The best LED strip power supplies

For an ordinary kitchen run, the HitLights 12V 60W - it states UL listing and Class 2 together, which most cheap bricks do not, at the wattage most under-cabinet runs actually need. If the budget is the point, the LEDMO 12V 60W is the same rating with UL stated for about two thirds of the price.

If the strip has to dim from a wall switch, none of the plain supplies will do it and no amount of dimmer shopping changes that. You need a driver built to accept a dimming signal: the HitLights 60W dimmable driver names TRIAC forward-phase dimming and the dimmer brands it works with, which is the only version of this purchase that is not a gamble.

Almost every complaint about a strip install - dim at the far end, hot to the touch, cuts out after twenty minutes, died in a year - is a supply that was too small for the run. The arithmetic that prevents all of it takes about a minute and needs one number off the strip: watts per foot.

That figure is on the reel, the packaging or the listing. Multiply it by the length you are actually installing, not the length of the reel, because strips are cut to fit. Then add headroom - about a fifth - so the supply is loafing rather than straining, because a supply held at its rating runs hot, and heat is what ends them.

Only then convert to whatever unit the supply is sold in. Watts divided by volts gives amps: 60 watts at 12 volts is 5 amps. The same 60 watts at 24 volts is 2.5 amps, which is the entire argument for 24V on a long run.

In a bulb, the electronics that turn mains into light sit inside the bulb. In a strip they do not - they sit in the supply, and the strip itself is just emitters on tape. That single fact is why a strip behaves so differently from a dimmable bulb when you put it on a dimmer.

Put a mains dimmer in front of a plain supply and you are feeding a chopped waveform to a device that expects a clean one. The supply tries to regulate around the gaps, and you get the reported symptoms: flicker at low settings, an audible buzz, a range that only works across the top third of the dial, or no light at all.

The fix is to dim at the driver. A dimmable driver accepts the chopped input on purpose and varies its DC output to match, which is why the two dimmable picks here state a dimming type - TRIAC, also called forward phase - rather than just the word "dimmable". The HitLights driver goes further and names Lutron and Leviton compatibility, which is the difference between a specification and a hope. The wall-dimmer half of the problem is in dimming LED strip lights.

• UL listed. The supply has been through a recognized safety evaluation. Five of the six picks here state it in the listing title. For a device that lives plugged in behind a cabinet, it is the single most worthwhile word on the box.
• Class 2. A safety classification applied to the low-voltage output side, and the one lighting products are generally expected to carry. Two of these six state it as well as UL; the rest state UL alone or say nothing.
• The output, in volts and watts or amps. 12V or 24V has to match your strip exactly. Watts or amps is the sizing number from the arithmetic above.
• The connector. Most of these use a 5.5 x 2.1 mm barrel jack, which is what strip pigtails expect. Hardwire-style drivers use screw terminals instead, which is a different job.
• An IP rating, if any. None of the six publishes one, so all of them are dry-location, indoor boxes. Under a cabinet is fine. Outdoors, a porch or a damp basement corner is not - that distinction is explained in wet vs damp rated.

1. A published output rating. All six state volts and watts, which is the minimum for a part whose entire job is a number.
2. A stated safety listing. UL on five of six, Class 2 on two. Anything that stated neither was left out.
3. A stated dimming type where dimming is claimed. "Dimmable" on its own is not a specification; TRIAC or forward phase is.
4. A sensible range of sizes. 24W for one short run, 60W for a kitchen, and a 24V option for a long one - because the right answer here depends entirely on the length you are feeding.

We did not test these; every figure is the listing's own and each is linked below. Lumens, kelvin and CRI appear nowhere on this page because a power supply has none - it is the box that feeds the light, not the light.

HitLights 12V 5A 60W, Class 2, UL - the pick. 60 watts at 12 volts, UL listing and Class 2 both stated, with the standard 5.5 x 2.1 mm barrel jack.
Who it is for: a normal kitchen run of plain, undimmed strip. Who should skip it: anyone who needs the run to dim - buy the dimmable driver instead, not this plus a dimmer.
Cons: no dimming; costs more than an unbranded brick of the same rating; no IP rating published, so indoor only; a 60W brick is not small and needs somewhere to live.

LEDMO 12V 5A 60W Max, UL listed - the value version of the same thing. The same 12V 60W rating with UL stated, at the lowest price here for that size.
Who it is for: the same run as the pick, when the brand premium is not worth it to you. Who should skip it: anyone who wants Class 2 stated as well - this lists UL only.
Cons: no Class 2 claim; no dimming; no IP rating; rated 60W maximum, so plan the load comfortably below it rather than at it.

Wefomey 12V 2A 24W, UL listed - for one short run. 24 watts at 12 volts, UL stated, and physically the smallest box on this page.
Who it is for: a single shelf, one cabinet, or a display case - the jobs where 60W is three times the supply you need. Who should skip it: anyone running two cabinet lengths; do the arithmetic first, because 24W disappears quickly.
Cons: runs out of headroom fast; no Class 2 claim; no dimming; no IP rating.

HitLights 60W dimmable driver, TRIAC, UL - the one that actually dims. 60W at 12V with TRIAC forward-phase dimming and Lutron and Leviton compatibility both named, plus a removable AC cord so it can be used plug-in now and hardwired later.
Who it is for: a kitchen run that has to come down to a low level in the evening, from the switch on the wall. Who should skip it: anyone whose strip is never going on a dimmer - this is three times the price of a plain supply for a feature you would not use.
Cons: the most expensive pick here; still needs a compatible wall dimmer, bought separately; drivers of this type can hum faintly at the bottom of the range; no IP rating.

LEDMO 60W dimmable driver, TRIAC - dimming for half the money. The same 60W TRIAC-dimmable job with isolation protection and quiet operation both claimed.
Who it is for: a dimmed run where the budget will not stretch to the HitLights. Who should skip it: anyone who wants to know in advance that it works with their dimmer - this names no compatible brands.
Cons: no UL or Class 2 claim in the listing title, unlike the other drivers here; compatibility is left for you to discover; narrower 120V-only input; no IP rating.

EMITEVER 24V 60W, Class 2, UL - for a long run. 60 watts delivered at 24 volts and 2.5 amps, with UL and Class 2 both stated.
Who it is for: a long continuous run - an island plus a counter, a full perimeter of cove - on 24V strip, where the far end of a 12V run would visibly fall away. Who should skip it: everyone with a 12V strip. This is not a better supply, it is a different system.
Cons: destroys a 12V strip; 24V strip and accessories are a smaller market; no dimming; no IP rating.