LED Strip Lighting looks fantastic and offers great effects that single fittings just can’t provide. It’s not far removed from other forms of 12v DC LED lighting, infact it can be installed on the same circuit as other 12v DC LED Light Fittings. Follow these steps so it actually works when you flick the switch:
What You’ll Need
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LED Driver
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LED Strip
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Garden Lighting Cable
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Cable Connectors
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Wire Cutters
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Scissors
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Torch/Heat Gun
Instructions
1. Pre-Installation
Gather everything you need together, temporarily connect the LED Strip to the Driver & make sure it’s working. Then, roughly place every component in position; Driver near the powerpoint, run Lighting Cable without making any cuts etc.
2. Measure & Cut Strip
If you’re cutting the LED Strip, measure up each run & cut accordingly using scissors. The strip is clearly marked with where a cut should be made to ensure cable connection is possible.
3. Prepare Strip Connections
If you’re not making any cuts to the strip as provided, this step is done. But if you’re using cut pieces, or going around corners, you’ll need to prepare each bare connection using the appropriate LED Strip Connectors.
4. Connect Strip to Cable
Make sure your Driver is unplugged. Then working from the Driver, cut, strip & connect your cable to each LED Strip section. If you’re installing a Dimmer, or RGB Strip Lighting with a Controller, connect them inline also. The most important thing to note at this point is the Positive (+) & Negative (-) markings along the strip. This is the polarity & all connections to the strip must be of the same polarity or it will not work.
5. Test Strip
Before you put everything in its final position, power up the circuit. It all should function perfectly, but if you do find sections not lighting up, check the integrity of all connections as well as uniform polarity. Then keep testing until it’s lighting up beautifully.
6. Stick Strip to Surface
Firstly, wipe down all surfaces so the strip sticks nicely. Then, working from the connection point on each section, peel back & stick on LED Strip using the adhesive backing. This should stick to most flat surfaces, but for rough surfaces alternative adhesives may be used.
7. Switch It On
Once it’s all in, just stand back and admire your work!
