Aura Strip: The 96 LEDs/m Workhorse for Real Builds

Aura Strip is our 96 LEDs/m, 12V high-density RGBW strip that’s built to be your daily driver: long room runs, coves, furniture lighting, and supporting glow behind our Supa Strip neon lines.

If Supa Strip is the “hero” 3-side neon tube at 144 LEDs/m, Aura Strip is the workhorse—high-density enough for smooth diffusion, efficient enough for big installs, and friendly with WLED / ESP32 and 12V 20A / 40A power supplies.

This article is for DIY builders, integrators, and lighting nerds who want to understand where Aura Strip fits in your project and how to plan power, wiring, and layout around a 96 LEDs/m strip.

You’ll learn:

What Aura Strip is and how it’s different from cheap, low-density strips
How Aura Strip compares to Supa Strip (144 LEDs/m in 3-side neon)
Power planning and injection for 12V, high-density 96 LEDs/m runs
Where Aura Strip shines: rooms, coves, desks, and neon diffusers
How to pair Aura Strip with WLED, Supa Strip, and 12V PSUs

Always follow local electrical codes. If you’re unsure about mains-voltage wiring, consult a qualified electrician.

At a Glance: What Is Aura Strip?

Aura Strip is a 12V individually addressable RGBW LED strip in a high-density 96 LEDs per meter configuration. It’s designed as a general-purpose high-end strip you can use in:

Long room-perimeter runs
Hidden coves and channels
Under-desk and under-bar accents
Inside diffusers, including some neon-style profiles

Key characteristics:

Density: 96 LEDs/m (high, but not extreme)
Voltage: 12V for better long-run behavior vs 5V
LED type: CS8812 / SK6812-style individually addressable RGBW
White channel: Neutral white (often in the 3000–4000K range depending on variant)
Use case: Workhorse strip for most architectural and “everyday” builds

Unlike many “starter kit” strips that run 30–60 LEDs/m and treat power planning as an afterthought, Aura Strip is built with real installations in mind.

Aura vs Supa: Same Family, Different Jobs

Aura Strip and Supa Strip are designed to live in the same project, but they fill different roles.

Aura Strip vs Supa Strip Comparison

Feature	Aura Strip (96 LEDs/m)	Supa Strip (144 LEDs/m, 3-side neon)
Density	High – 96 LEDs/m	Very high – 144 LEDs/m
Form factor	Bare strip (for channels, coves, panels, furniture)	Integrated 3-side neon tube (ready-to-mount neon line)
Diffusion behavior	Very smooth behind covers or at moderate viewing distances	Ultra-smooth, near-continuous neon even close-up
Typical use	Room edges, coves, hidden runs, functional + ambient light	Visible neon outlines, logos, room perimeters on-wall
Power per meter (planning)	High but more moderate than 144 LEDs/m	Highest load; premium density neon
Best mounting style	Channels, aluminum profiles, under lips, behind trim	Clip-in aluminum mounts, direct on wall/ceiling/furniture
Ideal viewing distance	Close to medium (especially with diffusers)	Close-up and far; meant to be seen directly

Simple rule:

Use Supa Strip where you want a visible neon line on the wall, ceiling, or furniture.
Use Aura Strip anywhere you want high-end, high-density strip light, whether hidden or semi-visible.

Why 96 LEDs/m Is a Sweet Spot

You might be thinking: if 144 LEDs/m is so smooth, why bother with 96 LEDs/m?

1. Smooth diffusion without overkill

At 96 LEDs/m, LED spacing is tight enough that:

Under frosted covers or aluminum channels, dots are minimal to invisible.
In indirect coves (bouncing off walls/ceilings), you’ll never see individual points.
Even bare, it looks noticeably smoother than the common 30–60 LEDs/m strips.

You get most of the visual benefit of high density without the full power and thermal load of 144 LEDs/m.

2. Better power-per-meter for big runs

At a planning level:

High-density 12V RGBW at 96 LEDs/m often lands in the range of 14–18 W per meter at full-bright white.
That’s still serious power, but more forgiving than a maxed-out 144 LEDs/m strip.

This makes Aura Strip ideal for:

Long room perimeters (multiple walls)
Bar and restaurant runs across several meters
Projects where you want high-end look, but you’re not trying to turn the room into a light cannon

3. Easier thermal management

Fewer LEDs per meter than Supa Strip means:

Less heat per meter at the same brightness level
More flexibility in where and how you mount, especially in tighter channels
A better balance between punchy, dynamic effects and practical, always-on ambient light

Power Planning for Aura Strip (12V, 96 LEDs/m)

Let’s talk numbers. Exact power varies with the specific strip and how you drive it, but for planning Aura Strip, a common conservative estimate is:

16 W per meter at full-bright white (RGBW all on)

Use that for your math unless you have exact specs.

Example: 5 m Aura Strip run

Assume 16 W/m:

Power: 5 m × 16 W/m = 80 W
Current at 12V: 80 W ÷ 12 V ≈ 6.7 A

This is comfortable for:

A 12V 10A supply with some overhead
Or part of a 12V 20A (240 W) PSU shared with other runs

Remember: aim to run your PSU around 70–80% of rated load for continuous operation:

12V 20A PSU → 240 W × 0.8 ≈ 190 W usable
12V 40A PSU → 480 W × 0.8 ≈ 380 W usable

This gives you rough maximum Aura Strip lengths per supply (ignoring other loads):

12V 20A, 190 W usable: 190 W ÷ 16 W/m ≈ 11.9 m of Aura Strip
12V 40A, 380 W usable: 380 W ÷ 16 W/m ≈ 23.8 m of Aura Strip

You will not run that much as a single chain from one end, but it tells you what the PSU can feed across multiple segments with proper injection.

Power Injection for Aura Strip

Even though Aura Strip is 12V, a single feed over a long length will cause voltage drop:

Colors at the far end shift (white goes yellow/pink)
Brightness visibly drops on heavy effects

The fix is power injection—feeding 12V and GND at multiple points.

Basic injection patterns for Aura Strip

Feed both ends (for ~5–10 m total):

+12V PSU -----> Strip ---------------------+<----- +12V PSU
              GND                         GND

Feed from the center outwards:

                /----- Aura Strip ----[ PSU ] ----->+                       +----> ends
             GND                     GND

Multi-branch layout from a central PSU:

[12V PSU]
  +12V ----+----------+----------+
           |          |          |
         GND        GND        GND
         Run 1      Run 2      Run 3
       (Aura)     (Aura)     (Supa+Aura)

Guidelines:

Use heavier gauge wire for longer power feeds.
Always tie grounds together: PSU, Aura Strip, Supa Strip, and controller.
Fuse branches where appropriate, especially with big PSUs (20A, 40A, etc.).

Where Aura Strip Shines

Aura Strip is the answer to:
“I want it to look really good, but I don’t need a full neon tube everywhere.”

1. Room perimeter and coves

Run Aura Strip:

Along the top of walls, hidden in a small cove or shadow gap
Behind a simple lip of trim or crown molding
Around a home theater or bedroom ceiling perimeter

You get:

Smooth, even glow around the room
Individually addressable effects with WLED (color wipes, gradients, music-reactive, etc.)
The option to run neutral white for everyday lighting.

2. Under-desk and under-bar lighting

Mount Aura Strip:

Under the front edge of a desk or countertop
Inside a bar kick panel
Behind a lip on cabinets or shelves

96 LEDs/m is high enough density that you don’t see big scallops of light on the floor or bar front—just a smooth wash.

3. Behind TVs, monitors, and panels

Aura Strip is great for:

Bias lighting behind a TV or monitor
Backlighting acoustic panels or wall art
Illuminating textured walls from behind

Because it’s addressable RGBW, you can:

Match colors to on-screen content (with the right setup)
Use white + color together for richer looks
Keep brightness modest while the white channel carries practical light.

4. Inside diffusers and some neon profiles

While Supa Strip is optimized for 3-side neon out of the box, Aura Strip also works beautifully:

Inside flat or 2-side diffusers (aluminum channels, frosted lenses)
In some neon-style profiles where 96 LEDs/m is enough for a continuous look

If you want a more budget- and power-friendly neon run:

Use Aura Strip inside a suitable diffuser profile
Reserve Supa Strip for the most visible, premium lines.

Aura + Supa + WLED: A Complete Toolkit

Aura Strip really shines when you combine it with Supa Strip and WLED:

Supa Strip: visible neon line on walls/ceilings/edges (144 LEDs/m, 3-side neon)
Aura Strip: hidden or semi-hidden glow in coves, behind monitors, under furniture
WLED on ESP32: one controller to manage segments, color schemes, and presets

A typical build might look like:

Segment 1 (WLED): Supa Strip around the room perimeter, running bold neon patterns
Segment 2 (WLED): Aura Strip behind the TV, running smoother gradients or subtle glow
Segment 3 (WLED): Aura under the desk or bar, synced or offset from the main effect

All driven by:

A shared 12V 20A or 40A PSU (sized with headroom)
Shared grounds across all segments
Proper injection per run

This gives you a “main stage + ambient” setup where Aura fills the space, and Supa draws the eye.

Practical Tips for Building with Aura Strip

Mounting

Use aluminum channels where possible for better heat spread and tidier installs.
For coves, even simple L-angles or U-channels work well.
In furniture, route a shallow groove and drop an aluminum profile in.

Brightness settings

You don’t have to run at 100%—in fact, you probably shouldn’t.
Many rooms look great with Aura Strip at 20–40% brightness most of the time.
Use WLED’s power limiting feature to cap total current draw.

Color and white balance

Take advantage of the white channel for everyday scenes:
- White + a little color → comfortable, non-cartoonish lighting
Save full RGB madness for parties, streams, or videos.

FAQ

Is Aura Strip bright enough to use as main room lighting?

In many smaller rooms or with multiple runs, yes—especially using the white channel. For full “replace your ceiling light” duty, you’ll want to:

Plan wattage and coverage carefully
Use white-heavy scenes for everyday use
Consider multiple runs or layers of Aura Strip around the room.

What power supply should I use with Aura Strip?

Common choices:

12V 20A (≈240 W) for medium installs (multiple 5 m runs of Aura, maybe a Supa Strip)
12V 40A (≈480 W) for larger or expandable setups

Size your supply so your worst-case wattage is about 70–80% of the PSU rating.

Do I need power injection for Aura Strip?

For short runs (2–3 m), a single feed may be fine. For longer runs (5 m and up), especially at higher brightness:

Yes, plan on power injection at both ends or at multiple points.
This keeps color and brightness consistent from end to end.

Can Aura Strip go inside neon diffusers?

Yes, Aura Strip works well in many flat and side-view diffusers, and in some neon-style profiles. For maximum “glass neon” look in 3-side neon profiles, we still recommend Supa Strip, but Aura is a great option for more power-efficient or secondary neon-style lines.

Is Aura Strip compatible with WLED on ESP32?

Yes. Aura Strip is designed to play nicely with WLED on ESP32-based controllers. You can:

Set LED count based on your total Aura length
Use segments to mix Aura and Supa in one controller
Take advantage of power limit, presets, and sound-reactive modes (with supported builds).

Aura Strip is the high-density workhorse of the Supafire lineup: 96 LEDs/m, 12V friendly, RGBW flexible, and comfortable in everything from backlit panels to full room runs. Pair it with Supa Strip and WLED, and you’ve got a complete toolkit for building lighting that feels custom, deliberate, and upgradeable—not just another disposable RGB strip.