Tape Light

Tape lights mainly offer accent or decorative lighting, but they can provide unique backlighting or task lighting. They feature LEDs (light emitting diodes) attached to flexible circuit boards. Many tape lights offer set color temperatures, but others, like Smart tape lights, provide different color options. These fixtures allow you to choose between tunable white or color changing RGB. Tunable white allows you to change the color temperature of the light, ranging from a warm white up to a cool white light. RGB light kits use red, green, and blue diodes to change the color of the light.

Tape lights work well in a variety of locations. You can use them in under cabinet lighting, under shelves, in display cases, behind desks, on ceilings, and many other creative and decorative areas. Some tape lights can work outdoors! They must state that they work outdoors to avoid damaging the light. Additionally, they must remain uncut or else it may void the outdoor rating.

Because they use long-lasting LED technology, tape lights can last anywhere between 20,000-50,000 life hours. Some might last even longer! This means they can last for years before the light goes out. If used 24 hours a day, an LED with a rated life of 50,000 hours can run for a little over 5 years.

Incandescent lights usually only last around 1,000-2,000 hours.

Rope lights use either LED or incandescent lights encased in a tube that looks similar to a rope. These flexible lights wrap around rounded edges and work well in applications that require a long, solid strand of lighting.

Tape lights feature a thinner design than rope lights. Easy to install, they include an adhesive backing that allows them to stick to surfaces. Though strip lights offer almost no turn radius and limited flexibility compared to rope lights, they can use connectors to go around corners. To create a more finished look as well as to protect the light, you can install them with a channel and cover or diffuser. Lastly, tape lights only use LED lighting while rope lights can come in either incandescent or LED.

While they boast much lower heat emissions than incandescents, LED lighting still produces heat. This means that LED tape lights can get warm. LEDs rely on a heat sink to dissipate most of the heat, allowing them to remain cool. Heat can degrade the LED much quicker than normal, so proper thermal management remains a priority. Using an LED channel can help a tape light dissipate heat properly.

How warm a tape light gets can range depending on the manufacturer of the light. Well-manufactured options emit little heat while low-quality options may emit more. Additionally, if you install them somewhere with low air flow, like enclosed areas or spaces with little airflow, the air cannot disperse some of the heat.

You can cut most LED tape lights to the size needed. They include a line denoted with a pair of scissors to show you where you can cut. Make sure to cut only along the designated line or the strip light may become unusable. Cutting them somewhere else can also void the warranty.

However, you cannot cut all types of tape lights. Often, you cannot cut through waterproof light strips as this can void the waterproof rating. Do not cut tape lights while attached to a live circuit as this poses a safety hazard.