LED Drivers Running Hot

Q: I purchased some drivers from you recently and some feel too hot to the touch. Is this normal?

A: While we'd like to provide one perfect answer, the truth is that there could be several reasons as to why an LED driver might be running too hot to the touch. It's always best to ensure that you have correctly calculated for the minimum load requirements of your LED strip and from there ensure that any cable you run between the strip and power supply is of the correct core gauge, in order to prevent further current issues. Also, while this last piece of advice should seem obvious, keeping them away from direct sunlight will also minimise risk.

If you are 100% confident that everything has been correctly calculated and therefore have ruled out the above as suspects, you can then move on to look at which drivers have been purchased and how they are being stored.

Generally speaking, all LED drivers should be positioned in well-ventilated areas and not enclosed within boxes. As with most electrical components, becoming warm is a natural by-product and what we do to regulate heat is an important factor. If you have a single driver powering a run, keep it in an area where enough air can circulate, much like a TV or games console. If you have multiple drivers in a single area, try to space them apart enough. If you wish, you can even mount them onto heat-sink surfaces, although results here may vary.

It's worth noting in particular that IP00/IP20/IP40 drivers do run warmer than our IP67 drivers, so do bear this in mind and weigh up the factors if you intend to shop on a budget. Our IP67 drivers offer much greater thermal regulation, thanks to the special resin they are dipped in during the manufacturing stage. 

The above advice should go some way to help you troubleshoot your set-up. If you feel that any driver you have purchased from us is faulty, be aware that such cases are very rare, but we are happy to take a look at them if you contact us via email in order to request posting it back to us. We take great care to look over our drivers and return them safely to the customer or replace if needed.