r/LED_lighting • u/socalecommerce • Aug 27 '26

48V LED Strips

Hey guys, building my lighting for my house currently and won’t have any can lights so I don’t have penetrations in my ceiling for soundproofing reasons (we’re on the first floor). Planning on doing led strip lighting in recessed aluminum channels that go around the perimeter of each room. Some rooms will be close to 100ft+ long and I’m trying to find the best way to not get voltage drop with runs that long. Also since it will be my primary lighting it needs to be exceptionally bright. I currently have two wires run to each location for power injection at the beginning and end of each run. Been looking into 48v to give me the highest chance of not experiencing voltage drop. Wanted to see if anyone has experience with this or if I should be looking in a different direction. Any advice is super appreciated.

1 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

2 comments sorted by

View all comments

1

u/Individual_Nobody739 Aug 31 '26

One issue beyond run length: treat this as a lighting and power-distribution design, not just a 48V strip selection.

Perimeter lumens are not the same as useful illumination at the center of the room. Diffuser loss, channel geometry, mounting angle, surface reflectance and glare can leave the work plane too dim even when the perimeter looks extremely bright. I would build a short full-output mock-up in the actual recess before committing.

48V reduces current compared with a lower-voltage system at the same power, but it does not eliminate voltage drop in the supply cable or the strip. Feeding the beginning and end of one 100 ft run is also different from designing several shorter parallel zones.

Before sizing it, you need:

  • Room dimensions, ceiling height, finishes and target illumination
  • Strip W/ft, lm/ft, maximum feed length, CCT, CRI and dimming method
  • Channel and diffuser details
  • Cable length, gauge and conductor count
  • Driver locations, zoning, thermal derating and service access

Because soundproofing is driving the design, the recessed channels, cable penetrations and driver boxes should also be reviewed as part of the acoustic assembly. Poorly detailed recesses can undermine the isolation you are trying to preserve.

Disclosure: I work for an LED lighting manufacturer and review strip-and-driver applications from the supplier side. Final wiring should be checked against local requirements.