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Arduino - LED Strip

In this tutorial, we are going to learn how to program Arduino to control a LED strip to emit the light.

Hardware Required

1	×	Arduino UNO or Genuino UNO
1	×	USB 2.0 cable type A/B (for USB-A PC)
1	×	USB 2.0 cable type C/B (for USB-C PC)
1	×	Relay
1	×	12V 1-color LED Strip
1	×	12V RGB LED Strip
1	×	12V Power Adapter
1	×	DC Power Jack
1	×	Jumper Wires
1	×	(Alternative) 24V 1-color LED Strip
1	×	(Alternative) 24V RGB LED Strip
1	×	(Alternative) 24V Power Adapter
1	×	(Optional) 5V Power Adapter for Arduino
1	×	(Recommended) Screw Terminal Block Shield for Arduino Uno
1	×	(Recommended) Breadboard Shield For Arduino Uno
1	×	(Recommended) Enclosure For Arduino Uno

Or you can buy the following sensor kits:

1	×	DIYables Sensor Kit (30 sensors/displays)
1	×	DIYables Sensor Kit (18 sensors/displays)

Disclosure: Some links in this section are Amazon affiliate links. If you make a purchase through these links, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
Additionally, some links direct to products from our own brand, DIYables.

About LED Strip

A LED strip, also known as LED tape or LED ribbon, is a flexible circuit board with surface-mounted LEDs that emit light. These strips are versatile and commonly used for decorative lighting in various applications. LED strips come in a range of colors and are often used to provide ambient lighting, accent lighting, or decorative lighting effects.

LED strips come in two main types:

Addressable LED Strips: In this type, the color and brightness of each individual LED on the strip can be independently controlled. This capability is due to the fact that each LED is assigned a specific address.
Non-Addressable LED Strips: In contrast, non-addressable LED strips allow control over the color and brightness, but this control applies uniformly to all LEDs on the strip.

This tutorial will focus on the Non-Addressable LED Strips. For Addressable LED Strips, please refer to the following tutorials:

Non-Addressable LED Strip Pinout

Non-Addressable LED Strip has two main types:

Non-Addressable 1-color LED strip: Only one color defined by manufacturer.
Non-Addressable RGB LED strip: any colors

A Non-Addressable 1-color LED Strip usually has two pins:

12V/24V pin: needs to be connected to the positive pin of 12V or 24V DC power supply
GND pin: needs to be connected to the negative pin of 12V or 24V DC power supply

A Non-Addressable RGB LED Strip usually has four pins:

12V/24V pin: needs to be connected to the positive pin of 12V or 24V DC power supply
R pin: This pin is used to control the red color. Connecting this pin to the negative pin of the power supply enables the red color
G pin: This pin is used to control the green color. Connecting this pin to the negative pin of the power supply enables the green color
B pin: This pin is used to control the blue color. Connecting this pin to the negative pin of the power supply enables the blue color

Arduino non-addressable led strip Pinout

We will learn how to control the both types by Arduino one-by-one.

How to Control a Non-Addressable 1-color LED strip.

If 12V LED strip is powered by 12V power supply, it emits light. To control a 12V LED strip, we need to use a relay in between Arduino and 12V LED strip. Arduino can control the 12V LED strip via the relay. If you do not know about relay (pinout, how it works, how to program ...), learn about relay in the Arduino - Relay tutorial

Wiring Diagram.

Wiring Diagram between Arduino and Non-Addressable 1-color LED strip.

Arduino 12V LED strip Wiring Diagram

This image is created using Fritzing. Click to enlarge image

Wiring Diagram between Arduino and Non-Addressable RGB LED strip.

Arduino 12V LED strip Wiring Diagram

This image is created using Fritzing. Click to enlarge image

Arduino Code

Arduino Code for controlling Non-Addressable 1-color LED strip.

The below code repeatedly turns the LED strip ON in 5 seconds and OFF in 5 seconds,

/* * Created by ArduinoGetStarted.com * * This example code is in the public domain * * Tutorial page: https://arduinogetstarted.com/tutorials/arduino-led-strip */ #define LED_STRIP_PIN 3 // the Arduino pin controls to the LED strip via relay void setup() { Serial.begin(9600); // initialize Arduino pins as digital output pins pinMode(LED_STRIP_PIN, OUTPUT); } // the loop function runs over and over again forever void loop() { Serial.println("The LED strip is turned on"); digitalWrite(LED_STRIP_PIN, HIGH); delay(5000); Serial.println("The LED strip is turned off"); digitalWrite(LED_STRIP_PIN, LOW); delay(5000); }

Arduino Code for controlling Non-Addressable RGB LED strip.

The below code repeatedly control the color of the RGB LED strip (red, green, blue, yellow, magenta, cyan and white)

/* * Created by ArduinoGetStarted.com * * This example code is in the public domain * * Tutorial page: https://arduinogetstarted.com/tutorials/arduino-led-strip */ #define BLUE_PIN 5 // the Arduino pin connects to the blue pin of LED strip via relay 1 #define RED_PIN 4 // the Arduino pin connects to the red pin of LED strip via relay 2 #define GREEN_PIN 3 // the Arduino pin connects to the green pin of LED strip via relay 3 void setup() { Serial.begin(9600); // initialize Arduino pins as digital output pins pinMode(BLUE_PIN, OUTPUT); pinMode(RED_PIN, OUTPUT); pinMode(GREEN_PIN, OUTPUT); } // the loop function runs over and over again forever void loop() { Serial.println("The LED strip is turned red"); digitalWrite(BLUE_PIN, LOW); digitalWrite(RED_PIN, HIGH); digitalWrite(GREEN_PIN, LOW); delay(2000); Serial.println("The LED strip is turned green"); digitalWrite(BLUE_PIN, LOW); digitalWrite(RED_PIN, LOW); digitalWrite(GREEN_PIN, HIGH); delay(2000); Serial.println("The LED strip is turned blue"); digitalWrite(BLUE_PIN, HIGH); digitalWrite(RED_PIN, LOW); digitalWrite(GREEN_PIN, LOW); delay(2000); Serial.println("The LED strip is turned yellow"); digitalWrite(BLUE_PIN, LOW); digitalWrite(RED_PIN, HIGH); digitalWrite(GREEN_PIN, HIGH); delay(2000); Serial.println("The LED strip is turned magenta"); digitalWrite(BLUE_PIN, HIGH); digitalWrite(RED_PIN, HIGH); digitalWrite(GREEN_PIN, LOW); delay(2000); Serial.println("The LED strip is turned cyan"); digitalWrite(BLUE_PIN, HIGH); digitalWrite(RED_PIN, LOW); digitalWrite(GREEN_PIN, HIGH); delay(2000); Serial.println("The LED strip is turned white"); digitalWrite(BLUE_PIN, HIGH); digitalWrite(RED_PIN, HIGH); digitalWrite(GREEN_PIN, HIGH); delay(2000); }

Quick Steps

Connect Arduino to PC via USB cable
Open Arduino IDE, select the right board and port
Copy the above code and open with Arduino IDE
Click Upload button on Arduino IDE to upload code to Arduino
Check out the LED strip's state

Code Explanation

Read the line-by-line explanation in comment lines of code!

Please note that, to control the brightness an other colors of non-addressable LED strip, we need to use the L298N driver instead of relay

Video Tutorial

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The Best Arduino Starter Kit

See the best Arduino kit for beginner

See Also

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