Wiring COB led's in series

Thread Starter

bobelon

Joined Jun 24, 2016
4
I have ten (10) 12 volt 10 watt cob led's and a 12V X 5A power supply. I wired two rows of 5 led's in series and hooked them up to the ps. Nothing happened. All ten will light up if I wire each one individually to the ps. Can someone explain why I can't wire them in series? Also, can a dimmer be incorporated in this circuit?
 
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Thread Starter

bobelon

Joined Jun 24, 2016
4
Never studied physics, just trying to use my old brain. I guess what you're telling me is that five 12v led's in series need 60v - ok, cool, I just hooked them up to my ps and they all lit - in fact, all ten lit. Now please explain how a 5 amp ps can power ten 1 amp led's? Also, Can I dim these led's???
 

myntath

Joined Jun 26, 2016
3
Yes but they each draw less than one amp and the power supply can supply 5 amps - for 5 one amp led's.
Yes but the voltage is split between components in series and so for the two LEDs in series they only receive 6v each and so they do not function.

You would need all the LEDs in parallel as mentioned by others, but it sounds like that will draw too much power from your supply. (Total power = 10LEDs * 10W = 100Watts, Using P=VI, 100W/12V = 8.33A, which is greater than 5A) So you will need a bigger power supply or cut it down to 6 LEDs.
 

myntath

Joined Jun 26, 2016
3
Never studied physics, just trying to use my old brain. I guess what you're telling me is that five 12v led's in series need 60v - ok, cool, I just hooked them up to my ps and they all lit - in fact, all ten lit. Now please explain how a 5 amp ps can power ten 1 amp led's? Also, Can I dim these led's???
The power supply will try to supply as many amps as you ask from it. But you are working it too hard. It will probably get hot and burn out fairly quickly running at a higher current than it is designed for.
 

Thread Starter

bobelon

Joined Jun 24, 2016
4
I had not considered that I could be overworking the PS. Thanks. Lots of learning here. Still interested in dimming the circuit.
 
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