Are led strip lights bad for you? – Everything You Need to Know

A lot of people want to know, “Are led strip lights bad for you?”. The short and to the point answer is, no. But in order to answer that question, we need to do a deep dive into led light strips. . In this article, we will answer that question and hopefully shed some light on this topic.

What are led strip lights?

An LED strip is a flexible strip of light that is usually made of a row of LEDs that are all connected together.. These lights are used for decorative purposes and can be placed around a home, business, or many other places. You can also create your own lighting designs, as well as make your own light shows. In addition, they are a lot more energy efficient than standard light bulbs, and they are very easy to install.

Led strip lights run on a DC (direct current) power supply. You can run them on a 12v or 24v power supply. They consist of a number of led lights, or led chips, which are all connected together to form a strip. They’re usually flexible, which makes them easy to install and use. You can bend them to fit the shape of your object and you can use double-sided tape to hold them in place.

You can place the led strips in parallel or you can run them in series. You do this by using a transformer. If you place them in parallel they’ll run on a 12v or 24v power supply and if you run them in series they’ll run on a 24v or 48v power supply. It all depends on the number of led lights you want to run.

Are led strip lights bad for you?

Led lights are not bad for you in any manner. However, some of the cheaper models of strip lights might be using cheaper plastic housing and might be releasing chemicals when in use and could cause some health issues. That is why, it is advisable that you specify that you need water proof, rust proof and acid proof led strip lights during installation and also make sure that there is no smell coming from them.

Led strip lights are absolutely safe for humans. There is no danger of any health risks. All you need to do is to make sure that you buy the right LEDs. If you are buying a single led strip light, make sure it is less than 10m, If you are buying a bunch of led strip lights, make sure they are less than 300m. The reason is because the led strip lights have a built in circuit to avoid overloading, this circuit will fail to work if the length of the led strip lights exceeds the limit.

Benefits of LED lights

1. Energy efficient

LED lights are highly energy efficient. A light emitting diode, or LED, is a semiconductor device that emits light when an electric current passes through it. Compared to incandescent bulbs, LED lights use less than half of the power, while providing the same amount of light. Also, most of the energy in the incandescent bulb is converted to heat rather than light.

LED lights save a lot in energy consumption. While the best of LEDs is around 70% efficient, the Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) are estimated to be between 80-90% efficient on energy that the traditional fluorescent or incandescent bulbs. Energy efficiency in lighting solutions is measured using two types of statistic namely useful lumens or luminous efficacy.

Many find it difficult to choose energy saving bulbs but making light bulbs more energy efficient also has many benefits as well. Having less heat produce by your light bulb will help reduce air conditioner usage, thereby helping you save on heating costs too! It’s important to check out appliance labels before you make a purchase so that you can take advantage from green incentives from your local utility company.

2. Better protection

LED lighting is a safe mode of lighting when you look at it in comparison to incandescent bulbs or fluorescent lights. The other options transform most of the total energy into heat, which is a common drawback when it comes to light emitters.

3. Lifespan

LED lights last for about 50,000 hours. This is equivalent to about 11 years of regular usage. LED lights, however, do not work instantly. Their lifespan depends on the amount of time they are used.  If they are used continuously, they will last for a shorter period of time than if they are used on an intermittent basis.

4. Colorful

LEDs are available in different saturated colors like white, blue, red and so on.  This is because LEDs are made of semiconductors.  If you want colored LEDs, you will see an array of dots on the circuit board, these dots are the colored LEDs.

Each dot is a single color, it will emit the same color that is used in the manufacture of the LED.  This is why LEDs are available in different color range.  Although, if you want to have multi-colored LEDs then you must use more than one color.

Side effects of led lights

Recent scientific studies have shown that there might even be some harmful effects of LED lights. Some scientists have indicated some negative effects of LED lighting as follows.

1. Toxic Materials

In 2010, in a study published by the journal Environmental Science & Technology, it was determined that LED light bulbs contain toxic material including lead, and arsenic among others. Although they do not contain mercury like other light bulbs do, those still present are just as harmful and thus should be considered in consideration of making future progress.

2. Harmful Blue Light

A recent Spanish study indicates that the blue light emitted by LED lamps may cause irreparable damage to the eyes. The retina contains sensitive light-sensing cells, which can be damaged when exposed to blue light.

Pros and Cons of led strip lights

There are many pros  and cons  to LED strip lights.

Pros of led strip lights

  • Lights save energy when compared to incandescent or halogen bulbs.
  • LED lights have a much longer life expectancy and are more durable.
  • LED lights are also more environmentally friendly
  • LED lights are also a lot smaller than incandescent and halogen bulbs,

Cons of led strip lights

  • More expensive than other lights
  • Produce a light that is less bright and duller than other options.

Do led strip lights cause cancer?

LED strip lights are non-toxic and contain no chemicals, metals or toxins. So, no, LED strip lights do not cause cancer. They are completely safe to use and do not cause any health issues, allergies, or skin irritations. They do not require much energy, so they have a longer lifespan, and they use up to 90% less energy than the standard incandescent bulb.

Are led lights bad for the environment?

LED stands for light-emitting diode. LED lights have a longer lifetime, consume lesser power and are more durable as compared to other lights. LED lights are indeed environment-friendly. LED lights have a significant impact on the environment because they help in saving energy and electricity. LED lights reduce the amount of fossil fuel that would be used in order to generate the same amount of electricity. A single LED light saves more than 3,2 kg of carbon dioxide yearly. Also, LED lights help in reducing the amount of heat which is emitted.

Are led strip lights bad for your skin?

Led strip lights are not bad for you skin or your health as long as they are not too close. There are some studies that say that they can cause cancer, but that is misleading. The conclusions were based on mice who were bathed with leds 24/7 and ate them before dying. The mice that did not eat, however, did not die. Human beings therefore do not absorb enough amount of radiation to cause harm. The same goes for cellphones. Stick to the standard distance and you will be just fine.

 

You can also read related posts: