What is duralight?

Decorative lighting is widely used in modern urban and park design. A huge leap in the development of high-quality illumination occurred with the advent of duralight.

What is duralight?

A light cord is a modern electrical equipment for creating a variety of lighting effects. The device features low power consumption and a service life of up to 100,000 hours. Not afraid of moisture and UV rays, resistant to mechanical stress.

The name “duralight” comes from lat. “durus” – solid and “light” – light.

It is a PVC tube, inside of which there are conductive wires with LEDs. The design protects the light elements from mechanical damage, dust and condensation. This allows the use of duralight with a temperature range from -40 ° C to + 50 ° C.

Types of duralight

Depending on the idea of ​​lighting design, duralight is used with different cut profiles:

• The round tube bends easily in all directions and emits light evenly. It can be given any shape. It is used to create advertising structures, signboards, tree decor.
• A flat tube is used to decorate the facades of buildings. The light from it is directed in one direction. A tight fit to the surface of the building and light weight makes it possible to clearly draw architectural contours.

Duralight distinguish:

• According to the number of cores: 2-, 3-, 4-, 5-core. The more lived, the brighter the light.
• According to the diameter of the circular section: 12 mm, 13 mm, 16 mm.
• According to the size of a flat profile: 5×8 mm, 11×18 mm, 11×22, 11×28 mm.
• By power per meter of length: 2 W, 3 W, 5 W.
• By color: orange, red, yellow, white, RGB, light green, green, blue, color, multi-colored, white, chameleon, purple.

The light weight of a 100 m coil of 3-core duralight is only 0.173 kg, which allows you to gracefully fix the light cord on any surface and hold it securely even under strong wind loads.

The predecessor of the LED duralight was a lamp. In operation, it is less profitable – it consumes more energy, it works in a narrow temperature range.

Application area

Light cords are used for:

• decorative lighting of streets, facades of buildings, shop windows, private houses;
• the voltage of the LED cord 24 V is used to illuminate the interiors of buses, heavy trucks;
• voltage 12 V is suitable for interior design, furniture lighting, car interiors, aquariums;
• festive lighting equipment, frost-resistant street garlands, park decoration;
• as a decorative element on steps, railings and stages.

An interesting option for furniture lighting is push-button lamps. These are small lighting fixtures that are glued with adhesive tape in closets and pantries. They are turned on with a slight pressure on the body and give a full view of the contents of the shelf without the need to turn on the overhead light.

Specifications

The appropriate technical characteristics of the duralight depend on how the object decorated with light should look according to the project. The main parameters on which the design and installation depends can be found in the table:

Inside the PVC tube, the LEDs are connected in series in small groups, and the groups are connected to each other in parallel. Duralight is cut only between groups. The places of possible cuts are marked on the surface of the cord with special marks. The IP68 coding of the LED duralight indicates the maximum degree of protection – a dust-proof device that can withstand prolonged immersion in water. This modification of the LED cable allows you to use it outdoors and in wet areas, including swimming pools.

Ingress Protection Rating is a classification system for the degree of protection of the shell of electrical equipment against the penetration of solid objects and water in accordance with the international standard.

Installation and connection

To connect a duralight, follow a series of simple steps:

1. The LED cord is connected to a 220 V network through a cable with a rectifier. The power cord cable consists of the cable itself and an adapter with needles at one end.
2. Align the adapter needles with the duralight strands. Connect the other end of the adapter to the cable.
3. Close the free end of the LED cord with a plug.

In this case, the equipment will work in the Fixing mode: all LEDs will burn constantly with an even, maximum bright light. This applies to all modifications of the duralight connected without a controller. When the controller is connected to a 2-wire duralight, all lamps of the light cord flash. You can choose the sequence of modes of play of light and the speed of transition from one to another. The interaction of 3-, 4- and 5-wire modifications of the LED cable with the controller gives a glow with dynamics and beautiful effects:

• traveling wave;
• running fire;
• slowing down and speeding up transitions.

The design feature of the device allows you to get effects. Inside the multi-core modifications of duralight, there are independent LED power circuits that are programmed in different ways. Duralight for 12 V and 24 V is connected to a 220 V network through an additional power source. A 12 V tape can be connected to the car’s on-board network without the use of special adapters, and a 24 V device can be connected to the on-board network of heavy trucks and buses.
A special sleeve with needles at both ends helps to connect segments of different colors into one cord. The coupling needles are combined with the cores of the duralight segments, the joints are fixed with nuts. To prevent water from entering through the coupling, the connection is insulated with an additional heat shrink tube. You can not ignore the safety precautions when installing duralight:

• make sure that during installation the contacts at the joints are dry;
• turn off the equipment from the network;
• fasten and isolate the contacts well at the connection point;
• avoid strong mechanical impacts on the joints of the duralight;
• use heat shrink tubing to improve insulation at the joints;
• when connecting several segments, pay attention to their compatibility in terms of technical characteristics;
• observe polarity;
• install duralight so that children cannot get it.

Overview of the best manufacturers

Domestic manufacturers offer products that are equal in quality to foreign samples. Among the leaders:

• Arlight & Co. Plant of modern technologies with the maximum level of automation and a complete production cycle. Produces 1.5 million diodes per day. You can get acquainted with the manufacturer in more detail on the official website .
• “Svetzavod”. Engaged in the supply and installation of decorative, interior and street lighting. Accepts orders through the site around the clock. Carries out delivery across all territory of Russia.
• Feron. A supplier of good quality lighting equipment for home and office, duralight LED strips and accessories for them. You can get acquainted with the products on the manufacturer ‘s website .
• LLC Promsignal. Delivers equipment by transport companies throughout Russia. Products are presented on the official website .

Light effects have taken their prominent place in the life of society largely due to the duralight technology. The ease of installation and the availability of decorative lighting have become a strong argument in favor of installing this bright equipment.