LED Guides

Strip types

WS2812B, WS2815, SK6812 RGBW, APA102, COB and analog SMD compared: what each one controls, the voltage and density it comes in, and what a metre draws.

• ▸Addressable or analog — which do I need?
• ▸WS2812B or WS2815?
• ▸Why do COB strips have no dots?

Voltage

5V, 12V, 24V and 48V LED strips compared: how far each one runs, how much current it draws, and which strips exist at each voltage.

• ▸Which voltage should I buy?
• ▸How long a run can I do without injecting?
• ▸Why does 24V need thinner wire than 5V?

Power injection

When a run is too long to feed at one end, how far apart the feeds go at each voltage, and how to wire them without making it worse.

• ▸Why is the far end of my strip dim?
• ▸How many injection points do I need?
• ▸Can I inject from a second power supply?

Multiple supplies

When a run is too big for one power supply: splitting it into zones, sizing a supply for each, tying the grounds, and the gauge and fuse for every feed.

• ▸One big supply or several?
• ▸Do the grounds need to be connected?
• ▸Can two supplies share an outlet?

Fuses

What size fuse an LED strip needs, and why the usual answer protects nothing: a fuse guards the cable it sits on, so it is sized from what that one feed carries rather than from what the whole strip draws.

• ▸Do I need a fuse for my LED strips?
• ▸What size fuse for a 5 m reel?
• ▸One big fuse, or one per injection feed?

Voltage drop

Why a long run is dim at the far end, what the loss is worth in volts on each rail, how far each wire gauge reaches, and how to measure it with a multimeter.

• ▸Why is the end of my strip dim and orange?
• ▸How much voltage drop is acceptable?
• ▸Will thicker wire fix it?

Connectors

Why clip connectors fail: what a joint in each strip actually carries at full white, against the 3 A a clip is good for, and why the same connector is fine further down the same reel.

• ▸How many amps can a clip connector handle?
• ▸Why do my connectors keep failing?
• ▸Where can I get away with a clip instead of solder?

Flickering

Whether a flickering strip has a power fault or a data fault, read off the strip itself: what each symptom means, what a white flash really draws, and the fix for each cause.

• ▸Why does it only flicker on white?
• ▸Why do random pixels flash the wrong colours?
• ▸Why does it flicker on camera but not in person?

WS2815 and GS8208

What a WS2815 draws per metre and per run, why a solid colour costs more than full white on this chip, how far one 12V feed reaches, and the gauge that feed wants.

WS2814 and WS2814 FCOB RGBW

What a WS2814 RGBW draws per metre and per run on both 12V and 24V, why 60 LED/m is 20 pixels rather than 60, how far one feed reaches on each rail, and where the FCOB variant differs.

SK6812 RGBW and SK6812 WWA

What the fourth channel actually costs: measured draw per metre and per run, why the manufacturer's W/m and the figure on the box disagree, how far one 5V feed reaches, and the gauge it wants.

WS2811

What a 12V WS2811 reel draws per metre and per run, why the figure quoted for it online is usually a 5V part, how far one feed reaches, and why it groups three LEDs where the WS2815 beside it does not.

TM1814

The one chip here whose draw is a setting rather than a spec: what it pulls at each current level, why every listing understates it, how far one feed reaches on 12V and 24V, and the gauge that feed wants.