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re: Permanently installed LED "Christmas" lights.
Posted on 11/24/20 at 11:01 am to Ace Midnight
Posted on 11/24/20 at 11:01 am to Ace Midnight
quote:Oh well that has to do with the amps you're pulling, but yeah if you go way overboard that can be a concern like plugging in too many other devices on the same circuit. But just to ballpark these LED strips, one 5V 60amp (300 watts, like a desktop computer) power supply can run 3 full 5 meter strips (at 60 led/meter) comfortably. And a typical household circuit can handle 5 of those power supplies comfortably. So if my math is right ( ) you can run about 250 feet of LED strips on one circuit, or about twice that if you use strips with only 30 led/meter.
I mean, you can go overboard with the design and end up with a system that needs its own breaker.
quote:I definitely agree with that. I think we are going to start seeing a lot more applications of PoE over the next decade, cameras, lighting, controls, and things we haven't thought of yet.
I agree with that - especially the older ones don't want to have anything to do with controls. Over time, the trades may merge, but right now I think the "low voltage" guy is going to have an expanding business.
quote:Yeah, and the industry is growing too fast for any one person to keep up with it all.
It has always been a sales arena job because of the brands and options available. It has always been a different type of trade.
Posted on 11/25/20 at 8:42 am to Korkstand
quote:
Oh well that has to do with the amps you're pulling, but yeah if you go way overboard that can be a concern like plugging in too many other devices on the same circuit. But just to ballpark these LED strips, one 5V 60amp (300 watts, like a desktop computer) power supply can run 3 full 5 meter strips (at 60 led/meter) comfortably. And a typical household circuit can handle 5 of those power supplies comfortably. So if my math is right ( ) you can run about 250 feet of LED strips on one circuit, or about twice that if you use strips with only 30 led/meter.
On top of this, the WLED software allows you to limit the current to a circuit. You only have to worry about max current if you are running pure white at full brightness. From my short time having these up, I can tell you that that's WAY to bright. Most of the time I run my LED's at 40-50% brightness and even then it's too bright at times. So likely you could run even more than what you've calculated. I have roughly 1000 LED's in my setup and the max current I've seen is 37 amps at 5v dc (185 watts). My power supply is rated at 60 amps at 5 v dc (300 watts). Your mileage may vary.
I'll add this too. I used 30 LEDs/m lights. That density is PLEANTY for a Permanent outside installation. In fact, I've experimented with 15 LEDs/m and 10 LEDs/m displays in WLED and they look just as good (and more like traditional Christmas lights). That reduces the power needs as well. I've enjoyed this project so much that I took the left over lights and a nodeMCU I had left over and installed them in the kids room. I ordered enough 60LED/m RGBW LEDs to do an under counter installation in our kitchen. We have some old Fluorescent lights on a plant shelf in our main living room and I want to replace them with RGBW's, but I'm waiting to see how the under counter ones look first before I tackle that project (This is where my wife's Christmas village and train is set up so I've got alot of stuff to work around on that project. )
The only issue I've noticed so far is that I have some significant voltage drop at the far end of my installation. The run is about 70+' from the main power supply and I've run my power injection with 18awg wire. I might have a bottle neck in the system and I need to check that out but the problem solves itself if I simply reduce the overall brightness of the system. I know it's a voltage issue as opposed to a current issue because I've turned off most/all the other LED's in the system and the issue still presents itself. If I had to do it over, I would have done two smaller (or multiple) power supplies on each end of the setup.
This post was edited on 11/25/20 at 8:49 am
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