Check out our LED Strip Light Buyers Guide Now. Find out all you should consider when buying an LED Strip Light.

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Biard LED Strip Light Buyer’s Guide
CONTENT
• Introduction
• About LED Strip Lights
• Components Required
• Cutting Strip Light
• Installation
• Things to Consider
INTRODUCTION
Welcome to the LED Strip Light Buyer’s Guide by Biard LED.
LED strip lighting is a great way of lighting almost any situation cheaply and easily, from under cabinet
lighting to border lighting, to such things as mirrors and shelving, LED strip lighting is the most flexible
and affordable means, but buying these lights can seem a little confusing when suppliers start talking
about wattage, different colour temperatures and LED chip size, not to mention the products needed to
run and connect the strip light.
This guide will take you from start to finish through the buying and installation process explaining all
the complicated terms and jargon associated with the world of LED strip lighting.

2. bulbs • floodlights • strip lights • spotlights
ABOUT LED STRIP LIGHTS
What is an LED Strip Light?
LED strip lighting is quickly becoming one of the most popular ways of lighting different settings.
An LED strip light consists of a narrow length of flexible printed circuit board with small but very bright
surface mounted LEDs fixed to it. The current (voltage) is fed through the circuit board from one end of
the strip light, lighting the LEDs. The circuit board is specially printed so that it can be cut every three
LEDs and therefore customisable to any length you desire. All Biard LED strip light is coated with a 3M
adhesive on the underside so it can be fixed easily and quickly.
LED Strip Light Types
Biard LED strip lighting only comes in 12 different types to keep things simple. These are broken down
into three categories: colour, LED size and whether they are waterproof or not.
The code of a Biard LED strip light provides all the necessary information about it. The first four
numbers is the size of the LED, next the two letters refer to the colour, and the last letter refers to
waterproof or non-waterproof:
3528 – LED dimensions 3.5mm by 2.8mm
5050 – LED dimensions 5mm by 5mm
WW – Warm White light colour
W – Cool White light colour
RGB – Colour changing
N – Non-waterproof
WT - Waterproof
So, code for the 3528 warm white non-waterproof strip light is 3528-WW-N.
Codes for Biard’s strip light kits are broken down in a similar way, the exception is that all the kits have
KIT on the end of the code, e.g. 3528WWNKIT
Now you know how to break the codes down, we’ll explain what the different parts of the codes mean.

3. bulbs • floodlights • strip lights • spotlights
LED Size
The size of the LED fixed to the strip light is measured in millimeters; Biard strip lighting comes with
two different sizes of LED, 3528 where each LED is 3.5mm*2.8mm and 5050 where the LEDs are
5mm*5mm.
The brightness of the 3528 strip lighting greatly differs to the 5050 as the LED on the 5050 strip light is
almost twice the size.
5050 White 3528 White
Another difference between the 3528 and the 5050 is the quantity of energy (wattage) required. The
3528 strip light needs 4.8 watts per metre to run at full brightness and the 5050 needs 14.8 watts of
energy per metre to run at full brightness.
Number of LEDs Per Metre
All Biard 12V LED strip lights have 60 LEDs per metre whether 3528 or 5050, this means that a five metre
reel will contain 300 LEDs in total. All Biard LED strip lighting is sold in five metre reels.
LED Strip Light Colours
LED lighting in general is far superior to traditional lighting when it comes to colour and in particular shades
of white because unlike traditional lighting this is controlled by electronics.

4. bulbs • floodlights • strip lights • spotlights
Biard LED strip lights comes in three colour types:
Warm White: This is a soft warm yellowish colour very similar to a traditional light bulb, ideal for living areas.
Cool White: This is a crisp bright white colour that is ideal for kitchens and areas that need to be brightly lit
RGB: RGB short for red, green, blue is a colour changing light that will create every colour that RGB will
make. In fact, Biard LED strip lighting will do over??? colours.
COMPONENTS REQUIRED
Biard LED sell various kits that are complete with power supply, controller (if RGB) and the strip light, but
if what you require is beyond this then you will need to know what the individual components do and also
what goes where.
 POWER SUPPLY/LED DRIVER
A power supply is a step down transformer that converts the domestic 220V AC current from your
sockets to the 12V DC voltage that is needed to run the strip lights. For traditional 12V lighting the
transformer is usually referred to as a power supply. For 12V LED lighting and within this guide we refer
to the power supply as an LED driver but essentially these are the same thing.
 LED STRIP LIGHT CONTROLLER
An LED strip light controller is used with RGB LED strip light and is usually placed between the power
supply and strip light to control the colour of it, it will also control the different modes and speed of the
strip light for example fade, strobe and flash. It may also alter the brightness of the strip light and turn the
strip light on and off.
LED strip light controllers are usually remote controlled but manual ones can also be purchased, all Biard
controllers are worked via a remote control.
LED strip light controllers come in two main types, IR (infer red) and RF (radio frequency). An IR
controller only operates over short distances and works by sending an infer red signal from the remote to
the controller, much like a TV remote. As the signal is infer red the remote has to be able to see the
controller for it to work, therefore if there are obstacles between the controller and remote it will not work.

5. bulbs • floodlights • strip lights • spotlights
An RF controller will function over much larger distances and works by sending a radio wave signal from
the remote to the controller therefore the remote does not need to see the controller and will work fine
through obstacles such as walls and doors.
 LED AMPLIFIER
An LED amplifier is placed within a longer length of strip light; when 10 or 20 metre lengths of strip light
are connected together the power weakens as it travels through the strip light. Therefore, the lights get
dimmer, the amplifier, when connected inline and power is applied to it, will boost the wattage keeping
the light consistent. The amplifier will also boost the RF signal from the remote, meaning no matter how
long the length of strip light all the lights will change colour together the instant the remote is pressed.
 DIMMERS
Single colour strip lighting such as cool white or warm white lighting does not use a controller so the
dimming function has to be done via an inline dimmer, the dimmer is usually connected between the
power supply and the strip light and can also control the on/off function of the strip light.
 CABLES & CONNECTORS
Since every application of the strip light is different there has to be a wide range of connectors that can
be purchased for LED strip lighting from connectors to take the strip lighting around corners to extension
cables and just straight forward strip light to strip light connectors. The type of connector needed will
depend on the application of the strip light; see Installation section for some examples.

6. bulbs • floodlights • strip lights • spotlights
CUTTING THE STRIP LIGHT
Cutting a strip light and either connecting it back together or connecting it back to the LED controller or
LED driver is actually quite straight forward. For whatever reason it has been cut you will then need to
attach a connector to the strip light to light it again, the most common way of doing this is with a strip to
controller connector for RGB strip light or strip to jack connector for single colour strip light.
Strip to controller Connector Strip to Jack Connector
To Cut to Length: To do this simply find the nearest cutting point on the strip light marked by the
scissors and cut the strip light.
Single Colour Strip Light RGB Strip Light

7. bulbs • floodlights • strip lights • spotlights
INSTALLATION
Installation of the complete kits is pretty straight forward, you just plug all the components together, cut
the strip light to size and stick the strip light where you want it.
Installation of longer more complicated lengths of strip light can seem daunting if you have never used it
before but it is also pretty logical. Below is a scenario where the strip light is being run under cabinets in
a kitchen gapped by a 900mm cooker and cooker hood.

8. bulbs • floodlights • strip lights • spotlights
Bridging the Gap (Single Colour): As above this is done with two male jack connectors and a length of
two core cable.
1. Cut the two core cable to the desired length and attach a male jack connector to either end.
2. Cut the first length of strip light and attached a strip to jack connector.
3. Cut the second length of strip light and attached a strip to jack connector.
4. Connect the two pieces of strip light together via the male jack plugs connected to either end of
the two core cable.
Male Jack Connector Two Core Cable
Turning Through 90 Degree
To do this use an L shaped connector or strip to strip connector with wire.
Strip to Strip Connector with Wire L Shaped Connector
1. Open the connector.
2. With the LEDs on the strip light facing you and the connector facing you push the strip light under the
lugs on either side of the connector and then under the metal connectors so the copper connections on
the strip light make contact with the metal connections of the connector.

9. bulbs • floodlights • strip lights • spotlights
Connecting Strip Light to Strip Light
Connecting strip light back together is done with the strip to strip connector.
1. Open the strip to strip connector.
2. With the LEDs on the strip light facing you and the connector facing you push the strip light under the
lugs on either side of the connector and then under the metal connectors so the copper connections
on the strip light make contact with the metal connections of the connector.
RGB Strip to Strip Connector Single Colour Strip to Strip Connector

10. bulbs • floodlights • strip lights • spotlights
THINGS TO CONSIDER
LED Drivers
LED drivers come in many different sizes to meet the needs of the user but a few things to look for when
buying LED drivers are the minimum and maximum wattage of the LED driver, the driver should have a
recommended minimum and maximum wattage, the minimum being the minimum load the driver will run
correctly and the maximum being the maximum load you can run from the driver. LED drivers will run
much lower wattage lighting than power supplies designed for halogen lighting, for example a common
power supply designed to run halogen lighting would have a range around 20W – 200W, this means the
lowest wattage that the power supply will run is 20W, an LED driver will normally run much lower wattage
lighting and will have a range of around 5W – 200W. If the correct driver is not used then symptoms can
be varied from not working at all to the lights flickering or looking dim.
Fitting LED Strip Light
Although 3M adhesive is the market leader in adhesives and will stick securely to almost any flat smooth
surface the surface that the strip light is being stuck to must be prepared correctly or the adhesive may
not be effective. A few steps to follow would be to wash the surface with soapy water to remove any dust
or dirt then allow to dry thoroughly, once completely dry clean again with an alcohol based cleaner to
remove any grease.
Avoid fixing to bare unfinished wood, surfaces with flakey paint, some materials such as wool, hot
surfaces, stone or brick.
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