# DIY LED wiring question.



## shrimphead (Dec 10, 2012)

*DIY led questions* 
 Hi, i'm planning on doing diy led aquarium lighting project and was wondering if having your leds wired far apart will have any impact on the operation of the leds. the plan involves the leds being wired in series approximately 70cm inbetween each led and the length of the series would be around 5m from the driver. I was just thinking it seems like a very long series compared to what you see on here and thought it might effect the leds somehow? like voltage drop? i probably need to ask this on a electronics forum really.

also i'm looking for a few bits. I need some cree xml 60 degree optics, drivers that can run to around 2amp and also heatsinks that would be ok for cooling 1 cree xml and a 1 cree xte running at 60%-70% so 2 leds on 1 heatsink without a fan.(I'm going to have 8 of these linked in series) I found these heatsinks that claim to be able to cool 1, 10 watt led without a fan. what do you guys think?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1pc-10W-W...al_Components_Supplies_ET&hash=item23130bf4f5


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## dt3830 (Dec 27, 2012)

Salutation,

For the first part, 5m seems too short to cause any significant amount of voltage drop.
(Resistance for 5m is negligible, so voltage drop will depend on, current * resistance, the final end result is negligible)
For the second part, you will need to know temperature rating per watt to determine, if it is good enough for your projects.
For every watt that is dissipated, how much will the heat-sink temperature will rise compared to the ambient temperature. The higher the number (degree Celsius per Watt), the worse will it be for your projects. It means that the heat-sink will be that much higher compared to the ambient temperature, per watt of dissipated heat. In order to maximize the heat dissipated, do remember to use some kind of thermal conducting paste between the contact point of the heatsink and the LED.

Best of luck in your projects!
~ChamHoongLoong


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