As options for lighting have expanded, so has the terminology. For example, those who recently have remodeled a room or installed a new lighting system undoubtedly have heard of LED tape and strips. However, their lighting technician may not completely have explained how lights are installed with precision, and so they are left wondering, What are LED profiles?

LED profiles, otherwise known as extrusions, are aluminum channels that house the lighting tape. The terms can be used interchangeably to describe casings that will fit snugly into the grooves in ceilings, walls, closets, floors, cabinets, and stairs. The profiles allow you to place LED lights exactly where they are intended without having to resort to obtrusive and bulky hardware.

In addition to guiding and positioning LED strips, profiles also will help prevent contact damage. They are not waterproof, but they can help prevent the intrusion of moisture and thus extend the life of the light strip.

LED Profile Style Options

Profiles are designed in a variety of configurations to fit most any situation and offer different advantages. The selection is so vast, most of those who are considering changes to their lighting pattern likely will need the help of a professional to select just the right extrusion.

The type and depth of the profile will depend on where the lighting will be placed and the effect it is intended to present when it is finally installed. Profiles are specially designed to house lighting that is to be installed on drywall or ceilings. They can be angled or glass edged. They also can be heavy duty and rugged for pavement and sidewalk use, or combined with an optic lens to narrow and extend the reach of the light. There even are LED floor lamps built using extrusions.

Profile Installation Options

There are two primary ways to install LED profiles. Many can be fixed into place with the application of counter sink screws that are driven directly into the profile. For some applications, it may be preferable to install them using fixing brackets. The brackets are put in place first. Then the profile can simply be snapped into place, which will leave them with a clean, sleek look.

In many ways, the cheap energy enjoyed in North America is not always conducive to innovation. Over in Europe, where costs are much higher, it is certainly true that minds are more quickly welcoming of new ways in which energy costs can be reduced. This is not to say that American businessmen are dinosaurs, just that they have less incentive to bear the costs of renovation solely for the purpose of cutting down on power consumption.

Yet they are no less interested in the possibilities that modern LED lighting systems can offer from an aesthetic or architectural standpoint. In that regard, the 2016 Light + Building Convention held in Germany turned out to be a raging success for all concerned. Naturally, every lighting manufacturer was there in force—delighted to show off the amazing advances in design that have become possible with new cooler-operating LED fixtures.

In many ways, LEDs offer one of the biggest leaps forward since the invention of the candle. Lighting no longer has to conform to a set design pattern or conform to a rigid catalog of rules to ensure safe operation. The former need for fixtures to remain open to maintenance personnel had been largely cancelled by the vastly-extended service life of the new light elements.

Of course the LED Light + Building Convention is also about the advanced environmental support systems that are also coming into use. New smart switches and monitors can automatically adjust to the presence or absence of humans. They can learn from daily routines and adapt to more efficiently light, heat, cool, and service modern buildings.

In short, there was a plethora of new ideas on display that can be justified both on accounting and architectural grounds. Nor were the opportunities for participants to educate themselves on how best to utilize these new items forgotten. Seminars of all sorts were available to show how to achieve great savings in both new installation and retrofitting into older structures.

Drawing the individual technological pieces together into a single holistic creation was a major point of emphasis in this year’s exposition. While ” Digital — Individual — Networked” served as the official motto of the show, the phrase omits one of the most commented-upon aspects of the entire experience—stunning.

The invention of the light bulb completely transformed man’s interaction with the world, opening the night to activity in ways torches, candles, and gas lights never could. That progress continues and becomes incredibly more energy efficient with advances in LED lights, or light emitting diodes.

Progress in this technology allow homes and businesses to easily incorporate LED lights to replace their existing lighting systems. New designs in fixtures, flexible circuit boards, and extruders, can make light more than just a convenience, but also a work of art. By placing strips of light overhead, under counters, along stair steps, and in other recesses, LED technology not only can be used to design a brighter space with greater illumination, but also a greater artistic vision.

The word is out about the green environmental advantages LED lights encompass. They are far more energy efficient than the old incandescent light bulbs, using 90 percent less energy. The sturdy, solid lights also have a much longer lifespan, lasting an average of about 50,000 hours. That means that an LED light that is operating eight hours a day will last 17 years before needing changing, dramatically cutting operating and maintenance costs.

LED lights also have proven to be much safer, since they generate no heat and actually are cool to the touch. This allows them to be used in areas other systems cannot, lighting up spaces where people may put their hands or lean against. It also reduces the risk of fires that have been caused by the heat generated by earlier generation lighting.

Because LED lights do not use fragile filaments or glass, they are far more durable than incandescent or fluorescent lights. The LED light itself is a small chip encased in an epoxy resin. Their durability in the event of vibration, shock, or extreme temperatures has made them highly viable for use as a lighting source in aviation, automotive, and aerospace applications as well as in the military and for traffic and security lighting.

The U.S. Department of Energy sees great potential as more and more residential, business, and industrial users turn to LED lighting. It hopes to see a 50 percent reduction in the energy used for lighting in a relatively short term.

LED lighting strips are affordable, cost effective lighting options that allow you to effortlessly install light in common areas around the house. These versatile lights are also great to use outdoor, around the office, for store and trade show displays and on your vehicles. Here are five tips on what you can do with LED lighting strips.

What You Can Do With LED Lighting Strips

1. Set the right mood
Ditch the candles during romantic dinners and quiet baths. LED strips (like our LED Bathroom Lighting) allow you to create the right ambiance by providing ample lighting to set the mood and help you relax.

2. Install lighting wherever you need it
LED lighting strips allow you to install light where it may be otherwise difficult or expensive. Examples of such areas include under the counter, around the bathroom mirror, along the drive way or along steps to be used at nights. These allow you to line or outline just about anything.

3. Effortless Add Beauty
Do you dream of becoming the envy of the neighborhood with your very own stunning pond, driveway or front lawn light show? LED strips make this much easier because they seamlessly mix function and aesthetics. Best of all, they give you the option of manually changing the color whenever you want or automatically changing colors using one of the built-in change modes.

4. Decorate for a celebration
LED strips typically come with two-way adhesive tape which makes it easy to install. The tape makes decorating for Christmas, birthday parties and other celebration a breeze and the color change modes make them ideal for replacing traditional lights while cutting cost.

5. Keep monsters at bay
Is fear of the dark making bedtime difficult but you find night lights too bright and costly? Led strips can help make bed time less challenging because they provide the right amount of light to set your little one’s mind at ease. They also make great lighting for sleepovers.

While the above uses all seem practical, what you can do with LED lighting strips is limited only by your imagination. In fact, this might be a great time to get started on that LED virtual sky above your bed or LED wallpaper for the little one!

Get more ideas here

They say that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. If that is true, then KLUS LED closet lighting fixtures offer a way to shine a new element of elegance upon an often neglected area of the home. Closets have long been neglected when it comes to proper home design and frequently offer not much more than a single overhead fixture. While this rather staid and unimaginative method of lighting may perform the most basic functions, there are ample reasons for upgrading to superior modern LED lighting technology.

The most obvious reason is that closets are often filled with a large quantity of items that end up blocking out some or all the light shed by an overhead assembly, often in the most inconvenient of ways. What starts out as a perfectly acceptable form of illumination in an empty space ends up as a complete failure once the closet is actually in use for its designed purpose. Of course the advent of modern LED closet lighting has made it possible to get light right down into the tightest of spaces without any risk of heat damage or fire, as was once the case with ordinary incandescent lighting.

It is now possible to put light inside drawers and in the back of storage cubicles so that one can see what actually lurks inside these typically shaded enclosures. Beautiful and versatile LED lighting can also be used to better display and set off the clothes hanging in a closet. This makes it possible to judge how they actually look under the lighting conditions in which they will be used. The normal closet is so neglected and the potential methods of painting this empty space with all manner of LED closet lighting that the design possibilities are simply staggering.

For those who are looking to really make a statement in their homes and create something unique and of lasting beauty and utility, closets are a great place to rise above the ordinary limits of home decor. The energy savings of LED fixtures and the enhanced resale value added by such an upgraded area will more than repay the initial investment.