I have the following doubt regarding which power supply I may use and how to wire the setup to achieve the highest brightness without exceeding the controller’s amperage.
I want to create the following LED project:
Install 3 WS2815 LED strips, each 5 m long with 60 LEDs/m, 18 W/m, and 12 V.
Use Athom WLED ESP32 Music Addressable LED Strip Controller with a working voltage of DC5-24V and an output current of 16 Amps. I plan to use both available channels:
a) 2 WS2815 LED strips, total length 10 m, total LEDs 600, 183 W → 14 A
b) 1 WS2815 LED strip, total length 5 m, total LEDs 300, 93 W → 7 A https://es.athom.tech/blank-1/wled-esp32-music-addressable-led-strip-controller
Based on my calculations, I would need 270 W, requiring a standard 300 W, 25 Amps, 12 V power supply.
The challenge is how to supply the required amperage for the entire setup (25 Amps) when the Athom controller is limited to 16 Amps. Could you assist me with a wiring diagram or provide links/examples of a similar setup?
Thanks in advance for your support
*Note the +/- location I drew on the power supply are backwards.
Mean Well Power Supplies are actually: + + + - - - G N L Not: - - - + + + G N L as my drawing suggests.
There is no requirement that all of your current needs to flow through your controller. Massive wires and fuse blocks are ugly and you want them out of sight and out of reach. But a music controller you typically want at the party, where it can be interacted with and where it can hear the music.
What I typically do with my large matrix builds is power the lights and attach the controller with just a JST connector and let the controller take the little bit of power it needs directly from that.
Thanks Jinx for your rapid response and detailed wiring diagram
My apologies as I’m not very proficient in electrical installations.
Regarding fuse installation I don’t know if fuse holders similar to those used in cars is used (see photo), if you could provide an Amazon link or photo, it would help me understand.
For the first attached photo has the advantage that provide a little light so you can quickly see if a fuse is blown or not I not sure of the wiring , if I just have to connect one single wire from power supply to the positive general pole and the extract the positive wire from each fuse
For the second attached photo , it has the inconvenience no indicator of fuse is blown, but it’s simple , positive input , positive output
Additionally, if using 5-amp fuses for LED strips, would it make sense to use a 15-amp fuse for the controller with a maximum of 18 amps?
Would a 6-way fuse holder be necessary in this case?
Regarding wiring, would you recommend 18 or 22 AWG,
Finally are power injections needed at the end of the strips specially for the 5 m strip? I understand that this reduces voltage drop and assures maximum brightness
Hi Artacus thanks for your suggestion, I want to install these led strips in my son’s bedroom so I’m concern about electrical installation security, so I prefer to install fuses to protect led strips. Again thanks for sharing your recommendation
I have used 12v fuse block’s/bar’s to power led projects. I’m not to sure if the indicator LED on those types of fuse block’s will function on a 5v setup.
Wire size depends on how far the wires are running, what voltage, and current needs you have. I would not go less than 18AWG.
If you are looking for full brightness I for sure would add power at the end of the 5m strip or you could add it in the middle of it and be ok as well. Most times it’s just easier to tap in at the end.
You can use any fuses you like as long as they are rated for intended current and the wire feeding them as well.
I use the blocks like your first pic and Yes the power from your supply would go to the big + bolt and if you want, your supply’s negative to the big - bolt. All the negatives from your LEDs and controller can go to the bank of common screws by the negative side of the block. and the positive’s to the LEDs would connect to each terminal by each fuse. If you want to fuse the controller a 2A fuse should be plenty for it.
*you do not need to connect all the negatives to the block, it just makes it convenient with all of the +/- running to the same location. Your second pic would require + in and + out for each fuse, while your first pic uses 1 (you could use 2 or even 3) heavy line to bring the + to the block.
I am going to post a pic that is well past what your requirements are for your project, but it shows the use of one of those fuse blocks for reference
I didn’t say don’t use fuses. I said you don’t need to run all of your current through your controller. Put your power supply, fuses, and perhaps relay tucked away. If you’ve got dozens of amps running through your controller then you don’t want it out where your kids are going to mess with it.
Hi Jinx thanks again for your impressive explanation and for the picture .
Regarding how to protect the controller you mentioned
“If you want to fuse the controller a 2A fuse should be plenty for it.”
What I understand is that despite the controller has a maximum current of 16 amps input since most of the power supply current goes directly to the LED strips, providing the controller with 2 amps should be sufficient for proper operation, but will the fuse won’t blow ?.
I understand the 2 amps fuse would protect the controller in case LED strips fails, preventing the entire current from the power supply passing through the controller.
Finally for the power supply which protections should I check . Any suggested brand?
Just because something is rated for a max of x Amps does not mean it needs to use x Amps. 2A is more than that controller should ever need to use (when only powering itself). If something shorted out on the controller and it decided to draw more current than 2A the fuse (should) blow and protect you from having a fire @ the controller. This has nothing to do with the LEDs and if they have an issue.
You are not connecting the LED’s power to the controller’s output so the only power the controller needs to draw is for itself to operate.
As an example here is a pic of an Esp32-Cam board powered from it’s micro usb port. It is just sitting idle and not processing any effects but as you can see it’s only drawing 0.17A So 2A fuse should be more than enough.
The more protections a power supply offers the better. I myself would go with the Mean Well brand as they have a history as being quality units.
Here are 2 examples 12v 37A: Amazon.com Though the pic is of a 24v one weird…
