how to power led strip light with batteries？
LED strips are flexible and versatile lighting products, but require a power supply to illuminate. What if you want to use the LED strips in a location where you don't have access to a power source or outlet? You may be wondering if there is any portable power solution!
In this article, we show you how to select and connect a rechargeable battery (or standard AA batteries) to an LED strip, and allow you to use your LED strips anywhere!
Could you power your led strips by battery instead?
LED strip lights can be powered by a battery, but you’ll likely need to rewire them. The most important thing is matching the voltage of the strip – too many volts will damage the strip. Too few, and it won’t work. A 3-meter strip will last around 20 hours if connected to 8 AA batteries.
Which battery I can use to power led strip light?
There are many types of batteries in the market. The most typical types are as below:
1.5V AA battery.
The strip light we use is DC12V. The output of the battery is 1.5V. So we need to connect the battery in series. Then the output of the battery will be added up. 8pcs*1.5V=12V. So we need to use 8 pcs AA battery in series to make a DC12V power.
The battery box can be bought in the market as the following one.
3V Coin Cell Battery
A 3V coin cell battery is a type of small, circular battery typically used to power small electronic devices such as watches, calculators, and remote controls. They are also known as button cell or coin cell batteries and are usually made of lithium, alkaline (manganese dioxide), or silver oxide. Coin cell batteries are designed to be used in devices that require a small, compact power source and are commonly used in devices that need to be powered for an extended period with minimal maintenance.
3.7V rechargeable battery
Rechargeable battery use in many products. As I know, battery can use in camping lanterns, headlamps, flashlights, book light, work lights, bake lights, night lights. This lights are easy to take away. Let’s see how we use this rechargeable battery in led strip light. 3.7V*3pcs=11.1V. We also can use 3pcs rechargeable battery in series to make a power.
The battery box as follows.
9V Alkaline Battery
A 9V alkaline battery is a type of cylindrical battery commonly used to power small electronic devices such as smoke detectors, carbon monoxide detectors, and portable radios. These batteries are typically made of zinc-carbon or zinc-manganese dioxide and have a voltage of 9V.
Alkaline batteries are known for their high energy-to-weight ratio and can deliver a steady voltage for an extended period. 9V alkaline batteries are often used in devices that require a high current, as they can provide a large amount of power in a small, lightweight package. It is important to note that 9V alkaline batteries are not rechargeable and should be replaced when they no longer provide sufficient power.
12V Rechargeable Lithium Battery
Normally, this battery is bigger. We see this battery in our cars. And some night market will use this battery power the led light when they are doing business. And this battery is rechargeable. This battery can power any led light which input is DC12V. And because of the capacity of this battery is big, so this battery can use longer than AA battery and 3.7v rechargeable battery.
The pros and cons of each type of battery are as below:
| BATTERY TYPE | PROS | CONS |
| 3V Coin Cell Battery | Small and compact size, long shelf life and low self-discharge rate, widely available and relatively and inexpensive. | Limited capacity, not rechargeable, not suitable for LED strips as they are hard to chain together. |
| 1.5V AA/AAA Alkaline Battery | Widely available and relatively inexpensive, high energy-to-weight ratio, long shelf life and low self-discharge rate. | Not rechargeable, limited capacity compared to other types of batteries. |
| 3.7V Rechargeable Battery | Rechargeable, more environmental-friendly, and save money in the long run, high capacity and high current delivery | May require specialized chargers, may have a shorter lifespan. |
| 9V Alkaline Battery | Widely available and relatively inexpensive, suitable for powering devices that require a higher voltage, long shelf life and low self-discharge rate. | Not rechargeable. One battery can not fully power the 12V strip, and two in series will overpower for 12V strip. |
| 12V Rechargeable Lithium Battery | Rechargeable can be used multiple times, high capacity and high current delivery. | It may require specialized chargers, may have a shorter lifespan, and be more expensive than some other types of batteries. |
What batteries are best for LED lighting strips?
Among all the above batteries, I like 12V Rechargeable Lithium Battery the most as it provides 12V, the same as the LED strip. It is rechargeable, while it is more expensive. I won’t choose a 9V Alkaline Battery since the LED will not be fully lit. I won’t pick a 3V Coin Cell Battery, as it is difficult to link them together. Instead, I will select 1.5V AA/AAA Alkaline Battery or 3.7V Rechargeable Battery according to my different requirements. p.s.: If we decide 1.5V AA batteries, we need a battery box to connect eight batteries, since 1.5*8=12V is exactly the voltage of the LED strip. If we choose 3.7V batteries, we also require a battery box to connect three batteries because 3.7*3=11.1V, which is closest to the voltage of the 12V LED strip.
How to connect the led strip light to the battery?
As we know, the battery have positive and negative. So we just need to connect the led strip light positive to the battery positive and connect the led strip light negative to the battery negative.
And we have battery connect a switch between strip light and battery. Then when you not need to led strip light, you can turn off the power by switch.
How to power RGB strip light with battery?
For some decoration, we need color change led strip light, such as RGB led strip light. Then how to use battery to power the RGB led strip light?
First, we need to make sure the voltage of RGB strip light and the battery box are same, either it’s 5V or 12V.
Second, we connect the RGB controller positive to the battery positive and connect the negative to the battery negative.
Third, connect the RGB led strip light to the output of the RGB controller.
Then it will work.
From above, we know that the led strip light connect way is the same as we are using led power supply. Just change the led power supply to the battery.
How can I use led strip light in cars?
Now many DIYers would like to decorate their car with colorful led strip light.
As we know the battery in the car is a rechargeable battery, and the output of the battery is DC12V.So when we are using led strip light inside the car. We need to make sure which wire is positive and which wire is negative from the battery. If you are not familiar with the car wires, you have battery driving your car to the car shops and as then to connect the wires for you.
How long can the battery power the led strip light?
The battery we offer are rated in milli-amp hours, either thiry-eight hundred or six thousand milli-amp hours. To determine how many amps your strips are drawing, you’ll need to find their wattage, so let’s use a really easy example. A regular density 3528 LED light strip draws twenty-four watts, now take the wattage and divide it by twelve, that’s your amp draw, or two amps. Now multiple your amp draw by one thousand, that’s your milli-amp draw, so for the 3800 battery pack and a 3528 regular density LED light strip, your battery pack will last 3800/2000=1.9 hours, or 114 minutes. Here’s the general formula: (watt draw) / 12=A, A x1000=M, Battery Pack Milli-amps / M= hours of battery life. I hope this helps you plan your battery pack outings!
How to extend battery life?
Add an on/off switch
You switch it on when you use the strips and switch it off if not necessary. This will help you to save energy and extend the use of batteries.
Add a dimmer
Use a dimmer to dim the LED strips can be a great idea if you want the strips to be darker. Lower the brightness helps to lower the power consumption, which will in the end allow you to use a longer time with batteries.
Choose fewer wattage LED strips
It is no need always choose the brightest or the highest wattage LED strips because they will consume more power. Just select LED strips which are enough brightness and wattage according to your requirements.
Reduce the length of LED strips
If you can choose 1M strips only, please do not choose 2M strips, shorter LED strips make the battery life longer.
Conclusion
If you have any other ideas about power LED strips with batteries, or you have special lighting projects which need customized LED strips for batteries, please feel not hesitate to let us know, we are always ready to help.