Power Supplies For LED Strip - How To Choose

There are a number of choices when it comes to selecting the correct power supply for your LED strip lighting installation.

You will find a huge variety of prices but as with everything you really do get what you pay for. Lower priced units use lower quality components - particularly the capacitors - they will have a shorter rated life and guess what - your power supply will fail earlier! If it's running for extended periods of is in a difficult to access position then the few pounds saved can suddenly not look like such a good idea.

Apart from the price, we recommend that you choose a power supply with adequate capacity. Around 30% spare will make sense and provide long life. 

In terms of safety, you should look for the double insulated symbol - that's the one with 2 squares, 1 inside the other. It should also be SELV marked (that's Safe Extra Low Voltage). Make sure that any cables used exceed the rated current of the power supply otherwise they will heat up and could be dangerous.

Here's a basic overview to help you choose:

Voltage : Are you planning to use 12V or 24V LED strip? All of our products fit into one of these categories and if the power supply doesn't match then it will definitely NOT work. Choose the voltage you need below to browse the options we have that will work for you.

Wattage : The wattage figure for a power supply determines how much LED strip you will be able to run off it. To establish the wattage you require simply take the wattage figure for the LED strip you intend to use, given in w/m or watts per metre, and multiply it by the number of metres you will be using to get your total requirement. You can find the w/m under the Specifications tab on the product page for your LED strip.

Terminal Type:  You will also need to consider how the power supply will be connected. On the input side you're options are either a standard 13A UK plug (international plugs are available on request) or screw-terminals for other connection into fused spurs or similar.