Not all LED Strips are the same!

Why All LED Strips Are Not the Same

At first glance, LED Strip Lighting might all look similar—but looks can be deceiving. Many cheaper LED strips are manufactured with cost-cutting measures that compromise their performance, lifespan, and reliability.

Experienced buyers and installers know that choosing cheap LED strip is a false economy. Installing LED Strip takes time, effort, and money, and if the strip starts to fail after a short period—or even just a few years—you’ll be faced with the inconvenience and expense of doing the job all over again.

It’s the same as painting your home with bargain paint: it might look good at first, but after a couple of years, it starts to crack and peel. Then you’re left buying more paint, scraping the walls, and repeating the whole process unnecessarily.

Common Problems with Cheap LED Strips

Inconsistent colour and brightness along the length
Dark spots developing in single-colour strips
Patchy, uneven colours in RGB or colour-changing strips
Noticeable dimming after as little as 1,000 hours of use

We regularly hear from frustrated customers—and even professional installers—who have had to replace entire installations because of these very issues. It’s a waste of time and money that can be avoided by investing in quality LED Strip from the start.

Poor quality LED Strip installation - LEDs have faded and failed

The Litewave® Difference

With Litewave® Architectural LED Strip, you get:

Consistent brightness and colour from end to end
No fading or colour patches thanks to Constant Current regulation
Proven long-term reliability, even for demanding commercial projects

Don’t settle for cheap imitations—invest in LED Strip that lasts.

Below, this is what happens with LED Strip, LEDs begin dropping colours.

Cheap LED Strips - often sold by our 'competition'

Why We Don’t Sell Cheap LED Strip—Even from ‘Reputable’ Suppliers

At Litewave®, we will never sell cheap LED Strip. Why? Because we believe it’s short-sighted to invest hundreds or even thousands of pounds in a beautifully designed kitchen, lounge, or home cinema—only to ruin it with unreliable, low-cost LED strip that’s destined to fail after just a few months of use.

We refuse to offer products that might look good initially but will ultimately disappoint you. Making a quick sale at the expense of your long-term satisfaction is not how we do business.

The Hidden Problems with Cheap LED Strips

Looks Can Be Deceiving: Cheap LED strips often look identical to those using branded LEDs like Epistar, LG, or Samsung—but internally they’re made with inferior materials. These cheap alternatives often lack gold bonding wires, which are essential for long life and proper heat transfer.
Inconsistent Colour: Proper LEDs are grouped into BINs (Batch Identification Numbers) to ensure consistent colour across the entire strip. Cheap strips often mix batches, resulting in visible colour variation and patchiness.
Poor Heat Dissipation: Flimsy circuit boards with thin copper tracks can’t effectively carry away heat, causing premature LED failure.
Overdriven LEDs for Short-Term Brightness: Many cheap strips use lower-value resistors to make the LEDs appear bright—but at the expense of longevity. This leads to noticeable dimming or colour failure after only a few thousand hours.

Designed for Short-Term Use

Cheap LED Strip is often only suitable for temporary applications—such as parties or seasonal decorations—not for serious residential or commercial use.

What You Should Expect from Quality LED Strip

For genuine, long-term installations, quality LED Strip should use proper branded LEDs—most often Epistar—with consistent BIN selections to avoid patchy appearance.

Circuit boards should be 1–2oz copper weight for effective heat dissipation.
Resistor values should be carefully selected to run LEDs at temperatures that won’t reduce their lifespan.
Even with good quality constant voltage LED Strip, expect some dimming (20–40%) after 2–3 years (25,000–30,000 hours). RGB strips may also lose individual colours over time, especially in poor-quality products.

True High-End LED Strip: Constant Current Technology

Some sellers may claim to offer professional-grade LED Strip but are really supplying you with basic resistor-regulated strips dressed up as premium.

True high-end LED Strip must be Constant Current. These strips don’t just rely on basic resistors—they use advanced onboard regulation circuitry with transistors and voltage regulators to keep the LEDs running at optimal brightness for years.

Think of basic resistor-only strips as beginner electronics. Our Constant Current LED Strip is more like professional, engineered electronics—designed for longevity, stability, and performance.

No noticeable brightness decline after 1,000 hours
Less than 3% light decay after 10,000 hours of use
Lifespan of 50,000+ hours with minimal degradation
No colour-loss issues in RGB strips over time

Trusted by Professionals

Our Litewave® Architectural Constant Current LED Strip is already used in:

Petrol stations
Conference centres
Schools
Restaurants
Home cinemas
Roof lanterns
High-end kitchens

It comes with a 3-year warranty for both commercial and domestic use—proof of our confidence in the product.

If you want to install it once and forget about it—this is the strip to choose.