Inconvénients potentiels des bandes de lumière LED et comment les éviter

Due to their versatility and high efficiency, LED strip lights have gained widespread popularity in residential, commercial, and industrial lighting scenarios. From ambient lighting to high color rendering index (CRI) functional lighting, they have become a popular choice among designers and engineers.

However, in practical use, despite the numerous advantages of LED strip lights, there are also some potential drawbacks that may affect their performance and suitability for specific environments, particularly in large-scale commercial projects where they could lead to delays and cost overruns.

At SignliteLED, we are committed to providing our customers with the best LED lighting solutions. However, understanding the potential disadvantages of LED light strips is crucial for making informed decisions. In this blog post, we will explore the cons of LED light strips, the underlying causes, and how to mitigate risks through selection and improvement, helping you make more informed decisions.

Disadvantages of LED Strip Lights

While LED strip lights offer numerous advantages, such as energy efficiency and versatility, it is also important to consider and acknowledge their potential drawbacks. Regardless, it is advisable to develop good habits and thoroughly inspect all aspects of LED strip lights before making an investment. Let us now examine some of the disadvantages of LED strip lights.

High Initial Cost

Due to the advanced manufacturing technology and materials used in LED light strips, their upfront costs are typically higher than those of traditional lighting solutions such as incandescent or fluorescent lights. Additionally, the quality of LED light strips increases with improved performance, such as higher lumens per watt or better color rendering. While LED light strips can save costs through improved energy efficiency and extended lifespan, the initial investment may be a barrier for some consumers.

Improvement suggestions: While you can obtain lower-cost LED light strips through other channels to meet your project requirements, these light strips are likely to cause more issues and risks in terms of light output quality, safety, lifespan, and customer experience.

Therefore, you may consider collaborating with LED strip light factory-direct manufacturers to reduce initial costs through bulk purchasing. This is the best way to obtain high-quality products at more competitive prices without compromising safety or project outcomes.

Heat Dissipation Sensitivity

LED light strips do generate heat, and inadequate heat dissipation can lead to other issues, such as reduced light output and lifespan. This is because excessive heat can damage LED chips, causing increased light decay, dimming, and accelerated aging. This issue is particularly severe in poorly ventilated, enclosed spaces; high-temperature environments; or when light strips are installed on heat-sensitive materials.

Improvement Recommendations: To ensure the longevity of LED light strips, adequate heat dissipation is essential. Ensure proper installation and maintain good ventilation and appropriate operating temperatures. Use LED canaux en aluminium for effective heat dissipation. Avoid placing LED light strips near heat sources. Additionally, you can address this by using high-quality or certified products, such as thicker PCB substrates (4 oz., typically 1-2 oz.) or those with UL/ETL certification. For thermal measurements of LED strips, please read the article: Thermal measurements of LED strips.

Blue Light Hazards

Some LED light strips with higher color temperatures (mainly cool white LEDs) emit blue light. Blue light, also known as “high-energy short-wavelength blue light,” is a beam of light with relatively high intensity, with a wavelength between 400 and 480 nanometers. Blue light may be a cause of photochemical damage to the retina and may also cause macular degeneration of the skin. Prolonged exposure to blue light, especially at night, can disrupt sleep and cause eye fatigue.

In fact, almost all types of LED lighting fixtures face this issue. The primary cause of blue light hazards is that blue light intensity varies with color temperature. Blue light intensity is directly proportional to color temperature. The higher the color temperature, the greater the blue light hazard.

Improvement suggestions: Controlling color temperature is one of the appropriate methods to reduce blue light hazards. For this purpose, you can choose LED light strips with lower blue light radiation (such as those with a color temperature below 4000K) or use them moderately. In areas where you spend extended periods of time, especially at night, you can additionally use warm-toned lighting solutions.

Cohérence des couleurs

Low-end LED light strips may exhibit significant color temperature deviations or inconsistent color tones between batches, or even color shifts within a single strip. This is due to manufacturers lacking strict control over color temperature binning and color rendering tests during production. Differences in raw materials such as chips and phosphors between batches lead to unstable color rendering performance. Therefore, when multiple strips are used together, these differences become more noticeable. Additionally, LED light strips with low color rendering indices can cause objects illuminated by the lights to appear inaccurate in color.

Improvement Recommendations: Select reliable, high-quality, and certified products from reputable LED strip manufacturers, such as those with good CRI ratings, low SDCM values, a wide product range, OEM options, or custom solutions tailored to your project.

SDCM is a very important metric. The lower the SDCM (Standard Deviation of Color Matching) value, the better the color consistency. When procuring for a project, multiple batches of samples should be tested for comparison to ensure that parameters such as color temperature and CRI meet requirements across all batches. For more information on SDCM, read the blog: Tout savoir sur le DDCM pour les bandes LED.

Compatibilité de gradation

Typically, LED light strips require compatible power supplies and dimmers or controllers to function properly. Mismatched or inadequate power supplies or dimmers/controllers can cause flickering, shortened lifespan, or even damage to the LED light strips. For example, some RGB and dual-color temperature light strips are incompatible with standard dimmers, resulting in inconsistent control or failure. This is because LED strips and dimmers from different manufacturers use different control protocols and signal standards, preventing them from communicating and working together properly.

Improvement recommendations: Use industrial-grade control systems such as DMX, DALI, or 0-10V. These protocols offer good compatibility and stability, ensuring reliable communication between the light strips and dimmers. Before project implementation, conduct compatibility testing on the light strips and dimmers to ensure proper dimming control functionality. If necessary, consult a lighting expert.

Complexity of Custom Installations

Although LED light strips are easy to install due to their adhesive backing and flexibility, the actual situation may be more complex, especially in custom installation projects. Incorrect pairing of power supplies and wiring may lead to performance issues or damage. In custom installation projects, LED light strips may require cutting, soldering, and wiring to compatible dimmers and power supplies. For those without electrical experience, this may require professional installation, which increases overall costs.

Improvement suggestions: First, ensure that the power supply meets the voltage and power requirements of the LED strip lights. Second, you can use LED strip light connectors to simplify connections, reducing the time and effort required for soldering these connection points. Finally, for enthusiasts, you will need professional assistance from an electrician, LED installer, integrator, or contractor. This ensures safety, reliability, and proper installation.

If you want to learn more and install them yourself, read the following related blogs:

Guide complet sur le câblage des bandes LED
Peut-on connecter plusieurs bandes de LED ?
Comment connecter une bande de LED à une alimentation électrique ?

Adhesive Durability

The adhesive backing on LED light strips typically degrades over time, especially in high-temperature, dusty/humid environments or on rough surfaces, leading to failure and causing the light strips to detach. This not only affects lighting performance but also poses safety risks. Additionally, standard foam adhesives have limited adhesion and durability, failing to meet the demands of long-term use. Furthermore, many low-cost, low-quality LED light strips often use inferior adhesive backing to reduce costs.

Improvement suggestions: In addition to using industrial-grade VHB tape, auxiliary installation methods such as clips and brackets can be adopted. Clips and brackets provide additional holding force, ensuring the light strip remains securely installed even in harsh environments. Before installation, the installation surface should be cleaned and prepared to ensure it is flat and dry, enhancing the adhesive’s bonding strength. For guidance on selecting the appropriate adhesive backing, please refer to the blog: What is the best double-sided adhesive tape for LED strip lights?

Long-distance Voltage Drop

When LED light strips exceed 5 meters or 10 meters with a single-end power supply, the ends may exhibit noticeable dimming or color shift, affecting overall lighting uniformity and aesthetic appeal. This is because the wires themselves have resistance, and as the power supply distance increases, current loss in the wires gradually increases, causing the voltage at the end to decrease, resulting in insufficient current for the LEDs to operate, leading to brightness reduction and color shift issues.

Improvement suggestions: Use a dual-end power supply, supplying power from both ends of the LED strip simultaneously, which can effectively reduce voltage drop caused by wire resistance. Alternatively, increase the wire gauge to select wires with lower resistance, reducing current loss. Additionally, injecting power every 5 meters is an effective solution to ensure that all sections of the strip receive stable voltage and current. For more information on the causes of voltage drop and solutions, please read the article: Chute de tension sur les bandes LED : Causes et solutions.

Conclusion: Acknowledge the Drawbacks and Choose a Reliable Solution

LED strips, as a widely used product in modern lighting, are not without their flaws. While there are always some drawbacks, we must acknowledge them because there are always ways to address them. However, the advantages of LED light strips far outweigh the disadvantages, so there is no need to worry excessively.

By reading this article, you have gained a deeper understanding of the issues that may arise during the actual use of LED light strips and their underlying causes, which can help us mitigate risks in commercial projects and avoid issues such as insufficient brightness or delays due to rework. If you have further questions about using LED strip lights, you can read our blog [Guide des problèmes courants et des solutions pour les bandes LED] to see if it addresses your concerns.

SignliteLED is committed to providing high-reliability, high-consistency bande lumineuse LED products for commercial projects. With advanced technology, strict quality control, and comprehensive after-sales service, we offer full support for your projects. Please contact us for engineering samples or product selection recommendations to collaborate on creating an ideal lighting solution.