DIY LED Aquarium Lighting - Is this wiring correct?

[Jacks2High]

Hi everyone,

Very new here, but could do with some advice. I am in the process of designing/building a LED aquarium light using 3W power LEDs.

I am using 6 cool White and 6 royal blue LEDs and running them from a 12 volt driver in a set of parallel series strings, as in the following schematic (apologies for the simplicity).





Could someone tell me if this is a sensible/safe way to wire these LEDs? As I see it the 12 volts will be split across all three components giving 4 volts each on each LEDs (which is in the middle of the suggested forward voltage). These are the LEDs I am using (see the cool whites and royal blues) - Grow light, Hydroponics items in LED store on eBay!



and the driver I have is like this:

LED Strip Light / LED Driver Power Supply Transformer AC 110 - 240V - DC 12V/24V | eBay

I think I have calculated this correctly, but I am not an electrician and would welcome some professional opinions before I wire it all up?


Many thanks to anyone who takes the time to reply.

Jack

 

[telectrix]

looks OK to me. if those LEDs are each 3Watts, then you have a total load of 36Watts, so make sure the driver is at least 60Watts max.. and has a minimum wattage of <36Watts.( if a min. value is relevant ).

 

[Jacks2High]

looks OK to me. if those LEDs are each 3Watts, then you have a total load of 36Watts, so make sure the driver is at least 60Watts max.. and has a minimum wattage of <36Watts.( if a min. value is relevant ).

hi there, thanks for taking the time to reply. I was looking at the led driver I sent a link to and it's a constant voltage type but doesn't have a constant current, does this make a difference?

best regards

j

 

[telectrix]

to prolong the life of the LEDs, a constant current driver is best. look here:

40W LED Driver / Transformer - LED Drivers

 

[Jacks2High]

to prolong the life of the LEDs, a constant current driver is best. look here:

40W LED Driver / Transformer - LED Drivers

hi thanks for the link.

I have looked at the driver and it doesnt state what the constant current actually is. The spec on my LEDs has a max forward current of 750mA. If it is lower than that what would the effect be?

Sorry if that a stupid question.

Best regards

Mickey

 

[telectrix]

it's the LEDs that determine the current. they pull what they want. so if your load is 36watts, then the current will be watts/volts. i.e. 36/12 =3amps. so your driver needs to be able to deliver a constant current > 3A or 36Watts. so a 40Watt or 50Watt will suffice. bear in mind that LEDs have a switch on surge, so to be safe, go for a 60Watt ( 5A ) driver.

 

[Jacks2High]

it's the LEDs that determine the current. they pull what they want. so if your load is 36watts, then the current will be watts/volts. i.e. 36/12 =3amps. so your driver needs to be able to deliver a constant current > 3A or 36Watts. so a 40Watt or 50Watt will suffice. bear in mind that LEDs have a switch on surge, so to be safe, go for a 60Watt ( 5A ) driver.

Arhh ok, sorry one more question, what about if I used a constant voltage supply and used a resistor in series to limit the current. I have read that this is a cheaper way to go. However would I need to replace one of my LEDs witha resistors or could I just use say a 1ohm resistor to limit the current somehow and lose very little voltage?

 

[telectrix]

Stick a 5A fuse in.

 

[Jacks2High]

Stick a 5A fuse in.

Arhh great, nice one many thanks

J