Does anyone else suffer from brightness degradation over a few months? I’m 4 months in for one of my setups and the LEDs are not as bright as the original. Maybe I’m generating too much heat and killing the LEDs.
I’m curious what LED strip you’re using and how many LEDs? And what are you using for power, and what’s it rated to provide?
I’d also ask what the duty cycle of those LED’s is and how bright are they normally set at. Most importantly, I’m wondering how many volts is being supplied to the LED’s.
This was not the store I got it from, but it looks like the one that I have:
http://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/Black-PCB-12V-5m-RGB-led-pixel-strip-WS2811-60leds-20pixels-m-individually-addressable-led-stripe/916276_32264933743.html
I am using a 12V supply at 120W, which should be more than enough:
http://www.amazon.com/Switch-Power-Supply-Driver-Strip/dp/B00E0DNIFC
My use is mainly ambiance lighting, where most of the time it’s on at warm white. I would probably say the duty cycle is around 70 for normal use. Maybe analog would be a better option for ambience lighting?
I’ve been hearing that the silicone sleeve is bad at retaining too much heat around the LEDs. Especialy if you are running at higher brightness levels for extended periods of time. I have thought that mounting LEDs on strips of aluminum will help wick away damaging heat, but yet to try it.
Yes, they are in the silicone sleeve. I think they are overheating and prematurely dying. I’m guessing nobody else ran into this issue as most uses are not from extended continuous use at high brightness.
If you’re using the 12V, 1 LED-per-pixel strip, then the strip will have voltage regulators on the back of it – these get really hot, especially in the silicone tube. It’s likely that the dissipated heat wears down either the LEDs or the regulators, or both.
That makes sense, thanks.