LED striping

LED strip lighting and light lines for façades and interiors

LED strip lighting is a continuous line of light made from a flexible strip with small LEDs, with which you accentuate a contour, a letter, a window line or an architectural element. The light is not meant to illuminate a space, but to draw a shape. That is exactly why it works so well: the eye follows the line and immediately reads the shape of the building or the logo.

The solution suits companies that want their façade to stay recognisable after dark, retail and hospitality, offices and reception areas, showrooms and exhibition stands, and local authorities that want to accentuate a building. We often combine it with façade signage and built-up letters, so that everything forms a single image.

Applications

• Contour lighting of façades, roof lines, canopies and entrance porticos.
• Backlighting of built-up letters and logos, for a halo effect.
• Light lines in reception desks, counters, staircases and ceiling recesses.
• Accent lighting in showrooms, shop windows and on exhibition stands.
• Marking of walking routes and changes in level.

Versions

There are strips in a single fixed colour, in white with an adjustable colour temperature, and in fully adjustable colour. The last of these lets the building change colour along with a campaign or an event, but it calls for a controller and a well-considered scenario. Without a plan, colour change quickly becomes messy.

The number of LEDs per metre determines the image. Few points give a visible dotted line, many points an even line. For a line that is seen from close up, choose a high density or a diffusing profile. That profile does double duty: it spreads the light and protects the strip.

For outdoor and wet areas there are sealed versions. For long façade lines we often work with sturdier neon-style or rope-light profiles, which stand up better to wind and weather.

Technology and points of attention

Every strip needs a power supply and, over long runs, several feed points. Feed a long line from one end only and the far end becomes noticeably weaker. So provide enough feed points, in an accessible and ventilated position. Heat is the greatest enemy of an LED strip; an aluminium profile carries it away and extends the service life.

Always work with one type of strip within a single project. White is not a fixed colour: strips from different production runs show visibly different tints side by side. Years later, when a repair is needed, that is the trickiest point of all.

Installation and maintenance

The strip is fitted into a profile or a recess, with the power supply concealed in a cabinet or in the structure. On façades that also means a sealed cable entry and proper cable protection; always have the connection made by a qualified electrician in line with the applicable rules.

Maintenance is minimal: dust the profile and clean the lens, because dust on the diffuser costs more light than people think. If a fault occurs, never cut a piece out of another reel; replace the whole segment between two feed points.

Not always the right choice. If you want a message to be legible from a distance, a line of light will not do it: built-up letters or an illuminated sign are the answer there. Striping supports, but it does not communicate content itself. On a façade with a lot of ambient light, a fine line simply disappears.

What determines the price?

The determining factors are the total length of the light line, the type of strip (fixed colour, tunable white or fully adjustable), the LED density, the indoor or outdoor version and the sealing required, the profile and the diffuser, the number of power supplies and controllers, and the complexity of the installation and cable routing. Working at height, façade preparation and the electrical connection also weigh in. We calculate on the basis of your drawings or of what the tender specification prescribes.

Looking at your light line together

Send us photos or drawings of the façade or space, and the effect you have in mind. We will propose a design and draw up a tailored quotation. Feel free to get in touch.