46w IP20 LED Strip 4000k

46w IP20 LED Strip 4000k

This is a high-output LED strip. At this density it is doing real work - lighting a benchtop, a wardrobe interior or a commercial display - rather than adding an accent to something already lit.

Output at this level brings heat with it, and heat is what decides how long a strip holds its brightness. An aluminium profile stops being a nice finish and becomes part of how the installation works.

Output and colour

This strip draws 46W per metre, producing 4370lm per metre.

⚠ Both figures are per metre, not per reel. A long run multiplies them, and that is the number that decides the driver.

It is a 4000K product - one fixed colour temperature.

This is a neutral white - the middle ground, and the safest choice when a space has to do several jobs. It keeps whites looking white without the coldness of a daylight source, which is why it suits kitchens, bathrooms and workspaces that also have to feel liveable.

It is also the easiest colour temperature to mix with existing lighting, because it sits between the warm lamps in most living spaces and the cooler light of task fittings.

Colour rendering is ≥80 CRI, which describes how faithfully colours appear under the light. It matters most where the lighting falls on food, skin, timber or fabric.

The beam spread is 120°.

Where it can be installed

⚠ At IP20 this has no moisture protection. It is for dry interior positions only - inside joinery, a cove, or a ceiling recess.

Bathrooms, kitchens near a sink, and any outdoor position need a weatherproof rating instead. An IP20 strip in a damp position fails at the circuit board, and it fails patchily rather than all at once.

Powering it

This strip runs at 24V DC, so it needs an LED driver between it and the mains. It cannot be connected to mains directly.

Size the driver from the run, not the reel, and be generous. At this wattage per metre a run reaches a large total quickly, and a driver chosen to just cover it will spend its life at the limit - which is where power supplies fail.

On a long high-output run it is also worth feeding from both ends rather than one. Voltage drop is what makes the far end of a long run visibly dimmer, and it bites hardest where the current is highest.

⚠ The driver's output voltage has to match the strip. At this output a mismatch does not simply leave the run dim - it destroys the strip, and that is not a warranty claim.

Cutting and installing it

The strip can be cut, but only at the marked cutting points - every 83mm. Cutting anywhere else severs the circuit and kills the section beyond the cut.

⚠ Use an aluminium profile on this one, not a plastic channel and not bare tape. High-output strip stuck to plasterboard or timber has nowhere to send its heat, and it shows within a couple of years as uneven brightness and drifting colour along the run.

Test it powered up and leave it running for a while before closing anything in. A high-output run shows problems - a dim section, a warm spot, a bad joint - under load rather than at the moment it is switched on.

This strip is dimmable. Dimming happens at the driver rather than at the strip, so the driver and the dimmer have to match.

Frequently asked questions

Download Datasheet (PDF)

Download Datasheet (PDF)