Signs of the Times - August 2020 - 14
TECH
REVIEW
CHRIS & KATHI
MORRISON
own and operate The
Image Specialists, a fullservice graphics company
based in Clements, CA.
Chris is also a Microsoftcertified systems
engineer.
LED POWER SUPPLIES
Quick calculations for selecting the proper wattage.
Y now, if you work with
lighted signs, you probably
use LEDs, which offer a
number of advantages over
traditional incandescent and fluorescent lighting. They provide a long
operating life, low power consumption,
reduced heat emission and now
come in a wide variety of colors,
intensities and form factors. From
channel letters to lighted cabinets to
full-motion billboards, LEDs are
definitely lighting the way.
When designing a lighted sign,
we tend to think in terms of the
lights, color and intensity, but without
a proper power supply you wind
up with a sign that is only good for
daytime viewing. So let's get into the
basics of powering LED lighting and
how to make the proper decision
when choosing a power supply.
AC/DC, W + V
The usual lamps and fixtures we use
in our homes are normally powered
by 110-120 VAC (volts alternating
current) power. The LED modules we
use for sign applications are usually DC
(direct current), so we can't directly
tap into standard power. In addition,
the lights are typically driven at a
much lower voltage of 12-24 V. The
power supply, in essence, transforms
the higher-voltage AC to the lowervoltage DC needed for the sign. When
building a lighted sign, you will find
a wide variety of modules and an
equally wide variety of power supplies
offered by the manufacturers. So, how
do you select the correct power supply?
One of the first questions to ask is,
"What is the voltage requirement of
the modules?" Most of the modules
you find will be 12 V, though a number
are 24 V. The higher voltage can allow
for longer runs and brighter modules.
The point is that you want to ensure
that you purchase a power supply
that matches your module needs.
From there you will notice that the
next specification will be the maximum
wattage the supply can handle. Here
you will need to do a little simple math,
finding the wattage of the individual
modules. Then you need to determine
how many modules you will use in
the sign. Multiply that number by the
wattage. For example, you may need
100 modules that each consumes
0.72W. You would come up with 72W
total consumption. Now you need
to add a 20% overhead, so that the
power supply is not overtaxed. Multiply
72 x 1.2 and you come up with 86.4W.
This means a 60W power supply will
not be enough; you will need at least
MEAN WELL HLG-240H
24C1 POWER SUPPLY
(24VDC)
UNIVERSAL 120W
POWER SUPPLY
B
GOQ LED America
goqledamerica.com
14
SIGNS OF THE TIMES
SloanLED
sloanled.com
AUGUST 2020
Principal LED
p-led.com
http://www.goqledamerica.com
http://www.sloanled.com
http://www.p-led.com
Signs of the Times - August 2020
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Signs of the Times - August 2020
Contents
Signs of the Times - August 2020 - Intro
Signs of the Times - August 2020 - BB1
Signs of the Times - August 2020 - BB2
Signs of the Times - August 2020 - BB3
Signs of the Times - August 2020 - BB4
Signs of the Times - August 2020 - Cover1
Signs of the Times - August 2020 - Cover1a
Signs of the Times - August 2020 - 8
Signs of the Times - August 2020 - Cover2
Signs of the Times - August 2020 - 1
Signs of the Times - August 2020 - Contents
Signs of the Times - August 2020 - 3
Signs of the Times - August 2020 - 4
Signs of the Times - August 2020 - 5
Signs of the Times - August 2020 - 6
Signs of the Times - August 2020 - 7
Signs of the Times - August 2020 - 8
Signs of the Times - August 2020 - 9
Signs of the Times - August 2020 - 10
Signs of the Times - August 2020 - 11
Signs of the Times - August 2020 - 12
Signs of the Times - August 2020 - 13
Signs of the Times - August 2020 - 14
Signs of the Times - August 2020 - 15
Signs of the Times - August 2020 - 16
Signs of the Times - August 2020 - 17
Signs of the Times - August 2020 - 18
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Signs of the Times - August 2020 - Cover3
Signs of the Times - August 2020 - Cover4
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