# Is heat a problem w/ diy LED lighting?



## pford65 (Dec 3, 2016)

I just finished watching a few videos of these LED strips being spiraled around 1" pvc pipe, housed in a piece of vinyl guttering. It looked great and very affordable. I've read in the comments that heat may be a prob and also the opposite. I'm at a loss. Do these LED strips create too much heat when spiraled around pvc pipe?

Thanks,

Phil


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## Steve C (Oct 9, 2011)

LED strip lights don't hardly give off any measurable amount of heat at all so nothing to worry about. The only thing that will show any heat is the power source adapter.Just make sure to use the correct size one for you length/amount of LED's as there are a variety of them out there.


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## Mcdaphnia (Dec 16, 2003)

Ventilation and a heat sink are very important in the efficiency and useful life of LED's. The clear plastic in an LED strip will darken and block the light from each LED if there is no adequate heat sink. You can build a fixture that does not address the heat issue and it will look great for a short time. Then the heat buildup will melt the glue adhering the strip to your pipe and block the light available from the LED's. That is why you see two different answers. Both are correct at some point, but even though LED strips are very cheap, replacing them frequently is extra work that you don't expect from something advertised to last for much longer than light bulbs.


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## Steve C (Oct 9, 2011)

I'm just wondering what sort of heat sink you are speaking of Mcdaphina? Because I personally have never used or seen a need for a heat sink in any of my LED strip light projects. I've had 14ft of strip lights on my office desk project which runs for over 10hrs per day every day for the past 2 years and never had a problem or any heat issues, they run cool as a cucumber.


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## tanker3 (May 18, 2015)

Starnge. I have 4 LED light strips, and they are warm, but not hot. I think my tank water is warmer.


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## Narwhal72 (Sep 26, 2006)

It all depends on the power of the LED's. The very low power and output chips used in LED strips do not generate enough heat by themselves to affect their longevity. Unless of course you pack them really close together. Then the collective heat is enough to drive up the LED junction temperature and cause premature failure.

Higher power chips generate considerably more heat and if this heat is not wicked away by a heat sink it will drive up the junction temperature of the LED chips and result in premature failure. Many of the commercial aquarium fixtures use higher power chips as they generate more PAR and penetrate depth better than the lower power chips. As a result, these fixtures need various means of cooling (heat sinks, fans, etc...) to protect the LED chips.

Andy


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## Steve C (Oct 9, 2011)

That makes sense Andy. Because I use the low/normal power strip lights for projects (not to light my tanks) but just for other things like a couple of desk lighting projects, back lit TV and PC monitors etc etc and never noticed any heat at all. Must be the higher power ones then that give off some heat, I haven't used any of the high power ones myself so I was wondering what I was missing lol


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