What is an LED voltage drop?

An LED voltage drop describes the diminishing of the brightness of LED lights on a strip the farther the lights are from the power source. This is because voltage diminishes along the length of a wire the farther the electricity moves away from the source.

To prevent LED voltage drop, the use of a heavier gauge wire is recommended. A heavier wire allows more current to travel faster. The standard size is 18 gauge for 12V DC power. The wire should be thicker the farther it is located from the power supply. It is also useful to connect separate LED strips to separate power supplies versus connecting all strips in one series.