A LED strip light is a flexible circuit board populated by LED chips (more precisely surface mounted light-emitting diodes), which may have a single color, multiple colors (RGB) or even multiple ones with a dedicated white LED as well (RGBW). The single-color LED strips, as their name also suggests, are capable of displaying only one color, however, by adding a dimmer, we can adjust the brightness of the strip the way we wish.

 

In the case of multicolor/RGB led strips and with the help of a controller, we may not only adjust the brightness of the strip but also its color and mode of lighting. We usually differentiate between two types of RGB strips. The first is when the dedicated red, blue, and green LEDs are positioned next to each other on the strip. These are usually equipped with SMD3528 or SMD2835 chips and operate perfectly well in the case of primary colors, however, if we wish to create a mixed color, like yellow, the primary colors also remain visible.

The LED strip with the SMD5050 chip solves this issue. In this case the primarily colors do not have a dedicated chip, but they are located within a single chip, thus we get a clearer mixture of colors this way.

The RGBW strips are almost completely the same as the SMD5050 RGB LED strips, the only difference is that they also include a dedicated white chip or a separate white color within the chip, thus the white color is not mixed by the RGB chip from the red, green, and blue colors. This way the white color has a much more natural feel to it.
 

The most popular LED strips operate on DC 12 V, however, there are several strips available on the market in DC 5V, DC 24V, and AC 230V versions, thus if we do not buy a pre-assembled LED strip set but pick the different components ourselves (controller, signal amplifier, driver) we need to remember that the operating voltage of the selected components should always match as the LED strips and LED controllers do not tolerate overvoltage, causing them to fail earlier.

However, we need to pay attention not only to the adequate voltage but also the right power level. Before shopping, we need to measure the length of the LED strip we need and calculate the power of the controller and driver we need for such a section. If the driver bought is too small, the LED strip may not light up in its full length and after a few hours of use our driver can overheat and shut down, or in a worse case it can be damaged.

We also have different options available in the case of controllers. The simplest solution involves mounting the controller on the cable. In this case a controller with a push button or touch sensor is located between the LED strip and the driver at a fixed place, and we can customize our RGB or RGBW strip with its use.

The remote-controlled controllers are the most widespread, including infrared, radio, WiFi, and Bluetooth LED strip controllers. If we would like to use an infrared controller, we need to make sure that there are no obstacles between the remote and the sensor, as we need to point at the sensor in the case of remote control otherwise the receiver will not pick up the sign from the remote. We also need to have a remote to use radio controllers, but in this case we do not need to point with the remote control as it communicates using radiofrequencies. These waves can also penetrate smaller objects and thinner walls, while they bounce off from bigger objects and thicker walls; thus control will also work if the receiver is hidden.

The WiFi and Bluetooth LED strip controllers represent the most up-to-date solutions as they operate similarly to radio controllers but no separate remote is necessary anymore. Control is possible with our smartphone and a downloaded application after connecting to the controller via a WiFi or Bluetooth connection.