Special Producers of profiles with integrated LED lights

CHOOSING LED STRIP PROFILES

WHERE AND WHY DO YOU USE A LED STRIP PROFILE AND WHERE DO YOU NEED TO TAKE EXTRA CARE?

Profiles with LED inlay or the option of fitting LED inside them are practical for many reasons which we’ve listed in previous magazines. In this article we consider in a little more depth where and why you should use a LED strip profile and what the main points are where you need to take extra care.

The best way to start is to say that there are diverse sorts of LED strips for various applications. As you know, there are body profiles, built-in profiles, and corner profiles and for that reason there are always LED strips available which fit into any sort of LED strip profile.

Body, built-in, and corners

By far the most popular profile is the LED body strip profile. These strips are used for fastening to a surface and are available in different heights. There is a reason for that difference in height. If you opt for a low variant, that is somewhat more compact and you can fit it in several places. If you opt for a higher profile, the upper cover is further removed from the strip and this thereby spreads the light better. It is advisable to use a higher profile if the strip threatens to become visible. The light from the separate LED chips is then barely visible, unlike with the low profile.

You will tend to see a built-in LED strip profile in a ceiling more often. Indeed, this profile ensures that the strip is neatly worked away, connected to a simple fastening. If you want to fit a LED strip in a corner, that is obviously also possible. Strips usually come to rest at an angle of 45 degrees and a cover cap spreads the light nicely without the separate LED chips becoming visible.

Why and how do you use them?

Usually, aluminium is used with LED strip profiles since aluminium profiles do have a number of advantages. It’s worth knowing that a LED strip has several light points (LED chips) mounted on the strip. Since these strips have so many light points, it can happen that the light isn’t spread 100% equally and that’s why you use LED strip profiles, which promote equal diffusion.

An obvious benefit is that a LED strip doesn’t look very attractive on its own. If they are assembled in the light, you see all the lights shine separately, and that’s not a pretty sight. If you get the lights to reflect somewhere (i.e. on a profile), the end result looks much better. Moreover, even if you are planning to have the LED strip shed light indirectly, a profile is still the best choice.

Possibly the main reasons for choosing aluminium lie in the lifespan. LED strips already have a very long lifespan in and of themselves, with 50,000 hours being more the rule than the exception. However, the strips do have a slight problem, namely heat. If the surrounding temperature is high for longer periods of time, the lifespan diminishes accordingly. However, the problem is solved largely by the aluminium. That discharges heat so that the LED strip stays cooler and therefore lasts longer.

Bases

On which bases can you fasten LED strips? Here, smooth bases such as synthetics, metal, and straight wood are preferable because you can work ideally with a sort of tape which stays in good condition, even if the temperature warms up. Unplaned wood, stone, and porous materials are less suitable for using tape. In this case it is best to screw the LED strip in the classic manner. Sources: ledwereld.nl, profielgigant.nl, and lampdirect.be.

A specialist

Progress Profiles

Lighting in skirting boards is a creative solution to replace traditional lamps and lights. Depending on the space, profiles with integrated LED lights fulfill specific and different functions: in hospitals, they can be installed to reassure patients, whereas in hotels are used to illuminate the path as well as to enrich spaces with a fancy touch of design. PROLEDLIGHT System is the innovative LED range of profiles suitable for walls, stairs and skirtings, created and projected by Progress Profiles. This system reinvents the concept of profile and transforms light into a bright solution for a new way of fitting-out and living in private and public spaces thus giving life to an aesthetic-emotional dimension. Designed by Arch. Gilberto Toneguzzi, Proskirting GILED can be fitted along the ceiling as a contemporary fitting-out or to decorate walls; Prostair LED, instead, is a non-slip stair-nosing profile with an integrated LED lighting system.