Noob questions on LED strip lighting

[oldefart]

I'm looking to buy and install a RGB LED strip lighting with remote kit for my 13 yr old grandson.
I've seen some light strips/tape that can be joined end to end. Can this be done for all strips/tape?
If so will the power supply that comes with a kit drive all the lights in a 45 foot length?
Also the leads on the power supplies look to be short and I don't want to hang that in a corner of the room. Can the leads be lengthened so the power supply is on the floor?




Thanks in advance!

 

[DIWdiver]

Hey, welcome to the forum!

45 feet is getting kind of long for a strip light. Voltage drop along the strip will mean that LEDs at the end of the strip may be noticeably less bright than those close to the supply. Higher power strips make the problem worse. High quality strips are likely to be better at this than cheap ones, but there's a limit to even good ones. Fortunately, there are some solutions to this problem, if it even is a problem.

No, not all strip lights can be joined end-to-end, at least not easily. Many can, but before you buy it's a good idea to verify they will meet your needs.

You will need to ensure that the power supply you buy will be enough to drive the strip(s) you buy. This is not guaranteed by any means, especially if combining and/or using high power strips.

The wires between the supply and the strip can definitely be lengthened. It's only a matter of how easy it is to do vs. what your skill set is, and what wire size to use. Ten, twenty, even fifty feet is reasonable.

If you post some info about the strips, and the length you want to extend the wires to, we can help you figure out a good solution.

 

[Dave_H]

I can only comment as user of some low-cost USB-powered RGB LED strips which are not designed
to be extended. Though extending is possible, would probably not be by very much, even using
power supply having higher current capacity. The controller can only handle certain current;
also, there will be voltage drop on power traces of longer strips depending on their resistance,
which could affect operation at some point, as mentioned by DIW.

The strips I have are internally modular, designed to be cut shorter at certain points.
In theory the open end could be joined to similar end of another strip. It is just a long
thin flex PCB.

On my strips, all LEDs are controlled with 4 wires: common lines for R,G, and B, plus
return. More capable designs allow individual LED colour control with daisy-chained LED
drivers using serial data driven from the controller. Rather interesting how it works.
Wonder which type of strip(s) you have, or planning to get. In any case they should be ones
designed for extension with proper connectors, though I can't recommend any specific
product.

Dave