How this differs from patio and deck lighting
A patio is a surface, and our patio and deck lighting guide covers it: floor plane, step nosings, perimeter edge. A pergola is the frame above that surface. Runs follow structural members instead of edges, mounting is higher, and the whole thing is seen from directly underneath, which changes aiming and glare. Over a deck, read both.
The IP rating an open structure actually needs
Slats do not keep water out. Driven rain reaches almost every face of a pergola, and beam tops hold standing water after a storm. For those positions, look for IP67, rated against temporary immersion, and confirm the product's stated location suitability rather than assuming an outdoor label covers your detail.
One suitable option for exposed beam and rafter runs is the EnoLED 24V Glow67 Series IP67 wet location strip; check its IP rating, stated location suitability, lumens per foot, watts per foot, and its sealing instructions for cut ends on the product page (verify these before you rely on them). Compare it against the rest of the outdoor lighting collection before you commit.
The rating has to hold across the whole system, not just the tape. Every connector, cut end, and strip-to-wire transition needs sealing to the same standard by the method the manufacturer specifies, and the driver needs an enclosure rating and a permitted location that match where it will actually sit.
Sun, UV, and timber that never stops moving
The top faces of a pergola take direct sun for hours, and adhesives, silicone, and exposed polymer age faster there than on a shaded face. Where a run can go on a downward-facing surface without losing the effect, put it there. Aluminum channel adds a hard shell against sun and hail, helps dissipate heat away from the tape, and tidies the line against sawn timber. It is not mandatory, and it reduces but does not guarantee the removal of visible dots, which also depends on LED density, channel depth, and diffuser choice. Check the channels and profiles range against your beam width.
Timber moves seasonally, and a rigid run screwed across two members that move independently will pull on a joint eventually. Leave a service loop of cable at each post and beam junction so slack absorbs the movement. Strips generate heat in normal operation, so give the channel breathing room rather than burying it in caulk.
Getting power out to the structure
Pergolas stand well away from the house, and low-voltage cable does not like distance. Bring the supply out to the structure and put the driver in a suitable enclosure near the strip, keeping low-voltage runs short. Size that driver from watts per foot times installed feet, plus at least 20 percent current headroom (verify the current guidance), match voltage exactly, 24V strip to a 24V driver, and wire each beam run in parallel back to the driver rather than end to end.
Getting the supply there is not low-voltage work. Buried cable, outdoor junction boxes, exterior receptacles, and any hardwired driver fall to a licensed electrician working to the manufacturer instructions, your local code, and the NEC where applicable.
