Wiring Multiple LEDs
LEDs in Parallel
What happens if you want to light 20 LEDs in the same circuit? There must be a way to do this without needing a 60v power supply as would be required if you wired the LEDs in series. Well, the answer my friend -- is parallel wiring. When wiring LEDs in parallel you're creating seperate mini circuits, each with their own 6v power supply. Each circuit consists of the battery (positive, ground), an LED and a resistor.
In the schematic below there are 3 LEDs, each are part of a different mini circuit. If you removed one of the LEDs from the circuit, the other LEDs would still light brightly just as they had before. You're only limited by the current the battery is capable of supplying. So you could theoretically hook up 20 or 30 LEDs to the same 6v battery, but you would find the battery dies quicker depending on the number of LEDs you're hooking up and total amps being used by all the components in the circuit.
Below is a picture of my 3 LEDs wired in parallel (as in the schematic above) on a breadboard. It's the exact same circuit as in the Solderless Breadboard tutorial, only with two more mini circuits! Just connect the other two sets of LEDs the same way to the postive / ground rails and you're set!
Try Experimenting!
Now try hooking up multiple LEDs in series and parallel! Remembere to use V/I = R to figure out what (if any) resistor values you will need to bring the LED operating voltage within spec. There are a lot more mathematical equations involved here to figure out how long the battery can supply the power, whether you're exceeding the amps of the supply, etc.. but when using a lower voltage battery supply you're pretty safe. I wonder how many LEDs can be hooked up to a single battery? Sounds like a good topic for a future tutorial!
More Information on Series versus Parallel Circuits
For more information in Series versus Parallel wiring, check out these links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Series_and_parallel_circuits
Comments:
| why is the resistor connected after the led |
| Posted 06/05/10 3:02AM by try.myx |
|
as in your circuit diagram in the wiring multple led , why is the resistor connected after the led . isnt it supposed to be in front. now im in doubt. From the way i think and understand the resistor is used to minimise the voltage. so that the led will not recieve excess of voltage from burning it. please clear me the doubt . thnx in advance |