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LED Driver Load Calculator

Drivers per project, VA and current per circuit, and the inrush figure that decides whether a breaker holds.

Inputs

LED load

Add up the tape, module, or fixture load. For tape, metres times watts per metre.

Rated output of one driver. Common constant voltage sizes are 30, 60, 96, 150, 200, and 240 watts.

Share of the driver rating you are willing to use. Eighty percent is the usual design target.

Driver and supply

Input watts equal DC watts divided by efficiency. Modern drivers run 85 to 92 percent.

VA equals input watts divided by power factor. Quality drivers run 0.9 or better.

Circuit

Supply voltage at the driver input. Common values are 120, 208, 240, and 277 V.

Branch circuit rating. Continuous loads are limited to eighty percent of the breaker rating.

Peak inrush current of one driver, from the driver datasheet. It decides how many drivers one breaker can switch on at once.

Result

Drivers required
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Input watts per driver
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Load per driver
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Usable driver output
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DC load per driver
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Total input current
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Total input watts
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Total apparent power
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Load on a full circuit
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Circuits required
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Drivers per circuit
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Peak inrush on a full circuit
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Verdict
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What to check

  • Driver output rating and its derating curve at the enclosure ambient temperature
  • Power factor and inrush from the driver datasheet, not from the family average
  • Total DC load including every metre of tape or module on the driver output
This calculator is a first-pass screen. Verify the driver datasheet, the ambient derating, and the breaker curve with the manufacturer data before wiring: inrush and temperature derating are the two items that fail inspections and commissioning.

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