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How to Wire a LED Light

Curious about how to wire a LED light? It's an exact, precise process but doable as a do-it-yourself project. This beginner's guide to LED lighting provides the basics you need whether you're thinking of creating your own LED marquee signs, outdoor LED sign lighting or LED lighting for indoors.

Materials Needed

Before starting the project gather all the tools and materials you need. LED lights are the first thing you should get. While you can wire LED lights of varying voltage and amperage values, TechWalla recommends choosing lights with consistent values to simplify the process. Other materials needed include:

• Power supply, such as batteries
• Resistors, the number of which you need can be calculated using an online LED circuit calculator
• Soldering gun and solder
• Electrical and needle nose pliers
• Primary wire
• SPST switch
• Electrical tape

How to Wire a LED Light: The Basics

The number of lights you're wiring and the type of configuration you use can change the process a bit. But the basics remain the same. To wire a LED light, follow these basic steps:

• Identify the positive and negative electrodes. The shorter wire on an LED is usually the negative electrode.
• Wire resistors into the circuit
• Wire each LED's negative electrode into the common resistor or the positive terminal of your power supply.
• Wire the positive electrode to an SPST switch before wiring the switch to the power supply's negative terminal.
• Test the light.

Wiring Dos and Don'ts

You could be putting your project and safety at risk if you fall into the trap of common mistakes. Instead, follow a few simple dos and don'ts from Ecocity LED Lighting Solutions:

• Don't Use Solid Wire: Solid wire doesn't connect tightly, leaving connections vulnerable to overheating. Instead, use stranded wires, which provides better contact and better connections, minimizing the risk of power loss.
• Don't leave wire splices bare: Leaving any part of your wire splices bare puts the project at risk for electrical shorts and possible fires. Use wire connectors or solder the wires together for safe connections.
• Do use splitters: Avoid overloading your connectors, which is among the most common mistakes. Instead, use wire splitters or terminal blocks.

Connections 101

When you're wiring LEDs, you can choose from one of two basic connections: serial or parallel. Serial connections or wiring the LEDs one after the other in a series of LED lights, puts your project at risk for voltage drop and uneven lighting. Parallel connections, wiring them parallel to the power supply, is a better choice in most cases because it reduces the odds of voltage drop.

Tips for Wiring a LED Light

Even if you know how to wire a LED light, there are a few things that can go wrong as you complete the project. Here are a few tips to make the process easier:

• Double and triple check connections to minimize wiring mistakes and avoid accidentally crossing wires, which can leave you vulnerable to an electric shock.
• Avoid overloading wire connectors
• Consider using parallel connections for the most even lighting output
• Only use clean, straight wires, avoiding any frayed wiring.

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