LUMA-6CH / LED architectures
RGBW, Tunable White and addressable LEDs.
How we prepare and verify this contentRGBW and Tunable White regulate separate power channels through PWM; addressable LEDs instead receive supply power and a digital data stream. They can coexist in one installation, but they are not interchangeable loads and need distinct wiring, configuration and limits.
Start from the load structure.
| Type | Controlled lines | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Monochrome | One power channel | Brightness |
| Tunable White | Warm and cool white | Brightness and color temperature |
| RGB | Red, green, blue | Mixed color |
| RGBW | RGB plus separate white | Color plus more efficient white |
| Addressable | Shared supply and data | Per-pixel or per-group control |
Tunable White needs a mixing rule.
Warm and cool channels do not necessarily run at 100% together. The controller must translate requested brightness and color temperature into two duty cycles while respecting total power, uniformity and luminaire behavior.
RGBW is not simply brighter RGB.
The white channel can produce neutral light with better efficiency and quality than an RGB mix. Software must decide how much content to move to white without changing the requested color. Calibration depends on the actual LEDs.
Addressable LEDs are a digital system.
The data line has a level, timing, protocol and practical maximum length. The supply must handle current and voltage drop along the strip; power injection is often required independently from the data point.
- Verify supported protocol and logic level.
- Calculate worst-case current from pixel count.
- Design common ground and power distribution.
- Define behavior after loss of data signal.
Current documentation boundary. Protocols, signal level and maximum addressable LEDs per LUMA-6CH output remain marked TBC in pre-production documentation. They must not be inferred from the number of data channels alone.
A multi-load controller helps only when configuration is explicit.
Assigning channels to a load type allows consistent constraints, interface and scenes. The controller should prevent combinations that exceed its total rating and make the relationship between physical channel and lighting function clear.
See how LUMA-6CH combines six power outputs and two data channels.
LUMA-6CH