PRODUCT REVIEW
CENTRIC SERIES™ Flicker-Free Non-Dimmable Power Supply for LED Strip
★★★★★
Residential skylight light well lighting conversion. From fluorescent tube fixtures to LED strips
I am impressed with the Waveform products I received. The lighting quality is great and that materials are clean and well-packaged with a high quality look and feel. I purchased two “CENTRIC SERIES™ Flicker-Free Non-Dimmable 24 volt Power Supply for LED Strips (3102)” along with two 5000K 95CRI 24 volt LED strips to illuminate my residential stairwell skylight light well. Although the power supplies are capable of powering 16-1/2 linear feet of my Waveform LED strips, I have only installed ~12 linear feet of LEDs per power supply. For each power supply, I installed one 8 foot length and one 4 foot length of LED strip. The LED illumination is great with no observed flicker, audible buzzing, or end-of-line LED dimming. The low profile power supply is relatively inconspicuous — I installed it in a visible space adjacent to a U-shaped aluminum extrusion with opaque lens / diffuser for mounting LED strips. The height and width of the power supply is comparable to the cross sectional dimensions of the aluminum extrusion and helps to ‘hide’ the power supply when mounted in a visible space. In my application I mounted the power supplies above the aluminum extrusions in an overhead lightwell -- from several (but not all) perspectives the power supplies are not noticeable. The position of the power supply mounting holes is convenient and the mounting tabs raise the power supply off the mounting substrate ever-so-slightly. Suggestions for improvement would be to provide power supply housings in a lighter color (white or silver / aluminum) and provide the power supply wiring pigtails with white colored sheathing / jackets so that the assembly blends in better with installation locations on lighter colored walls within interior (visible) spaces. (The housing of the power supplies I received is darker than the housing of the power supplies currently shown on the Waveform Website. To make the assembly less noticeable in my application I wrapped my pigtails with white colored electrical tape.) Additionally, my research indicates that, in general, low voltage wiring should not be installed in concealed spaces — I understand that there are some specific cabling products available in the market that are acceptable for low voltage use in concealed spaces - a Waveform power supply product improvement suggestion would be to provide power supplies with a concealed space rated low voltage cabling pigtail to provide greater installation options. I would describe myself as a homeowner / lighting hobbiest / engineer and the product application as residential. My review is based upon, and limited to, my personal experience for my particular product application; I completed my installation three days prior to writing this review. My summary review is that the Waveform products look great, installed easily, and perform great with no issues. Two of the attached images show my project; installation of LED lighting fixtures within a residential skylight light well. The first image shows the project in-progress w/ the original T-bar ceiling installed & fluorescent fixtures & lenses removed — drywall refinished and painted. Second image shows the (almost-finished) project w/ 24 linear feet of Waveform 5000K 95 CRI LED strip lighting — power supply and low voltage wiring visible. I intend to replace the wire nut electrical connectors with low profile insulated crimps and tuck the low voltage wiring onto & behind the aluminum extrusions. The pigtail on the line voltage side of the power supply is terminated within a junction box located and accessible in the attic space immediately on the other side of the skylight wall. The other two images show the power supply image from the Waveform website and one of the power supplies I received -- illustrating a difference in appearance (coloring). "
