The main pro of a plug-in LED driver is that it is so easy to install. You can do it yourself and save money on an electrician.  You can also easily change the location of the LED strips when you use a plug-in LED driver.  For people renting or who may move in the near future, plug-in LED drivers may be the only feasible choice.  Overall, plug-in LED drivers are cheaper than hardwiring.  There are numerous downsides to plug-in LED drivers which must be taken into consideration.  They can only be used indoors, may have visible cables, are only suitable for small lighting projects, and can power only up to 96 watts of LED strip lights.

Hardwired LED drivers allow you much more flexibility to decide where you will put your lights and hiding any cables/accessories.  They have very high power capabilities so you can use them for any lighting project – including outdoors LED lighting.  Since hardwired LED drivers do require you to tap into your home’s AC power current, you will likely need a professional installation which can be pricy.  Hardwired LED drivers are permanent which, depending on  your situation, can be a plus or minus.

Regardless of whether you need a plug-in or hardwired LED driver, you have many options available to you as well as many LED accessories to take care of your most fantastic lighting projects.

LED drivers (also called LED power supplies) are used to convert the 120v AC current of your home to the 12v DC current which is used by LED bulbs.  There are two basic choices when it comes to LED drivers: plug-in and hardwired.  With the plug-in LED drivers, you just plug it into your standard power socket.  Then, you can connect the LED strips and it will be ready to light.  Plug-in LED drivers are very easy to DIY and you probably aren’t going to need an electrician – just some advice or to see a few diagrams.  Unless you are an electric expert, hardwiring LED drivers usually requires a professional electrician because you must tap into your home’s AC current.

There are numerous factors which determine whether a plug-in or hardwired LED driver is the best solution for you.  If you need a lot of power for the project, then a hardwired LED driver is probably the better choice. You will also want to consider the accessibility of the outlets.  If there aren’t any available power sockets nearby, then you will want to hardwire the driver. If you plan on keeping the LED strips in place permanently, it may be worth it to hardwire the LED driver because it will free up a power socket and may operate more efficiently.  Finally, outdoors LED strips or LED floodlights almost always require hardwiring which is waterproof.

When you go to buy LED replacement bulbs, strip lights, or flood lights, you will see information including the wattage, lumens (brightness), lifespan, and also the color temperature.  Color temperature is listed in Kelvin and usually ranges from 2500 to 6500. Most people are completely unaware about what the difference is in these LED bulbs color temperatures but it is very important for making sure you get the right atmosphere lighting.

In general, lower numbers of Kelvin have warmer, more yellowish color temperatures.  A e14 LED bulb with a 2500 Kelvin color temperature would have a light resembling a candle.  If you are looking for LED bulbs for a chandelier, then this e14 LED could be a good choice.  Once you start getting up towards the 3500 Kelvin color temperature, you get whiter lighting on par with most halogen bulbs. For example, a gu10 LED with a 3500 color temperature could be a good choice for in the kitchen.  As you get closer to the 5000 range, the LED bulbs will produce more scoptic lumens, which is the amount of light which is registered by the eye.  Thus, a mr11 LED with a 5000 Kelvin color temperature will seem brighter but not look like natural light.  If you get over 6000 Kelvin, you will have a lot of blues and purples in the lighting.  These LED bulbs seem very bright but aren’t very inviting.  It is usually best to keep high Kelvin LED bulbs for outdoor use and low Kelvin bulbs for indoor use.

LED strip lights are an ideal choice for going underneath kitchen cabinets.  Because LED strip lights use a continuous electric flow, they are ideal for any situation where you need a line of lighting.  One of the most common problems that people come up against when installing LED strip lights 12v is that they have gaps between their cabinets.  Luckily, there are many accessories available so you can easily install the lighting even with gaps.

The solution to this problem is an LED light bar extension cable.  You can find this cable at just about any store which sells LED bulbs and accessories.  It comes in various lengths and you can even have it cut to fit the exact length that you need.  First, you will want to get your LED 12v DC adapter to go into your power unit. Then, an LED light bar adapter cable connects to this. Your LED strip lights will then connect to this adapter cable. Simply run the LED strip lights underneath the cabinets.  When you reach the gap between cabinets, then you will use the LED light bar extension cable.  These cables are connected with flexible LED strip light splice connectors.  You may also use crimple connectors or wire nuts for connecting them.

There are numerous LED accessories available which make it very easy to DIY kitchen LED lighting. You can even find great masks for the cables which may be exposed between the cabinets or find out about tricks on how to connect all your cabinets with one LED strip light without any visible cables.

LED bulbs are being hailed as the future of lighting and some states are even pushing mandates that would energy-efficient lighting that only LEDs can provide.  The reason that LED bulbs are so green is because they do not produce light with heat as your standard incandescent lights do.  Incandescent lights contain filaments.  As electricity passes through the light, it heats up atoms in the filament and these atoms give off light.  Incandescent lights lose only use about 10% of the electricity passed through them and the rest gets wasted.

Unlike incandescent bulbs, LED bulbs do not have a filament nor do they produce light with heat.  Instead, LED lights contain semi conductors.  As electricity passes through them, they convert the electricity into light with a process called electroluminescence.  Very little electricity goes to waste in this process.  A 3 watt gu10 LED can produce the same amount of light as a 50 watt incandescent bulb which is why they are often labeled as gu10 LED bulbs 50w).  In general, today’s LED spotlights or LED floodlights will produce about 50 lumens (a measure of light) per watt compared to about 10-20 lumens per watt with an incandescent.  LED bulbs have made major technological strives over the past few years so it is not uncommon to see 100 lumens per watt, like a 6 watt LED gu10 emitting 600 lumens.  In the near future, we can expect these LED bulbs to become even more energy efficient

LED stands for “light emitting diode.”  LED lights were first developed back in the 1960s when they were used for small electronic gadgets like calculators.  LED lights were very expensive to make though so the technology didn’t catch on.  Now that there is a push towards eco-friendliness, LED lights are becoming much more popular.  As the popularity of LED lights grows the price of these long-lasting, low-wattage lights are dropping. You can now easily find LED replacement bulbs and all sorts of accessories too, like a dimmable LED gu10, LED strip lights, or LED flood lights.

The one downside of LED lights is that they use a 12v DC power instead of the 120v AC power which is typically found in homes. In order to install an LED light or LED strips, you will either have to change the hardwiring of the power for the LEDs or buy an LED adaptor special LED drivers. These LED drivers and adaptors will make sure that the proper amount of volts and heat flows into the LED so that they function well.  If, for example, a gu10 50w LED replacement bulb gets the wrong amount of power, it could take away from its lifespan.

You know how insects seem to immediately swarm towards light?  While experts are still not altogether certain about insect activity, it seems that the insects are not actually attracted to all light.  Rather, they are attracted to certain parts of the color spectrum because of their built-in navigational systems.  If you want to avoid annoying insects swarming into your home or ruining your garden party, then LED spotlights may be the solution.

LED spotlights do not only save electricity, but they have the added benefit of not attracting insects.  When you choose a warm white or off white light for the LED spots, you will attract few or no bugs.  The reason is because these LED spotlights are not easily visible by most insects.  Not all LED spotlights are invisible to bugs though.  UV LED spots, cool white LEDs, and neutral colored LEDs may attract insects to the same degree as fluorescents or halogen bulbs.  If you are picking LED spots for your garden, go with a warm white or off white to avoid those pesky insects!

When you buy LED strip lights or LED flood lights, you will see that they have a two-digit “IP” rating, such as an e14 LED with an IP of 20.  IP stands for Ingress Protection and it represents how well the LED light bulbs will withstand damage and their waterproofing.  The first digit in the IP rating is for physical damage.  This number will be between 0 and 6.  Depending on where you are going to put your LED light bulbs, this rating is very important.  The IP rating for physical damage can be broken down as follows:

0: No protection against physical damage

1: The LED is resistant to damage from solid objects above 50mm

2: The LED is resistant to damage from solid objects above 12mm

3: The LED is resistant to damage from solid objects above 2.5mm

4: The LED is resistant to damage from solid objects above 1.0mm

5: The LED is resistant to damage from dust and some ingress

6: The LED is completely resistant to damage from dust

If you are going to put your LED spot lights, for example, in the kitchen near your stove, then you will want to make sure that they have a high IP rating for physical damage because the oil from cooking could damage them.

The IP rating for waterproofing can be broken down as follows:

0: Is not at all waterproof

1: The LED is waterproof against water droplets which fall vertically

2: The LED is waterproof against water which falls vertically or at a maximum of 15 degrees from vertical position

3: The LED is waterproof against water which falls vertically or at a maximum of 60 degrees from vertical position

4: The LED is waterproof against water regardless of directionality but in limitation

5 and 6: The LED is waterproof against water sprayed with mild pressurization, regardless of directionality.

7: The LED can be submerged in water of a depth ranging from 6” to 3’

8: The LED can be submerged in deep waters for prolonged periods of time

If you are buying, for example, gu10 LED flood lights for your garden, you will want at least a 5 IP rating for waterproofing.

If you want to install your own LED bulbs, it is very easy to find all the necessary components.  Most LED stores will sell LED kits which have all of the parts that you need pre-packed.  You can usually build your own kit easily too just by imputing some information, like whether you want LED floodlights or LED spotlights, your LED drivers needs, and power source info.

The first step to building your own LED kit is to determine what type of LED bulbs you want. You will need to choose between flexible LED strip lights, LED light bars and waterproof LEDs, and RGB LED strip lights or RGB LED light bars.  Determining the right LED connector can be the most confusing part.  Luckily, most online LED stores will tell you which connector you need based on your LED light choice and power source.  After picking the LED connector that you need, you will need to determine which accessories you need.  Some of the accessories for LED bulbs include extension cables, splitter plugs, dimmer switches, and color controllers.  Finally, you will need to choose a power source for your LED bulbs.  Power sources are usually 12v LED adaptors for LED lights that are 12w, 24w, 36w or 60w.

The wattage you need varies depending on the amount of LED spots or LED flood lights you install and also the distance of the lights from the power source.  It is easy to calculate the amount of power you need for LED lights.  Just find out how many watts the LED bulb will use and then multiple this by the amount of lights you will use or feet. All DC connectors for LED bulbs can be used interchangeably.

In the past, anyone who wanted to use LED lights basically had to install new hardwiring and at least do some basic soldering before the power was hooked up.  Now, you can easily install LED light bars or LED strip lights with just a simple connector.  The most popular LED connector is the LED light bar adapter cable.  As the name infers, you simply attach it to the LED lights and then to an adapter for the power source.  Even though this LED connecter is called a “waterproof light bar adapter cable,” it can also be used for strip lights.

To use the LED connector, just hook the one end into the LED light strips or LED light bars.  Then, you can directly connect it to a 12v DEC plug-in adaptor which uses a DC ¼ inch plug.  If you are using a hardwired CD LED driver, then you will need another connector.  The LED adaptor splice cable gets hooked to the waterproof light bar adapter cable and then to the hardwired DC LED driver.  In any case, you only need a few components to instantly get your LED bulbs going.  The LED light bar adapter cable is the most versatile of all the LED connecters and can be used with LED splitters, dimmable LED lights, and other accessories.  They usually cost about $5 to buy and will make your installation process much easier.