-
Categories
-
Platforms
-
Content
I think if the diodes prevent reverse voltage, the quantity of LEDs prevent overvoltage, and a heatsink prevents overheating, it should work.It depends on what you mean by "properly 12V rated", "work properly", and "shortening the life".
I would tend to say no, but, based on your experience reading the LED resource, what do you think?
Yes, but by reducing the voltage, I'll reduce the current, won't I?Leds are driven with current, not voltage because each LED has a different voltage and the voltage required changes with temperature changes.
Cheap no-name-brand (factory rejects?) electronic items do not last long anyway.
Yes, but by reducing the voltage, I'll reduce the current, won't I?
I can just hook it up and and feel the LEDs with my hand. Should be safe as long as I'm not standing in a puddle of water or using both hands.If the unknown LED is nominally rated at 12V, what voltage is safe to restrict the current to a safe value if you use an unknown heatsink at an unknown ambient temperature?
I don't know the answer, do you?
What do you mean by "chip?" Do you mean a "chip" inside the "chip?"The chip producing the heat is deep inside an LED and it could be over-temperature when the outside of its case is just very warm. It takes time for the case to get hot, meanwhile the chip is cooking.
But I can't find the whistle for me to make an alert to the moderators.
Yes, I've seen those running a 12V chip at 5V. I just wasn't sure what he meant by "chip." I thought the consolidation of the individual LED bulbs inside a chip is what made the chip.At low currents you can see that the module you have has a number of bright points on the surface, each of these is an individual LED. It's not uncommon for each of these to be rated near 1W each, but it can vary substantially.
I thought 170 was just the peak with the average heat produced being equivalent to 120. What happens if I get bad voltage from the mains? Hopefully the fact that the LEDs are underdriven will help protect them. What if one burns out? I'll have to unplug the system and replace it.The specs you linked to indicate that the base of the module is "pure copper". I suggest that this claim is probably "pure bull....", and the base is aluminium. That in itself is not a huge deal, but it's indicative that you can't trust the specs.
I would insert stuff here about how thermal runaway works, but I looked you to a resource describing it and I will just assume you're familiar with it.
Now, back to those individual LEDs that make up each module. At low current do all of them light up simultaneously and at the same brightness? If so, that's a good thing. However a "feature" of many cheap eBay modules is that they are rejects where the LEDs do not light up evenly. If yours do not light up evenly, request a refund from the seller on the basis that they are faulty. Then throw them away.
When you say that each of these LED modules is 12V, and that you are running the string from 120VAC, are you setting up the string to operate at 170V? How will you LEDs react if the voltage goes 10% high or low? What happens it there's a voltage spike of (say) 300V? What happens if one module fails short circuit? What is the design current, and how will it vary with temperature, component variation, and applied voltage?
None of the above are silly questions, and they're questions that I have no way of answering for your design.
You can electrocute yourself changing a light bulb if you're not careful.There is a likely possibility of electrocution since this project has high voltage and no mains transformer then other electronics chat forums would close this thread. But I can't find the whistle for me to make an alert to the moderators.
EDIT: I found and used the "report" button.
I thought 170 was just the peak with the average heat produced being equivalent to 120. What happens if I get bad voltage from the mains? Hopefully the fact that the LEDs are underdriven will help protect them. What if one burns out? I'll have to unplug the system and replace it.
FastTech, for example the following, they aren't what you'd want for everyday household lighting (tint and CRI aren't the best) but to just get a lot of light cheap w/o dubious generic issues:Where are you getting brand name 5W LEDs for under $1 each?