LED technology has already firmly entered our modern life. We can say that this is the main source of illumination in various spheres of human life. These are industrial injectors, and portable flashlights, and socle lamps, and monitor screen backlights. Everything is made using this technology. At the same time, LED strip is the most common type of product of this kind. To master the scheme of connecting an LED strip to a power supply, it is enough to have basic knowledge of voltage and power.
What is LED strip
In fact, this is a flexible base on which contact tracks are located, uniting the main components of the entire system, namelylight emitting diodes or LED.
In nature, there are two main varieties of such tapes:
- analog;
- digital.
In analog tapes, all LED components are connected in parallel and do not have additional means to ensure control. In other words, the control is carried out over the entire tape at the same time, whether it is changing the brightness, color or operating mode.
With digital strips, it's a little more interesting - there is already a separate microcircuit for controlling each light source or a separate section of LEDs. As a result, control is not carried out by the entire tape, but only individually over each LED or group.
It is worth noting that connecting a power supply to the middle of a digital type LED strip is not so common among backlight lovers. This is due to the fact that such products are quite expensive. Therefore, these tapes on sale can be found in extremely rare cases.
Analog tapes are cheap and therefore have a wide range of applications - from creating a festive atmosphere in the premises to illuminating shop windows. In addition, based on the purpose, such products can be:
- Single color or monochrome ribbons.
- RGB strips - full color LEDs that are capable of producing a large amount of color, including its shades.
In the hands of professional interior designers, RGB strips become a truly powerful tool.
How to cut the tape?
If you need to connect LED strips through the power supply, there may be another need. Sometimes they have to be cut into separate parts according to the size of the surface where they will be located. In this case, the tape can be at right angles in one plane (corners on ceilings or walls) or in mutually perpendicular planes (angle between surfaces). Only here you should not cut as you want, but wisely.
The tape is not only elastic, but also thin, and therefore the division into segments can be done using ordinary clerical scissors. However, you should understand its electrical circuit. Regardless of the length of the LED strip, it is represented by several segments, each of which, in turn, consists of three LEDs and the same number of resistors. All of this is rated at 12 volts.
The step of cutting the tape should be equal to the length of one segment, that is, they should not be separated in any place. In addition, each tape has a special marking - a cut line. Otherwise, you should look for contact pads and cut strictly in the middle.
Tape connection rules
There are basic rules for connecting LED strips, which in no case should be violated. Otherwise, stable operation is not guaranteed. As a rule, such products may fail due to low-quality LEDs or a power supply. In addition, the wrong connection also does not bode well. For this reason, threeground rules:
- observance of technique;
- mandatory heat dissipation system;
- correct choice of power supply.
Now let's expand on these points.
Compliance with connection technology
In general, LED strip can be sold in lengths of five meters or more. Moreover, if it becomes necessary to use several of these tapes, you should remember an important rule from the connection - only parallel connection of the power supply to the LED strip is allowed.
But what if you need a tape of 10-15 meters or more? It seems that you can simply connect the end of the first segment with the beginning of the second, observing the polarity and the trick. What could be easier? In fact, it is forbidden to do so. The bottom line is that five meters is not just calculated - this is the limit of the current-carrying tracks of the tape.
With a much longer length, it will simply fail due to excessive load. In addition, the glow will be uneven - at the beginning the LEDs will burn brightly, but towards the end they will become dimmer and dimmer. Therefore, only parallel connection type.
Typically, it is allowed to connect the LED strip not only on one side, but also on both ends. Such a measure will significantly reduce the load on the conductive paths. In addition, the LEDs themselves will burn evenly. In particular, this applies to powerful tapes (more than 9.6 W / meter). And experts who have been installing LED products for many years advise usingbidirectional connection.
Only with this scheme of connecting the LED strip to the power supply, there is one serious drawback - you need to lay additional wires along the entire strip.
Heat Dissipation System
During operation, the LED strip can get very hot, which negatively affects the elements themselves. They overheat, lose their brightness, and eventually collapse. For this reason, products should be attached to an aluminum profile, which will act as a good heat sink.
Otherwise, a tape that could work quietly for 5 and 10 years, without an appropriate cooling system, will simply fail, and in a short time. In this regard, the presence of an aluminum profile is a prerequisite for the use of LED lighting. However, there are pleasant exceptions here too - the SMD 3528 tape. Its power does not exceed 4.8 W per 1 m. Accordingly, the LED strip can be connected to a 12 V power supply without a heat sink.
However, those tapes that are coated with silicone on top are in great need of heat dissipation. The fact is that just one substrate from below is not enough. And if you stick the tape on a surface made of wood or plastic, then what kind of cooling can we talk about ?! He's clearly not here!
Choice of power supply
The performance of the tape is guaranteed only with the use of a good adapter, because the voltage for which the LEDs are designed is from 2.5 to 5 volts. General voltageof the entire tape should be equal to 12 or 24 V. In this case, the power of the power supply should be 30% higher than the parameter of the tape itself.
Only in this case, the full performance of the backlight is guaranteed. If the adapter is selected end-to-end, then it will work at full capacity, which is called the limit. However, this mode of operation negatively affects the duration of operation. Therefore, you should take care of some stock.
Among the numerous adapters, a good option would be to connect the LED strip to the Jazzway power supply. It has 220 volts AC at the input, 24 V at the output. The power is 60 W, and the efficiency reaches 81%.
In addition, the adapter is equipped with protective systems:
- from moisture according to IP20;
- from overloads;
- from overheating;
- from power surges.
All work surfaces have ventilation slots. In addition, it is possible to adjust the output voltage, due to which this power supply can be suitable for connecting LED strips of any type.
One block - one tape
This scheme for connecting an LED strip to a power supply is very easy to implement. In addition, for convenience, short wires for connection can be attached to the outer end of the tape. However, sometimes they are not. Then you should solder them yourself. To do this, take a stranded wire with conductors of different colors of insulation (usually black “-”, red “+”) and measure them along the length so that it is enough from the tape to the power supply. Then followsstrip the strands on both sides.
Using rosin and tin, you need to tin the ends of the conductors, after which they are soldered to the contacts of the tape track. In this case, it is worth using a low-power soldering iron, and the procedure itself should be short-term. Soldering points should be insulated with heat shrink tubing.
As for directly connecting the LED strip to the power supply, here it is better to install NShVI (insulated pin lugs) or any others on the ends of the wires for better contact. The circuit is ready to go.
Multiple tapes per NIC
As we now know, the LED strip is only available for sale in a limited length of no more than 5 meters. Cutting into smaller pieces is not a problem, but sometimes quite a long illumination is required, for example, eight meters. In this case, two segments (five and three meters long, respectively) are connected in an exclusively parallel way, which was already considered earlier in the rules. In fact, this circuit is implemented in the same way as above, but with a slight difference - more wires are required.
As practice shows, different situations may arise, including the one when it is necessary to connect a large number of LED strips to the power supply. Such a scheme for connecting an LED strip to a power supply is relevant in organizing the illumination of a shop window or for simultaneously illuminating paintings located at different distances.
In this case, you canfrom each section, stretch the wires to the power supply. However, this looks too confusing, and such an approach is inappropriate. It is much easier to use one main highway. It is located at the optimal distance from the LED strips for quick access to it. And after connecting all sections of the backlight, you can run wires to the power supply directly from the main bus.
Connecting an LED strip to a 220 V network without an adapter
Most of the LED strips are designed to be connected to a 12 volt power supply. Rarely where you can find a backlight powered by 5, 24 or more volts. It is clearly not worth connecting such tapes directly to a conventional electrical network. In less than a second, all the diodes and resistors will simply burn out.
At the same time, you can do without a power supply to connect the Ecola LED strip. The tapes of this manufacturer should be considered a real breakthrough in the field of LED backlighting. At the same time, a different number of LEDs can be located on each of its meters:
- 60;
- 72;
- 108;
- 120.
To implement this idea in practice, you will need 24 pieces of equal length LED strip, which do not depend on the type and color. And what is most interesting, here is where they are connected in series. In this case, the segments themselves are connected as follows: using short wires, the negative contact of the very first tape is connected to the positive contact of the second. Furtherfrom the minus of the second segment, the wire goes to the plus of the third.
All other tapes are connected in the same way. Ultimately, instead of connecting the segments in parallel, you get a long string of LEDs that can withstand a voltage of 288 volts.
Final part
However, to connect a 220 V LED strip without a power supply, you must first straighten and smooth the voltage. Indeed, in a conventional outlet, it is of a variable nature, while LEDs need constant power. For this, a diode bridge vd1 is used (U arr =600 V, I pr=10 A) and a polar capacitor C1 (10 uF, 400 V). As a result, the output voltage will be approximately equal to 280 V.
Despite the efficiency of such a scheme, it is not without certain drawbacks:
- There are life-threatening voltages at the soldering points (and there are several of them).
- Since there are not so few connections, their reliability is seriously reduced as a result.
- Ergonomics of the finished product leaves much to be desired.
If someone finds such an idea of connecting an LED strip without a power supply incomprehensible or even complicated, then you can find industrial products in the store, which are just designed to be connected to a single-phase AC household network.
The main structural difference between such tapes is that the LEDs here are combined into groups of not threepieces, but 60 each. The diode bridge is included in the delivery, so there is no need to assemble it yourself. Ultimately, it is worth soberly assessing your strengths and capabilities, it is probably cheaper to do everything yourself than to buy a ready-made version.
How to connect color RGB tape
In this case, the connection principle remains almost the same, but with the only difference that a controller or dimmer is added. This is a device that is responsible for changing the color scheme of lighting. Also, after the controller, there are no longer two wires, as it was before, but as many as four! There are also four of them on the colored ribbon itself, respectively.
How is the controller connected to the LED strip and power supply? The positive contact of the dimmer is connected to the plus of the LED strip. As for the rest of the wires, here you should be guided by their color (there is even a letter designation of the contacts on the tapes):
- Red – R.
- Green - G.
- Blue – B.
- Black - V+.
The controller also has corresponding contacts for the power supply. The maximum length of the RGB tape is the same five meters. That is, in this regard, there are no differences between monochrome and color products.
Useful tips from experts
A number of useful tips from experts will help you connect in the right way. As previously mentioned, during the soldering of contacts, the procedure should be short-term. That is, in time, the soldering iron tip should be in contact with the tape contacts for no more than 10 seconds! This is done inavoid damaging the LEDs. The maximum allowable temperature should not rise above 260 ° C.
If you cannot do without bends during the installation of the LED strip connection scheme to the power supply, you should choose places where the working mechanism will not be damaged. In no case should you put pressure on the diodes themselves for secure fastening during installation. If necessary, this is done in places where there are no light bulbs.
