Why Many “Professional” LED Strips Aren’t What They Claim to Be — And How to Avoid the Mistake

Thu, 19 Jun 2025

 

If you’ve been researching LED Strip Lighting, you’ve probably noticed that many suppliers market their products as “Professional”, or “Commercial Grade”. Unfortunately, the truth is that many of these LED strips are anything but professional.

In fact, many of these so-called high-end LED strips use the same cheap, outdated technology as bargain-bin products. And unless you know what to look for, you could end up paying for a “premium” product that fails within months, requiring costly removal, replacement, and reinstallation.

And guess what, that new Neon Tube, Flexible Tube, or Dotless Tube being sold all over the internet - it's just LEDs and Resistors in a nice enclosure.  The core issue and potential future failure is still there, it has not been addressed!

At Litewave®, we believe that cutting corners on lighting isn’t just bad for your home or business—it’s a false economy.

Let’s break down the truth.

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⚠️ The Problem: Basic Resistor LED Strips Sold as “Professional”

Here’s the dirty secret: most LED strips sold as “professional” only have resistors to regulate the power to the LEDs.

Why is that a problem?
🔸 Resistors alone cannot maintain stable voltage or current
🔸 LEDs get overdriven—they shine brightly at first, but quickly begin to fade
🔸 Uneven light output — especially on colour-changing (RGB) strips
🔸 Heat build-up on thin circuit boards, causing premature LED failure
🔸 After just 1,000 hours, most cheap LED strips begin to lose brightness noticeably
🔸 RGB strips lose primary colours, leaving unsightly patches of red, green, or blue

Despite all these flaws, these products are still marketed as “professional”—an outright deception of the customer’s trust.

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✅ The Litewave® Difference: Truly Engineered, Truly Professional

At Litewave®, we don’t just add LEDs to a strip and call it “professional”. We engineer LED Strips from the ground up, built specifically for long-term, demanding installations.  Due to other companies making these misleading statements we have now differentiated our product as Architectural.  After all it is designed for long term use.  One of our customers began using it around 12 years ago (as of 2025).

Here’s why Litewave® Architectural LED Strip is different:

⚙️ Constant Current Circuitry (Not Just Resistors)

Our Professional Constant Current LED Strip is equipped with on-board transistors and precision resistors, providing full current and voltage regulation. This protects every LED on the strip from power spikes, heat, and premature decay in brightness and failure with could otherwise be expected.

🏅 6-Year Warranty as Standard

We’re so confident in our build quality that we offer a 6-year warranty—even for commercial installations. Many other suppliers only offer 3 years, even on their “high-end” strips.

💡 Consistent Brightness, Zero Colour Patches

Every Litewave® LED Strip uses genuine BIN-matched LEDs from trusted manufacturers like Epistar. This ensures perfect colour consistency along the entire length of the strip—no blue-ish whites, no random pink or yellow patches, just clean, even light.

🔥 Thick Copper Boards for Heat Dissipation

Our LED strips use 2 ounce copper circuit boards, meaning they can handle heat properly. Cheap strips use flimsy boards that quickly overheat and fail.

🕒 Built for Longevity

Brightness fade?
✔ Cheap strips: begin to fade after 1,000 hours
✔ Litewave®: only 3% decline after 10,000 hours

Expected lifespan?
✔ Cheap strips: 2–3 years with obvious degradation
✔ Litewave®: 75,000+ hours of consistent, true professional-grade lighting

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❌ Don’t Fall for Cheap Marketing Tricks

Many suppliers don’t fully understand LED technology, or worse—know full well that what they’re selling won’t last. Their goal is a quick sale, not a satisfied customer.

Would you spend thousands on a new kitchen or home cinema only to use the cheapest, shortest-lasting LED strip? Of course not.
Lighting is the finishing touch to your home or project—don’t compromise.

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🏆 Choose Litewave® for Genuine Professional Quality

• ✅ 6-Year Warranty—Even for Commercial Installations

• ✅ Genuine Constant Current LED Technology

• ✅ No brightness fade after just a few months

• ✅ Installed in thousands of professional environments across the UK

• ✅ No costly re-installs in a few years—do it once, do it right

Trusted by architects, installers, homeowners, and commercial clients for over 13 years.

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Ready to experience the difference of true professional-grade LED Strip Lighting?

👉 Browse Litewave® LED Strips now or contact us for expert advice.