The Benefits of LED Strip Lighting in Your Garden
The Benefits of LED Strip Lighting in Your Garden
Now that summer’s here, it’s time to give your garden the attention it deserves. Everyone knows the importance of mowing the lawn, weeding and cleaning the garden equipment, but have you considered your outdoor lighting at all?
Lighting seems like a small detail, but it can actually make all the difference to your garden décor. In particular, LED strip lights can add a huge amount of style and elegance to your outdoor space, which is why their popularity has greatly increased.
Unfortunately, LED strip lighting has attracted a wide range of misconceptions over the years, especially regarding the practicality of installing these LED lights outdoors. Below, you’ll discover the truth about these misconceptions, the overwhelming benefits of LED strip lights, and the best outdoor strip lighting ideas for your garden.
What Are LED Strip Lights and Why Are They So Popular?
LED strip lighting, also known as LED tape, is an increasingly popular feature in many modern homes. As their name suggests, LED strip lights consist of a series of small LEDs (light-emitting diodes) mounted on a flexible circuit board resembling a long tape or strip. Strip lights are usually available to purchase in long reels, but you can often cut LED strip lights along designated cutting points to get the length you need.
These lights can be used in a wide variety of ways, but most commonly you’ll find them lighting up kitchen cabinets and providing backlighting for TVs and other screens. LED strip lights are an extremely popular choice for indoor lighting due to their brightness, energy efficiency, long lifespan and clean, modern aesthetic.
Garden Lighting
However, strip lights aren’t only used indoors. These LED lights are also suited to outdoor use as long as they’re water-resistant. The water resistance of an LED strip light is indicated by its IP rating, so lights with an IP rating of 67 or above can be classed as fully water-resistant but not suitable to be submerged. You can find water-resistant strip lights on UltraLEDs website - the long-term use outdoor LED Neon Flex lights are perfect for outdoor use all year round.
Over time, waterproof LED strip lights have become a common feature in people’s gardens as well as their homes. Their durability, ease of installation and weather resistance make these LED lights extremely desirable to those looking to redecorate their gardens, but unfortunately, some misconceptions about these lights remain.
Common Misconceptions About Garden LED Strip Lights
Compared to traditional incandescent and fluorescent lighting, LED lighting is a relatively new technology. As a result, some people are still hesitant to install LED strip lights in their homes and gardens because they’re not sure if these lights are safe, which means they’re missing out on a whole host of benefits.
Let’s start dismantling some of the main misconceptions:
"LEDs contain harmful chemicals"
Some people believe that LED lights contain harmful and dangerous substances like mercury, but this just isn’t the case. Unlike LEDs, fluorescent bulbs do contain a very small amount of mercury, which is why you have to find a hazardous waste disposal service to get rid of them. Since LEDs don’t release harmful substances into the environment, they can be disposed of with your regular household waste.
"LED strip lights cause glare"
When purchasing garden lights, it’s important to ensure that your new lights won’t cause too much light pollution. Often, people avoid purchasing LED strip lights for their garden because they think they cause too much glare, but this isn’t necessarily true. Cool white LED lights can be very crisp and bright, but you can choose other colours and colour temperatures (such as warm white) to create a softer glow. Some strip lights are also colour-changing and dimmable, so you can fully customise the colour and brightness of your garden lighting.
"LEDs are too expensive"
This claim does have some truth to it, but it’s still an oversimplification of the issue. LED lights are generally more expensive than other lighting options, but since they last so much longer, they’re more cost-effective in the long run. LEDs can last up to 50,000 hours, so if you install LED strip lights in your garden, you won’t have to replace them for many years.
"LED strips can’t operate in extreme weather conditions"
This statement is completely false. If you want durable, long-lasting and safe garden lights, then LED strip lights would be perfect for you. Outdoor strip lights like the Neon Flex from Ultra LEDs are made from strong, high-quality materials like silicone, and these lights are also water-resistant, dustproof and resistant to extreme temperatures.
The Main Uses of Outdoor LED Strip Lighting
Despite these misconceptions, it’s clear that LED strip lights are a fantastic choice for outdoor lighting. These lights are extremely durable, energy-efficient, long-lasting and stylish too.
Moreover, strip lights are incredibly versatile. This can be seen by their almost limitless applications; they can be used for backlighting, kitchen cabinet lighting, wall lighting, ambient lighting, safety lighting, party lighting, accent lighting and much more.
If you’re looking for inspiration for your garden décor, here are some interesting outdoor strip lighting ideas:
1) Wall lighting
With LED strip lights, you can get creative with wall lighting in your garden. On the exterior of your home, you can use strip lights in vertical or horizontal patterns to illuminate your garden or patio, or you can even create geometric shapes to add a cool, modern look to this space.
Installing LED strip lights on your walls couldn’t be easier. Many strip lights have a self-adhesive backing, so all you’ll need to do is clean and dry a section of wall before sticking your strip lights to it. For strip lights without a self-adhesive backing, like the Neon Flex from Ultra LEDs, you’ll just need some mounting clips, screws, glue and power connectors. Finally, make sure your lights are connected to an outdoor power supply that’s protected from the elements.
2) Party lighting
Both single-colour and RGB colour-changing garden LED strip lights are ideal for outdoor parties. With LED lights, there are so many colour options available, so you can easily ensure that your outdoor lights match the atmosphere of the evening. Additionally, if you really want to get the party started, you can control your RGB colour-changing lights so they match the beat of the music.
3) Patio and decking
Warm white LED strip lights are a great choice for illuminating your patio or decking with ambient lighting. This colour temperature creates a welcoming and intimate atmosphere that’s perfect for small gatherings and chilled summer evenings. Also, installing strip lights around the perimeter of your patio or decking will allow you to create a designated outdoor seating area, which will add structure to your garden design.
4) Safety lighting
In addition to being fantastic for parties, LED strip lighting can also be used for safety and security purposes. For example, you can easily install these lights around doorways and along pathways and steps, helping you and your guests walk around in the dark without any accidents. Furthermore, having garden lights is an important security feature because they can deter burglars and intruders.
5) Accent lighting
Since LED strip lights can easily be installed anywhere in your garden, they can be used as accent lighting to highlight a wide range of garden features. So, if you have a water feature, flower bed, rockery or architectural feature on your house that you’d like to highlight, you can install strip lighting around it to make the feature a focal point in your garden. This will add a sense of purpose to your garden design and provide an interesting talking point for your guests.
If you’re hoping to install strip lights around a water feature or flower bed, make sure you use water-resistant lights to prevent them from becoming damaged or causing a hazard. The IP67-rated long-term use outdoor Neon Flex from Ultra LEDs is a great choice for those who need water-resistant and weather-resistant LED lights.
Why You Should Buy LED Strip Lights for Your Garden
LED strip lighting is one of the most durable, stylish, versatile, easy-to-install, energy-efficient and long-lasting lighting options on the market. This summer, LED strip lights can help you transform your garden, allowing you to host the best summer parties or just chill out in the evening.
For outdoor lighting, you need strong, water-resistant and high-quality lights that can withstand a wide range of temperatures and weather conditions. The outdoor LED Neon Flex from Ultra LEDs offers all of this and much more, making it the ideal outdoor lighting solution. Additionally, LED Neon Flex kits come with various accessories, including power connectors, end caps and mounting clips, so you’ll have everything you need to install your new lights and start enjoying your garden this summer. Visit the UltraLEDs website to get started!