stevemayman
Newly Enlightened
- Joined
- Jul 6, 2013
- Messages
- 15
Seems simple enough: total watts on LED strip should not exceed rated driver capacity but:
So, if the driver states 60 watt output I de-rate to 48 watts. The specs on the lights say 72 watts but I measure just 50. To complicate matters further, the driver is a 240-watt driver divided into (4) 60-watt outputs. There is a manual reset for each of the 60-watt outputs so I assume that although the other quarters will be well under 48 watts I have to de-rate each quarter rather than the whole?
My basic questions are:
Will the lights simply not reach their rated brightness or might I damage the transformer, the LEDs, or both? Also, if used with a dimmer (before the transformer) might this make dimming issues such as flicker worse?
Thanks!
- Driver specs say to de-rate by 20% to be conservative
- The measured load differs from the load stated by the manufacturer
So, if the driver states 60 watt output I de-rate to 48 watts. The specs on the lights say 72 watts but I measure just 50. To complicate matters further, the driver is a 240-watt driver divided into (4) 60-watt outputs. There is a manual reset for each of the 60-watt outputs so I assume that although the other quarters will be well under 48 watts I have to de-rate each quarter rather than the whole?
My basic questions are:
- Am I close enough to the spec. to not worry?
- What bad things might happen when you exceed the rated wattage of a transformer?
Will the lights simply not reach their rated brightness or might I damage the transformer, the LEDs, or both? Also, if used with a dimmer (before the transformer) might this make dimming issues such as flicker worse?
Thanks!
