How to Choose a Power Supply for Your LED Strip Project

2022-02-26 18:13:31

Lights are an essential part of house decoration, and in terms of installation, LED strips are not as simple as traditional incandescent bulb. Because they run on low voltage DC, we cannot connect led strips directly to AC110V or AC220V.  The low voltage led strip is usually DC12V or DC24V. In fact, led strips are also available in DC3V, 5V, 36V and 48V, but they are used for very specific projects. Now we are talking about DC12V/24V LED strip light. They need a led power supply that transforms high voltage AC110V/220V into low voltage DC12V/24V when they are in use, then the led strip light is safe to use.

 

 

There are many types of LED strip power supplies on the market today, and different series and models of power supplies with different functions. Therefore, we need to know the following 3 types of power supply knowledge before choosing a led power supply.

 

Waterproof led power supply is used in the case of dustproof and waterproof grade IP67 (safe from dust, submerged 15 cm to 1 m can work normally), we can see from the picture on the appearance of the led strip power supply, its shell is made of aluminum alloy can be anti-corrosion and rust, it is used inside the silicone sealant to seal the electronic components, so the waterproof led power supply can be used in outdoor wet or rainy places.

 

Non-waterproof led power supply is used in the case of dustproof and waterproof grade IP20 (to prevent the intrusion of solid foreign objects with a diameter greater than 12.5mm and to prevent human fingers from touching the internal parts of the appliance). As shown in the figure, the IP20 case is made of aluminum alloy, and the honeycomb hole on top has a heat dissipation function, and the components inside can be clearly seen from the honeycomb hole. Therefore, non-waterproof led power supply can be used in dry indoor places, such as ceilings, kitchen cabinets, TV cabinets, etc.

 

This is the newest product of Yanshuoda company, C series C version is IP20 indoor 4 ways adjustment soothing switch LED power supply with high efficiency, high quality and high competitiveness. The power range of this series is 30-500w, the output voltage support 12v and 24v. Based on old product, it has some new improvement.Firstly, it’s the connector, we use press type connector and add more AC. For press type connector will no need any screwdriver, just press and finish wire connection. More AC terminals will be better for parallel connection, this will save your time& easy using in real project worksite. Secondly, it’s the voltage adjustment, it has 3 degree to achieve different brightness, the first degree is 40%, the second degree is 60%, the third degree is 80%. Thirdly, we add a soothing start button, soothing start power supply for better eye protection, with quick voltage adjustment to choose the favorite brightness. Fourth, this series is no fan design, the biggest advantage is will not overheat damage due to the dust amassing which caused by using fan cooling. Also no fan design will not have noise, is will better for you to use in School, Hotel, Meeting Rooms. 

 

 

In order to meet some special requirements, some customers want to add some dimming function on the basis of waterproof power supply or non-waterproof power supply. So there are 0-10v, 1-10v, triac dimming

PWM dimming, resistor dimming

 

The 0-10V dimmer includes 1-10V dimmer. 0/1-10V dimming power supply design with control chip, when connected to 0/1-10V dimmer, change the output current of the power supply through 0/1-10V voltage change, adjust the brightness of the light.

 

 

By cutting the AC current at the input end of the power supply to change the output voltage and current, to achieve dimming

 

 

By changing the width of the pulse signal to change the light output, that is, change the duty cycle to adjust the luminance of the lamp.

 

Through the series with the lamp, change the resistance value to change the current to achieve the purpose of dimming.

 

If you want to select a power supply for led strip, 4 step guides that will help you select a power supply.

 

The first step is to figure out that the led strip voltage,the voltage of most led strip lights are 12VDC or 24VDC. You can ask the salesman what the voltage of the light bar is when you buy the led strip or you can check the details of the product. If you have bought a strip light but do not know what the voltage is, you can check the led strip. Most LED strips will have a mark showing 12V or 24V. The voltage of the light bar as shown in the figure is 24VDC, so choose a led driver with output 24VDC .

 

The second step is to find out the power consumption of the strip light per meter in the product specification. For example, each meter of led strip light consumes 4.8w, the total length of the strip light is 5m, then we can know the total power consumption of the light is 24W.

 

 

When choosing a power unit, it's a good idea to make sure you are only using 80% of the rated power maximum to increase longevity of the power supply and keep it cool to prevent overheating. This calculation is done by dividing the wattage of the strip by 0.8. For example, if the total power consumption of a strip is 24W，so 24W/0.8=30W. This means you will need a power unit that has a minimum output of 30W.

 

You have to know how much AC voltage you are using, different countries use different AC voltage, some countries use low voltage 100-130VAC, some countries use high voltage 175-264VAC.

 

Through the above methods, you can find the right led power supply for your strip light project.