Christmas Lights are an integral part of the whole holiday season. If you are tired of the traditional Christmas Lights, it would indeed be great to be updated with the advancements technology has brought about in the field of Christmas lights. Yes, Smart Pixel Christmas Lights are what we are going to deal with in this article. Please visit the Guide to Christmas Light Installation and Costs article for a more comprehensive guide on Christmas lights.
Latest LED Technology has been capable of putting equivalent of separate R, G, and B light sources into a single bulb. Now by varying the intensities of the three color components we can have different color changes within the single bulb. So by being capable of displaying different colors, they will be acting in a smart way and hence the name Smart Pixel Christmas Lights.
Now we have a basic idea about these lights. Let us get into the details of them one by one.
Smart Pixels
First of all let us see what smart pixels are. In this case, the RGB LEDs are capable of displaying different colors based on the intensities of the Red, Blue and Green sources. This means that there are three control channels each. So the final color is a result of these three control channels and it is called a pixel. Now in a smart pixel light string, every pixel is individually controllable. Each light can be any color unlike the case of dumb pixels where the entire strand displays the same color at the same time.
Forms of Smart Pixels
The smart pixels come in different form factors. It depends on your personal preference as to how you want them to be mounted on to your space. The most common are the Bullet Pixel, Square Pixel, Strip Pixel and the Module Pixel.
Bullet Pixel
Square Pixel
Strip Pixel
Module Pixel
Working of Smart Pixel Lights
WS2811 is the most common type of smart pixel technology used. They can come with 12V or 5V connection. For long term use, ensure that they come with proper waterproof and dustproof rating.
Now, each pixel will have an Integrated Chip(IC) associated with it. They receive data from the data controller directing the color and the intensity they need to display. Controllers like PixLite 16, PixCon 16, etc. drives the pixels by doing the required power management and timing of the pixels. Now by adding suitable power supply and with the help of software like Xlights (free), Light O Rama, etc. you are set to create your own light show.
Voltage Drop Issue
Voltage drop issue is something important to be addressed when it comes to supplying power to the pixels. Pixels being low voltage products are associated with voltage drop issues. Voltage drop is a normal phenomenon associated with electricity. Voltage is lost as electricity pass through the wires over a distance. In case of ordinary Christmas lights which are powered by the 115V line voltage, a drop in the voltage may not have any serious implications on its power. However, when voltage drops from 12V or 5V then it would not be sufficient enough for the pixels to work. So we need to make sufficient considerations for the same. It is common to add power injection at the end of the long light strips so as to overcome the issue.
Power Supplies For Smart Pixel Christmas Lights
In case of traditional lights, you just need to plug the power pin into the plug point and turn on and you are done. Pixels are low voltage devices when compared to the traditional lights. However pixels require both power from the power supply and data from the controller for its working. And hence powering them is indeed one of the biggest challenges. The pixels need to be plugged into the power supply of the right size. There need to be an optimum size of the power supply. You can’t go for too big or too small size. If the power supply is too small, then it can affect your light display adversely. So this knowledge is important so that you can distribute the lights in the best possible way to bring about the best display of these smart pixels.
How to find the power supply required?
Before heading out to buy the right power supply, it is important to have certain information pre hand. Like the type of lights you intend to use, the number of lights in the layout and the space where you are looking to put them.
Then by looking at the specification of your lights, you can get an idea about the amount of power (Watts) the lights are set to consume. We need to add the Watts together and then based on this will depend the power of your power supply. Pixels are usually of 12V or 5V and the voltage of the pixels will determine the voltage of the power supply you need.
Small VS Large Power supply
Due to the voltage drop issue, it may seem that it is ideal to keep the power supplies close to the light so that you achieve minimal voltage drop. This may lead to many number of small power supplies being used at each end of the strings. This is a big burden for the design layout. However, in case of power failure, this approach benefits as only few lights in the layout will only be affected. Now if you use few large power supplies with long cords connecting many strings, there will be serious voltage drop issues over the distance limiting the pixels that can be run in a single string.
Power from the Controller
Pixels can also be powered in a variety of many other ways. The power can also come from the controller. There are many pixel controllers which are designed so that they are capable of providing some power to the pixels. The controllers also come with fuses on the board which can also protect the power supply along with them.
Now let us see the number of pixels which can be run by a controller. For 12V pixels, the number can range from about 100 to 300 or a few more pixels. This will depend on the power of the pixels mainly. And sometimes to address the issue of voltage drop, it is advisable to power all your pixels externally than through the pixel controller.
Best Options
Rextin WS2811 Smart Pixel LED String Lights
- WS2811 Pixel lights
- RGB Digitally Addressable Pixel String Lights
- Color changing
- 12mm dimension
- Working Voltage of DC 5V, 60mA
- Waterproof IP68
Odlamp WS2811 LED Pixel String Light
- RGB Multi Color Changing led string lights with WS2811 IC
- Digital addressable individually
- 12mm dimension
- Working Voltage: 12V
- Waterproof IP67
- Individual pixels can be cut off without damaging rest of the pixels
DealLED Smart LED Pixel Strip
- Programmable dream color WS2811 LED strip
- Individually addressable RGB Light
- 10mm strip width
- Working Voltage: 12V
- Waterproof IP65
Yunbo RGB LED Module Pixels
- WS2811 LED module with lens
- Addressable RGB LED module
- Working voltage: 12V
- Waterproof IP65
Lansan Square LED Pixel Lights
- WS 2811 IC built-in
- Individually addressable RGB Light
- 12mm dimension
- Working Voltage: 12V
- Waterproof IP68