DIY'er - Cable thickness for LED strips

Talk Electrician Forum

Help Support Talk Electrician Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Fixxxer

New member
Joined
Aug 29, 2022
Messages
2
Reaction score
0
Location
Belfast
Hi there,

I am installing a few LED strips (plug in ones just) in my garage. I'll be using a transformer (12v, 12.5A, 150w) to power the strips. There's 3 5m strips, all single colour (warm white), consuming 120w in total. The distance from the transformer to the 3 strips is 5m.

What gauge cable would I need to run from the transformer to the strips, to ensure no overheating etc? Would 20 awg be thick enough?

Thanks!
 
No that's too thin. It's not heating you need to worry about but volt drop. The volt drop is a much higher proportion of the supply at 12 volts than if you are considering a mains circuit. You can use speaker cable but get a decently large CSA. I would suggest 2.5mm cable.
 
The preferred solution would be to have a smaller transformer at the start of each strip and distribute power at 230V. 5M will see a volt drop at 12V unless you use thick cable although making a ring will also help if you are doing that to avoid a 'dim end'
 
Hi there,

I am installing a few LED strips (plug in ones just) in my garage. I'll be using a transformer (12v, 12.5A, 150w) to power the strips. There's 3 5m strips, all single colour (warm white), consuming 120w in total. The distance from the transformer to the 3 strips is 5m.

What gauge cable would I need to run from the transformer to the strips, to ensure no overheating etc? Would 20 awg be thick enough?

Thanks!
20AWG or 18AWG for LED Strips is good.
 
Thanks for all the advice. To ensure a proper job is done, I've decided to get a proper electrician in, lol.
 
Top