so I’m going to have 6 separate strip light situations in my cargo trailer build, 2 will be outside, 4 inside for under base cabinet at the kick and under upper cabinet, so question is do I put an A/C recepticle at each area where the light strip will need a small transfomer or can one plug an “ extension “ and run it to the power area into a “ larger transformer “ ?
12 v strip light questions
- Thread starter Roktman
- Start date
WOODY2
Adventurer
12V LED strips?
Hey WOODY2, LED “light” strip as opposed to individual lets say “puck” lights
Dave in AZ
Well-known member
Still 12v light strips? Search Amazon, there are hundreds of vendors, all colors, dimmable, some you can change colors white red blue green...
DAVE IN AZ to the rescue, yea I know where to get them ,I got them, my original question was ( since I was using like 6 light strips ) would I need an A/C receptacle/ socket for each power transformer or could I make up an “ extension cord “ and run them to my power area into a larger transformer or have all the individual transformers in one area ?
llamalander
Well-known member
Why not run the 12v light strips from the 12v battery system and skip the 12v to 120v to 12 v conversion?
To answer your other question, the voltage drop between the power source and the light will dictate how you need to supply the fixtures. If the wire between the power is long enough, the total resistance will make the voltage drop below the threshold the LED needs to operate (the power will turn into heat in the wire). To fix that, either increase the size of the wire to minimize the resistance, or increase the voltage to end up with 12v at the light.
If you really want to run AC to transformers, individual extension cords or a power strip will all work. The higher voltage current can travel through a given wire much further-say, 10 times further- than 12v dc, so voltage drop isn't an issue. If the "extension" is off of a 12v line, use larger wire so the light still gets the voltage it needs. Work backwards from the light source, or any power draw, to see how to supply it.
If your lights are 3 watts/foot and you have 6 lights 5' long, each light will need 15 watts and the total will require a single transformer of at least 90 watts, or 100 watts to be safe. At 12 volts, each strip will need 1.25 amps. If you don't want to run wire then check the voltage drop, use the charts Blue Sea publishes to size the wire you need for a given run, which is from the power source to the light and back to the power source (using the 3% column). This chart can be used for the wire between a light and transformer or a light and a 12v battery--it applies to all 12v. circuits
http://assets.bluesea.com/files/resources/newsletter/images/DC_wire_selection_chartlg.jpg
To answer your other question, the voltage drop between the power source and the light will dictate how you need to supply the fixtures. If the wire between the power is long enough, the total resistance will make the voltage drop below the threshold the LED needs to operate (the power will turn into heat in the wire). To fix that, either increase the size of the wire to minimize the resistance, or increase the voltage to end up with 12v at the light.
If you really want to run AC to transformers, individual extension cords or a power strip will all work. The higher voltage current can travel through a given wire much further-say, 10 times further- than 12v dc, so voltage drop isn't an issue. If the "extension" is off of a 12v line, use larger wire so the light still gets the voltage it needs. Work backwards from the light source, or any power draw, to see how to supply it.
If your lights are 3 watts/foot and you have 6 lights 5' long, each light will need 15 watts and the total will require a single transformer of at least 90 watts, or 100 watts to be safe. At 12 volts, each strip will need 1.25 amps. If you don't want to run wire then check the voltage drop, use the charts Blue Sea publishes to size the wire you need for a given run, which is from the power source to the light and back to the power source (using the 3% column). This chart can be used for the wire between a light and transformer or a light and a 12v battery--it applies to all 12v. circuits
http://assets.bluesea.com/files/resources/newsletter/images/DC_wire_selection_chartlg.jpg
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WOODY2
Adventurer
Just suggesting using 12V not having to convert to 120V. Lots of ways to skin the cat, usually simplest is best?
Dave in AZ
Well-known member
I guess maybe you should explain what your plan is in your cargo trailer, why your plan is to somehow get 120v back there? Are you talking shore power plugged in somewhere?
The three ways to get power into a mobile setup, are all DC. DC from your alternator, DC from solar panels, and DC from a storage battery setup. Every mobile trailer, camper, RV, you ever read about with power, does it with a dc system! Only after having a dc supply system, do some builds then add an invertor, to convert from dc to AC. This conversion process is costly in terms of power and efficiency and hardware, it is almost always better to run whatever you can on the "native dc" that every sytem is based off, without first convertingnto AC. And the #1 easiest thing to run off dc, the first thing that is always supplied off dc, is LED lights. LEDs are such low piwer use that dc wiring is never an issue.
So your entire question of using AC to power lights in a trailer is confusing. You can power dc lights from a battery at 100% efficiency for $0 additional cost... or you could add a $400 invertor, transform to ac and lose 15% of your battery power, then you're talking about transforming back to dc for more power loss and equipment $.
Just trying to understand your needs and give a helpful answer
rruff
Explorer
My led strip at the front of my house is 30' long and draws 7W. 3W/ft seems like a lot... but maybe not if you want it very bright.
Hey DAVE IN AZ, when I said DAVE IN AZ to the rescue I wasn’t being sarcastic you helped quite a lot and Ive got probably a few more questions for you comingI guess maybe you should explain what your plan is in your cargo trailer, why your plan is to somehow get 120v back there? Are you talking shore power plugged in somewhere?
The three ways to get power into a mobile setup, are all DC. DC from your alternator, DC from solar panels, and DC from a storage battery setup. Every mobile trailer, camper, RV, you ever read about with power, does it with a dc system! Only after having a dc supply system, do some builds then add an invertor, to convert from dc to AC. This conversion process is costly in terms of power and efficiency and hardware, it is almost always better to run whatever you can on the "native dc" that every sytem is based off, without first convertingnto AC. And the #1 easiest thing to run off dc, the first thing that is always supplied off dc, is LED lights. LEDs are such low piwer use that dc wiring is never an issue.
So your entire question of using AC to power lights in a trailer is confusing. You can power dc lights from a battery at 100% efficiency for $0 additional cost... or you could add a $400 invertor, transform to ac and lose 15% of your battery power, then you're talking about transforming back to dc for more power loss and equipment $.
Just trying to understand your needs and give a helpful answer
llamalander
Well-known member
For countertop/ workspace illumination I often use a 12v. tape with 36 diodes/foot that puts about 230 lumens out (per foot) and uses 2.93 watts.
The same material with half the diodes has half the lumens & wattage requirements.
The Diode LED Blaze series is from a NV company (Elemental LED) that has a 7 year warranty and I've seen them last 13+ years. They seem to cost about twice as much as Amazon offerings, but I've never had to replace them, which is worth it to me.
www.diodeled.com
The same material with half the diodes has half the lumens & wattage requirements.
The Diode LED Blaze series is from a NV company (Elemental LED) that has a 7 year warranty and I've seen them last 13+ years. They seem to cost about twice as much as Amazon offerings, but I've never had to replace them, which is worth it to me.
BLAZE™ LED Tape Light | Diode LED
The value engineered tape light leveraging the advances in efficient, cleaner technology, modern circuit design, streamlined manufacturing, and economies of scale.
Alloy
Well-known member
I've been installing these for over 5 years. .
2 things could be better
- wire between the modules is short which means cutting/splicing (6 heat shrink butt splices) to spread them apart. Tension of the short wire can cause the 2 sided tape to come off.
- size/placement of the mounting holes is not great. One has to have a delicate touch when using screws to mount them
2 things could be better
- wire between the modules is short which means cutting/splicing (6 heat shrink butt splices) to spread them apart. Tension of the short wire can cause the 2 sided tape to come off.
- size/placement of the mounting holes is not great. One has to have a delicate touch when using screws to mount them
WOODY2
Adventurer
But then there would be a post about how to dim them.