The exact kit behind the LED strip lighting guide and the WANN House renovation. Nothing appears on this page unless I've used it on my own projects.
Where to buy it — read this first
Extrusions are the exception: buy those from a lighting supply store. They're already in the country, they're long awkward things to ship, and you get to hold a diffuser in your hand before you commit to it. I've also bought extrusions on AliExpress and was genuinely stoked with what turned up — the wait is the only cost.
Everything else — strip, drivers, connectors, cable — buy online. This took me embarrassingly long to work out. I kept walking into lighting showrooms expecting to find components and finding fittings instead, and assumed the real parts must be trade-only. They're not. They're just not sold in shops.
The system
What went into my own place, with the model numbers so you can match the spec rather than the badge.
Strip · interior
24 V COB dotless, 9 W/m, 3000 K
8 mm wide, 10 m roll. COB because you see the diffuser in most of my details, and dots are the giveaway.
SUNCOM code 3025 · SKH24V9W — around $90 / 10 m, online
Strip · exterior
Robus VEGAS, 24 V, IP67, 3000 K
The lower-output version. Outdoors the rating is what you're paying for, and it's the real price step in any outdoor run.
Robus VEGAS IP67 — around $350 / 10 m, lighting wholesaler
Driver
SAL DIM 75/150 — 75 W, 24 V constant voltage
Trailing-edge dimmable. Size it at your load plus about 20%, then round up to the next size actually sold.
DIM75/24V/FC — around $93 · Mean Well and Tridonic are the same job done well
Dimmer
Clipsal trailing-edge LED dimmer
Installed by an electrician — this side of the driver is licensed work. Confirm it's rated for your specific driver before you buy it, not after.
AU: Clipsal · HPM · SAL | US: Lutron · Leviton
Extrusion
Aluminium channel with snap-in opal cover
Order end caps and mounting clips at the same time — they're never in the box and they hold the job up. Budget about 30% brightness lost through opal.
Lighting supply store, or AliExpress if you can wait
Wire
Two-core 4 mm² ELV cable
Heavier than most guides say, on purpose — fat wire loses almost nothing, thin wire dims the far end. Buy the gauge, not the brand.
Any electrical wholesaler
Joints
Gel-filled IP67 clamp connectors
Every ELV joint in my work gets one, with a cable tie behind it so a tug loads the tie and not the joint. Outdoors, gel is not optional.
Wago · Scotchlok (3M) · any gel-filled clamp connector
The tools
Under $150 for the lot, and it lasts forever. Only the first one is worth being fussy about.
Stripping
Self-adjusting wire stripper
The one tool to spend on. It grips the insulation and pulls it clean off without nicking the copper, and a nicked ELV conductor is tomorrow's dead run. Automatic jaw-style. Once you've used one you'll never go back to teeth and side cutters.
Around $30–60
Driving
Screwdriver set with 2.5 and 3 mm precision flats
Driver and dimmer terminals take small flat blades, and an oversized blade chews the screws. Insulated (VDE) is a nice habit even though you're only ever on the ELV side.
Any decent set with true precision flats
Testing
Compact multimeter
$25 buys certainty: confirm the driver is putting out what it says, and find polarity on unmarked wire without guessing.
Around $25
Sundries
Sharp scissors, side cutters, cable ties, isopropyl wipes
Strip cuts cleanly at the marked points with ordinary sharp scissors. Side cutters for feed wire. Wipes because the adhesive needs a clean, oil-free surface or it lets go in the first hot summer.
Hardware store
A note on brands. Strip lighting is a commodity. Don't buy the cheapest on the market — the bottom end cuts corners you can't see on a listing — but past that, the name on the box barely registers. What decides how your lighting looks is where the light comes from and whether the eight components agree with each other. That's what the complete guide is about.