With the use of electricity starting at around the late 1800s, the invention of the incandescent bulb was the front runner in bringing electricity to households. Other household items were the reason why electricity was being brought to so many homes such as refrigerators, stoves, and later on washing machines and microwaves. Today, the world runs on electricity among other power sources and the driving force, when it comes to households, is being replaced by new technology.
LED or light-emitting diodes are bulbs that rely on semiconductors to generate electricity. Instead of a wire getting hot and thus producing light with the help of inert gas, an LED bulb only requires a chip. The chip is what produces the light by converting the heat generated by electricity. This allows you to change the colour of an LED light quite easily. From strips to smart bulbs, LED has endless possibilities and the fact that they are so cool is not the only thing why they have become so popular.
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Benefits of LED Lighting
Efficiency
The most notable benefits of LED lights is their level of efficiency. Thanks to the many semiconductors working to generate the heat to light, the amount of heat they generate in order to do so is a lot smaller than incandescent bulbs. Because of their simpler technology, the cost to install new LED lights with all their electrical accessories pays off in the long run. This is because there is very little energy loss which helps you save money.
Long Life
Another benefit of their low heat loss levels is that LED lights are able to light up your home for far longer. LED lights will last you anywhere between 35,000 and 50,000 hours. Less heat means less stress on electrical accessories and components thus a longer lifespan.
Safety
Since there isn’t a lot of heat created, LED lights are also safer to use. Plus, they put less stress on low-voltage systems.
Brightness
LED lights are best known for their excellent performance and brightness. Sometimes an LED light with lower wattage can end up being brighter than an incandescent or a CFL bulb with more watts. All in all, LED lights are far better than all conventional types of bulbs in every aspect.
How to Wire LED Lighting
Do LED Lights Need a Ground Wire?
One thing you need to remember when installing LED lights is that they do not need a ground wire. As long as they are coming through an adapter you’re all good.
Why Do LED Lights Have 3 Wires?
While LED lights don’t require a ground wire they still have 3 wires because they are a multi-function light. Not all LED lights come with 3 wires. Those that do allow you to set them up according to your application.
Wiring
Before installing, make sure you find the right position for your light and have all the necessary tools at hand. If the manufacturer of the LED lights/ strips has provided an instruction manual, read it as you might miss a step that is specific for the product you have. If nothing seems out of the ordinary you can start setting up your LED light/ strip.
Wiring LED lights and strips with all their LED lighting accessories starts with connecting them to the mains power supply. To do this, connect the LED to the connector with the wire. Insert the end into the clip in the wire by matching the red wire with the plus sign and the black wire with the minus sign.
Then, you need to press the back of the connector clip firmly in order to close the clasp. You may need to remove a little bit of the backing strip on the adhesive side. After that, remove the adhesive backing of the tape and press it wherever you want. The other end of the strip’s connector cable needs to be connected to the driver. You can also go for ready-to-connect tapes which come with pre-attached jacks which plug into the corresponding driver directly.