High Voltage Lights - Anyone have experience?

[Jeremiah]

Hey guys, so I'm building a relatively high voltage system: 48v to cut down on wiring costs and other losses.
Anyway, I will be running as much as possible off DC (fixing old fans using DC motors, LED lights, etc.) so I can keep the price for my inverter as low as possible.
This got me wondering if I could find any high voltage lights instead of having to step down everything to 24 (or lower) volts.
I also have in mind to keep my home made cheesy solar panels and Lead acid battery around for emergency power for lights in the rainy season (when my not yet built LiFePO4 bank may run out of juice).
I found these cool LEDs online that claim they take a voltage range from 12v-85v !?! So with these things I could have a switch when the juice runs out on my 48v system, and switch the old 12 v system (for lights and smaller fans).
There is no real spec from the seller and I googled around a bit and couldn't find anything.
Does anyone have experience with this kind of variable voltage in lights?
I'm wondering do they each have like a buck converter built in or something? Are they efficient? They are not expensive either; like a buck (pun intended ) for some of them so I'm wondering about what's going on. Any ideas guys?

 

[FilterGuy]

Could you provide a link to the lights?

 

[Supervstech]

Keep in mind, 48v switches will be harder to find, dc above 24V arcs badly.
in my opinion, it would be better to use a stepdown to 24 v buck converter.

 

[Jeremiah]

Sure, here are the 12v-85v LEDs I foudn on Aliexpress.com. Under "color" options you have to click on one that says 12v-85v as some are just 12v.

 

[Jeremiah]

Here's a pic from one of them.

 

[FilterGuy]

Those are interesting lights. Just like their 120V cousins, they clearly have a simple internal switching power supply that powers the LEDs.

My primary concern with them would be their durability. I find that many of the 120V LED lights sold at the HW stores and on-line fail far too quickly. I opened one up one time and found that it was the switching power supply that failed, not the LED itself.

 

[Jeremiah]

Those are interesting lights. Just like their 120V cousins, they clearly have a simple internal switching power supply that powers the LEDs.

My primary concern with them would be their durability. I find that many of the 120V LED lights sold at the HW stores and on-line fail far too quickly. I opened one up one time and found that it was the switching power supply that failed, not the LED itself.

Thanks for checking them out. At those prices I'm thinking maybe I'll order some spares and see how it goes over the year.

 

[45North]

Why don't you just get some regular 12v Led's and put 4 of them in series. Wouldn't that work on your 48vdc?

 

[Jeremiah]

Why don't you just get some regular 12v Led's and put 4 of them in series. Wouldn't that work on your 48vdc?

Good question.
I want to be able to flip a control switch and have them be driven from my backup 12v system when the 48v is out of juice in the rainy season.
I also hope to minimize wiring...

 

[Jeremiah]

in my opinion, it would be better to use a stepdown to 24 v buck converter.

This was my original strategy then I saw these puppies and was intrigued. I also love to reduce the number of parts in a system whenever possible.

Keep in mind, 48v switches will be harder to find, dc above 24V arcs badly.

hmmm, I didn't realize that.
Most of my home lights are going to be controlled by a light sensor and a relay for security purposes (not home they will turn on etc.)
Only a handful of the room lights will need switching. I'll process this for a bit. If anyone knows of some safe 48v switches let me know.
Thanks for the warning!

 

[JoeHam]

You could use a DIN rail breaker:

ASI NDB2-63C2-1 DIN Rail Mount Circuit Breaker, UL 1077 Supplemental Protection, 2 amp, 1 Pole, 240V, General Purpose Trip Curve C: Amazon.com: Tools & Home Improvement

ASI NDB2-63C2-1 DIN Rail Mount Circuit Breaker, UL 1077 Supplemental Protection, 2 amp, 1 Pole, 240V, General Purpose Trip Curve C: Amazon.com: Tools & Home Improvement

www.amazon.com

Rated for 60vdc:

Electronic Components & Supply Online Store | ASI

Need automation components and parts? Check out ASI's vast inventory of electronic components for automation and industrial applications.

www.asi-ez.com

 

[Jeremiah]

Got the box of lights in. I only tested a few on a 12v power supply. So far so good. I'll report back when I finally have time to hook them up.

 

[Ampster]

I found these cool LEDs online that claim they take a voltage range from 12v-85v !?! So with these things I could have a switch when the juice runs out on my 48v system, and switch the old 12 v system (for lights and smaller fans).

Most LEDs operate natively at around 3 volts so what ever you find has some kind of DC to DC converter built in.

 

[FilterGuy]

Most LEDs operate natively at around 3 volts so what ever you find has some kind of DC to DC converter built in.

Or they are running several LEDs in series.

 

[mrdavvv]

Those are interesting lights. Just like their 120V cousins, they clearly have a simple internal switching power supply that powers the LEDs.

My primary concern with them would be their durability. I find that many of the 120V LED lights sold at the HW stores and on-line fail far too quickly. I opened one up one time and found that it was the switching power supply that failed, not the LED itself.

Yeah usually the PSUs fail long before the LED chips, specially in cheap hardware like those bulbs where the parts cost less than a lollipop.

I would personally preffer a light source without any DC conversion, straight 12 /24 / 48V products, with good chips they should last 5 - 10yrs

 

[tictag]

Keep in mind, 48v switches will be harder to find, dc above 24V arcs badly.

A disconnection would only arc if sufficient current were flowing in the first place to generate the arc. These lights are 15W and at 48V that's only 300mA - I doubt very much 300mA would cause an arc upon disconnection. If you are referring to a short circuit, then sure, but that's what fuses are for.

Now would I ever run a 48V battery system in a living area? Absolutely not. 48V hurts!

 

[Ampster]

Or they are running several LEDs in series.

Yes that is true. I do have some big COB (chip on board) LEDs lighting a soffit and four of them are in series. I use a current limited power supply to run them. What I should have explained more thoroughly is that there is some circuitry that controls current and voltage.

 

[Jeremiah]

Yeah usually the PSUs fail long before the LED chips, specially in cheap hardware like those bulbs where the parts cost less than a lollipop.

I would personally preffer a light source without any DC conversion, straight 12 /24 / 48V products, with good chips they should last 5 - 10yrs

I actually wanted straight 48v lights but could not find any. best I was coming across were ebike headlights and the such.
My family prefers soft white or "yellow" bulbs. Do you have a source for lights for use on 48v systems (i.e. ok to handle 60v at times)?

 

[Ampster]

A disconnection would only arc if sufficient current were flowing in the first place to generate the arc. These lights are 15W and at 48V that's only 300mA -

If his lights have a DC to DC converter there maybe a surge powering them on.

 

[JoeHam]

These are rated 9-60v :

Off-Road LED Work Light / LED Driving Light - 6" Rectangle - 17W - 1,920 Lumens - 30 Degree - 2-Pack

The Survey Series is a cost-effective line of powerful and versatile LED POD Lights. This high-powered LED work light is available with either a 30° long range spot, 60° flood, or 90° wide flood beam pattern. The 6" rectangular housing is built from rugged aluminum with a polycarbonate lens...

www.superbrightleds.com

No experience, just googled it.