Understanding Components of an LED System

We carry a full line of LED Light bulbs including LED T8, T10, and T12 Tube Lamp replacements, Par 20, Par 30, and Par 38 LED bulbs, MR 16 LED bulbs with E26 base, GU10 base, and GU5.3 base, as well as G4 LED wafers and barrels, all in a variety of white and warm white color temperatures. These bulbs will not only save you money in energy costs but are also eco-friendly, containing no Mercury or any other harmful gases or chemicals. Although these products seem expensive when compared to halogen, incandescent and neon bulbs, all of our LED Bulb products easily pay for themselves in energy savings during their projected lifetime when compared to halogen, incandescent and neon bulbs. All of our LED light bulb products have different input power requirements as well as dimmable and non dimmable, so it is important to be certain that these requirements fit your project before your purchase is made.

LED Modules are typically used for backlighting signs, menus, and displays, but can also be used for a variety of other applications such as under cabinet lighting, cove lighting, casino lighting, bar lighting, or any application where a conformable product is needed. Modules are available in the following single colors: White, Warm White, Daylight White, Red, Green, Blue, and Amber. All single color LED Modules can be dimmed by our PWM Dimmers or controlled from a DMX Control System. We also have plenty of RGB and Digital RGB, color changing LED Modules, that can be controlled by an RGB Controller or DMX System. Note: Digital Modules require control from a specialized digital controller or decoding from a digital DMX decoder when used with a DMX System.

LED Strip Lights, also known as LED Ribbon Lights, or LED Tape Lights, are thin strips of flexible printed circuit board with multiple surface mounted LEDs on every roll. LED Strip Lights are truly an amazing product and can be used in almost any application thanks to their slim design, flexible contour and the ability to cut the product to custom length. With both water-resistant (epoxy coated) and non water-resistant versions LED Strip Lights can be used just about anywhere. LED Strip Lights are available in a variety of single colors including: White, Warm White, Red, Green, Blue, and Amber, as well as a color changing RGB and Digital RGB Strip Lights. All of our single color LED Strip Lights can be dimmed by a PWM Dimmer or controlled by a DMX System. All RGB LED Strip Light must be controlled by an RGB Controller or DMX System. Note: Digital RGB LED Strip Lights require control from a specialized digital controller or decoding from a digital DMX decoder when used with a DMX System.

LED Wall Washers are a great indoor and outdoor product when a large amount of light is needed, capable of projecting light over 40ft. All of our LED Wall Washer products operate on 24VDC and come in four different sizes with two different lighting types. Our 3 in 1 style Wall Washers have a red green and blue LED chip in every light fixture, hence the 3 in 1 style. This type is available in 40" and 20" single row lengths. Our other style of LED Wall Washer uses a combination of red, green and blue single chips to create over 16 million different hues. This style is available in a 12"x6" rectangle and 8" round circle. All of our RGB LED Wall Washers can be controlled by our 24VDC RGB Controllers or by a 24VDC DMX System.

We have a variety of wall plug style transformers in both 12VDC and 24VDC, intended for indoor use only. Our wall plug power supplies range from 12W to 60W making them great for smaller projects. Another advantage to this style of power supply is that they are simple to use, just plug them into your existing 100-240VAC electrical outlet and hook them up to your single color LED Lights, or LED Light components using any of our barrel connector products.

If you are planning on hard wiring your LED power supply directly to your 100-240VAC power source then a hard wire style transformer would be necessary. We carry a variety of hard wire style power supplies, including many that are water-resistant. Be aware of which power supply that you are purchasing as some contain special mounting instructions as well as cooling fans in order to operate properly.

If you have an outdoor job or are mounting your power supply in a place that is exposed to dust and moisture, then one of our water-resistant power supplies would be the correct choice. All water-resistant power supplies come with an IP66 or IP 67 outdoor rating. Note: These power supplies are non UV Proof and non submersible.

PWM Dimming stands for Pulse Width Modulation, which essentially flickers the connected LED light at a pulse rate that is so fast the eye does not detect any flicker but instead sees a dimmer light. PWM Dimmers are typically used for single channel, or single color, LED Lights but are also available for 3 channel, or RGB, products. We have a variety of LED PWM Dimmers in stock ranging from knob style, slider style, touch sensor, IR sensor, and remote control. See our additional tutorial on how to hook up your PWM Dimmer as well as incorporate an RGB Signal Amplifier into your single channel dimming system for larger projects.

RGB LED Controllers are an essential component to any RGB LED Lighting system, and is necesary if not using a DMX Control System. Without any type of Lighting Control there is no point in having color changing lights. We have a variety of pre-programmed RGB LED Controllers as well as a few that you can program your own color changing scenes. Controllers typically include seven static color modes as well as a variety of color changing effects. Speed and brightness adjustments vary per controller. When using a single RGB LED Controller for large amounts of lighting you must incorporate one or more RGB Signal Amplifiers, see additional tutorial on how to hook up and incorporate RGB Signal Amplifiers to your RGB LED system.

Every RGB Controller sold at Ecolocity LED has a certain amount of Amps and Watts that it can handle, once this amount has been reached it is still possible to add more lights to your LED system using an RGB Signal Amplifier. A Signal Amplifier basically takes the signal from your RGB Controller and lets you add additional power to the lights that it is connected too, all while transmitting the same signal from your RGB Controller. You can add as many Signal Amplifiers to your LED System as you would like. Signal Amplifiers can be connected in series or incorporated directly from your RGB Controller signal. See the tutorial on proper RGB Controller and Signal Amplifier installation to better familiarize yourself with proper installation.

DMX LED Lighting controls is a system that allows the user to have full control over 512 universes of LED lighting. The user creates scenes through computer software and then downloads these scenes to there DMX Controller. The DMX Controller then relays the scenes through specifically addressed DMX Drivers/Decoders in which the scene then displays as programmed to the attached LED Lighting product.

We carry many 18-22AWG Stranded Connection Wires for all of your LED projects. From a two bonded pair wires for single color LEDs or four pair bonded wires for our RGB color changing LEDs we have it all, we also carry outdoor wires for all of your outdoor lighting needs. We recommend that you NEVER USE solid gauge wire for DC power.

We carry many lighting connectors for simple and easy LED installations. From strip light connectors, to basic wire and barrel connectors, we have a variety of connector options for each product. If you need to split or simply extend a wire, we have many different connctors to make your LED installation hassle free.

If you are not hard wiring your LED Power Supply to a high voltage power source, then you will need a wall plug cord to plug into a standard 120VAC power outlet. We carry both two and three prong power cords, two prong power cords do not have a ground wire.