When choosing LED strip lighting, we all want to know about their quality. However, this usually requires testing to determine its quality. Behind this glossy finish lies a rigorous quality testing chain, from chip to finished product. An LED tape light that hasn’t been adequately tested may have a short lifespan, uneven light color, potential flickering, or even safety risks. True “high quality” is not accidental; it’s the sum of a series of scientific and objective standard tests. We will detail the key test quality standards that LED strip light should pass before leaving the factory to help you make informed choices when purchasing and selecting.
Electrical Safety and Certification Standards
The most important test is electrical safety, which is the most basic and crucial test quality step for LED strip light. Products that haven’t undergone safety testing may pose risks of leakage, short circuits, or overheating, potentially even causing a fire.
Electrical safety includes:
- Hi-pot Insulation Withstand Voltage Test: Ensures the light strip will not break down the insulation layer under high voltage conditions.
- Grounding Continuity Test: Verifies that metal components are reliably grounded.
- Leakage Current Test: Detects electrical safety performance and prevents current leakage.
Common International Certification Standards:
- CE (EU): Complies with EU low voltage and electromagnetic compatibility requirements.
- UL (USA) / ETL (North America): Ensures product safety in the North American market.
- RoHS / REACH: Restricts the use of hazardous substances, ensuring environmental safety.
- FCC (USA): Controls electromagnetic interference, preventing the LED strip from affecting other electronic equipment.
Light Color Performance Testing
The optical performance of test LED strip light directly determines the lighting quality. To ensure a good user experience, manufacturers typically conduct multiple light color performance tests. Integrating sphere testing is generally used to ensure there are no significant color differences.
- Luminous flux (Lumen): Reflects brightness output; checks if it matches the product specifications.
- Color temperature (CCT) and color rendering index (CRI): Ensure natural and realistic light colors.
- Luminous efficacy (lm/W): Assess energy efficiency.
- SDCM (Color tolerance): Ensures color consistency between LED strips in the same batch.
Waterproof Rating Quality Test
In the production process of LED strip light, waterproof rating (IP rating) test quality is a crucial step to ensure the product’s safe use in outdoor, humid, or high-humidity environments. Different waterproof ratings correspond to different testing methods, and LED light strip manufacturers typically verify their products according to the IEC 60529 international standard. Below are the commonly used waterproof testing procedures and methods in the industry.
Common LED Light Strip Waterproof Rating Classifications
- IP20: No waterproofing, for indoor use only
- IP54 / IP65: Dustproof, resistant to light water spray (silicone surface coating)
- IP67: Short-term immersion, soaking time is 30 minutes (potting, silicone extrusion molding)
- IP68: Continuous immersion, underwater, swimming pool (entire silicone sleeve + sealed end caps)
Mechanical and Structural Integrity Testing
This test focuses on the physical strength and structural design reliability quality of the LED strip light. Which is especially crucial for flexible and outdoor strips.
- Cutting Point Accuracy: Check the accuracy of the circuit design at the cutting marks on the LED strip to ensure safe cutting by users or installers.
- Flexibility Fatigue Test: Simulates the stress the LED strip may experience during installation, bending, and use. Through a specific number of bending/torsion tests, ensure that the circuit board, solder joints. And outer package will not break or be damaged.
- Connector Pull Strength Test: Ensures the connection points between the LED strip and the connector/cable are sufficiently strong and will not separate or loosen due to pulling, avoiding poor contact.
- Mounting Fixing Strength: If the LED strip has adhesive backing. Test the adhesion durability of the adhesive under high temperature and vertical gravity.
Physical and Environmental Testing
LED light strips may need to operate in various harsh environments. These tests simulate real-world challenges. This allows the LED light strips to adapt to different environments and operate normally.
- High and Low Temperature Cycling Test: The LED strip is cycled between extremely low and extremely high temperatures to test the stress resistance of its chip, FPC, solder joints, and packaging materials due to thermal expansion and contraction.
- High Temperature and High Humidity Test (Double 85 Test): The strip operates for extended periods in an environment of 85°C and 85% relative humidity to verify its resistance to aging, oxidation of metal components, and moisture-induced airtightness.
- Thermal Shock Test: More severe than temperature cycling, this test instantly transforms the product into high and low temperature environments, used to screen products with potential material defects.
- Vibration and Shock Test: Simulates mechanical shocks that may be encountered during transportation, installation, or specific applications (such as vehicles) to ensure that internal connections do not loosen.
Lifespan and Reliability Testing
The quality of LED light strips ultimately depends on how long they can operate stably. This primarily depends on the raw materials used. Secondly, lifespan testing can predict the performance degradation of the product during actual use.
- LM-80 Test: This is the authoritative report for evaluating LED chip lifespan. It is the industry standard for LED packaged chips, testing the luminous flux maintenance of the chip at different temperatures.
- L70/B50 Lifespan Prediction: Lifespan prediction based on LM-80 data. 70% means the time required for the light to decay to L70 (the initial brightness level).
- Accelerated Aging Test: The LED strip is continuously operated under extreme conditions such as high temperature, high humidity, or high current to simulate several years of use in a short period, observing the stability of its performance (such as light color).
Quality Spot Checks and Process Control
This process occurs with every customer order. Professional manufacturers don’t wait until the final stage to conduct testing; instead, they integrate quality control into the entire production process.
- IQC (Incoming Quality Control): Employees rigorously inspect all key raw materials (such as LED chips, resistors, and PCB boards) to ensure they meet specifications.
- IPQC (In-Process Quality Control): Real-time spot checks are conducted at core production stages such as SMT assembly, soldering, and potting to ensure that soldering temperature, component placement, etc., meet standards.
- OQC (Outgoing Quality Control): Before packaging, each batch undergoes a final spot check for functionality, brightness, and appearance to ensure that every roll of LED strip delivered to the customer is qualified.
Conclusion
Quality test of LED strip light is not only a compliance requirement, but also a guarantee of safety and performance. From electrical safety to environmental durability, from optical consistency to lifespan verification, every aspect determines the actual performance and lifespan of the light strip.
If you are looking for high-quality LED light strips that meet CE, RoHS, UL, and other standards, we offer professional lighting solutions and customization services. Please contact us.
FAQs
Quality testing of LED light strips ensures that the product meets standards in terms of safety, performance, durability, and consistency. It also guarantees the safety and stability of the product during long-term use.
SDCM (Standard Deviation of Color Matching) is an indicator of the color consistency of light strips. The smaller the value, the smaller the color difference. Therefore, SDCM is a key standard for evaluating the color consistency of LED light strips.
Outdoor light strips need to undergo waterproofing tests, such as waterproof rating tests (IP65/IP67/IP68), UV and salt spray weathering tests. And high and low temperature resistance tests.
It mainly depends on the raw materials and manufacturing process. In professional fields, the “L70” or “L80” standard is used: L70 lifespan: the time it takes for the luminous flux to decay to 70% of its initial value; L80 lifespan. The time it takes for the luminous flux to decay to 80% of its initial value.