Andy
Easy to install, great lighting
I was looking for a hidden lighting solution for my newly renovated pantry, and didn't want a battery-powered solution. Everything I'd researched indicated that at best the batteries would last 2-5 weeks, and I wasn't interested in yet another charging scenario. While my pantry doesn't have an internal electrical outlet, it is positioned next to the refrigerator, which obviously does, and separated by an internal, uninsulated 8" drywall. A small hole through the wall, and the purchase of an additional 10ft 12VDC extension cable (also via AMZN), and I was in business.The pantry is not particularly large - it's a step-in that is 2 doors wide, with 6 custom-made solid oak shelves that are adjustable in height. With 6 shelves that are 16.25" deep, you really want to have a lighting solution that shines into the shelves at all levels, so an LED strip light sounded like the best solution to me, which meant that I wanted a light that would be positioned at the door, facing backwards into the pantry. What initially attracted me to this one was (a) the length of the two strips (16.4 feet or 5 meters each), (b) the packaging that included the ability to cut and join the strips with supplied connectors, making it easy to put strips around 90 degree corners such as those found on the perimeter of a door frame (and shown in the picture), (c) the fact that the larger one comes with 2 strips, and the controller has an adapter to supply power to both strips - this was crucial because my installation required that the power control button be mounted about 4 feet above the floor, and rather than buy a 2nd power extension cable to run power to a connector on the floor (because the included cable wasn't long enough) I opted to cut a length from the 2nd strip and simply use that, and finally (d) the price - it's really hard to beat $22 for this setup.The light temperature of 6500k is perfect for the pantry - yeah, it can be dimmed, but I wasn't super interested in that. The amount of light shed is also just right - I opted for the "white" as opposed to "warm white" or "yellow" color.Installation of the strip is super simple - to get around the 90 degree corners, you're going to want to cut it, and then join it with the wired connectors (of which 2 are supplied). Since the strip comes with double-sided tape attached to it, you need to carefully peel off the double-sided tape from about 3mm at the end of the strip, insert it into the (opened) connector, underneath the two lip guides, and underneath the two contact points. It doesn't matter if you use black as positive and red as negative or vice-versa, all that is required is that it is an inline connection with no wire cross-over. Once the strip is snug under the connector contact points, you can close the connector clip. See one of the pictures for the connected strip. Since the cabling itself can't be seen unless you really stick your head into the pantry I did not opt to cut it to length and secure it carefully - I may do that in future, but since nobody can actually see it ...Do your measurement, cutting and joining *before* you attach the strips to their final location. The adhesive sticks firmly, and doesn't want to come off once you've secured it in place. Make sure you cut *only* at the indicated contact points (little copper connectors), and cut *exactly* where the scissor marks indicate. I would recommend installing the switch to its correct place before you connect and install the strips, because it may be your biggest limiting factor. At a minimum, mock it all out first.In summary, this is a super cheap, 12VDC powered LED light strip for those who *don't* want the hassle of a battery. The dimmable, 6000-6500K light strip that is perfect for making a neat and hidden lighting solution in many different scenarios, and was perfect for my requirements. The only thing that we don't yet know is longevity. Typically LEDs last for 10s of thousands of hours, and I have no reason to believe that this will not do the same. Five stars all around.Ver másVer menos
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