How do I connect led lights together with connector?
How to connect led lights together with connector.
When LED strip lighting came out about 15 years ago, it took hobbyists’ imaginations by the storm as they thought of ways to light up spaces with a romantic red, futuristic blue, or an edgy purple vibe.
You can connect a number of LED strips together with the upper limit depending on the strip’s power output and your power source. Strip lights can be connected using connectors, cables, or by soldering the connection joints.
LED strips are perhaps the most fan-favorite application of LED lighting projects. They have many uses and can instantly make the room’s mood to new places.
Since they’re in the form of thin, flexible stickable strips, they can go literally anywhere.
Steps to connect led lights together with connector
- Unplug your strip lights before starting.
- Get your measurements right. As the saying goes, “measure twice, cut once.”
- Decide if you need a straight connector or a 90-degree angled connector.
- Use standard craft scissors to cut along the pre-determined cut line of the copper section. This copper section is on your strip light spaced every few inches.
- Each section of strip light should have equal amounts of copper section leftover. This is needed to make your connector pins work.
- Have your small plastic gapless or jumper connection ready and peel back any adhesive backing to allow for a clean connection.
- Gently push each section of the strip light into the connector piece.
- Use the small clamps on the connector to snap the strip lights in place.
- Be sure both sides of the strip light is facing the correct way. The polarity needs to be correct for voltage to run through.
- Plug your strip lights in and check for light on both sides of the connection.
- If you have no light on the new section of strip light, check the polarity and reverse the strip light if needed.
How to connect multiple led strip lights to one remote
Follow the steps below to connect multiple led lights to one remote
- Make sure you have the right equipment
It is important to understand how an LED light strip is controlled. There are a few parts that you need along with the strip.
Firstly, the strip must be connected to a power source. Usually, this is via an electrical socket. You can also use batteries but LED light strips (especially the color ones) use quite a bit of power. So chances are that you will have to replace your batteries quite often.
Secondly, your light strip has a receiver attached to it. It picks up a signal from your remote or phone and adjusts the lighting accordingly. The receiver is sometimes referred to as the driver or the controller.
In white light strips, the controller can only turn the lights on or off, or control their brightness. In color light strips, the controller can also change the colors of the strip.
Thirdly, if you want to control the strip remotely, you will need a remote. Smart light strips can also be controlled using an app on your phone. In this case, the phone acts as the remote control. Most LED strips come with remote control. If they are app-controlled, there may not be a remote.
Fourthly, some smart strip lights require a hub to function. The strip lights connect to the hub, which connects them to your phone.
You must buy the right strip light for what you want to use it for?.
For example, if you want one single strip in your home, make sure you don’t buy a strip that requires a $200 hub. But if you already have a hub that controls other smart devices in your home, get a strip that can also connect to the hub.
- Connecting multiple light strips to a single-zone remote
Single zone remotes can only control one zone at a time. However, you can add more than one light strip to this zone.
This will differ slightly from brand to brand. But in most cases, a light strip is synced to the remote by holding a button on the remote for a few seconds.
For example, to sync the Monster IlluminEssence Strip to its remote you have to hold up the button.
Some receivers have a “learn” button which you need to press first. Then you need to press a button on the remote to create the connection.
- Check the product manual to see how your specific strip should be synced
To control a second light strip to the remote, you simply sync it to the remote as well. Once both strips are synced to the remote, the remote can be used to control them both.
If you switch on the lights on the remote, both light strips will turn on. But the remote must be in the range of the receiver of both light strips.
Take note that many remotes have a limit of how many amps they can control per channel. So there may be a limit to how many lights you can connect to a single-zone remote.
- Connecting multiple light strips to a multiple-zone remote
Multiple zone remotes allow you to connect many lights strips to it. It can also control the strips separately, unlike a single-zone remote.
For example, an 8-zone remote can control 8 different zones. It has buttons with the numbers 1 to 8 on it. Pressing a numbered button selects a zone to control.
Each LED light strip will have its own power source and its own receiver.
Once again, check the manual of your specific light strips to see how to sync a strip to a remote.
With multiple-zone remotes, you can connect one light strip to each zone. You do this by syncing each strip to an individual number button on the remote.
You can also connect several light strips to one zone on the remote. For example, the receiver may have a “learn” button on it. You can press the learn button of multiple receivers quickly after each other. Then you can press one numbered button on the remote. All the strips will be connected to one zone. If you do anything to that zone, like turning the lights on or off or changing colors, all the strips will respond.
On a multiple-zone remote, you can also control several zones together. You need to press the numbers of several zones quickly after each other to select them as a group.