ChiefRunningPhist
Well-Known Member
Actually, it's the other way around.
V=IR
As the chips heat up, R drops.
If the driver output is constant, the change in the cct is realized as a decreased V but still the same I. Current is what matters. Some of the power is converted into heat and ultimately the hot LEDs need less V to push the selected/desired I through. This isn't nessecarily a fail safe, but much more of an ideal scenario than a failure situation using a CV driver.
If you flip it, and try to maintain a constant voltage, you'll be in trouble if you don't thermally manage well. Because the driver is trying to keep V constant, I has to increase when R drops, V/R = I, this results in a much different outcome than the CC driver cct. Thermal runaway is when current keeps rising because the V is constant and the R drops as it heats up and allows more and more current to pass through as it heats up more and more, and it just ends up feeding off itself till snap crackle pop! No more LEDs..
sad day lolThe boards have integrated parallel and series strings, so it really doesnt matter if you wire your boards in series or parallel when referring to CV vs CC, what matters is CV has the possibility of thermal runaway and CC doesn't. You lose a chip or string using a CV, and it can snowball worser (that a word? Lol), and faster, losing a chip or a string on a CC driver won't kick off a chain reaction..
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