1,Driver classification:

There are two main types of waterproof and non-waterproof power supplies: We mainly sell Mean well and ordinary power supplies. One is a brand power supply, and the other is a cost-effective ordinary power supply. The power ranges from: 20W to 500W, the output voltage is 5V, 12V, 24V, and the input voltage is 100-240V AC. The waterproof level of waterproof power supply is IP67, and that of non-waterproof is IP20. It is mostly used for engineering orders.

Waterproof Driver

Non Waterproof Driver

Adaptor

Adaptor: Adapter is another kind of led driver (transformer), the voltage has 5V, 12V, 24V input, because it is a plastic case, the power is generally not too large, generally about 60W. In the application range of LED strips, it is mainly used for ambient lighting. 

 

2,How to choose the right power supply?

(1) Confirm the type and quantity of Led strips.

First, determine the type of light strip according to your own needs, whether it is 2835SMD or 5050SMD or COB led strip; choose the lamp bead density of the strip, whether it is 60 leds per meter, 120 leds per meter, or 320 leds per meter; determine the appropriate voltage , 5V, 12V input or 24V input; and quantity, the number of led strips used in a project or a room. With the above parameters, you can determine what kind of effect to achieve.

(2) Calculated power:

With the model of the led chips, the density of the Led strips, the voltage, and the number of Led strips, the total power required in a range can be calculated. The size of the power supply is determined according to the total power. For example, the Led strips used in a room is 5M, and the 5050 SMD 60 SMD/m Led strips is used. The power of one meter is 12W, and 20% of the space needs to be reserved to ensure the normal operation of the power supply. So its power supply is: 12W x 5 x 1.2 = 72W.

Here is the power meter for regular Led strips:

SMD type SMD per M Voltage Watts / M
2835 60 SMD/M 12V/24V 8W
2835 60 SMD/M 12V/24V 8W
2835 120 SMD/M 12V/24V 14.4W
2835 240SMD/M 12V/24V 20W
3528 30 SMD/M 12V/24V 2W
3528 60 SMD/M 12V/24V 4.8W
3528 120 SMD/M 12V/24V 7.2W
3528 240 SMD/M 12V/24V 16W
5050 30 SMD/M 12V/24V 7W
5050 60 SMD/M 12V/24V 14.4W
5050 120 SMD/M 12V/24V 24W
5730 60 SMD/M 12V/24V 14W
335 60 SMD/M 12V 5W
5050 4in1 60 SMD/M 12V/24V 18W
5050 4in1 84 SMD/M 12V/24V DC 24W
5050 5in1 60 SMD/M 12V/24V DC 20W
5050 5in1 96 SMD/M 12V/24V DC 28W

The actual power means that the power of the Led strips made in kind is much smaller than the theoretical one. For example, the theoretical power of 5050 SMD 60pcs per meter Led strips is: 14.4W, and the actual power will only be about 12W; if it is 2835 SMD 120pcs, the theoretical power is 24W. The power is: 0.2W x 120 = 24W, but only about 14W is actually achieved.

(3) The location used by the Led strip.

The location where the Led strip is used determines whether the power supply is waterproof and the size of the power supply. Where there is wet, or outdoors, you can choose a waterproof power supply, and if it is indoors, choose a non-waterproof power supply. The requirement for the installation location is also one of the reasons for considering the size of the power supply. If the installation location is too small to fit a large wattage power supply, then two small wattage power supplies can be placed in different locations, as long as the installation method is changed.

It is used in ambient lights, because there are not many Led strip connected, and it has its own plug, which is easy to use, so the adapter is generally selected

3,How to Connect LED Driver/Transformer to Flexible LED strip

(1), select the appropriate plug, select the European standard according to different countries, and connect the American standard plug to the input end of the power supply.

(2), install the Led strips on the output end of the power supply, the red cable is connected to the positive pole, and the black cab is the negative pole. Make sure the screws are tightened and firmly.

4,FAQ

(1) Why is there a difference between theoretical power and actual power?

There are two reasons: maintaining the power operation of 80% of the Led strip can greatly increase the service life of the led chips; in addition, in order to better improve the luminous efficiency, the thermal energy is converted into light energy to the greatest extent. When the flexible Led strips reaches 24W per meter, its heat dissipation problem must be considered. The usual way to dissipate heat is to stick blue adhesive on the back of the Led strips and stick it to the aluminum profiles to help dissipate heat.

When we calculate the theoretical power, we only need to know the power of a single led chip and then multiply it by the number of led chips.

Taking 5050 SMD 60pcs Led strip per meter as a example, the power per meter is 14.4W, 5050 SMD single chip power 0.24W x number of SMD, 60LEDs= 14.4W/M; conventional 3528 SMD power is 0.08W, 2835 SMD The power is 0.1W or 0.2W, and other led chip models are: 3014, 5630, etc.

(2) Does the higher the wattage of the Led strip will be brighter?

In theory, the higher the wattage, the brighter the Led strip will be. But brightness isn’t just determined by wattage, and it can’t be determined by wattage alone. So what are the other factors that determine brightness? The brightness is also related to the number of led chips per meter, the display index, the size of the led chip, and the color temperature. Therefore, the wattage is not the only determinant of brightness. On the contrary, the wattage of the Led strip should not exceed the normal wattage. As mentioned earlier, the wattage is too high and the heat dissipation is not good, which will affect the service life of the Led strip.

(3) Is there a way to increase the brightness?

Customers often ask us whether Led strip can achieve 39W or 48W. In fact, there are many ways to improve the brightness. In addition to environmental protection, the biggest advantage of LED is: energy saving. There is really no need for us to increase the wattage of products that were originally energy-saving and become inefficient. At present, our company has made a high-brightness Led strip. The luminous efficiency of the normal Led strip is: 100-110LM/W, our product can achieve 160-170LM/W. The following is his test report, its luminous efficiency The efficiency is 172.6LM/W :

That is to say, in a Led strip with a normal brightness of 100-110LM/W, the brightness of 28W is: 28W x 100LM = 2800LM, but if we use our high-brightness Led strip, 172LM/W, as long as 2800LM / 172LM = about 16W can be realized. It truly achieves high brightness, energy saving and long service life. If you need more information, please contact us.

(4) Can quote the price of the Led strip by wattage?

In fact, the wattage alone is not enough to quote. Take the 7.2W Led strip as a comparison, customers generally have the following options:

3528SMD 120led per meter

2835SMD 60led per meter

5050SMD 30led per meter

It is not difficult to see from here that different led chip models and different quantities can make the same wattage. Among them, the highest price is: 3528SMD 120 leds per meter, the most cost-effective is: 2835SMD 60 leds per meter, and their brightness is similar, 2835SMD 60leds per meter will be a little brighter.