Power Supply Ground Question

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incudie

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Hey there,

Was hoping to get a little guidance on a project I'm working on. I have three AC to DC 12V power supplies powering a large number of LED strips with (three) Teensys powered off of the first AC-DC power supply (with a buck converter to get 5v). Naturally, I'm trying to figure out how to get a common ground between all the LEDs and the microcontroller. The power supplies are floating (if I'm understanding correctly), the ground/neutral on the AC side of the PSU is isolated from the -V on the DC side.

Should I just connect the -V of all three of my power supplies and call it a day?

Any guidance is much appreciated.

Thanks,

PS, here is the PSU I'm using
https://www.amazon.com/ABI-Supply-O...01IU8QAUC/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8
 
Short answer: yes. Connect the grounds but not the positive voltages.

Long answer: yes. But these PSU's don't seem to be isolated, it's not mentioned in the specs nor does it has a marking on them. You should be fine if they're connected to the same feeder though. 500W is a lot of power, be sure to use proper wiring and maybe some additional over-current protection.
 
Thanks, I appreciate the reply. Naturally, there will be different power sources up stream (two generators). Just going to wire one Teensy to each power supply to be on the safe side.
 
incudie said:
Should I just connect the -V of all three of my power supplies and call it a day?
Click to expand...

That's what I'd do.

With LEDs, it's always best to run the power as directly as possible from the power supply to the LEDs. Don't connect it first to Teensy and then run power lines from Teensy to the LEDs. Run large gauge, as-short-as-reasonable-possible wires from the power right to the LEDs.

A ground wire should also always run together with every signal wire. If using the octo board and CAT5/CAT6 cable, that tends to happen automatically. Even if there is a common ground, still run a small ground wire together with every data signal. Twisted pairs in ethernet cable are usually the best way.
 
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