How to test the Voltage Drop of LED Strip Light

When installing and using LED DC light strips, an important issue that needs to be paid attention to is the voltage drop. Because the voltage drop will cause the brightness of the LED strip to decay as the length increases. Some attenuation is too large, which will seriously affect the output lumen.

As a third-party quality inspection and sourcing company, we found that high-quality light strips have a small voltage drop, while low-quality light strips have a large pressure drop during the actual process of screening manufacturers, sample testing, and pre-shipment inspection.

So, if you want to accurately test the pressure drop, what should you do?

To test the voltage drop of the LED DC strip, you need to prepare the following tools and materials:

1. Digital multimeter (for measuring voltage)

2. Appropriate DC power supply (choose according to the specifications of the LED strip)

3. Wires for connection

The test steps are as follows:

1. Find the voltage specification of the LED strip. Usually, the voltage specification of the LED strip is between 5V, 12V, or 24V. Make sure you are using a proper DC power supply.

2. Connect the LED strip to a DC power source. Make sure to connect the positive and negative poles correctly.

3. Turn on the DC power supply and let the LED strip light start working.

4. Set the DMM to measure DC voltage. Connect the multimeter probe to the input of the LED strip (i.e., the side directly connected to the power supply). Measure and record the input voltage value.

5. Connect the probe of the digital multimeter to the output end of the LED strip (ie, the end away from the power supply). Measure and record the output voltage value.

6. Calculate voltage drop: Subtract the output voltage from the input voltage. For example, if the input voltage is 12V and the output voltage is 11.5V, then the voltage drop is 0.5V.

Please note that due to the wiring resistance and the characteristics of the LED strip itself, a certain degree of voltage drop is normal. Therefore, it cannot be judged that the quality of the light strip is not good because of the voltage drop. However, if the voltage drop is too large, it may cause the brightness of the LED strip to be reduced or uneven, and you may need to consider using thicker wires or providing additional power points within a shorter distance. Finally, as a third-party inspection and procurement company, I remind you that when purchasing LED Strip lights, you must choose high-quality and reliable suppliers and confirm the parameters of the samples: voltage drop, luminous flux efficiency, LED Chips model, LED Chips quantity, color temperature, Ra, IP rating, size, the brand of double-sided tape, etc., record these parameters in the contract.

Testing COB Strip Light, made by a big famous OEM\ODM Manufacturer. Video:

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