Suggested power supply for Pixie 16

[greg.duguid]

I just ordered a Pixie 16 board and hope to have it up and running for a school concert next month with seven 16’ lengths of WS2811. I’m guessing I should use two separate power supplies, one for each side of the board. The LOR site suggests 500W power supplies. I’m not familiar with the selection of power supplies out there. What specs should I be looking for?

[k6ccc]

Assuming those are 50 pixel ribbons or strings, your 7 strings are 350 pixels.  If that is correct, a single 350 watt supply is plenty.  I would recommend the MeanWell supplies.  They have a great reputation.  If you later add more pixels, you can add a second supply and have each supply feed on side of the Pixie.

https://www.amazon.com/Universal-Regulated-Switching-Converter-Transformer/dp/B08LDC41B6/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?crid=3EVS9YUH4EYSW&keywords=meanwell%2B12v%2Bpower%2Bsupply&qid=1671262099&sprefix=meanwell%2Caps%2C131&sr=8-1-spons&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEzTExPR1lOVTRSNTlCJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwOTQ3MjczMTlUV1FVRVZIVDc4UCZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwNTAyOTM4MUlJM0lGSjIwVTA2NiZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX2F0ZiZhY3Rpb249Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU&th=1

 

[greg.duguid]

The strings I ordered are 100 pixels each so I’m looking at 700 pixels total. I’d like to prep the controller so it can handle 100 per port, if possible.

[greg.duguid]

I’d also add that at my school I’m limited to 15A outlets that I’ll be plugging the controller into, for a max of 30ish Amps fed to the two power supplies. I’m guessing this limits what I’ll be able to do with each side of the board. Is there an easy calculation for how much power each pixel will pull at full brightness on white?

[Jimehc]

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B096VL68B1?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details

I run two PSU's per controller and 4 controllers on a single 15A AC Circuit...

Usually a 150 LED (50 Pixel) Ribbon is 36 Watts DC - each Pixie Port is rated up to 48 watts DC...

So with your selected Strips you may be looking @ 72 watts per ribbon - and may have to compensate for that

Edited December 17, 2022 by Jimehc

[Mr. P]

You need to do some math and look at the specs of the strings you purchased. On average 12v pixel strings are 36 watts per 50, yes some are higher and some are lower, but 36 is an average. Two strings of 50 would be 72 watts per port or 576 watts per side of the controller. Keep in mind that this is all on, all white, full power. You also need to consider the 4 amp fuses on the ports. In this hobby you must do math or you will keep blowing things up.

[TexasLights]

The main tree in  my show runs a pixie 16 with 1400 total pixels on both sides and 2 Meanwell 350W power supplies with no problems.  I don't run it at full brightness and a lot of time, not everything is on, except during testing where i have had it all on but doing the math with what you have is a good idea. 

 

[TheDucks]

4 hours ago, greg.duguid said:

I’d also add that at my school I’m limited to 15A outlets that I’ll be plugging the controller into, for a max of 30ish Amps fed to the two power supplies. I’m guessing this limits what I’ll be able to do with each side of the board. Is there an easy calculation for how much power each pixel will pull at full brightness on white?

30A is at 12V, not 120.  Look at input Watts (power supplies are not 100% efficient)   You might run up to 4 (if not all plugged in at the same moment (startup surge) on the same BREAKER. (1200 W continuous load permitted on a 15A breaker)

Spend a bit more and buy a Power Factor corrected model  (PF closer to 0 = restive, which is the best. ) if you can.

I second, the 1 PSU per bank ( rather than 1 Bigger PSU for both). Do pay attention to needed air flow (cooling) in either case.

School? Those usually are (code) fussy about home brewed equipment being set up on their grounds.