What transformer do I need to install my LED strips?
In our catalog we have a large number of LED Strips that fit with all types of decoration and space.
Discover our entire range of LED Strips. The decorative possibilities offered by this type of strips are very extensive.
In this post we are going to give a series of tips so that each client is able to size their own LED strip installation, whether in RGB, monocolor or any of the other options that exist within LED strips.
1 What transformer do I need to install my LED strips?
Perhaps this is the million-dollar question for anyone, whether professional or individual, who wants to install LED strips. Due to the large number of models that exist, it is very difficult for most customers to choose the strip model that fits their needs and the transformer they need for them.
2 What types of LED strips exist?
The first thing of all is to be clear about what type of LED strip you want to install. To do this, we are going to categorize them based on the type of light that the LED strip is capable of supplying us:
- Monocolor: as their name indicates, they are strips that are only capable of supplying only one color temperature (warm, natural or cold) or one color (red, green, blue, yellow, etc.). These types of strips are the most used since the installations are simpler as they do not necessarily require a controller like other types of strips.
- RGB: This type of RGB strips are those that within each chip have the possibility of offering the color eye, green and blue. Hence they are called RGB in honor of the English acronym of the colors they offer (red, green and blue). Using a controller the user will be able to obtain secondary colors (yellow, pink, orange, etc.) that will be the result of mixing the three primaries.
- CCT (Color temperature change): This type of strips offer us the possibility of obtaining all color temperature ranges, from warm white (3000 K) to cold white (6000 K). This is achieved because the strip itself includes a chip intended for warm white and another for cold white. Due to the proportion in which these two chips are mixed, a color temperature or another will always be obtained between 3000 and 6000 K. For this, as with RGB strips, a controller capable of managing all the changes is necessary.
- RGBW: This type of strip is very similar to RGB strips, except that one corresponding to white is included between each RGB chip, whether warm, natural or cold. This way within the strip itself. As with RGB or CCT strips, a controller is necessary that is capable of managing which tone we want.
3 What parameters do we have to take into account to size our LED strip installation?
When it comes to sizing an LED strip installation, three main factors must be taken into account. These are.
- LED strip voltage: within the LED strip market we can distinguish two working voltages, 12 or 24 V. Choosing one working voltage or another will allow us to carry out installations of more meters or less. The recommendations of the strip suppliers is a maximum of 10 meters in a row in 12 V installations and 15 meters in 24 V installations. It should be noted that they are recommendations from the supplier and that it will depend on the type of installation and its requirements whether more or fewer meters can be installed.
- Installation meters: Another factor, and perhaps the most important of all, is the number of meters we want to install. Depending on these, we will opt for one work voltage or another.
- LED strip power: Perhaps of the three, it is the most important since in the end it is the one that will help us size the transformer necessary for the installation of the LED strip. Whenever we purchase an LED strip, the most important parameter that we have to take into account is the consumption per meter (W/m).
4 Which transformer do we choose for our LED strip installation?
Once we have chosen all the parameters of our LED strip, comes perhaps the step that scares everyone the most but which at the same time is the simplest of all and is the one that will help us make our installation work and that there are no problems. How do we choose the transformer?
Case 1: monocolor strip installation
To do this, we will give a practical example in which we will install 10 meters of a single-color 12 V strip with a consumption of 14.4 W/m. From all this data we have to keep the consumption of the strip (14.4 W/m) and the meters of the installation (10 m). Therefore, to know the power of the necessary transformer we have to multiply these factors. Power = 14.4 W/m * 10 m = 144 W The LED strip installation that we have has a total power of 144 W, to which we have to add a safety margin of 20-25%. So we will have to multiply this power by 1.2. Total power = Power * 1.2 = 144 * 1.2 = 172.8 W Therefore, a transformer that can be used for this type of installation is a 200 W transformer with 12 V. Below, we have a diagram of what the connection of the installation that we have assumed in Case 1 would be like.
Since the case that we have sized is a monocolor strip, in which a controller is mandatory, we have not assumed this case, so below we are going to assume an installation in which instead of a monocolor strip it is RGB (in which a controller is mandatory). This sizing is also applicable to CCT or RGBW strips.
Case 2: RGB strip installation
In this case, since it is also a 10-meter installation with a consumption of 14.4 W/m, the total power will be the same as in the previous case (172.8 W). In this type of installations, a controller is mandatory that allows us to manage the different colors; it is an extra parameter that we have to size. In this case, we do not have to apply a safety margin to the controller since the weight of the entire installation will always be supported by the transformer. As we have an installation (without safety factor) of 144 W, the RGB controller that we must choose must be capable, at 12 V, of supporting this installed power. As in the previous case, we attach a diagram of what the LED strip installation in Case 2 would be like.
