Hey there,
Would like to start a DIY WLED project with a led strip. Using a ESP8266 NodeMCU v2 Lua WIFI networking development kit board CP2102 ESP-12F. I’m having trouble understanding how much juice it needs to operate. Powering the development board along with the led strip. I’m unsure if it can power both the board and leds or if I need two power supplies one for each component.
The supply voltage for the ESP8266 board is 3.3v.
I’m using a DC 5V WS2812B RGB led strip, 3m length 60 leds/metre = 180leds total,
also wanting to but 5m 60leds/m = 300 leds total
Is there a way to calculate the right amount of power needed for this? any help on which power supply to get much appreciated.
thanks
I think I’ve figured it out, on how to power the led strip.
If I use the 5m 60leds/m (300leds) each led uses 0.2W, so 0.2W * 300 = 60W
So since this is a 5V strip, 60W / 5V = 12A
so i’d need a 5V 12A power supply.
but im unsure on the development board
At full power each section of 30 LEDs draws about 1.5A. So for 180 you would need 9A. But if you are not driving all LEDs at once then you could derate that requirement accordingly, and take the risk that the power supply may be inadequate if the lighting program changes in the future.
The unit you would choose depends on your installation. A salvaged PC power supply will usually have more than sufficient amps for your LEDs, but there are many off-the-shelf 5V units available. Your decision will probably be based on the most suitable form factor.
You can drive the LEDs and the ESP directly off the same supply because your NodeMCU should be able to handle 5V at the VIn pin. Note that although some documentation says this requires a 7V minimum, in practice it uses the same regulator as the USB input, so it must be able to handle 5V. You can check the exact details of your device with your supplier.
