Profile light: an LED strip in an aluminium channel

What a profile light is

A bare LED strip is a tape of small diodes. Stuck straight to a wall, it shows as a row of bright dots and has nothing to carry its heat away. A profile light puts that strip inside an extruded aluminium channel — the profile — and snaps a cover over it, turning the dots into a continuous line.

Profile lights are used where a fitting would spoil a clean surface: lines across a ceiling, reveals beside a headboard or TV wall, the underside of kitchen wall cabinets and shelves.

Parts of a profile light

LEDVANCE publishes data for each part of its strip system. Its wide U-profile LS AY-PW03 and matching diffuse cover give a sense of the sizes:

Parts of a profile light

Part	Example from LEDVANCE data	Job
Profile	aluminium, 2,000 mm long, 26 × 26 mm, 480 g, grey	holds and backs the strip
Cover	polycarbonate, diffuse white, 1,000 × 23.9 × 4.7 mm, 40 g	closes the channel, softens the light
End caps	listed as accessories	close the profile ends
Mounting brackets	listed as accessories	fix the profile to the surface
LED strip and driver	sold separately; the profile takes any LEDVANCE strip	the light source and its power supply

The strip is fed by a separate driver, so plan where the driver will sit and keep it reachable for service.

Mounting: surface, recessed, corner

Profile lights differ mainly in how they meet the building:

• Surface-mounted — screwed or clipped onto a wall, ceiling or cabinet. LEDVANCE’s wide U-profile is listed with this type of mounting.
• Recessed or plaster-in — set into a slot in a ceiling of gypsum board and finished flush, so only the cover shows. These need the ceiling or board to be built around them.
• Corner — angled to sit in the joint between two surfaces, such as under a shelf against the wall.

Clear or diffuse cover

LEDVANCE sells covers in two finishes: clear, which lets the most light through but leaves the diodes visible, and diffuse, a white polycarbonate that spreads the light into an even line. For a strip that will be in view — a ceiling line, a cabinet edge — a diffuse cover hides the dots; where the strip is out of sight, such as behind a cornice or inside a cove, a clear cover can be enough.

Indoors only

The LEDVANCE profile and cover are both listed for general indoor lighting, with an ambient range of −15°C to +45°C and no IP rating (“not relevant”). For terraces, steps and walls outside, use fittings rated for water and dust — see LED step lights and outdoor lights. How strips are rated for brightness and colour is covered under LED lights.