Design for white, enjoy the colours — WS2812B strips pull the most current on full white, but your supply must survive that worst case without sagging below about 4.6 V at the strip end. This page is a live, in-browser calculator ported from the static tables on pixel-led-effects-hugo into an interactive, vanilla-JS tool that follows the lededit-pro-theme conventions. No external scripts, no CDN, no tracking — just math.
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Interactive WS2812B power calculator
Source mechanism: sites/pixel-led-effects-hugo/content/blog/ws2812b-power-calculator.md used static markdown tables and the formula Amps = LEDs × 0.06 with a 20% headroom note. This port keeps the exact electrical math and makes it live with an inline <script> block — no shortcode, no data file, no external JS — so Hugo renders it like any other content/blog/<slug>/index.md leaf bundle under themes/lededit-pro-theme/layouts/_default/single.html (allowed because markup.goldmark.renderer.unsafe = true).
WS2812B power calculator
Formula: Amps = LEDs × 0.06 × (brightness/100) — Watts = Amps × Volts — PSU = Amps × 1.2 (and Watts × 1.2). 0.06 A is the 5 V WS2812B full-white worst case per the source post. For 12 V strings the same per-pixel current is used (3-LED 12 V segments draw ~0.06 A equivalent per addressable pixel) — production installs should verify against the strip datasheet.
How the math works
The LEDEdit Pro team uses the same conservative sizing taught in the power supply guide:
per-LED full-white = 0.06 A at 5 V (0.3 W)
total at brightness = LEDs × 0.06 × (brightness% / 100)
watts = amps × volts
supply with headroom= amps × 1.2 (watts × 1.2)
Examples at 100% brightness, 5 V:
| LEDs | Amps | Watts | Supply needed (×1.2) | Nearest SMPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 60 (1 m @60/m) | 3.6 A | 18 W | 4.3 A / 22 W | 5V 5A (25W) |
| 144 (1 m @144/m) | 8.64 A | 43 W | 10.4 A / 52 W | 5V 15A (75W) |
| 300 | 18.0 A | 90 W | 21.6 A / 108 W | 5V 30A (150W) |
| 600 | 36.0 A | 180 W | 43.2 A / 216 W | 5V 40A or split 2×30A |
| 1000 | 60.0 A | 300 W | 72 A / 360 W | Split 2×40A |
Design for white, enjoy the colors. Effects rarely pull full white on every pixel, but the supply must pass the all-white test pattern without dropping below ~4.6 V at the strip end.
Power injection still matters
Past 3–5 m at 5 V the thin copper on the strip adds voltage drop — LEDs at the far end look pink or dim even if the supply is large enough. That is not a supply-size problem but a distribution problem. Use the companion power-injection and wire-gauge calculator to size feed wire (AWG 14/16/18/20/22) and see how often to inject to stay under 5% drop.
Wiring and controller notes
- One supply per zone, never parallel two SMPS +V outputs — diode-OR or split zones instead. Tie all GNDs and the controller GND at one star point. See T-1000S tutorial and K-1000C tutorial for single-output wiring, and K-8000 / T-8000 plus T-4000 for multi-output installs.
- Match the supply to the pixels — 5 V strips on 5 V, 12 V strings on 12 V, common ground when mixing.
- Fuse each injection leg with an automotive blade fuse sized above the leg current (see the second calculator for a suggestion).
- For SD-card programming of all 19 families, start at LEDEdit Pro 2026 features and export straight to
.led.
Related guides
- Choose a power supply for pixel LEDs — formula, wiring & injection — the full sizing and wiring reference this calculator implements
- T-1000S controller tutorial — single-output wiring and SD-card setup
- K-1000C tutorial — Art-Net-capable single-output controller
- T-1000S controller page and K-8000 / T-8000 — per-output limits and chip profiles
- LEDEdit Pro 2026 — LED Video Editor for T1000S & SD-Card Controllers — timeline, 151 effects, Layout Creator and direct
.ledexport - Free downloads — LEDEdit installers
Build the show after the wiring — LEDEdit Pro 2026
Sized the supply? Now fill those pixels. The LEDEdit Pro team ships LEDEdit Pro 2026 with 151 built-in effects, layer masks and per-LED preview — export ready for the controllers above.
See LEDEdit Pro 2026 features Buy once — €99 lifetime