Output Devices

To measure the power consumption of our output device, we used a WS2812B LED strip with 144 LEDs and selected a simple but effective measurement setup. Since the strip is supplied with 5 V, the most direct way to determine its electrical power consumption is to measure the current draw during operation and then calculate the power using the formula P = U × I.

For the test, we set the LED strip so that all three color channels (red, green, and blue) were active at 100% brightness, which corresponds to a full white output and represents a high-load operating condition. To measure the current correctly, we connected a multimeter in series with the power supply line. This is important because current can only be measured accurately when the meter is placed directly in the current path of the circuit.

With this setup, we measured a current of 1.933 A at 5 V. Based on this value, we calculated the power consumption as: P = 5 V × 1.933 A = 9.67 W.
This means that under full white output, the LED strip consumed approximately 9.67 W. We considered this method effective because it is simple, reproducible, and directly linked to the real operating condition of the device. It also gave us a practical understanding of how quickly the power demand of addressable LEDs can increase when all channels are driven at maximum brightness.

With other color settings, the power consumption naturally changes as well.

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