Hello everyone. This is my first year participating in the hobby. I've seen several displays online but I finally finished college and got a job so I can make a display on my own. I feel like I have a very general idea of what I need to do but the power supplies and wiring have got me stumped. I got myself a falcon f16v3 and am planning to use around 5000 5v bullet nodes. I live in a pretty small neighborhood so I'd assume that I wouldn't run the lights at more than 30%. I am planning to get meanwell power supplies. I believe that I will need 4 of those at 5v 60a. It is my understanding that I will also need to get fuses and of course wires. This is the part where I am losing my mind.
The PSUs have 3 output terminals. If I were planning to use the PSU at 80% capacity that would mean around 16 amps per line(I probably won't but I'd rather be safe than sorry). What awg rating would I need for this? When I look online it seems as though I would need 14 awg wire to handle that capacity but I'm not entirely sure. Also, is there any was I can split the 3 output terminals any further? For example, could I attach two wires to the same output on the PSU to spread out the load? Do I also need a fuse going from the wall outlet to my PSU and if so what kind of fuse would I use for that?
For the fuses I would assume that I get the closest fuse rating that is above my expected power draw. I plan on getting fuse blocks as opposed to inline fuse holders (mostly because fuse blocks seem easier to use). The fuse blocks that I have seen seem to be able to handle up to 100 amps so those should be fine. I was wondering if it was possible to just wire all three outputs from the PSU to the fuse block and then distribute the power from there.
The other thing that confuses me is wire type. Are all 14 awg wires created equally? Could I strip a 14 awg power extension cable and use that for both power and data or would I need to get separate wiring for power and data? Also is there a difference between a 14 awg power extension cable and 14 awg speaker wiring?
Thank you so much for the help. The setup seems very confusing but I'm excited to dive into it.
The PSUs have 3 output terminals. If I were planning to use the PSU at 80% capacity that would mean around 16 amps per line(I probably won't but I'd rather be safe than sorry). What awg rating would I need for this? When I look online it seems as though I would need 14 awg wire to handle that capacity but I'm not entirely sure. Also, is there any was I can split the 3 output terminals any further? For example, could I attach two wires to the same output on the PSU to spread out the load? Do I also need a fuse going from the wall outlet to my PSU and if so what kind of fuse would I use for that?
For the fuses I would assume that I get the closest fuse rating that is above my expected power draw. I plan on getting fuse blocks as opposed to inline fuse holders (mostly because fuse blocks seem easier to use). The fuse blocks that I have seen seem to be able to handle up to 100 amps so those should be fine. I was wondering if it was possible to just wire all three outputs from the PSU to the fuse block and then distribute the power from there.
The other thing that confuses me is wire type. Are all 14 awg wires created equally? Could I strip a 14 awg power extension cable and use that for both power and data or would I need to get separate wiring for power and data? Also is there a difference between a 14 awg power extension cable and 14 awg speaker wiring?
Thank you so much for the help. The setup seems very confusing but I'm excited to dive into it.