What is voltage drop?
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Key Account Manager at Luxtronics. Your reliable electronic components distributor specializes in supplying hard-to-find and obsolete parts
What is voltage drop?
Wires carrying current always have inherent resistance, or impedance, to current flow. Voltage is just a way to describe how much energy is supplied from a source. The larger the resistance, the more energy it takes to get through that resistance, and as a result, it loses that energy which is dissipated as heat. Voltage drop is defined as the amount of voltage loss that occurs through all or part of a circuit due to impedance.
How much voltage drop is acceptable?
Voltage drop is not avoidable, 10% Voltage Drop is Considered Acceptable and Invisible by Eyes. So lighting fittings operate well of voltage drop within 10%.
What are the consequences of “excess” voltage drop in a circuit?
Excess voltage drop can cause the following conditions:
1. Low voltage to the equipment being powered, causing improper, erratic, or no operation - and damage to the equipment.
2. Poor efficiency and wasted energy.
3. Heating at a high resistance connection/splice may result in a fire at high ampere loads.
4. The light illumination of the whole lighting fixture will be uneven. And some dark spots will happen in end of LED neon flex.
What effects voltage drop?
Higher Voltage = Longer Run Length 230V>120V>36V>24V>12V>5V
Bigger Cable & Thicker PCB board = Higher Loading Capacity 16AWG>18AWG>20AWG>22AWG
How to solve voltage drop issue?
CLEAR Lighting use 3OZ PCB board to enhance currency capacity. One continuous length can up to 20m without any voltage drop. And as a specialist in the field for over decades, we summarized some other solutions to avoid voltage drop when long distance installation and long continous length required. Want to learn more details, please do not hesitate to contact me.