LED Strip Size Guide: Choosing the Right Size for Your Needs

LED Strip lights are a cost-effective, versatile lighting solution for residential, business, and creative purposes.

LED Strip lights find broad application areas in the industry of interior decoration, architecture, and sign making and can be bent to specification. Precise width selection of LEDs is important as it will define brightness, power, and strip installation convenience.

Typical LED Strip Widths Available

When selecting an appropriate LED strip light, the widths will direct you on how to optimize performance to your application.

Standard LED Strip Widths

The most widely used commercially available LED strip is 8mm, 10mm, or 12mm, particularly in configurations with multiple rows for enhanced brightness. They are ideal for general-purpose lighting applications such as under-counter lighting, under cabinet lighting, room ambient highlight, and shelf lighting.

The thin strips of specific application (3mm–6mm) are ideal for stealth mounting or thin mounting, and the large ones up to 28mm are ideal for multi-row mounting LEDs for high luminosity.

The Widest LED Strip

Where heavy-duty lighting needs to be achieved, however, double-row wider-than-normal LED strips are ideal.

Wide LED strips can go up to as much as 120mm in width and usually have more than one row of LEDs. They’re used with triple-row heavy-duty lighting for gigantic commercial spaces, industry, or wherever lots of light in a high-beam massive space is needed.

Super-Thin Strips

Thin or narrow LED strips like 2.7mm COB LED strips are used for thin space illumination, mini-signing, or design effect light where privacy is an issue.

LED Strip Widths Based on LED Chip Type

The types of LED chips determine strip width and use for special lighting applications. An approximate guide per chip type follows:

1. COB LED Strips

These strips are most recognized due to their dotless, silky smooth light. COB (Chip-on-Board) LED strips are available in 2.7mm, 4mm, 5mm, 8mm, 10mm, 12mm, and 16mm.

Installed on designs where there is small space and intensive usage, COB LED strips produce silky smooth light free of the dots of LEDs. Installed in interior design and professional applications where there are restricted mounting spaces and low-key lighting.

You can upgrade your interior design by laying different LED strips. It will give an extra dimension to your style and design.

2. 5050 SMD LED Strips

For greater brightness and light power, 5050 SMD LED strips are the preferred choice. 10mm and 12mm standard width and wide multi-row coverage from a minimum of 15mm to 120mm.

It is a high-power, high-brightness, and good color rendering index bulb that is best used in commercial and residential spaces requiring powerful and steady lighting, such as offices, warehouses, or signs.

3. 3528 SMD LED Strips

3528 SMD LED strips are best used where power efficiency is a factor. For 3.5mm x 2.8mm, 8mm, 10mm, and 15mm dimensions, the strips are more energy efficient than 5050s and best for novelty or low-power lighting applications.

Uses include home ambiance lighting, different types of decorative lighting, shelf lighting, and window front dressing of boutiques.

4. 2835 SMD LED Strips

2835 SMD LED strips are responsible for mass use. There are lots of different widths ranging from 5mm, 6mm, 8mm, 10mm, 15mm, 20mm, 28mm up to 30mm.

Low power usage and high lumens make them ideal for heavy use, from building architectural lighting and signage to residential and commercial lighting.

Comparing Different LED Strip Lights

LED strip lights come in different shapes, each with a different purpose. Some are brighter, some more flexible, and some are water-resistant or outdoor-rated.

The one to use depends on where and how you will be using them—whether for home decoration, business lighting, or commercial purposes. Below is a short description of the most popular ones:

Choosing the Right Width for Your Application

Choosing the right LED strip width is not only a design consideration—it affects installation, performance, and lifespan. Keep the following considerations in mind before buying LED strips:

When Is LED Strip Width Important?

When choosing an LED strip, never forget your space constraints and light applications. The thinnest LED light strips (i.e., 3–6mm) are adequate for small applications like cabinetry trim or sign work, and larger widths (10mm–28mm+) are ideal for higher brightness or multi-row applications.

Width also determines interfacing to diffusers and aluminum channels, which is important in clean mounting and heat management.

The Role of LED Density and Brightness

With wider strips, LED density (in LEDs/metre) usually comes into consideration. Increased density gives whiter, more diffused light and is optimally suited to the primary lighting of extensive spaces.

Narrower, less dense strips are optimally suited to ambient or accent lighting uses with smaller or specialty spaces.

Considerations in Heat Dissipation

Heat management is required for safety purposes as well as for the lifespan of LEDs, particularly with thinner strips.

2835 chip strips produce more heat than 3528 ones, and therefore, aluminum profiles or channels enhance LED heat dissipation in order to grant performance and protection.

Poorly handled heat dissipation could result in failure, reduced brightness, or hazards in sensitive implementations.

How LED Strip Width Influences Installation and Performance

The length of an LED strip isn’t a number—it’s an influence on the convenience or hassle of the installation process and the long-term performance potential of the strip.

Ease of Installation

The length of a strip influences installation methods and visibility instantly. Thin strips work best in areas where little space is available, such as in the back of cabinets, trim furnishings, or signs.

They are harder to conceal but might have to be handled more carefully. Thick strips, conversely, are less inconvenient to install in open areas but occupy more room and typically call for larger fixtures or channels in order to fit securely.

Energy Consumption and Cost

Thin strips use higher power with a growing density of LEDs or multi-row configuration. 3528 strips, for instance, use less power and lumen-to-watt ratio than 5050 or 2835 strips, which have higher intensity, higher IP rating, and output at a higher cost of power.

The wider and diffused LED strips mean your load on the power supply is higher.

In estimating power requirements, calculate wattage per meter of strip times length and then add a 20% buffer to allow efficient and safe usage. Utilizing a proper power supply avoids heat buildup and allows long-term usage.

FAQs

Q1: What is the difference between 3528, 5050, and 2835 strips?

3528 strips are cost-effective with low brightness, and they can be used for decoration light. 5050 and 2835 strips are brighter, and 2835 has superior heat dissipation along with efficiency and can be utilized for use in commercial or general lighting.

Q2: Can I use a thick LED strip on a slim profile?

You can get it to work, but it gets cranky occasionally. Slim strips won’t fit so tightly in tight spaces—use slimmer strips or adjustable mounting for a good fit.

Q3: Do longer LED strips have more brightness?

Not exactly. Brightness is more about the density of LEDs (the number of LEDs per meter) than strip width—longer strips have room to fit more infill, but density is what counts.

Conclusion

Selecting the right width of LED strips is crucial to obtain optimum performance, hassle-free installation, and good looks. The perfect width will vary based on your environment, light requirement, power usage, and other design considerations.

Join Risuncorp for Accurate LED Strips Width Solutions

Struggling to take your lighting solutions to the next level with high-performing, performance-driven LED strips?

Risuncorp provides customized commercial LED lights to meet your specific environment and technical requirements. Contact us today for professional advice, volume capacities, and custom-made strip lengths that lead your imagination.