DIY LED light panel, which voltage regulator to use?

[Anthony_Starfield]

Good Day,

I want to build this LED light panel. It looks simple enough, but right now my knowledge of electronics is next to nothing. (I took one semester of electronics when I was working on an associate's degree in computer science.)

Here is the You Tube video:

And here is the write up version:

http://petapixel.com/2014/09/10/vid...how-to-build-a-beautiful-diy-led-light-panel/

I need a step down voltage regulator. Am I on the right track here? The voltage regulator steps down (reduces) the household voltage (which is 120 volts) to whatever voltage the LED lights need. I also do not know how many volts the LEDs need.

Rather than use the one Matthew listed, I would like to use one that has a built in voltage read out. This would be handy. I found this one on Amazon. Here is the description:

DROK® LM2596 Analog Control Buck Converter DC-DC Step-down Transformer Voltage Regulator Module 36V 24V 12V to 5V 2A Power Inverter Volt Stabilizer with Red LED Display Voltmeter Board Input/Output Voltage

https://www.amazon.com/DROK-Convert...3&sr=1-2&keywords=step+down+voltage+regulator

Will this one work okay?

Thank you for your help. Happy Labor Day!

 

[BobK]

I did not watch the video, but I looked at the text description.

He is using LED strips, which will have a specific voltage needed to operate, typically 12V or 5V. What you need is an mains to 12V (or 5V depending on the strips) converter. There are plenty of these available on Ebay ready built and reasonably cheap. You just need to make sure it can produce the current needed by all of the strips you are using (add them up) + a margin of error of about 25 to 50%. I.e. if your strips added together need 10A I would use a supply capable of 12 to 15A.

Here is an example of a seller that has various models:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/AC110-220V-...hash=item3f59701ddc:m:mbxc8bdL9OLyUUYFbkfenFA

Bob