Basic guide to datasheets for strip lights and the drivers that power them.

[sdfoster22]

Let's start out by saying that I'm no expert, but I understand the basic information needed to figure out how to power these strips, and understanding some parts of these datasheets. After reading this, you should be able to figure out how many strips to run, and what driver is needed for any build.

Anybody else who wants to chime in and add to understanding different parts of these datasheets is welcome, and is encouraged.

Let's start out by taking a look at different parts of the datasheets for strip lights.

[sdfoster22]

EB GEN 2 STRIPS:

This part of the datasheet is pretty self explanatory. It shows you where to take case temp measurements, and breaks down the part number so you can figure out which strip you are actually getting.

This chart shows all the different kelvins, and cri you can get, the minimum and maximum voltage of them, and the lumen per watt achieved. All at nominal current.

This chart shows you the minimum and maximum voltage of nominal and max current, and gives you a good idea of a range of voltage to shoot for while selecting a driver.

[sdfoster22]

The next two images are performance curves. This is where the eb gen 2's set themselves apart from other datasheets that I've seen. It takes a lot of guesswork and math out of the equation of figuring out what voltage each strip pulls relative to the current the strip is ran at.

The current vs forward voltage is the thing I use the most on this datasheet. This chart tells you what voltage the strip runs at relative to provided current. Remember though, this chart is at 25 degrees Celsius. The hotter the case temperature the less effecient it becomes, so voltage varies a little bit.

The relative voltage vs case temp tells us how much voltage drop you should get relative to how hot the strip gets.

This is pretty much it for the eb gen 2 section. If anyone has anything to add before my edit button disappears I'll put it in this post.

The next post will be about some of the Samsung f series datasheets, then I'll get into some of the meanwell driver datasheets.

Until then happy reading. = D

[sdfoster22]

Samsung F series

The product code information gives you the correct code while searching digikey or other sites. Find which exact strip you would like, and enter the product code on the appropriate site.

[sdfoster22]

The characteristics section give you the luminous flux, luminous efficacy, max voltage, min voltage, nominal voltage, and nominal current. It doesn't give max or min current. We can figure out max current by the diodes used and how the strip is wired. Example the fb22b is 144 diodes. Each lm561c is 200mA max current. The strip is wired 16 in series with 9 parallel strings. The 16 diodes in series has a max of 200mA each, and the 9 parallel strings would have a max current of 1.8A (9×.200=1.8.) Now that you have max current at max voltage, you can see what these strips will run at whatever percentage of that max with a little math.

[sdfoster22]

The schematic circuits are good for telling how the strips are wired. Telling how they are wired can give you a good idea of the max current per strip.

Structure and assembly tells you if they are single or double row.

Finally these give you the dimensions

[atreum]

Awesome, keep it coming! Spec sheets can be daunting at first but are actually pretty easy to read once it’s broken down. This should probably be a pinned thread for all newbies.

[sdfoster22]

That was the plan. Will do some meanwell drivers next.

[sdfoster22]

Instead of showing you all the screenshots of the meanwell drivers, I'll just show you the stuff I know about, and what I use.

We'll start off with a few links. These 2 spreadsheets that ledgardner made are one of the most useful tools you will use running strips or qbs. Just scroll down and look for the type of driver you want, either constant current or constant voltage.
http://ledgardener.com/driver-reference-sheet/

Cobkits from riu sent me this link with most of the hlg drivers, and a lot of the other drivers datasheets, and if you look towards the top of the datasheet, there is a tab for test reports of the drivers.
http://www.meanwell.com/product/led/LED.html

Compare the datasheets of the strips or qbs you want to run, and you can figure out what you need.

[sdfoster22]

For understanding how to run the Quantum Boards, they make it pretty simple. Just click on the product you would like, scroll down to the chart and it will tell you what voltage the board runs at depending on current. Make sure to pay attention to the voltage tolerance for driver selection. If it says add 1v for driver selection. Add 1v to each board if wiring series, and 1v total if parallel. The tolerance varies depending on the board.

They also suggest some drivers for different setups.

https://horticulturelightinggroup.com/c ... tum-boards