How To Repair Led Rope Lights

Rope lighting is an extremely versatile emphasis lighting product that is used by DIY�ers and electrical contractors alike beyond all manner of projects from residential to retail to commercial, and everything in betwixt. We at Take Three take been proudly selling rope lights since the visitor commencement started.

But in that location are a variety of different types of rope light bachelor. Which practice you cull? How do y'all know where to start? We�re here to guide yous through the process and aid y'all get the right rope light for your needs.

Rope Low-cal Engineering science: Incandescent or LED?

Short answer: LED is the way to go.

Okay, a scrap more particular at present. Incandescent rope lights used to be the rex of accent lighting and are the reason rope lights became so popular. Their bright and flexible nature made for fun lighting installations. When LED rope lights first came out, they proved much more energy efficient, but their high initial price fabricated them tough to justify purchasing. Since LEDs have been out for many years now and dropped dramatically in cost, at that place really is no reason to become back to an incandescent rope light. Incandescent rope lights eat a lot more than power. They give off a lot more estrus. They don�t last as long. And they�re more fragile. Whereas LED rope lights will save you coin on your utility neb every month and last much longer.

Rope Light Size: one/2� or 3/viii� Diameter?

Rope lights come in different diameters, or thicknesses. The diameter non only determines the size and weight of the rope lite, but also its flexibility. The nigh common rope light diameter is 1/2�. It is beefy plenty to feel solid and durable in your hands, all the same flexible plenty to make basic shapes and bends. Another common rope lite diameter is 3/viii�, which is thinner and lighter. Due to its smaller physical size, it has increased flexibility vs. 1/2� rope light and is much amend at making more circuitous shapes and curves.

So the best bore for you really comes down to the type of project yous have. If you are looking to brand a lighted sign with many curves, create a complex outline, or otherwise create any type of rope light run that has lots of tight bends and turns, you lot�ll discover that the smaller 3/8� diameter rope light will be amend at creating those curves and will be easier to work with. If your project is made of mainly direct runs or simply has a few basic bends to it, the standard 1/2� diameter rope lite will work merely fine. Well-nigh common applications such as building perimeter lighting, deck and railing lighting, cove lighting, undercabinet task lighting, toe kicking lighting, under-counter accent lighting, and much more than can be served with the standard one/2� diameter rope light.

Rope Lite Bulb Orientation: Directional or Omnidirectional?

We carry 1/2� LED rope lights in either directional or omnidirectional seedling orientations. Directional rope lights accept the LEDs oriented vertically within the rope low-cal tube, shining their light brightly in i primary direction. Omnidirectional rope lights take LEDs oriented horizontally along the length of the tube, creating a more diffused 360 degree output of low-cal. Each style has its positives and negatives. Click here to larn more than about rope light bulb orientation. In general, if the rope light is going to be seen directly by the viewer and y'all want something bright to make a visual impact (recollect merchandise show lighting or architectural building outlines), go with directional rope light. If the rope light is going to exist hidden behind a valance you just need a compatible glow of calorie-free without hotspots (think cove lighting), then become with omnidirectional rope calorie-free.

Rope Light Length (Part ane): Majority Spool or �Selectable Length�?

When nosotros say �selectable length�, there are really two options here: buying rope lights in kits or in custom cut class. We�ll hash out the departure between the ii later, only for now let�s simply grouping them into one and focus on the question of buying by the bulk spool or buying in smaller lengths. (Essentially��To spool or not to spool?�)

Ownership 150 foot spools of rope light is a good choice if you accept a lot of basis to encompass with your rope light and you are comfy with doing the cutting and splicing yourself. Buying in bulk is much less expensive �per foot�, so you can salvage a lot of coin on very large projects. And working with rope lights (such as cutting them to length, attaching ability cords, attaching accessories, etc.) is a fairly straightforward process; instructions tin be found hither. Please note that if you lot are installing your rope lights outdoors, you'll demand to follow outdoor installation guidelines for sealing all connection points.

The other issue to consider is code enforcement. Bulk spools of rope lights are ofttimes UL or ETL listed as an entire spool�and simply as an entire spool. Cutting a spool of rope light into smaller lengths voids any UL or ETL listing. If your local codes crave that your project must accept UL/ETL listed light fixtures, then yous must either utilise the entire spool every bit one run, or go to �selectable length� rope light (see next section).

Rope Calorie-free Length (Part 2) � �Selectable Length�: Kit or Custom Cut?

When a bulk spool of rope light isn�t right for your project, either due to the UL/ETL listing issue or simply because you lot don�t want to deal with the cut and splicing of the rope lights, the alternative is getting the rope lights in smaller pre-sized runs. This tin exist accomplished through kits or custom cutting lengths.

Rope light kits are premanufactured retail packages that include a complete UL-listed rope light organisation including the rope lite itself, a ability cord, finish cap, and mounting clips. They are available in v preset lengths and cannot be cut. Rope light kits use special gasketed and threaded screw connections to attach the power string and end cap (unlike the pivot connections of majority spools). You tin likewise attach additional kits end-to-end to create longer runs besides as a special jumper designed for kits to customize your installation even more. This special gasketed spiral connection is a key differentiator for rope light kits. Besides providing an extremely secure and weatherproof connection, it allows the rope lights to still exist semi-customizable (i.east. attach multiple kits together) and makes them very like shooting fish in a barrel to work with. Plus, information technology allows the rope lights to maintain their UL listings, a critically important upshot for commercial installations.

Custom cutting rope lights are rope lights that are custom cutting by the manufacturer to your specifications and assembled with a power cord and end cap using a UL-approved procedure, and as such are UL listed lights. The biggest drawback of rope light kits is the limited length selection; sometimes making getting to an exact length catchy if information technology isn�t one of the premanufactured lengths. Custom cut rope lights don�t have this limitation, and allow you to order your length of rope lite custom cut to your project needs. The simply limit is that all lengths must be in multiples of the rope light cutting increment, usually every 3 feet. Custom cut rope lights are designed as one consummate rope light assembly, and are not intended to be cutting in the field or be modified by having any additional power cords, jumpers or other similar accessories attached to them.

So if you�re a homeowner and y'all want the best value for your coin and you�re okay working with the rope light yourself, bulk spools are the way to become. If you don�t need that much rope light, then go with either a retail kit or custom cut to get smaller lengths.

If yous�re a commercial contactor and need UL/ETL listed light fixtures on your project, go with bulk spools only if information technology works to have 150-human foot long runs, otherwise look to retail kits or custom cut rope lights.

At Accept Three, we�ve been helping homeowners and contractors alike with their residential and commercial rope light installations for many, many years. If you lot have any questions or need additional guidance on your project, please contact usa.