Do you really need 48V LED strips for your LED project?
Voltage drop is a common problem when installing long runs of LED strips. There are many ways to solve this problem: wire sizes, parallel connections, amplifiers, etc. But it's easy to forget that simply choosing the right LED strip voltage can save you time and money.
For projects where you need longer runs of lights, a 48-volt DC lighting system could be the solution, they are less susceptible to voltage drop, meaning you can connect longer lines of lines without needing an amplifier.
How do 48-volt lights reduce the effects of voltage drop?
LED chips are wired in series into groups. Each group contains some LED chips and a resistor. Every section has a certain amount of resistance to electricity being pushed through it. The longer the combined sections get, the bigger the resistance (and the voltage drop) gets. Eventually, it gets large enough to impact the LED brightness. When the voltage gets doubled (24V to 48V), the current is halved, which causes the voltage drop to be reduced by half as well.
48V DC light fixtures suffer from less wasted energy. LEDs use such a small amount of energy that this doesn’t add up to much for small installations. But, the difference in power usage can become significant for commercial installations. Commercial installations also require a larger amount of wires and connectors, a 48V LED light bar or a 48V LED light strip system can get away with half of the electrical conductor requirements.
If you have an application that requires long runs of strips, it may be a good idea to use a 48V LED strip. But even 48V LED lights have a limit. You may have to use other techniques to stop your LEDs from fading at the end. For example, using one of our amplifiers.
Frequently asked questions
Q: Do all LED strip lights have a voltage drop?
A: All low-voltage LED strips, such as 12V, 24V, or 48V DC LED lights, will have a voltage drop. Because for the same power consumption, the lower the voltage, the greater the current. According to Ohm’s law, voltage equals resistance multiplied by current. The resistance of a conductor is constant. The greater the current, the greater the voltage drop. This is also the reason why people use high voltage to transmit electricity.
Q: What can I do to avoid voltage drop on my 48V DC light fixtures?
A: Divide long runs of LED strip lights into shorter strips, then connect additional “Parallel” wires from the power supply to each new LED strip. This process can be repeated as many times as needed as long as the power supply can handle the LED strips total wattage consumption.
Q: How does voltage drop affect 48 Volt LED strip lights?
A: A voltage drop on your 48V light basically means a loss of brightness towards the end of the LED strip. Less than the minimum current can cause an LED to flicker, operate less brightly, or shift in the color.
Q: Do you stock any 48 volt light bars or 48 volt dc lighting for exterior linear sign lighting for on buildings.
A: Yes, Visive linear outdoor lighting a 48 volt DC LED lights system specifically designed for linear outdoor lighting applications.
Q: How do you install a safe 48 volt LED lights system for LED canopy lights for gas station
A: The Visive exterior linear LED lighting system is world-renowned for its incredible safety features on their gas station canopy lights
Q: How do you use LED strip as 48V golf cart LED lights?
A: We have 48V LED strip that we use to build custom golf cart lights .Chat to one of our sales staff about golf cart LED lights.
