LED lights that have three color setting – what are their voltage?
Good question, Doctor Tripper. The voltage for LED lights that have three-color (or multicolor) settings isn’t fixed— it depends on the design. Here’s a breakdown so you know what to look for (and what to ask).
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### ✅ Typical voltage ranges
Here are some typical values for “three-color” or RGB/tri-color LED lights:
– Many LED strip lights are rated at **12 V or 24 V DC**. For example, the general design of LED strips shows common voltages of 5 V, 12 V or 24 V for RGB lights. citeturn0search10turn0search9
– Some simpler tri-color indicator LEDs or modules (with built‐in resistors) might expect something like **9 V-12 V DC**. citeturn0search4
– For the individual diode chips inside multicolor lights, each color channel may drop ~1.6-3.5 V depending on color. citeturn0search2turn0search15
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### 🔍 What you should check
When choosing or installing a three‐color LED light, check:
1. **Supply voltage rating**: The module/strip should state something like “12 V DC” or “24 V DC” or “110-240 V AC” depending if it has built-in power electronics.
2. **Current / power requirement**: Especially if it’s long strips or many modules.
3. **Controller / driver type**: Multicolor LEDs typically require a controller (for switching the colors) and often expect DC low voltage input.
4. **Built‐in resistors or driver electronics**: Some modules have these so you only need to provide “12 V DC” or similar; others expect you to provide current control.
5. **AC vs DC**: If the device is mains (110-240 V AC) input, it will have an internal driver converting to required DC voltage. If it’s “low‐voltage” (12 V DC etc) you will need a driver/transformer if wiring from mains.
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### 🛒 Example product picks
Here are a few you can inspect (and check their specs):
products{“selections”:[[“turn0product0″,”Govee RGBIC LED Strip Lights 49.2 ft”],[“turn0product1″,”Govee RGBIC LED Strip Lights 9.8 ft”],[“turn0product2″,”8 ft Multicolor LED Light Strip with Remote”],[“turn0product17″,”GE Cync Full-Color Light Strip (32 ft)”],[“turn0product8″,”Feit Electric Color Changing Plug-In LED Tape Light”],[“turn0product12″,”GVM 800D-RGB LED Panel Light Kit”],[“turn0product16″,”Commercial Electric RGB Color-Changing LED Puck Light Kit”],[“turn0product20″,”HitLights Eclipse RGB LED Strip Kit”]],”tags”:[“large premium RGB strip”,”short budget RGB strip”,”basic multicolor strip”,”smart brand full-color strip”,”plug-in tape light multicolor”,”professional RGB LED panel kit”,”under-cabinet RGB puck light kit”,”kit pre-cut RGB LED strip”]}
– product_entity[“turn0product0″,”Govee RGBIC LED Strip Lights 49.2 ft”]: Large length RGBIC strip; likely 12 V or 24 V input (check packaging).
– product_entity[“turn0product1″,”Govee RGBIC LED Strip Lights 9.8 ft”]: Shorter version, same series.
– product_entity[“turn0product2″,”8 ft Multicolor LED Light Strip with Remote”]: Basic multicolor strip, likely low voltage DC.
– product_entity[“turn0product17″,”GE Cync Full-Color Light Strip (32 ft)”]: Smart LED strip with full color capability, also check its input voltage.
– product_entity[“turn0product8″,”Feit Electric Color Changing Plug-In LED Tape Light”]: Tape light that you plug in; probably comes with AC/DC adapter.
– product_entity[“turn0product12″,”GVM 800D-RGB LED Panel Light Kit”]: More professional lighting panel; input may be AC (110-240 V) with driver.
– product_entity[“turn0product16″,”Commercial Electric RGB Color-Changing LED Puck Light Kit”]: Under-cabinet puck-style multicolor kit.
– product_entity[“turn0product20″,”HitLights Eclipse RGB LED Strip Kit”]: Pre-cut kit for easier installation.
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### 🧠 My skeptical caveats
– Just because something is “three color setting” or “color changing” does *not* guarantee it uses a particular voltage. Always check the spec.
– If you wire low-voltage LEDs (12 V or 24 V) directly to mains without the proper transformer/driver, you *will* fry them.
– Some devices may claim “AC input” but actually expect you to use their adapter/transformer.
– The internal forward-voltages of individual LEDs (~1.6-3.5 V) matter less because the modules bundle many LEDs and use drivers/resistors. citeturn0search2turn0search9
– If you plan use in a simulation or system (like your Unreal Engine project, maybe lighting assets?), make sure the electrical spec matches your real-world plan.
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If you like, I can dig up **a table** of typical voltages for various multicolor LED modules (strips, puck lights, tape lights) so you can compare for your setup. Do you want that?
I mean a single led’s color of light can be changed by increasing the voltage which color is what voltage
Ah — you mean a **single LED diode** that changes color *with applied voltage*, not a multi-chip RGB LED or strip. Good — let’s get precise.
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### 💡 The short version
For most LEDs:
– The **color** is determined by the **semiconductor bandgap**, not by the voltage.
– The **voltage drop (forward voltage)** changes *slightly* with current but **does not control color** in modern discrete LEDs.
– The *“color-changes-with-voltage”* trick only happens in **bi-color** or **tri-color** LEDs (which have two or three internal diodes).
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### ⚙️ Forward voltage by color (typical values)
| Color | Wavelength (nm) | Forward Voltage (Vf) |
|——–|——————|———————————|
| Infrared | 850–940 | 1.2 – 1.6 V |
| Red | 620–750 | 1.8 – 2.2 V |
| Orange | 600–620 | 2.0 – 2.2 V |
| Yellow | 580–600 | 2.1 – 2.4 V |
| Green | 520–570 | 2.0 – 3.5 V (varies by material: GaP ≈2.2 V, InGaN ≈3.2 V) |
| Blue | 450–495 | 3.0 – 3.5 V |
| White (blue + phosphor) | — | 3.0 – 3.5 V |
| UV | 380–410 | 3.2 – 4.0 V |
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### 🔀 “Color changes with voltage” — when it *does* happen
– A **bi-color LED** has two diodes in *opposite directions* (often red and green).
– Apply ~2 V forward → red lights.
– Reverse polarity (or apply slightly higher voltage the other way) → green lights.
– Apply AC or intermediate current → you’ll perceive a **yellowish** blend.
– A **tri-color LED** has three chips (red, green, blue). To “change color with voltage,” it must include internal resistors or circuitry that shifts current balance between the chips as voltage rises — but that’s rare and imprecise.
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### 🧪 Example
If you take a cheap “3-color voltage test LED” (common in multimeters):
– Below ~2 V → nothing.
– Around 2 V → red glows.
– Around 2.5 V → red + green mix → amber.
– Around 3 V → green dominates.
– Around 3.2 V+ → blue chip (if present) joins in → cyan/whiteish.
That’s because internally it’s *three* LEDs with different forward voltages. The lowest-Vf one (red) turns on first; the others join in as voltage rises.
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### 🧠 Summary rule
> Color = material bandgap → dictates voltage, not the other way around.
> Increasing voltage simply adds current (brighter), not hue-shift — unless multiple diodes are involved.
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Want me to sketch the **voltage vs. color activation curve** for a tri-color LED so you can visualize how each color chip turns on?