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The device and power connection of the LED strip

LED strip - power connected. (It looks like the blue wire is soldered to the plus. It isn't. The brown wire is soldered to the plus, and the plus is actually scissors.)

The device and scheme of the LED strip

In a nutshell, what is an LED strip? As an example - Gauss Led, 5 meters, power supply 12 V, 4.8 W / m, 60 LEDs 3528 per meter, without moisture protection.

I must say right away that the tape can have a different design, circuit, supply voltage, number of LEDs per meter, their power, color, etc. The LED strip that I am considering in this article is perhaps the simplest and cheapest.

Such a tape actually consists of the following pieces:

The photo shows two such pieces, each containing 3 LEDs and 1 limiting resistor. The tape is sold in reels in long pieces, usually 5 meters each. The device of the LED strip is such that it is possible, but the pieces are much shorter - usually 5 centimeters. In duralight - a meter or 2!

The scheme of an elementary (minimum possible) piece of diode tape looks like this:

LED strip - a diagram of an elementary segment. It can't be less.

The scheme of the entire LED strip looks like this:

If the length of the tape is 5 m, and the length of the minimum segment is 5 cm, then it is easy to guess that the number of pieces in the tape will be 100 pieces.

Power (brightness) of the tape

It is clear that the brightness depends on the density of the LEDs per linear meter, and on the power of these diodes.

Now mainly tapes with two types of LEDs are on sale - 3528 (less powerful, an example in the article) and 5050 (more powerful). At a glance, it is very easy to distinguish them - 5050 is larger and has the shape of a square.

  • Ribbon with diodes type 5050- many colors to choose from, price from 50 rubles / meter
  • Tape with diodes type 5050 IP65 Waterproof - from 280 rubles / meter
  • LED Strip 3528- you can choose different types of tapes
  • LED Strip 5050 waterproof- low power, waterproof

Compare for assortment and prices at your local electrical store)

LEDs for these strips can be bought individually. The link is an example, you can search for other sizes.

For information, SMD LEDs are used in LED strips. Their parameters are summarized in the table. The first two digits and the second two digits in the name are the length and width, respectively. And the size indirectly indicates the power.

Connecting the LED strip

The LED strip turned on in the laboratory looks like this:

2 pieces of diode tape - power is applied. Polarity +/- matters.

When connecting the power of the LED strip plays a role power polarity, as well as throughout the semiconductor world. Unlike incandescent lamps and heating elements, where polarity does not matter. However, if you turn on the LED strip in the wrong polarity, nothing bad will happen - it simply will not burn. You can not be afraid to check the correct connection by swapping the power wires.

If you need to cut a piece of tape from a whole piece, it have to solder, that is, solder the supply wires to the pads that are at the ends of each elementary piece. There are also scissors. The wire for connecting the LED strip must be used thin, with a cross section of no more than 0.5 mm2, as shown in the first photo of the article. Clean and tin the contact pads before soldering. Use a soldering iron with a power of no more than 40 watts, preferably 25 watts.

And remember, the place of soldering is the most unreliable place in the whole structure, it must be protected from mechanical overload!

For some types of tapes, there are special connectors on sale that are put on the tape, and you do not need to use soldering.

The photo below shows an example of how to connect an LED strip through a connector:

Connectors for connecting Jazzway LED strip

Connecting the power supply for the LED strip

This is as a bonus - how to practically connect the LED strip. There are a few subtleties here (I don’t like the word “nuances”).

The LED strip is powered by a power supply. For this case, two parameters are important for him: voltage (usually 12 or 24 Volts) and power (depending on the length of the tape and the power of the LEDs). I'll talk about this in more detail below.

Here's a photo of the power supply just in case:

Power supply for LED strip.

This block is 60 watts, with a margin of two pieces of 24 watts.

It is best to buy such power supplies on Aliexpress, compare prices there and in a nearby store. The only negative is that you have to wait 30-40 days, so this option is for the economical and prudent).

Here are some links for example. The power supply unit and the length of the tape are chosen with a margin.

1. Power supply for tape 12V 5A 60W. For a tape of 4.8 W / m, it will be enough for 10 meters, for 9.6 W / m - for 5 meters (1 reel).

2. Power supply for tape 12V 10A 120W. For a tape of 4.8 W / m, it will be enough for 20 meters, for 9.6 W / m - for 10 meters.

3. Power supply for tape 12V 20A 240W. For a tape of 4.8 W / m, it will be enough for 40 meters, for 9.6 W / m - for 20 meters.

Since we are talking about such large lengths, an important note. If the length of the connected section of the LED strip is 10 m or more, and this entire section can be looked at, then it will be possible to notice that the brightness decreases towards the end of the section. To eliminate this effect, you need to connect such a long piece in one more place. For example, at the end, or in the middle.

When connecting the LED strip to the power supply, the main thing is to observe the polarity. According to the contacts - phase, zero, earth - this is the input of the PSU. The -V and +V contacts are an output voltage of 12 V. To the right is a tuning resistor, they can adjust the output voltage from about 11 to 13 Volts.

With an increase in the supply voltage, the temperature of the LEDs rises, and the service life of the LED strip decreases sharply (brightness decreases over time).

On the packaging, the voltage of the tape is usually written, based on this, the power supply is selected - 12 or 24 V.

LED strip power should be no more than 75% of the power power supply. In other words, there should be a power margin of at least 25%. The power of this piece (section) of the tape is easy to find out. It is necessary to multiply the power of a linear meter (Watts per meter) by the length of the tape.

For example, the linear power of the Gaussian tape given as an example below is 4.8 W/m. This means that the power of a 5m piece will be 24 watts. And the power supply must be selected with a power of 35 ... 50W.

If the power of the unit is comparable to the power of the load, the unit may overheat, especially if installed in a cramped space under the ceiling. And if the power of the power source is less than the power of the tape, the tape simply cannot turn on, and will blink, trying to turn on. In other words, the power supply unit simply will not be able to start, internal protection will work.

And more on connecting the power supply. Never apply power to it through a lighted switch.! Otherwise, there will be something similar, described in an article about how. Here, the PSU will try to start, and the 1 MΩ resistor will not get off. Even 100 kOhm may not be enough.

Naturally, the contacts must be carefully protected from accidental contact. Below are photos of how easy it is to protect against touching open contacts using a piece of cable channel of a selected width.

There are power supplies for LED strip with special protective caps, but they help little, and electrical safety is still low. You can, of course, wrap it all up with electrical tape ... but it will not look very good.

There are other power supplies, in plastic cases and waterproof. Perhaps they are more preferable in residential areas, in places where a child / cat / dog can climb.

Instructions for the LED strip

Who needs it - I post what was included with the tape.