12 v led volt drop?

I'm having one of those moments where I cant work out anything.

12 volt led driver feeding garden lighting,  run of 40 metres is proposed. 80 watts total load, led driver is rated at 150 watts. Is it the 12 volt ampage for the calculation, or the mains? I am presuming the 12 volts for the calculation, which gives 7 amps current draw, which , on 1.5mm cable, gives a near 60% volt drop.

Does that look about right?

If so, it is going to need either mains voltage outside lights, or local transformers.

Thanks.

Parents
  • There might be a bit of wiggle room, by use of larger cable, but not not as big as 25mm! and by increasing the supply voltage a bit.

    Find out what is the MAXIMUM acceptable voltage for the LED lamps, it may well be 14 volts. Starting with 14 volts gives a lot more scope for voltage drop than starting with 12 volts. Assuming a minimum of 11.5 volts at the lamps, with a 12 volt supply allows only 0.5 volts loss. Starting with 14 volts allows 2.5 volts or five times as much.

    Some ELV LED lamps are multi voltage, often accepting a range from 10 volts to 30 volts. Use of these multi voltage lamps can be very helpful, start with 24 or 28 volts.

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  • There might be a bit of wiggle room, by use of larger cable, but not not as big as 25mm! and by increasing the supply voltage a bit.

    Find out what is the MAXIMUM acceptable voltage for the LED lamps, it may well be 14 volts. Starting with 14 volts gives a lot more scope for voltage drop than starting with 12 volts. Assuming a minimum of 11.5 volts at the lamps, with a 12 volt supply allows only 0.5 volts loss. Starting with 14 volts allows 2.5 volts or five times as much.

    Some ELV LED lamps are multi voltage, often accepting a range from 10 volts to 30 volts. Use of these multi voltage lamps can be very helpful, start with 24 or 28 volts.

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