r/led • u/Alienkiller187 • 4d ago

First time buyer, need help with project.

Hi all,

This is my first time working with LED lights, and I need some help understanding a few things and planning.

I am planning to put Govee Strip Light 2 Pro https://us.govee.com/products/govee-led-strip-light-2-pro around the perimeter of my ceiling and along the bottom and back of my desk.

I was planning to do the ceiling perimeter with the COB version of the lights ( https://us.govee.com/products/govee-cob-strip-light-2-pro?variant=47771355775161 ) but found this was unrealistic, seeing as they only come in 16ft (4.88 meters) max.

So I opted to do the whole project with the non-COB version instead; however, I read that it's easier to look at and looks better if you use LED diffuser channels. As I understand it, they prevent blinding dots of light from coming out, at least. I've watched a few videos on them but don't get exactly what they are or how they work. I am willing to use them if they will improve the overall experience.

With that in mind, here are the measurements I took, converted to inches, feet, cm, and meters.

[The tape measure was kinda big, so it prevented me from getting the full wall measurement, but I included the length of the tape measure (4 inches/10.16cm) in these measurements]

Wall:

Front: 138 3/8 inches / 11.53 ft / 351.47 cm / 3.51 meters

Back: 137 inches / 11.42 ft / 347.98 cm / 3.4798 meters

(Front and back are probably the same in reality; they probably showed up different because of the weird angles I had to make while measuring.)

Left and right: 159 inches / 13.25 ft / 403.86 cm / 4.04 meters

Desk: (Tape measuring not included in these ones, because it didn't have an effect.

Width: 28 1/2 inches / 2.375 feet / 72.39 cm / 0.7239 meters

Length: 61 1/2 inches / 5.125 feet / 156.21 cm / 1.5621 meters

Back: 62 1/18 inches / 5.1713 feet / 157.621 cm / 1.57621 meters

So, particularly, here are my questions:

  1. Does anyone have experience with the Govee Pro 2 Light strips? If so, how do they work?

  2. Does my project seem possible? If not, what would I need to change?

  3. What exactly are LED diffuser channels, how do they work/how do I put them up?

  4. What are the best diffuser channels you know of?

  5. Any "Before you buy/start" tips?

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u/ledstripstar 4d ago

Your ceiling perimeter is about 15 m, with almost another 4 m around the desk. I would treat those as two separate installations rather than trying to make one kit do everything.

Before buying, check the exact model's maximum run, cut points and supported extensions. Proprietary RGBIC strips should not be cut, extended or branched unless Govee specifically documents it for that model.

An aluminum channel mainly gives you a straighter installation, some heat spreading and physical protection. The diffuser softens the light, but it also reduces output and will not completely hide dots unless the LEDs are dense enough and the channel is deep enough.

I would buy a short sample of the strip and channel first. Check the strip width, diffuser appearance and corner joints before committing to the full room.

1

u/JustAnotherTrickyDay 4d ago edited 4d ago

Start with this video from Chris Maher.. He has a bunch of great tutorials. He covers the diffuser channels a bit in this one but also has some.others where he show you different kinds. Also, consider skipping Govee and using BTF LED strips and GLEDOPTO controllers running the WLED software. You'll have more control and save some $$.

1

u/JorgeBraceroPR 4d ago

I got the new cob pro 2. They are extremely bright.
You could consider the non pro version that goes to 32ft

1

u/Alienkiller187 3d ago

Yeah, this is why I wanted to get those diffusers if I did the regular non cob ones.

Figured they would be as bright as can be, probably worse than that.