- Reaction score
- 15
The problem with having such a large power supply is if you get a short on the strip. The PCB tracks are nowhere near the 2.5mm you would probably need to safely carry that current. And due to the resistance of those tracks, a short wont always allow a high enough fault current to trigger the power supply overcurrent protection. So you could end up with 15A flowing through the strip, which can heat it enough to cause a fire. Also, its not easy to attach a cable that thick to the strip, so people tend to wire in in much thinner cable.
I have to disagree. As mentioned before all 20amps are not being forced from the power supply to the strip. The strip is drawing what power it needs from the power supply. So if this strip is only 3amps it draws that from the power supply. If the strip has a short circuit it will react the same on any power supply.
It you have 3amps worth of strip on a 3amp or 20amp power supply it doesn't affect the strip it just draws the 3amps.
The main thing that maybe you are thinking is that the whole 20amps is going to one strip, this wouldnt be the case, as how the stips would be wired is in parralel, so 4 x say 5amp strips wired into one receiver and one 20amp power supply.