Hey guys, I have recently started a project for lighting my garden. For I have decided to use 100vdc and will be bucked for each led strip (there will be several led strips rather than a single led strip for controlling each section individually.). So I will be using an esp32 as the microcontroller which would need 5vdc. So should I buck the already rectified and isolated 100VDC or use a seperate flyback converter from the mains(premade ones are pretty cheap). AND I need common ground for the 100VDC and the 5VDC. Here are the very rough schematics
In case if you are wondering why am i using 100vdc is to reduce the current as i would using several 2-3 meter led strips which would be a lot of current at 24vdc.
I am a beginner so any advice would be appreciated. Feel free to ask for any other relevant information. Thanks:grinning_face:.
each of those units will be controlling upto 50W led strips. so 10 of those would be 500W. I have decided to use attiny412 for controlling the led strip and as the switching controller for the buck converter(or flyback converter if you guys say so, but I want to know why would carrying 100VDC would be more unsafe than 220VAC). I know that these ideas are very unconventional and I will be testing all the circuitry on a perfboard and a prototype pcb.
So why don't you use mains instead of 100VDC?
Economically thinking, I expect that even beefy 24V wiring will cost you less than the 100V converters. Except if the distances are really long...
You need to think safety , if you use AC you can easily include a RCD .
At these high voltages you need to know exactly what you are doing , had the right sort of training - cable type etc as at these voltages , outside , can easily kill.
There may also legal issues with doing it ( it’s notifiable and needs a certificate in the UK )
High voltage DC will suffer with rapid corrosion of one of the conductors ( negative ?) .
Run your Arduino via power supply off the AC side via a transformer for safety - you can’t safely isolate the high voltage DC .
Look carefully at low voltage - I use 12v AC for my garden lights and have a ring circuit of a fairly thick cable - with LED lights it works fine ( commercial low voltage lights have some form of switching regulator so don’t mind a bit if voltage droop) .
I have one or two lights ( lamp post ) running off AC mains using correctly buried armoured cable and an RCD , switched via relay , with installation certification .
If you are just running 2-3 metre length lights , get them correctly installed off the AC mains by a qualified electrician .
Uses Kirchhoff's circuit laws - Wikipedia, in particular his current law, to monitor the current in a circuit and disconnect the power if the current leaving and coming back are not the same. If they are not the same then some has gone astray, indicting a fault, possibly indicating someone is getting an electric shock.
I suggest, that if you really want to use DC then use 50VDC as converters for 50V input are more readily available than for 100VDC. Also, 50V doesn't bite (much).
would this thing be as unsafe as my original plan, like if I don't use an isolation transformer. But if I use a isolation transformer at the main hub and distribute it from there, wouldn't it be more safe.
Whether your original plan is safe or unsafe is up to you,
The circuit you show is not usable with 24V LED strips.
The high current problem is usually solved by having more than one power source for you lighting.
If you use 48V then you only need 10A and if you split the lighting into two groups, then you only need two 5A supplies.
My plan is (like my first plan) isolate and step-down 220 to 100VAC and redistribute it to the module. Then I would use attiny412 as the switching controller and the dimming controller. Would it be as safe as using the flyback converter. If not why so.
I suspect your reply is not related to HV9910B and constant current strips anymore.
Generally I think that "safety" is a sum of the components used. It's relatively easy and economic to source decent quality, 220VAC to 5VDC converters.
Not so for 220VAC to 100VDC converter and 100VDC to 5VDC buck. Neither 100VDC to 24VDC high current buck.
Similar to the original plan, If I isolate and step-down 220VAC to 100VAC from the main hub. Then I have the attiny412 as the switching controller and the dimming controller. This setup is similar to using the HV9910B. So my question is, would this be as safe as using the flyback converter.
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