Pros and cons of a 12V LED system

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If you've been shopping around for an LED strip or other LED product for RVs and vehicles, you are likely aware that these products do not run on line voltage (120/240 V AC) and instead, you will see 12V DC as a common option. Before you move forward with that purchase, see below for our list of advantages and disadvantages for a 12V LED system!

 

Top 3 advantages of a 12V LED system

1. A 12V DC LED system is a common voltage platform. Many electrical systems operate on 12V DC, and you are probably already familiar with several of these. Many batteries for vehicles including boats and RVs operate on 12V DC, which makes using a 12V LED system a no-brainer for these applications, as there is no need for any additional transformers or power supplies to convert the voltage - your LED lights can be plugged in directly.

On the other hand, even if you are not going to be using batteries, you will still need to rely on power supply units. 12V is a very common voltage level primarily due to its common use in desktop computing. This makes power supplies readily and cheaply available and can help reduce your purchase costs.

2. 12V LED systems have a lower electric shock risk.When it comes to LED product safety, optical, shock and fire risk are often considered. Because 12V is a much lower voltage compared to line voltage (120/240V), it is more difficult for the electrical current to overcome the built-in resistance of human skin and other objects. This makes it safer for hobbyists who want to experiment with products such as LED strips. Generally, if you accidentally create a short circuit, you will not see any sparks or loud bangs that you would see with line voltage systems.

Because of the general safety advantage of 12V LED systems, product design can be simplified as well. For example, high voltage systems will almost always require UL or ETL testing to be approved for sale in the United States and Canada. To pass these certifications, products must meet a stringent set of safety rules that include rules about minimum wire spacing and insulation.

One caveat is that 12V LED systems do not have any significantly lower optical or fire safety risk. Optical safety is dependent on the intensity and wavelength of light emitted by the LED - something that is independent of the LED system voltage. Similarly, fire safety is related to the total amount of energy involved - even at low voltages high amounts of current can easily create a fire hazard. For reference, the UL standard for low voltage lighting systems () is limited to systems that carry less than X watts in total.

3. 12V LED systems are more reliable, and can be repaired and serviced.In addition to the LED chips, a line voltage LED product must also contain complex electronics such as capacitors that convert AC line voltage into DC so that it can be used by the LEDs. For many products, these electronics components must be condensed and mounted onto a small circuitboard that is in turn placed inside of the bulb, where temperatures can soar due to the heat emitted by the LEDs. In many cases, premature LED bulb failures are not caused by a failure of the LED chips themselves, but the electronics that are located inside. Typically, capacitors will fail and cause the LED bulb to begin blinking.

In 12V LED systems, the transformer and power supply are located away from the LEDs, typically in a cool and vented area. This improves the reliability of the electronics, and most significantly, allows for the faulty electronics to be repaired or replaced with ease. A faulty LED bulb is typically non-serviceable, meaning that a single faulty capacitor can mean a bulb must be thrown out even if all of the LEDs on the bulb are working fine. In a 12V LED system, faulty components can be replaced piecemeal, which can make repairs easier and reduce your total cost of ownership.

3 disadvantages of a 12V LED system

1. Low electrical efficiency. With 12V systems, the lower voltage means more current must be supplied to compensate. For example, a 120V LED system will pull 1 Amp in a 120 Watt system, while a 12V LED system will need to pull 10 Amps to power the same 120 Watt system.

Why does the amperage matter? Amperage (current) is generally limited by the amount of conducting material is available in a circuit (e.g. wire gauge or thickness). Once the amperage limit is approached, instead of being able to carry the electrical current, a conductor will begin to turn this excess current into heat energy instead.

Read here about how

You will typically see this manifested in power grids that carry electricity for hundreds of miles which typically use very high voltages (kV range) for this reason. If the power grid used a lower voltage, they would need to supply a lot more amperage to keep up with the power needs of a region.

Heat is at best a waste of energy, and at worst, can become a fire hazard if left unchecked. Therefore, special considerations when designing a 12V system are necessary. (Remember incandescent lamps? The filaments are just very thin electrical wires that have so much current pumped through them that they get really hot and glow.)

First, ensure that the wire guage (thickness) is sufficient for your system. Insufficient wire guage for a particular amperage can cause melted insulators and possibly even an electrical fire. Secondly, ensure that the LED product can handle the electrical current. Some LED strips for example, cannot be extended beyond a single reel due to current limitations. Third, confirm that you power supplies are capable of providing the necessary amperage. Exceeding the power supply voltage may cause permanent damage.

2. Additional accessories, complexity and cost As we discussed above, a 12V LED system does not have transformer electronics built in. Instead, these transformers and power supplies must be purchased and installed separately. This can make it more difficult for the average consumer, and contribute to additional costs. This can be particularly true for lower volume installations and applications.

3. Fewer available products and options Despite the advantages we listed above, the majority of the world is based on line voltage. This means that most manufacturers will continue to design products around line voltage. LED lights have so many customization features such as color temperature, CRI, beam angle and brightness - most of which will unfortunately be available in line voltage options only. This means that if you are searching for 12V LED lights in particular, your selection will be more limited.

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If you've been shopping around for an LED strip or other LED product for RVs and vehicles, you are likely aware that these products do not run on line voltage (120/240 V AC) and instead, you will see 12V DC as a common option. Before you move forward with that purchase, see below for our list of advantages and disadvantages for a 12V LED system!Many electrical systems operate on 12V DC, and you are probably already familiar with several of these. Many batteries for vehicles including boats and RVs operate on 12V DC, which makes using a 12V LED system a no-brainer for these applications, as there is no need for any additional transformers or power supplies to convert the voltage - your LED lights can be plugged in directly.On the other hand, even if you are not going to be using batteries, you will still need to rely on power supply units. 12V is a very common voltage level primarily due to its common use in desktop computing. This makes power supplies readily and cheaply available and can help reduce your purchase costs.When it comes to LED product safety, optical, shock and fire risk are often considered. Because 12V is a much lower voltage compared to line voltage (120/240V), it is more difficult for the electrical current to overcome the built-in resistance of human skin and other objects. This makes it safer for hobbyists who want to experiment with products such as LED strips. Generally, if you accidentally create a short circuit, you will not see any sparks or loud bangs that you would see with line voltage systems.Because of the general safety advantage of 12V LED systems, product design can be simplified as well. For example, high voltage systems will almost always require UL or ETL testing to be approved for sale in the United States and Canada. To pass these certifications, products must meet a stringent set of safety rules that include rules about minimum wire spacing and insulation.One caveat is that 12V LED systems do not have any significantly lower optical or fire safety risk. Optical safety is dependent on the intensity and wavelength of light emitted by the LED - something that is independent of the LED system voltage. Similarly, fire safety is related to the total amount of energy involved - even at low voltages high amounts of current can easily create a fire hazard. For reference, the UL standard for low voltage lighting systems () is limited to systems that carry less than X watts in total.In addition to the LED chips, a line voltage LED product must also contain complex electronics such as capacitors that convert AC line voltage into DC so that it can be used by the LEDs. For many products, these electronics components must be condensed and mounted onto a small circuitboard that is in turn placed inside of the bulb, where temperatures can soar due to the heat emitted by the LEDs. In many cases, premature LED bulb failures are not caused by a failure of the LED chips themselves, but the electronics that are located inside. Typically, capacitors will fail and cause the LED bulb to begin blinking.In 12V LED systems, the transformer and power supply are located away from the LEDs, typically in a cool and vented area. This improves the reliability of the electronics, and most significantly, allows for the faulty electronics to be repaired or replaced with ease. A faulty LED bulb is typically non-serviceable, meaning that a single faulty capacitor can mean a bulb must be thrown out even if all of the LEDs on the bulb are working fine. In a 12V LED system, faulty components can be replaced piecemeal, which can make repairs easier and reduce your total cost of ownership.With 12V systems, the lower voltage means more current must be supplied to compensate. For example, a 120V LED system will pull 1 Amp in a 120 Watt system, while a 12V LED system will need to pull 10 Amps to power the same 120 Watt system.Why does the amperage matter? Amperage (current) is generally limited by the amount of conducting material is available in a circuit (e.g. wire gauge or thickness). Once the amperage limit is approached, instead of being able to carry the electrical current, a conductor will begin to turn this excess current into heat energy instead.Read here about how 24V LED systems compare to 12V LED systems. You will typically see this manifested in power grids that carry electricity for hundreds of miles which typically use very high voltages (kV range) for this reason. If the power grid used a lower voltage, they would need to supply a lot more amperage to keep up with the power needs of a region.Heat is at best a waste of energy, and at worst, can become a fire hazard if left unchecked. Therefore, special considerations when designing a 12V system are necessary. (Remember incandescent lamps? The filaments are just very thin electrical wires that have so much current pumped through them that they get really hot and glow.)First, ensure that the wire guage (thickness) is sufficient for your system. Insufficient wire guage for a particular amperage can cause melted insulators and possibly even an electrical fire. Secondly, ensure that the LED product can handle the electrical current. Some LED strips for example, cannot be extended beyond a single reel due to current limitations. Third, confirm that you power supplies are capable of providing the necessary amperage. Exceeding the power supply voltage may cause permanent damage.As we discussed above, a 12V LED system does not have transformer electronics built in. Instead, these transformers and power supplies must be purchased and installed separately. This can make it more difficult for the average consumer, and contribute to additional costs. This can be particularly true for lower volume installations and applications.Despite the advantages we listed above, the majority of the world is based on line voltage. This means that most manufacturers will continue to design products around line voltage. LED lights have so many customization features such as color temperature, CRI, beam angle and brightness - most of which will unfortunately be available in line voltage options only. This means that if you are searching for 12V LED lights in particular, your selection will be more limited.

What do we know about 12V and 24V LED strip lights? They are the same specification. Both of them are 120 LEDs per metre. Also, both of them are SMDS. Guess what? Both of them use the same quality components. What is the difference then? Which one is better? Which one to choose? What are the benefits of both of them? And what are disadvantages? In this article you will find answers to all the questions!

 

What is a 12V LED strip?

LED strip lighting is very popular among many lighting designers and architects because of color options (blue, green, yellow and white and much more), brightness and the improvements in efficiency. Pretty often people decide to buy it due to the fact that they are easy to install.

We should also explain the meaning of a voltage - this is something defined as the difference in electrical potential between two points. You can understand it as an electric pressure. Higher voltage does not always mean more power.

When it comes to 12V, this is the most popular voltage. You can easily power 12V LED strips with a battery, source or a mains power supply which puts out 12V DC. LEDs need much less than incandescent lights, which means that you won't need a very powerful voltage source. It's possible to use a wire between the LEDs and the power supply - you can use a cable with different colours of wires.

12V tapes will be perfect for you if you want to install LEDs with a low-end wattage. A good example is that both 9.4W and 4.8W LED strips draw 12V. You won't need more to achieve an effect of full brightness along an LED strip (almost 6 metres of distance from the 12V LED power supply). However, if you have to find a distance which is longer than 6 metres, you ought to install two strips that are butted together and wired back to the transformer in parallel.

Powering 12V LED strips with 24V power supplies - is that possible?

It's not possible to power 12V LED strips with a 24V power supply. This type of lighting is constant voltage light, so basically the power supply output voltage needs to match the working voltage of your LED strip light. You would need to construct a voltage divider and then use the dividers output as a supply. However, it will lower your current draw, which will result in changing brightness a bit.

You could also possibly add a series resistor in order to drop the voltage by 12 volts, however, it will require a lot of work and knowledge from you. Summing up the matter of powering 12V LEDs, you'd better not do it. 12V LED strips should be connected with 12V power supplies. The same with 24V LED strips, which should integrate with 24V power supplies.

Where to use them? Benefits of 12V

12V LED strip lights are ideal to illuminate any application which may need a customizable length both outdoors and indoors. Also, they are perfect for vehicle applications. They will perform very well in projects which require shorter segment lengths because they allow for exact, accurate cut points. Always make sure that you got the right strip light! To sum up, if you need a short run of a LED strip, you should use twelve volts DC.

What is a 24V LED strip?

We already know what LED strip lights are in general. We also learned a lot about 12V strips. In that case, we should find out more about 24V. What are 24V LED strip lights? 24V is second most popular voltage. LED tape in the 24V version carries the current required for its higher wattage way better than 12V.

All high-wattage and high-brightness LED tapes should be 24 volts. 14.4W, 19.2W,24W - all three of them draw 24V. They may give us different shades of white: cool white, warm white, but also different colours.

Where to use them? Benefits of 24V

24V would be perfect for you if you're looking for a longer run. Simply saying, if you want to push your power further, you'd better choose twenty-four volts DC, which is "the higher pressure". Stick with 24V if you need more than 10 meters! What 's more, a 24V LED strip draws less current than 12V - half as much!

What are the main differences between these two types?

When should you choose one over another? You should take a few things into account, such as cut points and emperage. You should also think about which one has the longest run series.

Longest run in series

Usually, the length-limit for the first one would be 5m (this type is powered from the end) and, at the same time, a 24V may be run further. To be more precise, a 24V LED may run 7m, so 2m longer than in the case of a 12V LED. It means that if you search for longer runs, you ought to choose a 24V type.

Cut points and amperage

The next thing is the issue of cut points. 12V LEDs are always somewhere in the middle. They are half the distance between cut points. When it comes to the amperage (amount which you may put on a controller), 24V is "the winner" - they draw half the amperage of 12V. 24V makes it possible to power double the amount of LEDs on the same receiver.

Are there any similarities between 12V and 24V?

We can see different numbers in names but still 12V and 24V have a lot in common. They look the same, they are capable of the same light output and they cost the same. They are available in the market. Moreover, we may choose the optimum combination of both of them to supply the necessary power.

Brightness and lifespan

When it comes to brightness, there is actually no difference between two types of LED strip lights. The voltage doesn't determine the light output (unlike other things - quality of the LEDs and so on). LED strips produce the same amount of brightness. There is the same situation with a lifespan - 12V and 24V do not differ at all. They are both long lasting and durable. From all of the benefits of the LED technology, its long lifespan is the most impressive.

Safety, reliability and flexibility

f you're looking for something which is really reliable, you can choose either 12V or 24V LED tape - they are both built in a way that they draw the perfect voltage. They will give you optimum brightness and, what is more, you will be happy to use them for a very long time! What's more, form and colour may be used as desired as the strips are really flexible. They can adapt to every venue - without exaggeration! And most importantly, they are both very safe!

Summary

The biggest difference between 12V and 24V is length. If you want to light a long line, you should choose 24V LED strip lights. There are also some differences when it comes to cut points and amperage. 12V LED strips are better for vehicle applications. 24V LED strips are better for those who look for the longest run in series. Besides, these two types have a lot in common - they are long-lasting, safe, reliable and flexible!

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