New to HE, but being an undergrad EE, love it so far. One question I've stumbled into has to do with light strips, particularly Sengled's Light Strip. They're sold in a 2M base package and 1M plugin extension, but my question to the community is whether there is any UNLIT extension sold anywhere, i.e. a strip of hopefully variable length that can connect the 2M base package with another series of plugin extension(s) some X number of feet away.
The situation I'm facing is not particularly unique. Kitchen sinks typically have higher cabinets above them with typical kitchens having full height cabinets on either or both sides. What I want to do is the following:
The purpose of the UNLIT extension is simple: save LED's for where you want light and use an extension to travel between those end points. Each end is a straightforward male/female 5-pin connector, but not knowing light strips in general, it seemed a good question for the community on whether that's a standard connector available on-line or a 'proprietary' one. Better yet, has anyone come across an extension kit for cases like this?
I can solder but would prefer something that takes advantage of the plugin connector approach (easier for installation).
To pay it forward so-to-speak, the Sengled Light Strip works perfectly with HE. I find a slightly better range on the 1-100% dimming level than Sengled's bulbs, and the strip is very hard to turn left or right to tackle corners with (no clue if that's typical of light strips). I do somewhat question its color/temperature range, but I also admit that this is strictly a kitchen cabinet installation where (warm) white is about all we need. For the price and the option of nice colors, I'd say it's a pretty good deal. Also, came with pre-applied double-sided tape that is impressively strong, at least out of the box. We use it either via voice command through an Echo or via the toggle/button controller it comes with.
Hello! And welcome to Hubitat. Sengled doesn't sell one specifically but the strips use a standard 5 pin connector on the end of them. So, you should be able to use a standard extension cable, like this one:
I know @ogiewon has these strips. Maybe he would be so good as to confirm if he things these would fix the Sengled header pins.
What are the size of the header pins on the end of the strip? Are they standard size, separation? Do they look like they would fit with the cable I linked to?
Thank you for both your input and advice. I'm not exactly sure on the dimensions as the 2M strip is already installed under one half of our cabinets and hard to measure precisely. I have e-mailed Sengled to see if they will share any details/spec. In the meantime, I will again try to pay it forward for the benefit of other (potential) Sengled owners -- The 2M base light strip is spec'ed at 18W, and the output on the base controller is 24V, 900mA, 21.6W (Max).
@Ryan780, I note the 12V spec on the cable you suggested verses the 24V spec on the light strip controller. Still trying to learn all this LED lighting stuff, and as an undergraduate EE, get V=IR. You obviously don't want to overload an underdesigned cord and effectively turn it into a resistor, but we're dealing with such low amps it's not immediately clear the difference it makes?? Any quick feedback? Seems safe to pick a 24V-rated extension cable, but again, is that really necessary -- We're talking about a LED light strip, not a toaster oven.
If I get anything useful back from Sengled, I'll certainly post.
I don't see that in the listing. But a cable is a cable. 24v would not require any larger a cable for that short a distance than 12v would. But it's up to you. Best of luck.
@ogiewon, thank you for the measurements. I'll try measuring mine already under the cabinet, and it will be nice to have a reference.
Mostly to @Ryan780, still trying to think this through, but when does a wire become something else? A voltage rating for a wire is the max that should be applied (distinction between steady state and surge or max load). Paradoxically, though, my concern on thinking wire thickness increases with applied voltage is not always true; in fact, "a 24V system can move the same amount of current through a wire one half the size required for a 12V system." It's coming back to me a bit, but I think this has to do with how much the voltage 'pushes' so-to-speak. So, my concern may not actually be a 12V wire might be too thin as it may just not been designed overall (insulation, wire separation, and whatnot) to handle a 24V potential due to inherent design/safety factors in the wire's design and manufacture. I'm still not seeing much distinction at 1A levels for things like a LED light strip, but it would be interesting to hear your further thoughts or the thoughts of any (other) electrician that might be here.
