Are those LED light strips safe to embed in drywall? Fire Safety.

January 31, 2016 11:07 AM

Basically my idea is to dig a groove the depth of the strip into the wall so the strip is flush.

I have left one coiled and on high brightness for several hours to see how warm they get and though it did heat up a bit, I can't imagine once uncoiled that it would be that warm. Especially since they are meant to be stuck directly to surfaces.

If you think it would be unsafe, would an aluminum strip backing it be an adequate heat sink?

The strips I'm talking about:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00ASHP1CM/ref=mp_s_a_1_1/178-9720152-3575058?qid=1454266902&sr=8-1&pi=SL75_QL70&keywords=led+light+strip

posted by mrflibble to Home & Garden (7 answers total)

Best answer: If they are safe to be stuck to the surface, embedding them the thickness of the strip which is 3 millimeters should not change the safety level. Only the paper on sheetrock is combustible, not the gypsum inside. So really, relative to sticking it on the surface, embedding it in a groove actually reduces contact with combustible material.

Note that there are extrusions and channels specifically manufactured for the purpose of flush-mounting LED strips.
posted by beagle at 11:36 AM on January 31, 2016 [10 favorites]

Gouging long channels in drywall does reduce the fire resistance of the drywall itself. I'm not saying don't do it, but maybe keep that in mind. Drywall is the main fire barrier in most US construction, after all.
posted by ryanrs at 12:10 PM on January 31, 2016 [1 favorite]

A lot of the strength of a piece of drywall comes from the cardboard covering it. If you cut a groove like you propose, you've rendered the drywall considerably less strong.

I think this is a really bad idea.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 12:13 PM on January 31, 2016 [1 favorite]

In most conditions in a house, drywall is used because it's cheap and fast. Strength and fire rating are not typically things to worry about, although there are exceptions, notably any common wall with an attached garage.

I'd vote against this idea more because it'll be hard to make look good. One of the reasons drywall is cheap and fast is because it's not a precision material and "clean" edges are hard to get.
posted by LionIndex at 12:22 PM on January 31, 2016

Response by poster: Beagle, I love you! I had no Idea these things existed! If this was Reddit I'd give you gold.
posted by mrflibble at 12:28 PM on January 31, 2016

The waterproof ones are a major pain to cut and splice due to the silicone coating. Spend the extra $15 for non waterproof.
posted by PSB at 4:24 PM on January 31, 2016

The things that Beagle linked are great. Notice that there's often a diffuser cover so that you don't have to look directly at a bright LED point source. Or if your installation is going in an area that it'll be mainly indirect light, be sure to shop for a clear cover instead of a diffuser, as the diffuser does somewhat reduce the total light output. The real benefit of the channels is that when the LEDs stop working you will have an easy way to get to the strip to replace it. My main warning about a drywall installation wasn't going to be fire safety, but sheer annoyance factor because those cheap LED strips are cheap for a reason and don't last indefinitely.
posted by aimedwander at 7:15 AM on February 1, 2016