Terminology
Q: What is AC?
123This is Alternating Current. This is the electricity that is used in most homes and commercial spaces. It’s often referred to as line voltage and number differs from country to country.
123US line voltage is typically 90V-220V, whereas it often averages higher in Europe.
Q: What is DC?
123This is Direct Current. Most LED strips on the market use low-voltage DC.
123A transformer or low-voltage battery is often required to step-down the AC voltage to a suitable level for the LED strips, which is normally 12V or 24V DC.
Q: What is a Watt?
123A watt is equivalent to one joule per second, corresponding to the power in an electric circuit in which the potential difference is one volt and the current one ampere.
123A watt is equal to the voltage multiplied by the amperage. This is how your electric company keeps track of how much energy you consume.
Q: What is an LED (Light Emitting Diode)?
123A Light Emitting Diode (LED) is a solid-state semiconductor device that converts electrical energy directly into light.
Q: What is color temperature?
123The color of light can be quantified by referring to its color temperature. White light is measured in Kelvins (K). Most white lights fall in a spectrum between 1800K and 6500K.
123When getting close to 3000K, the light is noticeably warmer. On the other end of the spectrum, the lights have a blue-ish tint and cooler tone when nearing 6500K.
Q: Which color temperature should I choose?
123Choosing the correct color temperature lights for your project is very important, and as important as the brightness you choose.
123Consider the look and feel you want your project to have. What other color lights will be present? What material and color are the materials you wish to light?
Q: What is Binning?
123Simply put, binning is the process of grouping LEDs during production so that they matched with LEDs of the same color sector.
123For example, all 2700K chips are binned together and are separated from chips that have a higher/lower color temperature.
Q: What is the difference between 3528 LEDs v 5050 LEDs?
123LED chips are all not all equal. The four digits represent the size of the chips in millimeters.
123For example, the 3528 chip is 3.5 mm X 2.8mm. Some chips are brighter than other and some have special uses and restrictions.
Q: Do LEDs work with dimmer switches?
123Yes. all of our LED lights are fully dimmable and can work with dimming switches. It is important to select a dimmer and power supply that are compatible together.
123Note: The RGB flexible strip lights are only dimmable with an RGB controller.
Q: Do LEDs take time to warm up?
123No, definitely not. Unlike some bulbs, which can take over a minute to build up to full brightness, LED lights shine at full brightness as soon as they are switched on.
Q: What is USB charger?
123A power adapter that generates the 5 volt DC standard required by USB. The amperage varies, typically from .07A to 2.4A.
123The charger plugs into an AC outlet, and a USB cable plugs into the charger. USB ports on computers have an upper limit of 500 milliamps.
Q: What is Output?
123Outputs refers to the charging that is being done to the external device. Example: The output of the charger is – 5V / 2.0A If a smartphone is connected to a power bank,
123then that is Output charging taking place. This means that the smartphone is charging at 5 Volts and 2.0 Amps.