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I'm trying to fully understand the limitations of amps when using a few various devices.

I tried to understand amps via this post: Voltage at what Amperage

Specifically:

So, the possible dangerous situations are:

If the voltage is too high for the device. If the amps are too low for the device.

What I'm trying to do:

Using this Power Supply

Connecting the power supply to this converter

Where the converter plugs into this controller

And the controller plugs into this LED Strip

Will this setup work? If so, or if not, could you provide a quick explanation as to my misunderstanding here?

Any information is greatly appreciated! Just trying to learn a bit and make some neat stuff.

Greg Miller
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    Welcome to EE.SE. With all due respect Greg you are asking way too many questions on one post. It is the 'what if' syndrome. Please edit and narrow down your questions to just a couple of the most important ones. Then we can think about posting an answer. –  Oct 27 '18 at 01:43
  • Edited as such to include the main question. – Greg Miller Oct 27 '18 at 02:16
  • The complete kit for the LED strip specifies a 12V 2A power supply. Your 5V→12V converter only supplies 0.7A at 12V. See the problem? – Janka Oct 27 '18 at 02:25
  • @GregMiller. Why such a low source voltage? 5 volts boosted to 12 volts consumes almost 3 times as much current off the 5 volt feed as the 12 volt output uses. For 12 volts at 2 amps your 5 volt source needs to supply about 6 amps to have any safety margin, as 10% to 15% of your power is lost in the conversion to 12 volts. Maybe you should re-think about the power supply you planned to use. –  Oct 27 '18 at 02:56
  • Cheers, thanks for the insight. I'll indeed re-think the power supply and converter. – Greg Miller Oct 27 '18 at 03:24
  • Look for 5V rgb strips. They use a single led per segment. The efficiency is less than the 12V strip, but still higher than 12V strip + converter. – Passerby Oct 27 '18 at 04:29

1 Answers1

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Nope. USB can't supply nearly that much power.

My rule of thumb is 12W per 150 LEDs per channel, you have 3 channels so 36W, and hi power USB is good for 10W. Not even close.

It's obvious you are going for USB packs because that's what you know. Widen your horizons.

Since that and the largest variety of LEDs are 12V, you should select 12V batteries. There are myriad 12V batteries on the market of every size, from 8 AAA cells to 8 D cells to all manner of AGM or gel cell to even 12V lithium packs.

Harper - Reinstate Monica
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