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01:24
@user1850479 chatgpt states that if my lamps are going to be connected in parallel then I need a constant voltage driver and if the lamps are connected in a series then I need a constant current driver. Is that correct? If I were to connect 9 to 11 lamps in a series, that would result in me needing a driver with insane voltage, so I don't think I will be doing that.
01:42
@michael_kuzmin You have constant current lights so you must use a constant current driver. Ignore whatever nonsense ChatGPT is feeding you.
 
19 hours later…
20:35
@user1850479 Got it, thank you. So to summarize, for 30 pot lights, each with a board labelled 2835-3B7C needing about 300ma and with a compliance voltage of 21-24V (or 21-23V according to Aliexpress LED board with similar label) (where 2835 is the individual chips used, and 7 stands for 7W) if the intention is to implement 0-10v dimming, you recommend 30 separate 0-10v dimmable drivers, even if they are going to be used in 3 groups.
Creating a series is NOT feasible because even with 3 lights, the compliance voltage will be above (3 x 21v=) 63v which is too high for my low voltage installation. A group of 10 lights in a series would require 210-240v driver which is even less realistic.
Putting any number these potlights in parallel on a single driver is also not feasible because of the fact that my lights are designed for constant current drivers. Putting them in parallels might mean they will be getting wrong current and will burn out. Did I get any of this wrong?
By the way, each of these boards has 21 LEDs as per the photo. I'm not sure how exactly they are connected to each other on this board though (1 series or 3 x series in parallel...)
If this is all correct, I might go back to using the flimsy looking original PWM drivers that came with the lights. These drivers don't look very reliable and they come in tiny plastic boxes. I will shove them all in a large steel box so that if any of them burn, this doesnt create a major fire hazard.
I will also use the non-0-10v version of Shelly dimmer module to control all 9 to 11 drivers at the same time per circuit
Does that sound like a good enough overall architecture or would you suggest alternatives?
For example, I could theoretically keep the pot light cases which work well for my project, replace the LED boards with any other 38mm board that would be meant for constant voltage dimming, then get 100w 0-10v constant voltage drivers, one for each of the 3 circuits/rooms. Does that sound better or worse?
21:20
@michael_kuzmin 3B7C means 3 parallel strings of 7 LEDs. B is parallel, C is series. They're probably going to burn out quickly given the high forward voltage, so I wouldn't spend any more money or time on them.

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