What is an RGB LED strip, how does it differ from a regular one and how to connect it?

LED strips are used for different purposes and every year the choice becomes wider. Stores most often offer RGB RGBW RGBWW options - not everyone knows the difference between each type, so it’s worth understanding the features in order to buy exactly what suits you best.

A visual comparison of all three varieties.

Characteristics of LED RGB strips

The main characteristics of LED RGB strips that the buyer should pay attention to are:

• Voltage . The most important point on which determines whether the tape will work in certain conditions. According to this parameter, there are 3 main types of tapes: 12V, 24V and 220V. The first is the most common option, and it is the one discussed in this article. The other two are more professional and narrowly focused options.

Incorrect voltage calculation may result in fire. Before purchasing an RGB LED strip, you must correctly calculate all the parameters.

• Diode brightness . The most common are 2 types - with a brightness of about 5 lm and 15 lm.
• Number of LEDs per meter . Everything is simple here: the more there are, the brighter. But this is not always good: you need to take into account the increasing energy consumption and heat generation, otherwise the tape will quickly fail. There are options for 30, 60 and 120 LEDs per meter. You can find models with a double row, which means they have twice as many elements.
• Moisture protection . This function will be needed if you need to place the tape in a humid environment (bathroom, bathhouse, etc.). These models may have overheating problems.

The main difference and advantage of this type of tape is that each crystal contains a red, green and blue diode. For ordinary ribbons, it has one color. Therefore, the RGB strip can light up in any desired colors.

Many people do not know the difference between a regular LED strip and an RGB strip. At the same time, the difference in price for models of the same length may differ by 2 times.

Another important difference and advantage of this option is the possibility of more flexible adjustment of the required lighting. This way you can create the necessary atmosphere and save energy, because RGB strips are controlled by a remote control with the ability to adjust not only the color, but also the brightness of the lighting.

LED strips RGB, RGBW and RGBWW

These options are polychrome, that is, multi-colored and can glow in different shades. Due to this, enormous possibilities are provided in the design of rooms and lighting of various niches or furniture.

Essentially, an LED strip is a set of resistors and semiconductors located on a printed circuit board, which is most often white to improve reflective properties.

First of all, you need to understand how multi-colored ribbons differ from single-colored ones in order to understand the general principles of operation. In monochrome tapes, the white glow is produced by a phosphor - a composition that converts electricity into radiation. The light of this option is soft and uniform. The lighting creates a comfortable atmosphere for the eyes.

The choice of shades in LED strips is huge - more than 15 million options.

In multi-color versions, all shades are formed as a result of a combination of red, blue and green (including white). Since different strips use different LEDs, the characteristics of which may vary, it is difficult to obtain the same white light as in the monochrome version, but in general it is of good quality.

This video explains the feature of RGB+W tape.

Decoding

Each type has its own characteristics, which are easy to recognize by the markings. Therefore, it is worth understanding the notation in order to navigate the topic and select the variety that suits best:

1. RGB is the simplest solution, which appeared first and is still used today. It has three colors R - red, G - green and B - blue. A full-color system that consists of three monochrome channels that are connected independently of each other, which provides wide settings and a large number of possible shades.
2. RGBW is an improved tape in which cold white (White) with a color temperature of 6000 K is added to the three standard colors. If you compare RGB and RGBW, the difference is in one diode, but due to it the number of shades becomes even greater, and if necessary, you can turn on pure White light.
3. What does RGBWW mean? There is another white LED, but unlike the first one, it has warm white light with a temperature of 2700-2900 K.

Additional elements allow you to achieve new shades that cannot be adjusted on the standard tape.

An RGBWWW option has appeared, but it is not on sale yet; most likely, another shade of white has been added there.

Main types of RGB LED strips

Different types of tapes differ in directionality, type of glow, and additional characteristics:

• Waterproof. They are often used to decorate building facades and signs, and are installed inside aquariums and in bathrooms.
• With 3528 format LEDs. These are small diodes; more of them can fit on a strip, but they are not very bright.
• With 5050 LEDs. Larger diodes. There are fewer of them on the tape, but they are much brighter.
• RGBW tapes. They have an additional element that is responsible only for white color, which allows you to achieve more natural lighting.
• Ribbons with Pixel Light function. It is possible to set a specific program for each element separately. Such products are rarely used for home use.

Main differences

Ribbons with three colors are usually single-row and the simplest, have 4 contacts - 1 for each color and a common plus. If one or two white elements are added, contacts are added. Therefore, when connecting different types, you should select the right connectors; if you take the wrong ones, you will not be able to connect the backlight.

If you look at the appearance of RGBW and RGBWW, the difference with standard RGB is immediately obvious. In the first version there is one additional LED, in the second there are two. Moreover, they can be arranged in different ways:

1. White LEDs and RGB are placed next to each other. Since they need to be close together for uniform lighting, the tape is often made double-row. This may cause inconvenience during installation if an aluminum profile of standard width is used.
2. All diodes are located in one housing, but are separated inside. This option provides uniform light, and the size of the tape is practically no different from the standard one.

The arrangement of three modules in one housing is a good solution with high-quality light.

Features of color, scope of application

When choosing one of the options, you need to understand for what purposes it will be used. The choice depends on this, since the color of each type has its own characteristics:

1. RGB is the simplest solution with a three-color module. Gives many shades and can also shine with white light. But it is not distinguished by its purity and brightness, and can often be yellowish. Therefore, it can be used for decorative lighting and decoration of rooms, furniture and other structures. If you need white light, it is better to place a monochrome white version next to it, it will work out much better.
2. RGBW turns on cool white light, which increases the number of possible shades and allows you to customize the backlight very precisely. And if you need general lighting, you don’t have to install two matrices, there is white light. But you need to take into account that it is cold, and this is not very comfortable for vision when staying in the room for a long time.
3. RGBWW with two white light modules is suitable for both general lighting and backlighting. The number of shades is the largest, so you can achieve the perfect result in any room or outdoors. But most importantly, you can regulate the temperature of the light in the room and set it so that you can work or relax.

General lighting made using an RGBWW strip is convenient because you can clearly adjust the brightness and color temperature.

If you need to make lighting outdoors, you should choose models with increased protection from moisture and temperature changes. Usually the tape is silicone coated, its price is much higher, so there is no point in buying one for rooms.

Connecting RGB strip

Connecting the tapes is quite simple. There are 4 contacts: three are responsible for each color, and the fourth is for power. RGBW has another one - for white.

Connecting an RGB strip depending on the type of controller If you need to get one long strip, you can connect different strips together. The safest way to do this is by soldering, but this can be inconvenient, especially if you have no experience working with a soldering station. In this case, it is recommended to use special connectors. They come in different types:

• for connecting tapes into one;
• for connection to the power supply;
• for connecting to a 220V network;
• for different LEDs (3528, 5050, etc.).

The connectors are inexpensive and easy to install, but they oxidize quite quickly, especially in high humidity.

Where is it used?

The use of linear LED lamps has become widespread and is found in many areas of human activity. The main focus is design:

• interior design;
• decoration of building facades;
• illumination of areas, landscape design elements;
• design of gaming keyboards;
• illumination of vehicle interiors and exterior elements;
• decoration of shop windows, stands, various panels and boxes
• Waterproof types of RGB lighting are installed in swimming pools, saunas and other wet areas.

Interesting! Most often, RGB lighting is found in the design of nightclubs, restaurants, cafes or bars, successfully replacing expensive and fragile neon display cases. In addition, the so-called floating lighting of furniture or cars has become very popular, when an LED strip is attached under the lower plane in such a way that only a reflection on the floor is visible from the outside. A similar effect, only in the opposite direction, is created by secretly illuminating plasterboard ceiling structures.

Special gaming computer keyboards with RGB backlighting have become popular among gamers. They are equipped with various types of mechanical switches like the Cherry Blue Switch or their equivalents. The main purpose of such backlighting is to decorate the keyboard, but users note the ease of use in dark rooms and the ability to change the lighting mode in different situations or conditions.

Receiving any shade of white light

Lighting practice has shown that the light of RGB strips can be significantly improved. Yes, and I would like to have more brightness. The engineers proposed adding a fourth, but white one, to the three regulatory channels. A white LED was placed next to each RGB LED triad and an additional 4th control channel was connected to it. It was a pure white LED, designated W for White. Its color temperature is in the Warm range from 2600 to 3000K.

By changing the brightness of the fourth channel, you can add true white light to the “three-color” one. And as a result, get the desired shade.

But the shades of sunlight on a summer day are familiar and pleasant to humans. They correspond to a color temperature that lies in the range from 2700 to 2900K. That is, it is a warm light.

An RGB tape with a fourth W-channel can operate in the following modes:

• in multi-color adjustable with disabled W channel with changing color shades;
• in “white” RGB with the W channel disabled;
• in “white”, with hue correction using the W channel.

For example, LED RGBW strip LeDron D560 RGBW-One 2700K WWarm 10 mm. Power 19.2 W/m, LEDs – 60 pcs/m, power supply 24 Volts.

You can buy RGB, RGBW or RGBWW products directly on the website. Choose, pay and use.

The need for high brightness and a wide range of shades was realized by adding another white diode to the RGBW. We received RGBWW tapes. These are full-color RGBWW products with double color correction - warm 2600 - 3000K and “cold white” with a center of 7000K.