The electrician calls you from the job with six metres of cove and a single question: which driver do I use? Then the order arrives with no end caps, no clips, or with a 12 V strip for a run that needed 24 V, and the second delivery is on you.
You are a manufacturer and distributor of LED strip and aluminium profile. You sell to electricians, to lighting shops and to the occasional interior designer, and in the warehouse you have a technical counter with two people who already have a queue first thing. One brings a photo of a living room ceiling with a six-metre cove; another, a sketch of a kitchen with three runs under the units. Both want to be out in ten minutes with the material loaded in the van.
Meanwhile, the counter phone never stops. One installer asks whether a 100 W driver is enough for two rolls at 14.4 W/m; another does not know whether 12 or 24 V suits a ten-metre run better; and a third asks for “the good white strip” without saying colour temperature or colour rendering. Every answer is a calculation in someone's head: watts per metre, metres, driver headroom, voltage drop. And it is done standing up, between two customers.
In the afternoon the emails arrive: the recessed profile that had no end caps, the missing clips, the driver that came up short. Nobody was entirely wrong; it is simply that an LED strip is not a product, it is a system of six or seven parts that have to match each other. And the end customer, the one paying for the refurbishment, still does not know whether their ceiling will end up with a warm, calm light or an operating-theatre one.
Metres times watts per metre, plus some headroom, and done. Except when the installer switches from 9.6 to 14.4 W/m without saying so, or adds two metres to the run on site. Your counter does that calculation several times a day, over the phone and without seeing the installation, and the error only shows up when the driver runs at its limit or the strip flickers.
What it costs youA warranty claim for a driver that was never the right one.
The strip and the profile get ordered, because they are what you see, and the small things are forgotten: end caps, fixing clips, diffuser, controller. The installer discovers it up the ladder, with the ceiling open and the customer watching. That means a second delivery of parts worth very little, which cost almost as much to pick and send as the whole order.
What it costs youThe margin on the order goes on carriage for small parts.
On a long run at 12 V, the end of the strip looks dimmer than the beginning. The installer does not notice it at the warehouse; they notice it when the cove is finished and the customer asks why the far corner is dimmer. Explaining voltage drop over the phone to someone in a hurry rarely works.
What it costs youA complaint that ends with the ceiling being opened up again.
You show a private customer a roll of strip on the counter or a catalogue photo. They do not know what the difference is between 2,700 K and 4,000 K, or why an opal diffuser stops you seeing the individual points of light. If they cannot picture it, they decide on the price of the roll, and the strip with the better colour rendering stays on the shelf.
What it costs youThe cheap option gets sold because the good one cannot be shown.
An RGB strip with a remote, a corner profile and a movement sensor are five or six references, each with its price. Putting that quote together by hand, checking everything is compatible and sending it as a PDF takes a while that nobody invoices. And the installer is often asking two other suppliers at the same time.
What it costs youWhoever answers first wins, not whoever has the better product.
Put in your own numbers. Only the orders that go out with a part missing count here, plus what it costs to send on what was left out; the counter time is separate.
€ a month
The values are an example: replace them with yours. The calculation is a simple multiplication and does not come from any study.
The installer chooses metres, watts per metre and voltage, and immediately sees the total power, the recommended driver and the approximate light output. If they switch from 9.6 to 14.4 W/m, the driver changes with them. Your counter stops doing sums in its head and moves to checking a calculation that arrives already done.
Power and driver calculation
If the run is too long for the chosen voltage, the configurator warns about the voltage drop. The installer moves to 24 V or checks with you before ordering, not once the cove is closed up and the far end looks dimmer than the entrance.
Voltage drop warning
With the strip, the profile and the control chosen, out comes the order sheet with references and quantities: 5 m rolls, 2 m profiles, end caps, clips and driver. The small parts stop depending on anyone's memory and the order reaches the warehouse ready to pick.
Factory order sheet
The cove, the shelving or the kitchen is shown in 3D with the strip lit and the night scene on. Up to three versions are compared, 3,000 K against 4,000 K or opal against clear, with the differences highlighted. The private customer opens it on their phone with a QR code and decides by seeing, not by imagining.
Day and night and an option comparison tool
An indicative price for the complete system calculated with your price list and a PDF the installer forwards to their customer that same afternoon. If you work with distributors or shops, each one can have their area with their margin and their brand, and the orders reach you just as complete.
Indicative price and PDFExtend the cove strip to 12 metres, switch from 24 to 12 V and see what the configurator warns about; then turn on the night scene.
An open demo, with no registration, with example products and prices. It is designed for manufacturers, dealers and installers: private customers are welcome to try it, but we do not sell the product.
With your references for strip, profile, driver and control we will show you how the configurator would look applying your own calculation rules.
Most projects for manufacturers fall between €14,500 and €35,000, depending on the catalogue, the manufacturing rules and the integrations. Maintenance and hosting from €190 a month. We start from a base that already works: you are not paying for development from scratch.
Would you rather talk it through? Call 662 061 421 or write to grup3d@grup3d.es.
There are more short answers in frequently asked questions about 3D configurators and who we are in 3D configurator company.
From the metres, the watts per metre and the voltage it works out the total power, the recommended driver, the approximate light output, how many 5 m rolls, 2 m profiles and clips are needed and the yearly consumption. It also warns when a run is at risk of voltage drop. In your version, the driver headroom and the compatibility rules are yours.
Because, at the same power, 24 V carries half the current of 12 V and the voltage drops less along the strip. On a long run at 12 V, the end looks dimmer than the beginning. The configurator warns about it so the change is made before ordering. If your strips have different length limits, yours are programmed in.
Developments start from €6,500 for a visual configurator of one product family; most projects for manufacturers fall between €14,500 and €35,000, depending on the catalogue, the rules and the integrations, plus maintenance from €190 a month. With an LED strip what moves the figure most is the number of strip, profile and control families, the compatibility and driver calculation rules that have to be programmed and the link to your ERP, if you want one. Going through your catalogue in the demo, we tell you what we would leave for a second phase.
Yes, as part of the bespoke development. Each distributor or shop logs into their own area, with their logo and the margin they apply to your price list, and uses the configurator at their counter or on their website. Orders reach you with the complete sheet, with your references, and end-customer enquiries can be assigned by area to the right distributor.
Yes. It opens on a phone with a QR code, with no app to install. The installer enters the metres they have just measured, chooses strip, profile and control, and has the driver, the bill of materials and the indicative price within minutes. They can forward the PDF to their customer or to your warehouse from the job itself.
Enough to decide whether the space ends up warm, neutral or cool, especially with the night scene on and comparing two or three versions side by side. Every screen has its own tone, so for a fine colour choice it is still worth having a physical sample of the strip at your counter or in the shop.
See all the lighting and energy configurators → · See all the 3D configurators by sector →
Real output by region · savings and payback
See page →Downlights, panels, profiles, pendants and tracks
See page →LED high bays · indicative lux calculation
See page →How to work out the power supply for an LED strip: metres times watts per metre plus a 20% margin, 12 or 24 V, voltage drop, reels, profiles, clips and end caps.
Read the guide (in Spanish) →