How to Choose LED Controller? – A Comprehensive Guide
- LED strip compatibility, there are various led strip one the market like single color, dual white, rgb, rgbw and rgb+cct, those are normal led strip, different led strip need different LED controller, for example, the single white strip light must be connected with single white led controller
- LED strip voltage, DC12V and DC24V are the most popular types on the market, you must use LED controller with right voltage feature, for example, DC12V led strip should wire with DC12V led controller
- Strip light application, LED strip light have wide application for indoor and outdoor lighting, you must choose waterproof controller for outdoor lighting and IP20 for indoor lighting
- Smart control for led strip,some people like voice control, smart phone control,you must select led controller with built-in wifi or zigbee chip
- LED strip feature, normal led strip should use normal led controller, but there are some digital led strip on the market, those strip must use digital strip controller, other led controllers can not work with it
What is an LED controller?
LED Controller or LED Remote is the point and shoot style dimming remote that is commonly used to dim an LED Strip. The LED Receiver is the receiving end of the remote which is used to convert the signal (typically RF, Wifi, Bluetooth, etc.) and translate that into something the LED needs to dim or change colors, LED controller is usually used together with LED remote, controller is receiver and LED remote is transmitter
Type of LED controller
Considering different application and cost for products, there are many kinds of led controller like WIFI LED controller, Bluetooth LED controller, IR LED controller, RF LED controller, Zigbee LED controller, DMX LED controller and DALI LED controller, end user can choose suitable controller to meet their requirements.
WiFi LED controller
WIFI is commonly used in our daily, it’s standard communication protocol, many smart products will use WIFI chip,it’s simple for end user and make every products online and do smart control by smart phone APP, the disadvantage is that user must have stable wifi network and can afford higher cost.
Bluetooth LED controller
Bluetooth LED controller is though bluetooth signal, user’s device must have bluetooth function, control distance is limited, but the price is very cheap,those controllers always used for low end market.
IR LED controller
IR is very old control type, have very short distance( 3-10m) and unstable signal, cheapest control solution.
RF LED controller
2.4G RF communication protocol is the most popular wireless control solution in our daily life, high cost performance, stable signal with long distance control, many people like RF LED controller since it has perfect performance and reasonable price.
Zigbee LED controller
Zigbee 3.0 is standard protocol on the market, it’s same as wifi network. Zigbee is usually used for outdoor lighting products, wifi focus on indoor smart lighting control. Zigbee network is more powerful than wifi network and long distance control.
DMX LED controller
DMX512 is standard DMX512 output signal, user can set up address individually, it’s usually used for large-scale outdoor lighting projects. For new user, DMX512 is very complex, but user can control lights with different setting and create amazing scene.
DALI LED controller
DALI LED control systems allow you to address and control lights. With bi-directinal communication, lights can send information back to the user.DALI and DALI-2 are DALI standards. All our DALI LED controllers are DALI 2 lighting control standard, which is the latest version of the DALI protocol. This can be used in conjunction with any DALI lighting control products from any manufacturer. End user need to have DALI master in their home, DALI system is high cost solution which is only used for high end market.
Factors to Consider When Selecting LED Controller
- According to led strip type (single color ,dual white, rgb, rgbw, rgb+cct)
- Considering the cost, cheapest solution are IR and bluetooth LED controller, middle range is RF,zigbee and wifi led controller, high end market is DMX512 and DALI led controller
- Application, indoor should be IP20, outdoor should be IP68
- Control type, normal control often use RF, smart control often use Wifi and Zigbee
LED controller installation
- Prepare correct power adapter, usually have two types on the market, DC12V or DC24V power adapter
- Wire the line into LED controller output side, be careful for the color of wire, there is symbol on LED controller, wire line into each port based on symbol instruction.You may need screwdriver for installation
- Connect power adapter into LED controller input, don’t wire wrong line since there is V+ and V-
How to Connect LED Strip Lights to the Controller
Please review following video
MiBoxer Main Controller series
| Model No. | Voltage | Feature |
| E2-RF | DC12/24V | 2.4G RF CCT and single color |
| E3-RF | DC12/24V | 2.4G RF RGB/RGBW/RGB+CCT |
| E2-WR | DC12/24V | 2.4G RF+WIFI CCT and single color |
| E3-WR | DC12/24V | 2.4G RF+WIFI RGB/RGBW/RGB+CCT |
| E2-ZR | DC12/24V | 2.4G RF+ZIGBEE CCT and single color |
| E3-ZR | DC12/24V | 2.4G RF+ZIGBEE RGB/RGBW/RGB+CCT |
Characteristic
- The most popular voltage is DC 24V on the market
- Main function ( dim brightness, color temperature,RGB,group control,voice control)
- Signal auto transmitting and synchronization
- WiFi and Zigbee communication, smart phone control
