LED strip lights for Irish homes, from an independent Irish electrical supplier. Warm white ribbon for under cabinets and coving, RGB colour changing kits with remote control, and IP65 rated reels for outdoor and damp locations. Free delivery applies to every order from the first euro, with no minimum spend.
Where do LED strip lights actually work well?
Under kitchen wall units, along coving or a shelf edge, behind a TV, and up a stair string. Anywhere the strip itself is hidden and only the light it throws is visible.
That last point is the whole trick. A strip mounted where you can see the individual diodes looks like a strip of dots. Mounted inside a channel, behind a lip or under an overhang, the same product reads as a clean line of light. If there is nothing to tuck it behind, an aluminium profile with a diffuser will do the same job and is worth the extra few euro.
What IP rating does an LED strip need?
IP20 is fine indoors in a dry room. Under a kitchen cabinet or in a bathroom, go IP65. Outdoors or anywhere it can be splashed, IP65 is the minimum.
The rating on a strip refers to the coating over the diodes. An unrated strip has bare components and will corrode in a kitchen from steam alone, long before it fails from use. IP65 strips are sealed in a silicone sleeve, which also makes them easier to wipe clean, which matters more than people expect above a hob.
Can LED strip lights be cut to length?
Yes, but only at the marked cut points, which are usually every 50mm to 100mm. Cutting anywhere else breaks the circuit for that section.
Look for the scissors symbol and the copper pads printed on the strip. Cut across the middle of the pads so there is enough copper left on both sides if you ever want to rejoin or extend it. Measure the run before you buy, because you can always shorten a strip and you cannot lengthen one without a connector and, on longer runs, a second supply.
Do LED strip lights need a driver or transformer?
Most 12V and 24V strips do. A driver converts mains down to the strip voltage, and it has to be rated for the total wattage of the run.
Undersizing the driver is the most common reason a strip flickers, dims toward the far end, or fails early. Add up the watts per metre across the whole run and pick a driver with headroom above that figure rather than exactly matching it. Some of the kits in this range are supplied complete with a driver and a remote, which removes the guesswork.
What colour should I choose?
Warm white at 3000K for living spaces and under cabinets. Neutral white at 4000K where you are working. RGB only where the colour is genuinely the point.
Colour changing strip is excellent behind a TV or in a child's room and looks wrong in a kitchen, where it tends to get set to white and left there. If the strip is doing a job, buy white. If it is doing an effect, buy RGB. The kits here that include a remote let you dim as well as change colour, and dimming is the setting people actually use day to day.
Where can I buy LED strip lights in Ireland?
Shamrock Electrical supplies LED strip lighting across the Republic of Ireland, online with free delivery on every order, or over the counter in Rathcoole, County Dublin.
We are an independent Irish electrical business at Unit 22, Block 613, Jordanstown Road, Greenogue Business Park, Rathcoole, Co. Dublin, D24 TX98, just off the N7 and well positioned for the M50. The counter is open Monday to Friday 7am to 5pm and Saturday 9am to 1:30pm. If you are working out the length and driver for a run, call 01 401 9907 or email sales@shamrockelectrical.ie. For under cabinet work specifically, the kitchen lights range covers battens as an alternative.
