The fuse is used as a safety precaution to fully protect the wiring in whichever system you have. The fuses are calibrated in amps with them ranging in ratings according to the load. The fuses are placed along with circuits to allow the electrician to identify which circuit has become faulty. So lets know What Amp Fuse do we need for Led Lights?
The amp fuse is used to protect the wiring specifically. The appliances and in this case the led lights do not affect the type of amp fuse. The fuses are affected by the load on the wiring. It is advisable to also have a higher-rated fuse to keep the fuse from melting prematurely.
How to determine the required amp rating
The choice on the amp fuse is made from the calculations according to your lights. Each set of lights has its set wattage which is divided by the input voltage. The amps calculated are to be increased by 20% to get the range your required fuse should be.
Amp fuses are placed on strip-by-strip cases to safeguard the led light strips from the power surges and protect the other strips in case of a short circuit. Scenarios that might bring a difference in the load or power drawn through the wires are the change in uses such as:
Internal lighting
This includes Christmas light strings, led light strips, and the different designs of led bulbs. The led bulbs have fuses set in the house circuits are high since they cater for a lot of appliances, they range from 15A and can go to above 30A if the building is large and fully fitted. The led light strips are mostly connected to a power supply unit or battery and will need the fuse as a precautionary measure much like phone cases with phones, you will need to check the wattage on the light strip and divide it by the input voltage and multiply it by 1.2. Most of the fuses range between 1A, 2A & 3A. Then we have the light strings mostly used in festivities most notably Christmas, Easter, and Halloween. Depending on the number of strings you set up you might run a simple 1A fuse and if you decide to light your whole house up, you’ll find that you have to use the 5A fuse.
Outdoor lighting
In outdoor lighting a lot is put into consideration, starting from how much light you want and avoiding instances of light pollution where your neighbors end up complaining of the light coming from your house. The fuse should be slightly higher to allow you to add more appliances but not too high such that it cannot protect the circuit in case of a surge. Whether you use lighting strings or decking lights the choice comes down to you calculating the wattages of all your lights to make a well-informed decision on the fuse. Unless in extreme cases an amp of 5A is sufficient as it can support up to 600W and a lighting string uses 1A while a decking uses up to 10A. It can also help you restrain yourself and avoid instances where you are a cause of light pollution.
Car lights
Led lights on cars can be placed in different places, be it the overhead light bar, low beams on the cars hood, their interiors, light strips used for underflow, puddle lights and so much more. Led bulbs and lighting strips have different uses in the car with the led bulbs being used indoors, headlights, and indoor lighting the fuse comes set from the manufacturer, though if it blows you should buy a fuse with the same rating. As for the led strips used mainly as underglow lights you should do the math, if your strip has 20 bulbs each at 1A then its wattage is 20A. This multiplied by the number of strips, say 4 gives you 80A. Divided by the battery’s voltage, say 14.5 volts, gives you roughly 5.5A, then multiplied by 1.2 to get 6.6A. This means you can comfortably use a 7.5A fuse for your setup.
CONCLUSION
Overall, the type of fuse you use on your led lights setups should be chosen based on the load to protect the wiring and prevent fires or melting. Your lead setups can change based on different scenarios and need to be treated differently. The fuses also should be chosen after careful consideration and calculations have been done. In cases where a pre-installed fuse blows up and is found to have been of a lower rating will mean that you should change it for a higher rating.
Frequently asked questions
- How can I change my led string fuse?
Unplug your lights, get a set of replacement fuses, press down on the male end of the lighting strings then push towards the prongs. A compartment will open up to show the blown fuses and you should then remove them, switching them for a new fuse. Close the compartment.
- Do led lights have a fuse?
No. The power supply unit you will connect it with mostly in PCs is short protected so it isn’t needed.
- Is it possible to power my LEDs from my car’s fuse box?
Yes. Though it might need total rewiring to ensure the performance of the car is not affected in any way.
