WS2811 vs WS2812B: What's The Difference?

LED strip lights are self-adhesive and flexible electronic circuits with LEDs spaced at regular intervals. LED strips are often sold in 5-meter rolls and can be cut at specific intervals or combined to make a longer LED strip.

LED strip lights are often powered by a DC voltage of 5V, 12V, or 24V. LED strips on the market are typically designed to work with a 12V supply. LED strips are inexpensive lighting equipment, simple to install, and quickly transform the mood. In this article, we’ll look at the differences between WS2811 and WS2812B, but first, let’s clarify what an LED strip is.

Table of Contents

What is an LED Strip Light?

LED strip lights are a novel and versatile lighting option. Although there are many variations and exceptions, they all share the following characteristics:

● The LED strip comprises many individuals LED emitters installed on a thin, flexible circuit board.

● Come on a long reel (usually 16 feet / 5 meters), can be cut to length, and include double-sided adhesive for attaching.

● Operate on low-voltage DC power

● Come in a wide range of fixed and variable color and brightness

Anatomy of an LED strip

A half-inch (10-12 mm) wide LED strip light can be as long as 16 feet (5 meters). With just a pair of scissors and a ruler, they may be cut to desired lengths by following the cutlines, spaced every 1-2 inches.

Individual LEDs are installed along the strip at 18-36 LEDs per foot in most cases (60-120 per meter). The LED strip’s overall light color and quality are determined by the color and quality of the individual LEDs.

Pre-applied double-sided adhesive is on the backside of the LED strip. Peel the liner off the LED strip and stick it to almost any surface. LED strips can be put on curved and uneven surfaces because of the flexibility of the circuit board.

Determining LED Strip Brightness

The metric lumens are used to measure the brightness of LED strips. Different LED strips, unlike incandescent bulbs, might have varying levels of efficiency; therefore, a wattage number isn’t always indicative of actual light production.

The brightness of LED strips is usually measured in lumens per foot (or meter). A good LED strip should provide at least 450 lumens per foot (1500 lumens per meter), the same as a standard T8 fluorescent lamp in terms of light production per foot. (For example, a 4-foot T8 fluorescent lamp produces 1800 lumens when replaced with a 4-foot LED strip.)

Three factors primarily govern the brightness of LED strips

● LED Emitter Light Output and Efficiency

● Number of LED Per Foot

● LED Strip Power Draw Per Foot

A lumen brightness specification on an LED strip light is a red flag. You should also be wary of low-cost LED strips that claim to be bright, as they may overdrive the LEDs and cause them to die prematurely.

Determining LED Strip Quality

It might be difficult to distinguish between LED strip lights designed for good performance and longevity and those that are not. Here are some ideas to help you figure out where to look.

Composition and Quality of Circuit Boards – The quality and specification of the underlying circuit board are critical for higher power LED strips. Copper material is required because large levels of electrical current must pass through each section. To ensure that the circuit board can manage the higher power, look for LED strips with a copper weight of at least 2 oz, preferably 4 oz. Otherwise, you risk voltage loss.

LED Quantity & Quality – LED emitters are directly responsible for the efficiency, quality, and consistency of light output. Look for LED strip lights with strict quality standards and specifications on the LED emitters. Be wary of LED strips that claim a high power despite a low LED count, as this could imply overdriving of the LED emitters, which could lead to premature failure.

LED Strip Surface – High-quality LED strips will normally have an extra layer of white paint to help boost light reflectivity and output. This step will be skipped by lower-cost LED strip options, leaving the copper color visible. In an aluminum channel installation, this can impact both the brightness and hue of the light.

What is WS2811

The WS2811 is a simple RGB LED strip. It means that you can display every single LED color with the help of an information signal. These signals can be obtained from various sources, including the Digital pin on an Arduino board, an appropriate RGB LED controller, etc.

The important thing to note is that this information signal is a PWM heartbeat. The PWM heartbeats power the LEDs. The ws2811 driver IC is the source of the word.

This is referred to as ws2811 LEDs. This addressable RGB LED ws2811 is powered by DC 12V to see the voltage difference. Even at DC 12V, the WS2811 RGB LED Controller we’re constructing today is capable.

What is WS2812B

The control circuit and RGB chip are incorporated in a package of 5050 components in the WS2812B intelligent control LED light source. It has an intelligent digital port data latch and a signal reshaping amplification driving circuit on the inside. A precision internal oscillator and a 12V voltage programmable constant current control element are also included, ensuring that the color height of the pixel point light remains consistent.

The data transfer protocol has a single NZR communication channel. The DIN port receives data from the controller after the pixel power-on reset; the first pixel collects initial 24bit data and sends it to the internal data latch. The other data is molded by the internal signal of the amplification circuit and delivered to the next cascade pixel via the DO port.

The signal is reduced to 24 bits after transmission for each pixel. Pixels use auto reshaping transmit technology; thus, the number of pixels in a cascade is not limited by signal transmission speed. LEDs have low operating voltage, which is excellent for the environment and saves energy. They also have strong brightness, a large scattering angle, good consistency, low power, and long life. The integrated control chip in LEDs is becoming a simpler circuit, small volume, and easy to install.

WS2811 vs WS2812B: What’s The Difference?

The WS2811 LED chip operates at 12 volts. A WS2812B chip, on the other hand, only needs 5V to function. When using an LED strip with many LEDs, you’ll notice a lot of voltage drop along the strip, which means the last few LEDs at the strip’s far end from the board will have a lower voltage.

For example, imagine your strip contains 30 LEDs, and the voltage drop near the end is 2V. Using a WS2811 chip, the last few LEDs will receive about 10V. This is still OK for an LED designed to operate at 12V. If you use a WS2812B that works at 5V, the voltage drop will be 3V rather than the reported 5V. That’s a significant voltage drop right there.

Differences in LEDs Controlled Between WS2811 and WS2812B

The WS2811 doesn’t control a single LED. Instead, it controls a cluster of three LEDs. You can’t control them at a granularity of fewer than three LEDs, which means you can’t control them. Each WS2812B, on the other hand, can control one LED. The WS2812B should be used instead of the WS2811 if you need a control granularity of 1 LED.

Differences in Power Consumption between WS2811 and WS2812B

The WS2811 uses a lot more power because it runs on 12V. The WS8212B, on the other hand, can operate at a much lower power consumption because it runs on 5V.

Pros and Cons of WS2811 and WS2812B

Pros of WS8211

It is powered by 12 volts. As a result, it can control more LEDs in a strip.
Ease of use when working with huge numbers of LEDs.

Cons of WS8211

At any given time, it can only control three LEDs. As a result, the control granularity level with the lowest granularity is three LEDs. It consumes a lot more power due to the 12V operation.

Pros of WS8212B

Individual LEDs can be turned on and off.
The LED control granularity is 1 LED.
Power usage is reduced.
The WS2811/WS2812B relies on data matching at a very precise time. The WS2812B is easier to manufacture and thus less expensive, and each RGB LED takes up significantly less space on strips.

Cons of WS8212B

The voltage drop becomes obvious as the number of LEDs in the strip grows because it runs on 5V.

Conclusion

The use cases you have will determine whether you should use WS2811 or WS2812B. The WS2811 is the obvious choice for managing a long LED strip.

The WS2812B, on the other hand, is the way to go if you want to control LEDs down to the granular level of a single LED. As a result, I hope that this article has clarified the differences between WS2811 and WS2812B.

Lastly, to purchase quality WS2811 or WS2812B, contact us at ICRFQ. We are the leading manufacturer of electrical components in China.