt for it as an option because it leaves a smooth finish with no holes in the ceiling.
The fact that you don’t need to penetrate the ceiling leaves a cleaner architectural line. And it makes it a practical choice where there are concrete ceilings and for heritage or high-end finishes that need protecting.
It is often used in spaces where people want to relax such as the living room or bedroom, but it can also be used as a statement to create a subtle stunning effect in a room. If it used in a task orientated space such as the kitchen then while it creates a pleasant ambient layer of lighting, you should recommend supplementing it with direct lighting, perhaps using downlights for food preparation and other practical areas that need more illumination.
Flexible lighting
Like other LED lighting it allows you to offer your customer what sort of lighting they want. While you need to offer them enough light output to reflect off the ceiling to illuminate the space, dimming control gives them more options to create the atmosphere that they want.
LED strip comes with a range of colour temperatures. Our range for example offers a warm 2700K light, 3000K or a cooler 4000K. Generally, it is best to specify a warmer light in spaces where people want to relax and cooler light for more task orientated spaces to aid concentration.
And decoration may play a role in this as well. While LED strip lighting is better when used against a light-coloured ceiling to maximise reflectance, if the walls and furnishing use warmer tones such as reds, oranges and yellows or use wood, then a lower colour temperature will help make it glow. Conversely if the general decoration uses cool colours such as blues, greens or whites then a higher colour temperature lighting will accentuate this and make it pop.
Another big advantage of LED strip is that it accurately shows the true colour of a surface or object with a colour rendering index of greater than 90. This makes it a great choice for general lighting when colour reproduction is important, in a bedroom or changing room where people dress or in a clothes shop or art gallery for example.
Using LED Strip outdoors
These benefits are not limited to indoor rooms. People like to relax and socialise outdoors, so the subtle lighting created by LED strip is perfect for a veranda or covered outside seating area, whether for a home or a hospitality venue.
For these spaces and other potentially wet areas such as bathroom and toilets, you will need to specify LED strip that has a high IP rating such as our 80331 or 70102 products which are IP68.
LED strip lighting allows you to offer your customers a different and creative way of providing ambient or general lighting. The correct specification and installation creates a real impact and a relaxing glare free environment.
