I am wondering about the suitability of a power supply designed for LED lighting strips, to use as a replacement for some 24 V DC switch mode power bricks that came with some wifi network equipment.
The reason I'm tempted to use an LED lighting PSU for this application, is that it seems quite difficult to purchase a general purpose, outdoor weatherproof (rated IP67) DC power supply, in Australia at least, for a reasonable price.
I wish to power two wifi devices, with a maximum power draw of 4 W and 7 W respectively and wire them in parallel to a single PSU. The associated data sheet says that they accept anywhere between 8 and 30 V DC, using passive Power over Ethernet. These devices feature a small router, attached to an antenna.
I thought perhaps a "contant voltage" PSU such as the EVWP12/30 sold by Domus Lighting might be suitable. Output specs: 12V DC ± 0.5V, Low Voltage output: 30W DC, Tolerance: 10%, Output Current: 2.5A. Input voltage will be 240V AC.
My hesitation is about whether these PSUs modulate their output waveform using PWM (even though they're described as "DC"), in a manner suitable for LED lighting strips, but perhaps not for other equipment. Do you know if they will be suitable?
Best Answer
A Constant Voltage LED power supply can be used as a DC power supply for non-LED loads. As with any power supply, there will some amount of noise on the output voltage. The WiFi units have their own internal power supply circuits to power the internal circuitry.
Also note that the other type of LED power supply, the Constant Current LED power supply, is Not suitable to use as a DC power supply for non-LED loads.