(Note for electricians, engineers, and physicists - the above explanation is simplified for a layperson’s understanding. On a 12V strip, that same voltage difference of 2.68V would amount to 22% of the original voltage - an unacceptably high amount - so the LED chips at the end of the strip would be noticeably dimmer than the ones at the beginning. In the case of our 24V DC 2835 strips, which are twenty meters (~65 feet) long, we measured the beginning voltage at 23.91V and the end voltage at 21.23V - a difference of 2.68V, or 11.2%. (Side note, voltage drop can be reduced, but not eliminated, by using a higher quality and thicker conductor, which you’ll find on our nicer Premium and UL-Listed strips).įor a given length of LED strip of a certain type (conductor material, chip type, etc), you’ll lose a certain amount of voltage between the beginning and end. The longer a run of conductor (in our case, LED strip), the more voltage is lost as heat. If you need a longer run - that is, if you need to push your power further - use the ‘higher pressure’ twenty-four volts DCĪll conductors of electricity and the electrical components in a circuit contribute to resistance (R) and resulting voltage drop (the difference between the input voltage at the beginning of the run and the voltage at the end of the run). If you need a short run of LED strip, use twelve volts DC. Third - again, if the pressure analogy holds true - if you’re shooting very high pressure water out of a hose, you might expect that these higher pressures require special materials or construction methods to withstand this force. If you’ve gardened with an adjustable hose nozzle, you’ll have noticed that this is true - a smaller hole for the water shoots it further, at higher pressure, while not affecting the amount of water expelled. Second, if the pressure analogy holds true, and you can imagine two hoses supplying an equal flow of water (power) at different pressures (voltage) thanks to an adjustable nozzle, then you can expect that the higher voltage but lower volume hose will shoot out the water further than the hose with lower pressure and larger volume. This means that if, in some cases, higher or lower voltages or currents are preferable, then we can choose the optimum combination of both to supply the necessary power to wherever it needs to go - in our case, light emitting diodes (LEDs). (You can find all of our 24 volt products here) He’s going for distance.įrom the above explanation, a few things can be inferred.įirst, the same amount of total power can be had by various combinations of voltage and current. HitLights sells both 12V and 24V products so the question, then, is which is better (if any) - and when when should you choose one over the other? Higher voltage doesn’t necessarily mean more power, as a large voltage pushing a small amount of current (A, or amps) may have less total power (W, or Watts) than a smaller voltage pushing a large amount of current, as calculated by the formula P (Power, in Watts) = V (Voltage) x I (Current, in Amps). The higher the voltage, the greater the force ‘pushing’ electricity through a wire or device. Voltage (V) is defined as the difference in electrical potential between two points, and in layperson’s terms, can best be understood as electric pressure. 12 Volt vs 24 Volt LED Strip Lighting : What’s the difference?
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