A flexible circuit populated with LEDs and resistors or regulators, typically running on 12 or 24 V DC from a constant-voltage driver and cut at marked points. It goes into aluminum channels with diffusers for coves, toe kicks, shelves and signage. Long runs suffer voltage drop that dims and shifts color at the far end, so installers feed runs from both ends or mid-point, and LED spacing plus diffuser depth decide whether you see dots.
Tape light run is 9 meters off one feed, that's why the far end of the cove looks dim and yellow, add a second feed.
Dotting is controlled by the ratio of diffuser distance to LED pitch; deeper channels or higher-density tape hide the dots.
Also heard as
- LED tape
- LED strip
- LED ribbon
Related terms
Driver
The electronic power supply that converts line voltage into the regulated current or voltage an LED needs.
LED
Light-Emitting Diode: a semiconductor light source, made white for lighting by coating a blue chip with phosphor.
Binning
Sorting LEDs after manufacture into groups with matching color, brightness and voltage.
Hot spot
A distractingly bright patch in a beam or on a lit surface, brighter than its surroundings.