Connect multiple strips to the same power supply?

Questions
1

Hi,

I am curious to find out how people here are supplying multiple strips from one power supply?

Let’s say I want to connect 10 strips with 60 leds each.

I’d need a power supply that can deliver 36A. That means I need an awg9 cable (if I understood the table right).

But how do I connect that cable to the 10 strips? I guess I can solder awg21 cables to the awg9 cable, but there must be better options?

Thank you for your help!

2

Nope, you got it. :wink:

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3

Ok, I didn’t expect that :grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes: any advice on how to insulate a the wires? Hot glue?

4

Or liquid electrical tape, self-sealing (rubber mastic) tape, etc.

5

I’ll look into those, thanks!

6

I use a 12v blade fuse distribution board, quite cheap and available in several sizes.
Plus if you have an issue with one strip you blow that fuse and don’t lose everything.

7

That looks good, thanks for sharing!

8

Hello
I would suggest to use a calkulator
60x lets say take about 60mA each if im not wrong
so its 60 x 60 = 3600mA = 3,6 A
ok that means u need a cable which can handle 4Ampere and not a cable for 36A and thats possible to solder
the diameter of your cable decrases as shorter the distance to the powersource is
but u have to connect every strip seperately
for long distances switch to 12v strips ??
and use a cablecalculator tool like the victrontoolkit
cheers
and it also depends what u show
by the way weled can also tell u what amount of power is needed

in my view only full on or white at full power needs that amount of current
but its boring and cheaper to use white leds and not pixelstrips
but whatever have digital fun !

9

Thanks :slight_smile: I was just interested in how it would be done if I had to do it.

Do you know how I can find out how short a cable has to be if it isn’t thick enough? I read a few times that if a cable is short it can lead a higher current, but I don’t know how short the cable has to be…

10

Where can I find general guidance concerning connecting one power supply for many strips? (sorry im new here :sweat_smile:)

11

There probably won’t be much on that topic specifically.
Your power supply should be rated to supply the maximum current you need for the strips you wish to use.

Take the current required to run each strip at maximum brightness, add them and chose a power supply with equal or greater capacity.

If you don’t, somewhere you’ll see a voltage drop when you try and take more current from the supply than it was designed to handle.

You can find more details in the Knowledgebase on:
Basic Getting started
Tutorials
and specifically: Power injection

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