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I have 16 meters of WS2812B LED Strips similar to the ones on adafruit. The strips have 60 LED/s per meter and run on 5 volts. They come in 4 meter reels.

I know how i want to control them but i am unsure about how to hook them up safely and so that they draw enough power. I know that i cannot just hook up a power supply to one end and expect the entire 16 meters to be powered. I read online that for the non-addressable ones that run on 12volts you need to hook up the power supply in multiple places, is this the same case with the 5Volts?

Also how do i know what kind of power supply i need and how do i hook it up so that all the LEDs are fully powered? Will i need more than one power supply or should one be enough?

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  • \$\begingroup\$ Put a supply on one end, a DMM on the other. Calculate the voltage drop per meter, and add 25-30%. This and the LED specs will tell you the maximum run per supply or tap you can have. \$\endgroup\$
    – Ignacio Vazquez-Abrams
    Commented Dec 29, 2013 at 3:04

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The adafruit one draws up to 60 mA (0.06 A) per segment, or 3600 mA = 3.6 Amps per meter. To drive 16 meters, you are talking 57.6 amps. That's a lot of power, but you can find power supplies that will provide that.

You will need to provide the power to multiple points along the strip; at the ends, and perhaps every couple of meters along the strip.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ Plus transmission losses. \$\endgroup\$
    – Ignacio Vazquez-Abrams
    Commented Dec 29, 2013 at 5:29

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