FROM THE SCHOOL OF THE HARDEST KNOCKS
(smoke, fire, .005 seconds of operation, a dull glow, boosters that -almost- boost enough....agghhhhh- Few store purchased lamps operate at max safe light potential
- The radiator heat sinking is EXPENSIVE, so they cut back on the size of the heat sink, and light produced
- Home made LED lighting can utilize custom designed amperage limitation meaning a driven chip can operate at max SAFE operating voltage and be noticeably brighter
- It takes EXACT calculation to configure a power supply from the smallest LED to the largest 500 watt chip
- Having 30,000 hours of LED life is worthless if the power supply only lives 8,000 hours
- I'll put this a different way - LEDs are INCREDIBLY sensitive to voltage. A mere two-tenths of a volt variance can make or break brilliance or longevity.
2.5 watt (48) SMD SMD chip plates are available DIRT CHEAP. They operate at 12 volts. The wall wart to drive 12 volts at 2.5 watts are some of the smallest and least expensive of wall warts. MAKE DAMNED SURE the wall wart has integral regulation. Usually the super lightweight kind of wall warts are regulated. Heavy transformer type wall warts may or may not be regulated whether they say "12 volts" or not. When in doubt use your meter on the leads of a wall wart to verify. 18 volts will destroy a 12 volt LED almost instantly.
