We spec lots of LED strip / tape and the thinks to make sure are :
- Lumens (brightness)
- colour temp : 2700k is most common as its most similar to the colour temp of halogen lighting
- CRI : Go for 80 or 90 (higher the better)
- Cut points on the tape : Smaller the better, some tapes have 100mm cut points which can be a pain, 25mm is good.
- Dots per meter or Dots per inch : This is to do with the number of individual LEDs per meter / per inch. Due to the manufacturing process each LED is always slightly different in brightness, CRI, and colour temp, so the more LEDs you have closer together means you get a more even colour when the LEDs are washed on a wall / through a diffuser (see below)
- Diffuser : Its always a good idea to diffuser the light as it evens out the light from multiple LEDs into one solid even bar of light, stops you getting reflections that look dotty etc.. This will help massively with hot spotting
- Dimmable : Is dimming required, if so some drivers will say they are dimmable, but actually not be very smooth, i would test a sample of what ever strip / driver you by with your lighting control system to make sure it dims correctly
- Length of strip required : Some strips have a max length, so bare this in mind with longer runs (of course you can butt up multiple lengths, but make an allowance for the driver locations
With all the above in mind our default LED tape is this :
[Link: orlight.com]They do a cove lighting plastering profile :
[Link: orlight.com]As well as a standard profile if you are going to make your coved ceiling our of timber / metal stud / plaster board :
[Link: orlight.com]