Enough Power?

[BoonDogs]

Hi Guys,


I'm going to be running 1150 WS2811 pixels for my mega tree this year through an F16v2, these are the 12v versions, is one 350w PSU enough for the entire controller?


Please tell me yes, as I've already ordered from Ray :-X

 

[lizardking]

Hi Guys,


I'm going to be running 1150 WS2811 pixels for my mega tree this year through an F16v2, these are the 12v versions, is one 350w PSU enough for the entire controller?


Please tell me yes, as I've already ordered from Ray :-X

use this calculator its very handy
http://www.da-share.com/calculators/led-strip-string-current/

 

[AAH]

If you punch the numbers into http://www.da-share.com/calculators/led-strip-string-current/ you will get 63.82A (765W) for 1150 pixels at 18.5mA. 2811 is typically 18.5mA but is subject to change depending on the manufacturer and 350W supplies aren't necessarily 350W. You will need at least 2 supplies with 3 being a safer/better option.

 

[the grinch]

If you punch the numbers into http://www.da-share.com/calculators/led-strip-string-current/ you will get 63.82A (765W) for 1150 pixels at 18.5mA. 2811 is typically 18.5mA but is subject to change depending on the manufacturer and 350W supplies aren't necessarily 350W. You will need at least 2 supplies with 3 being a safer/better option.

Thats an awesome little calculator their adam and alan thx . Just created shortcut . Will take away a lot of my guesstimations . As I have underestimated a few projects here may have saved me from a couple of meltdowns .

 

[i13]

Agreed with AAH. 12V pixel strings often only run at 10mA per colour but Ray's 12V strings are usually flawed and hence the higher wattage corrrectly calculated. Even if they were 10mA per colour you'd still need two power supplies. The best step from here would be to actually measure the current draw of a smaller number of them to calculate the actual wattage - then you'd know for sure.

A bit more research would have helped. 5V pixel STRINGS (not strips) are more efficient than 12V strings and would bring it down to 319 watts (saves heaps of power). They're quite appropriate when you want to have a large number of pixels in a small area. It is also recommended to have a spare power supply anyway because there is a slight chance of it stopping working.

I also suggest rethinking your 240V controller plan and posting more details about what types of lights you want to control with it. There are not many that are compatible with 240V controllers.

 

[BoonDogs]

If you punch the numbers into http://www.da-share.com/calculators/led-strip-string-current/ you will get 63.82A (765W) for 1150 pixels at 18.5mA. 2811 is typically 18.5mA but is subject to change depending on the manufacturer and 350W supplies aren't necessarily 350W. You will need at least 2 supplies with 3 being a safer/better option.

Would I be able to use an old PC PSU for now?

 

[AAH]

Not really. You can use pc power supplies for lights but they aren't especially suited to it as they aren't designed for the very pulsey load of Xmas lights and they typically don't regulate the 12V especially well.

 

[fasteddy]

just remember that with Rays power supplies then you should only load them up to a max of 80 to 85% of the rated power. Its good practice never to load up power supplies close or to their maximum ratings anyway, especially if you live in Australia where the summer heat can de-rate the maximum power
Make sure you have good ventilation.

As Alan has said a PC power supply is designed for more of a stable load and can be a hit and miss as to which ones work and which ones don't. Also the rating of these power supplies are for 5v, 3.3v and 12v as that is what a typical computer power supply outputs , so if you plan to use a computer power supply for testing then ensure you take note of the 12v load rating and then don't exceed 80% of that rated load.