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re: Permanently installed LED "Christmas" lights.

Posted on 11/24/20 at 11:01 am to
Posted by Korkstand
Member since Nov 2003
28727 posts
Posted on 11/24/20 at 11:01 am to
quote:

I mean, you can go overboard with the design and end up with a system that needs its own breaker.
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.
quote:

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.
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.
quote:

It has always been a sales arena job because of the brands and options available. It has always been a different type of trade.
Yeah, and the industry is growing too fast for any one person to keep up with it all.
Posted by Lonnie Utah
Utah!
Member since Jul 2012
24074 posts
Posted on 11/25/20 at 8:42 am to
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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