Cove lighting with LED strips

Jul 29, 2019

A cove luminaire is a light line that can be made via an LED strip that is hidden within a Cove in the wall or ceiling that illuminates an adjacent surface. Light is reflected from this surface into the room to be illuminated. For this reason, light lines are generally referred to as cove or indirect lighting.

Cove lighting is a popular trend in lighting design, focusing on human nature and the behaviour of natural light. It is widely used today, with light lines as the main method of lighting interiors.

The attraction is the similarity with the natural light. With the right light source we could imagine that the bay is actually a hidden window to the outside from which the sunlight streams in.

Let's see how we can achieve the best results with cove lighting.

1. Use of energy-efficient light sources

Choose LED modules or strips with high energy efficiency, at least 100 lm/w, and place them within the coving light so that most of the emitted light uses the reflective surface, wall or ceiling that directs it into the interior. Waste of energy for lighting the interior of the bay should be avoided. LED strips with 120-180° are recommended, which should be placed at an angle if possible:

Surfaces that are more absorptive than reflective, like dark paint or wood should be avoided unless the design is primordial to energy efficiency. White ceilings produce the best results.

2. Select an LED light source with the correct light output.

The illumination of cavities can serve a variety of purposes. It can guide people, highlight architectural elements or trigger a particular design trend and at the same time provide ambient, general or workplace lighting.

It is strongly recommended that the purpose and role played in lighting a room determine the type of light source to be used. The following luminous flux per metre value can serve as a useful orientation aid:

Ambient light or highlight of objects or furniture elements: up to 500 lumens per meter (160lm per foot)

Highlight architectural elements: up to 900 lumens per meter or 300 lm/foot (many other light sources exist in the space)

General lighting via light lines and workplace lighting via spotlights: up to 2400 lumens per metre (600 lm/foot), depending on the design of the bay and the materials used. In many cases up to 1500 lumens per meter (500 lm/foot) are sufficient.

3. Use LED strips that are easy to install and have low redundancy of parts

The light sources have to be easily spread out over long distances and use as less auxiliary items as possible, for example wires, connectors, screws or transformers. A large capacity transformer is recommended.

4. Use LED modules or strips with the best light quality, spectrum and color rendering index.

If a cove light is to be an imitation of daylight then it should be in almost all aspects.

Currently the closest match to the sunlight come from LEDs come with full spectrum technology, such as Nichia Optisolis and Seoul Semiconductor SunLike, both with almost day-like spectrum and maximum scores for all the CRI test colors. Their spectrum and how it compares to sunlight and other light sources can be seen below.

Spectrum of Nichia Optisolis LED

Choose LED strips with minimum CRI80 for all work and living places, such as office, living room, dining room bedroom and so on with CRI95+ as the recommended value.

5. Installed LED modules or strips with the longest lifetime, the lowest color shift and best lumen maintenance.

Long lasting LED light sources with minimal color shift in time are recommended, especially for installations with considerable lengths. If the brightness of the light source fades too soon or the color temperature changes the total replacement of the installation could be the only solution for uniform lighting.

For example, if "LEDs 1" are used in the installation and the light changes as in the image on the right, replacing only some sections with "LEDs 2" will exacerbate the lack of uniformity, as in the image below.

A "rainbow" of shades of white is generally not desirable. Replacing parts of an installation can lead to such an outcome.

At Ledrise you will find many flexible LED strips to build the best cove lights possible.

With our Nichia LumiFlex LED strip you will have lines of light with the highest energy efficacy and lifetime up to 200.000 hours. Minimum CRI for the LumiFlex is 80 with 90+ versions available also.

We also offer full spectrum LED strips with CRI97+ with SunLike Tri-R technology from Toshiba and Seoul Semiconductor, for the most natural lighting possible