Three Unrelated Products Answer to This Name
Strip light is the least precise term in commercial lighting, and buyers land on pages like this one expecting three different things. Thirty seconds sorting out which one you want saves ordering the wrong product entirely.
Which Strip Light Do You Mean
The fixture on this page is an enclosed linear luminaire: a rigid housing with LEDs and a driver inside, wired to line voltage and mounted to a ceiling. It is the modern replacement for the bare fluorescent strip that used to sit in every garage and utility room.
That is a completely different product from flexible adhesive-backed tape, which runs on low-voltage DC from a separate supply and is cut to length. If you are lighting a cove, a cabinet underside, or an architectural detail, you want that instead, and Lumera's tape light collection covers it.
It is also different from an architectural linear fixture, chosen partly for how it looks in a designed space. A strip light makes no such claim. Where the fixture will be seen rather than simply used, Lumera's linear and architectural lighting collection is the right starting point.
Length, Wattage, and Setting the Output
Order by physical length first, since that decides how many fixtures cover a run and where the mounting points land. Two and four foot fixtures make up the bulk of this range.
Most current fixtures carry a switch that sets wattage before installation. A single Westgate 2 foot part number covers 18W, 24W, and 30W, and the matching 4 foot fixture covers 36W, 48W, and 60W with a maximum of 6,000 lumens. One part number therefore serves a storage room and a workshop at different settings.
Set every fixture in a space to the same position and record it, because a replacement fitted later on a different step is obvious the moment the lights come on.
Five Selectable Color Temperatures
Much of this range offers five color temperature settings on the fixture, running from a warm 2700K through 3000K, 3500K, and 4000K to a cool 5000K. That is a wider spread than most commercial fixtures provide, and it lets one product serve spaces that would otherwise need separate specifications. Because the setting is made at install, the decision can wait until the space is finished and can be judged in person.
When a Sealed Fixture Is Required
Ingress protection ratings use two digits: the first for solid objects and dust, the second for water. IP66 means dust-tight and able to withstand high-pressure water jets, which covers washdown areas, damp basements, and covered exterior positions.
A standard strip light has no such sealing and belongs in clean, dry, indoor spaces. The mistake worth avoiding is assuming indoors means dry: an unheated garage, a car wash bay, and a food preparation area are all indoor and none suit an unsealed fixture. Where the space is genuinely wet or regularly hosed down, a purpose-built sealed fixture beats a strip light with a high rating, and Lumera's vapor tight fixtures collection covers those.
Strip Light or High Bay
Ceiling height decides this, not building type. A strip light spreads light wide from a relatively low mount, which suits ceilings under roughly 20 feet: garages, workshops, corridors, and storage areas. Above that, output thins out before reaching the floor and the correct fixture concentrates light downward instead, which Lumera's high bay lights collection covers.
The one place strip lights beat high bays outright is over racking, where a continuous line aligned with the aisle lights the vertical rack faces far better than any grid of point sources.
Mounting, Linking, and Controls
Three mounting methods cover almost every installation. Surface mounting screws the fixture flat against a ceiling or wall. Chain hanging drops it below an open ceiling or exposed joists. Aircraft cable suspension does the same with a cleaner look and adjustable height.
Most fixtures link end to end through knockouts, so a row shares one feed and one switch. Each product line sets its own maximum linked count before a second feed is required, so check that before laying out a long row, and confirm whether mounting hardware ships with the fixture or is ordered separately.
On the control side, commercial strip lights commonly use a low-voltage dimming input rather than a phase-control wall dimmer, which means two extra conductors have to reach each fixture. Decide that before the conduit run closes. Pairing dimming with occupancy detection pays off in storage rooms and stairwells that are occupied intermittently, and Lumera's occupancy and motion sensors collection covers the detection side.
Installation
These are line-voltage fixtures on building circuits, frequently at 277V in commercial buildings, so a licensed electrician should make the connection and confirm the supply voltage matches the fixture. Suspended fixtures need support fixed to structure rather than to a ceiling membrane, and in some regions seismic bracing applies to hung lighting.
Strip Light FAQs
Is a strip light the same as LED tape?
No, and it is the most common mix-up here. A strip light is a rigid enclosed fixture wired to line voltage and mounted to a ceiling. LED tape is flexible, adhesive-backed, cut to length, and runs on low-voltage DC from a separate supply. They suit completely different jobs.
What length and wattage should I use?
Choose length by the run you are covering, then set wattage to the space. Two and four foot fixtures cover most work. Many have a selectable wattage switch, so one part number covers several output levels chosen at install.
What does IP66 mean?
The digits describe what the housing keeps out, solids first then water. IP66 means dust-tight and resistant to high-pressure jets, which suits washdown areas, damp basements, and covered exterior positions. A standard strip light has no such sealing.
Should I use strip lights or high bays?
Ceiling height decides it. Strip lights suit ceilings under roughly 20 feet. Above that, a high bay concentrating light downward is the correct fixture. Many buildings use both on different ceilings.
Can I link several on one circuit?
Most are built for it, connecting end to end through knockouts so a row shares one feed and one switch. Each product line publishes a maximum linked count before a second feed is needed, so check that limit before laying out a long run.
