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parallel strip wiring methods
Posted: Thu Jul 01, 2021 6:44 pm
by unclebilly
Hey guys, ive built a few strip lights always wiring in parallel to keep voltage down.
i always wire from the driver +/- to a terminal block and a seperate pair of wires to each strip.
this next fixture i'm building is real long and i don't want to run 20 miles of wire lol.
i know if i connect positive to positive neg to neg than ill technically be wiring parallel, but will the internal circuitry of the strips not fail from the current adding up? or have i been staring at it too long confusing myself.
i found this picture on an older post to show what i mean.
would you have any concern wiring like this ? i think it's just the same as using a terminal block no? total driver output current just divides by number of strips? i think it just looks bad to me. need peace of mind.
Re: parallel strip wiring methods
Posted: Thu Jul 01, 2021 7:51 pm
by PeteR_1
unclebilly wrote: ↑Thu Jul 01, 2021 6:44 pm
Hey guys, ive built a few strip lights always wiring in parallel to keep voltage down.
i always wire from the driver +/- to a terminal block and a seperate pair of wires to each strip.
this next fixture i'm building is real long and i don't want to run 20 miles of wire lol.
i know if i connect positive to positive neg to neg than ill technically be wiring parallel, but will the internal circuitry of the strips not fail from the current adding up? or have i been staring at it too long confusing myself.
i found this picture on an older post to show what i mean.
would you have any concern wiring like this ? i think it's just the same as using a terminal block no? total driver output current just divides by number of strips? i think it just looks bad to me. need peace of mind.
There is a Maximum number / length of LED Strips that can be daisy chained due to excessive voltage drop and resistance of the PCB traces, its usually four (4) LED Strips max, ~ 4 ft or 1120 mm... You could possibly do 2-Series / Parallel / Daisy Chain and still remain under 54 Vdc, depending on the Vf of the LED Strips,
[Vf * 2 < 54 Vdc].
Parallel/DaisyChain and Serial/Parallel/DaisyChain...
Maximum DaisyChained PCB length is 48 in or 1200 mm
Standard Parallel, Series, Series/Parallel and Parallel/DaisyChain Wiring Diagrams
Re: parallel strip wiring methods
Posted: Fri Jul 02, 2021 9:20 am
by Rocket Soul
Also worth mentioning: the connectors of the first strip are gonna get HOT: as they will take the full current of the whole string. This kind of connections are usually best to leave it to 2-3 strips and then connect these strings as individual parallel strings in the standard way, depending on how much current you are giving each strip.
Re: parallel strip wiring methods
Posted: Fri Jul 02, 2021 12:36 pm
by unclebilly
Basically I have a 3 tier shelf that is 6ft long.
(My other fixtures were for cannabis, this one for tropical house plants, so much less light)
I want to run a single 6ft strip (made up of 3 560mm eb strips) down each of the 3 levels
Would the internal circuitry and connectors hold up if I had 3 560mm strips daisy chained in parallel?
I am using an XLG 200 24a. I will turn voltage down to 18.5v and pull 700ma per strip. Running them soft. Any concerns with wiring like the picture?
Re: parallel strip wiring methods
Posted: Sat Jul 03, 2021 11:02 am
by PeteR_1
unclebilly wrote: ↑Fri Jul 02, 2021 12:36 pm
Basically I have a 3 tier shelf that is 6ft long.
(My other fixtures were for cannabis, this one for tropical house plants, so much less light)
I want to run a single 6ft strip (made up of 3 560mm eb strips) down each of the 3 levels
Would the internal circuitry and connectors hold up if I had 3 560mm strips daisy chained in parallel?
I am using an XLG 200 24a. I will turn voltage down to 18.5v and pull 700ma per strip. Running them soft. Any concerns with wiring like the picture?
The typical recommendation is 4 feet (1200 mm) maximum Daisy Chained, you can try the 1680 mm, its not recommended but could be tested for Voltage (drop) and Current at each strip junction.
The XLG-200-24A will auto adjust for the Vf of the connected LED Strips... The internal "Current Pot" should be adjust for ~ 126 Watts Vdc output or ~ 135 Watts VAC input.
[ 126 watts / 0.94 eff = 134 watts input ].
Your wiring Diagram looks OK...