“There is too much light in this kitchen,” said no one ever. Many homeowners have found that adding more kitchen lighting dramatically improves their ability to prepare meals and enjoy time in the kitchen, a room that is often referred to as the heart of the household. Just as there are many ways to bake a cake, there are many ways to improve kitchen lighting with LEDs. In this post, we will walk you through a few popular options for improving kitchen lighting using LED strip lights. Under Cabinet Lighting Probably the most common application of LED strips in the kitchen is under cabinet lighting. With Flexfire LEDs strip lights, adding attractive task lighting is as easy as one-two-three. Start by peeling off the paper backing. Then attach the highly adherent adhesive to the bottom of your kitchen cabinets. Finally, plug them into a power source and voila, we’ve got light! It’s nearly that easy, but of course if you have questions about installing under cabinet lighting (such as what kind of power supply you will need or how to install a dimmer), our on-call design specialists would love to lend a helping hand. For this sort of installation, we generally suggest our UltraBright™ Architectural series, which comes in three different color temperatures of white — warm, natural and bright. Also, consider installing an LED dimmer for further user control. Above Cabinet LED Lighting Above cabinet lighting is an incredible solution for those who love the healthy, generous glow and sleek look of indirect lighting designs. Attach versatile, discreet LED strip lights to the top of any cabinet to provide a beautiful indirect light source without any visible wires or components. Adding high quality, indirect light will bring the kitchen to life; it’s a look favored by top kitchen lighting...
4 Ways To Create Ambient Light With LED Strips
posted by Flexfire LEDs
Ambient light is defined as the general illumination within a space. The availability of ambient light throughout the home is one of the most critical considerations in interior design. With LED strip lights, there are many more ways to effectively create ambient light to brighten the home for family and guests. Strip lights capitalize on the well-known benefits of LED technology – providing ample, beautiful light with low energy costs and incredible durability. But there is another important factor exclusive to strip lights, and that is their supreme design versatility. Our strips can be cut, curved and connected to fit any space and shine light exactly where you want it. Here are four ways to create attractive ambient light with LED strips: Indirect Light One of the best uses for LED strip lights is in indirect lighting projects. Indirect lighting is a great way to add focus, texture, layering and accent color to rooms throughout the house. Many people choose to run the strips above cabinets in the kitchen, behind mirrors in the bathroom, or in coves through hallways. Modern designers have expressed a preference for indirect lighting because of the way it hides fixtures and because it produces an evenly distributed glow of ambient light throughout the room. Pro Tip: Take extra care to make sure the high energy areas of your house have ample lighting. Where does the family gather? In the kitchen or the living room? Make sure that the lights you install are bright enough to energize a crowd, making everyone feel lively and excited to be together. Our LED strips are some of the very brightest LEDs you will find on the market. Task Lighting Ambient light in a room is not only measured by how attractive it is, but also by its functionality. One advantage of LED strips is that their versatility makes them great for task lighting installations. LED strip lights are perhaps the best solution there is for under cabinet lighting — a common example of home-based task lighting. Further, this is a simple DIY project that won’t require a huge electrician expense. To add kitchen task lighting, just peel back the adhesive on the back of our strips, stick them under the cabinet and connect them to a power source for incredible kitchen task lighting. Pro Tip: When installing task lighting, it’s a good idea to put in more light than you think you’ll need. First, these lights will last many years into the future, and who couldn’t use more light as the years go on? Second, when you’re focusing on a task, more light means better concentration and improved accuracy. Dimmers Dimmers are important for creating the right ambient light atmosphere in the home. With dimmers, you can turn down the lights as night falls, which will relax your mind and bring you closer to sleep. Dimmers can also be used to add light to a room where natural light normally enters, but perhaps clouds are letting in less light than normal and you need a little extra. With a dimmed LED strip lights, you will have full control to add the perfect level of light necessary for any given situation. Pro tip: Before you add a dimmable LED strip lighting system, it is a good idea to consider whether you want a hardwired wall dimmer or a remote inline dimmer. The latter option is easier if you have a professional electrician on hand, while the second option can be done as part of a DIY installation. Accent Light LED strip lights can also improve a room’s ambient light by adding accent. Running strips along toe kickers or under counters is a great way to add color or textures to a room. With LED strips, the possibilities are only limited by your imagination. If you’re looking to add an extra creative flair, add color-changing RGBs and harness the power of color psychology. For instance, say...
4 Indirect Lighting Ideas Using LED Strip Lights...
posted by Flexfire LEDs
Many people come to Flexfire LEDs with an interest in using LED strip lights for an indirect lighting project. Using indirect light is a vast aesthetic upgrade over cold, direct overhead light, and by using LEDs you will save on energy costs while living a more responsible and sustainable lifestyle. Here then are four indirect lighting ideas to add focus, texture and layering for your next home lighting redesign. Above and Under Cabinet LED Lighting Does your kitchen lack good lighting? With LED strip lights, also known as “tape lights,” adding beautiful, bright, indirect lighting to your kitchen is easier than ever. With our strong adhesive-backed strips, kitchen light remodeling is now a DIY project. Our experts can help walk you through the installation process, so you can easily attach lights where you want them, without any visible wires or components. Adding strips to a kitchen will add character, color and effective task lighting to the space you use to prepare and enjoy meals on a daily basis. For under and above cabinet lighting, we suggest our UltraBright™ Architectural series, which comes in three different color temperatures of white — warm, natural and bright. Under Counter LED Lighting Indirect, under counter LED lighting is a great way to add lighting appeal to commercial and residential spaces. Popular in bars and restaurants, the technique is also used at home to add flash, personality and warmth to home bars and kitchens. Adding RGB remote-controlled or single color strips is great for parties and giving the lighting setup a creative flare. Also, consider adding light strips under the counter kicker for floor lighting in kitchens and bathrooms. Flexfire LEDs’ UL listed UltraBright™ and ColorBright™ series LED strip lights come in a variety of colors and light temperatures to match...
Installing LED Strip Lights In Boats And Yachts...
posted by Flexfire LEDs
Looking to increase your boat lighting’s functionality and/or “bling” factor? If so, you’re not alone — we here at Flexfire LEDs get calls all the time with questions about installing LED strip lights in boats and yachts. So many in fact, that we’ve decided to share a few ideas and address some of the more common issues with this sort of installation. Whether you’re running a skipper or a barge, taking your boat out for pleasure or for fishing, LED strip lights are a great solution for low energy lighting that can be fully customized to meet the individual size and lighting demands of your boat. The first thing to consider when looking into LED strip lights for your boat is to determine whether the lights will be exposed to environmental elements such as water or sand. If you’re considering LED strips for your deck lighting, or perhaps outside of the hull, make sure the lights are rated for outdoor use and water protection. Each of our LED strip lights has an IP rating that specifies the amount and type of protection it receives from the elements. IP ratings consist of two numbers — the first number refers to the amount of protection against solid objects, and the second refers to liquid protection. The numbers for solid object protection run from 0 (no protection) through 6 (full protection), while the numbers for liquid protection run 0 through 8. A fully waterproof LED strip light would thus have a rating of IP68. For deck accent lighting, we suggest our colorful, customizable and versatile IP65 Outdoor ColorBright™ LED strip lights, which come in static red, green and blue, as well as remote-controlled color changing RGB. Many people call us looking to generate the attractive indirect glow they’ve seen on other boats. To achieve this...
How To Install Under Cabinet LED Strip Lighting...
posted by Flexfire LEDs
Under cabinet lighting is one of the most common applications of LED strip lights. This relatively easy installation is a fantastic addition to any kitchen, office, or work bench area that would benefit from high quality direct task lighting. To illustrate this installation, we’ve put together this step-by-step tutorial on how to install under cabinet LED strip lighting. For this tutorial, we reached out to a customer named Owen in Toronto, Canada. Owen was seeking bright, usable light in his kitchen that could be hard-wired to a standard wall dimmer, and told us he had been, “scouring the web off and on for three years” in search of the perfect solution. In the end, he chose Flexfire LEDs UltraBright LED strip lights in natural white after viewing some of our online installation videos and feeling comfortable with our product quality. It’s important to note that for this installation, Owen enlisted the help of a licensed professional electrician. This is something we recommend for all installations, as it ensures code compliance and avoids potential injuries due to improper handling. Here is a “before” photo of his kitchen, using only the existing overhead lighting. And now, onto the installation! In order to achieve proper brightness and even light distribution, he used our solderless connectors to run two parallel sections of LED strip lights under each of three cabinet sections. In the end, he felt that one single strip would have been more than enough, and this parallel run wasn’t actually necessary. Also, note that the strip lights are very thin and low profile – the strips themselves are only actually visible when viewed from below as photographed here. As Owen says, “The low profile design means I don’t even have to rush to add a valence.”...