Rope Lights

Rope Lights Retailer

LED Rope Lights and LED strip lights offer energy efficient, stylish and modern solutions to cove, under-cabinet, display, and other accent lighting applications. Flexible LED linear lighting is UL Listed with field cuttable options. Our long-life flexible linear lighting solutions are easily mounted on most surfaces and is offered in your choice of LED density, brightness, and color temperature, along with color-changing and waterproof capabilities. Our LED neon, LED tape and LED strip lights are certified in multiple categories for all residential and commercial applications.

What are Rope Lights?

Rope light is a great, versatile tool that’s used in many lighting applications including adding a fun touch to your deck, accent lighting for restaurants, or creating word art for your wall. Operating on either 12 Volts or 120 Volts, these lights consist of a string of LED or incandescent lights encased in a flexible tube. Rope light is available in a single color or multi-colors. Other options include all-in-one kits, LED neon rope light, and hybrid LED flat rope light.

Rope Light, or LED strip light, looks exactly the way it sounds: flat. Most LED strip lights have an adhesive backing, these lights are super easy to install and conceal, making them a popular choice for lighting stairways, cabinets, and display shelves. Rope Light operates on 12 or 24 Volts and comes in solid colors or color changing RGB. Solid color waterproof LED Rope Light is also available for lighting pools, fountains, and other applications that require submerged lights. These Rope Lights do not have an adhesive backing and use mounting clips instead.

Can Rope Lights Be Cut?

Most rope and Rope Light can be cut and have designated cutting spots usually notated by a white dashed line. Cutting anywhere other than the cutting marks will cause the lights to no longer work. Keep in mind that cutting rope light or Rope Light voids the UL safety rating. If you are using your lights outside, all connections made must be shrink wrapped in order to protect against moisture.

The only lights that should not be cut are rope light kits and waterproof LED Rope Lights. Rope lights are pre-cut for easy installation and do not have cutting marks. Cutting waterproof Rope Light voids the UL listed safety rating and it’s waterproofing abilities.

LED Drivers and Step-down Transformers

If you are planning on using a 120V rope light, all you need to do is plug the power cord into the nearest outlet. For both 12 and 24-Volt LED strip lights or rope lights you will need either an LED driver or step-down transformer. The very low power consumption of LEDs make them incompatible with today’s transformers. You can only use a step-down transformer to manage 12 Volt incandescent rope light. The driver and the transformer both lower the high voltages of main power sources, like the American standard 120 Volts, to the needed voltage of 12 or 24 Volts. Without this device, the uncontrolled power will fry your LEDs or incandescent.

Each driver or transformer is rated for a specific wattage range. You should pay particular attention to the maximum wattage rating to make sure your device can handle the wattage of the length of lighting you’re using. To determine how many Watts your lighting uses, you’re going to need to do a little math. Multiply the total length of lights you want to use by the wattage per foot listed by the manufacturer. 

Total Wattage = Length of Light (in feet) x Wattage per Foot

For example, you might buy an LED driver with a 24-Watt maximum but your 16 feet of strip lights uses 3.5 Watts per foot for a total of 56 Watts. You’re going to have to exchange that driver for a bigger one to ensure all of your lights stay lit. The amount of lights you can have in one continuous run is determined by the maximum wattage rating of your transformer or LED driver and National Electrical Code (NEC). Regardless of how powerful your driver is, the NEC can still limit the amount of lights per driver in order to prevent voltage drop from happening.

Driver adapters or connector cords are used to connect the driver or transformer to your lights. For 12 and 24-Volt lights, there will be wires at one end for you to connect to the wires from the driver. LED drivers with smaller maximum wattages may be built like power adapters and include a plug-in cord. For that kind of driver, you can purchase a coordinating power adapter cord or connector, which will have a single pin plug to link to the driver and connector for your lights at the other end.

Where to Use LED Rope Lights?

Want to find out a way to modernize the inside of your home with some stylish lighting? We've got the perfect solution: LED Rope Light. Due to its thin profile, LED Rope Light is a discrete lighting option for unexpected and hard-to-reach areas that could never be lit otherwise. Adding to its versatility, Rope Light comes in a variety of colors, is dimmable, and can be trimmed to fit any space. So, where are some good places to install it? Below are some areas where LED Rope Light will add a modern element to your overall lighting scheme.

Stairway Lighting

If you have stairs in your home, you know how jarring it can be to turn on a bright stairway light in the middle of the night just so you don’t trip and fall. Instead of flipping the switch to turn on that downstairs foyer or hallway light, use LED Rope Light for more subtle illumination that won’t completely take you out of your drowsy, just-woke-up state. Place warm white Rope Light underneath the upper edges of each stair (pictured to the right) or on the underside of the railing for hidden down lighting. To give the Rope Light a clean look, you can use LED Rope Light extrusions to conceal the Rope Light itself.

Hard-To-Reach Spaces

There are certain places in your home that are dark and hard to reach, such as above and under kitchen cabinets and in ceiling coves. LED Rope Light can turn these seemingly useless spaces into the perfect place for sleek accent lighting. Installed above your cabinets, Rope Light will provide stylish up lighting and give new life to boring wall space. High-output LED Rope Light installed in a ceiling cove can pull double-duty as both overhead and accent lighting in your living room.

Display Cabinets and Shelving

LED Rope Light is also a great option for lighting enclosed areas such as display cabinets, shelving units, and closets. The picture to the left shows a perfect example of how Rope Light can transform a few shelves on your wall into an eye-catching feature among your home’s décor. Because LED Rope Light uses very little energy and has very low heat output, you won’t have to worry about it being hazardous inside a closed display cabinet or in a small closet shelf. Plus, your Rope Light can be hardwired to a wall switch using an LED driver, so that it works independently from your overhead lighting.

Backlighting

One of the more fun options for LED Rope Light is using it to outline an object with light or provide backlighting. We've mentioned in previous blog posts how Rope Light is great for backlighting televisions because your eyes are less likely to strain in the dark. Well, the same could be said about other electronic devices like your computer. Even though regular Rope Light would work, USB LED Rope Light is a much more convenient option. Just like standard Rope Light, this USB tape comes in many different lengths and colors, including RGB color-changing kits. All you have to do is plug in the cable into your computer’s USB port. Backlighting isn't just for electronic devices either – it can be used behind mirrors as well to give them a unique halo effect.

Furniture Accents

For those of you who really want to make a contemporary statement with LED Rope Light, you can use it to create glowing silhouettes around or under unexpected pieces of furniture such as a bathroom vanity (pictured to the right), the underside of a bar or kitchen counter top, a pool table, or even underneath your bed frame. Installing Rope Light underneath furniture creates a warm glow that provides modern, low-profile accent lighting. Much like stairway lighting, LED Rope Light used as furniture accents gives you a way to achieve low lighting during the night with an added element of safety.

Top-Rated LED Rope Lighting Authorized Dealer & Supplier

Lightingandsupplies.com is a lighting distributor of Indoor & Outdoor Commercial and Residential light fixtures and light bulbs. Based in the US, we carry the top LED lighting brands like EiKO, RAB Lighting, MaxLite, naturaLED, Westgate Lighting and more of the Top Lighting Manufacturers in the United States. We also carry a wide variety of Horticulture products by Hydrofarm, along with ceiling fans by RP Lighting+Fans. Lightingandsupplies.com also provides rebate programs, expert lighting design advice, and lighting audits for large projects. As a wholesaler, authorized dealer and bulk distributor of lighting products, we take pride in our customer-focused 100% satisfaction guarantee and return policy. 

For more information, call 888-325-4448 or email: [email protected].