this post was submitted on 18 Apr 2024
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Designing an efficient LED array (discuss.tchncs.de)
submitted 6 months ago by Rolive@discuss.tchncs.de to c/askelectronics@discuss.tchncs.de
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LEDs will conduct more current when they get warmer and differences between individual LEDs mean you cannot easily put them in parallel. A constant current DC supply will be good enough for part of the LEDs but will overload some others. To normalize current a series resistor is used with each individual LED.

Now, those resistors waste a bit of power. Are they really necessary? If you put several LEDs in series the individual differences become negligible at some point and a constant current supply will suffice for several strips of series LEDs in parallel.

How many LEDs would this require? Another possibility would be to have the resistor in series with a strip of LEDs.

I got some LED strips off AliExpress that run on 12V and each individual LED has a resistor in series with it. I believe this to be quite wasteful and it would be better to have several LEDs in series with a current regulator instead. The LEDs will end up in an autonomous greenhouse where power efficiency is important.

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[–] Rolive@discuss.tchncs.de 1 points 6 months ago

Thanks. Haha no I fully intend to grow vegetables. I don't even like weed. The last time I smoked it eas 20 years ago, it gave me a panic attack and I never touched it since.