Powering both panels off one 5V/3A USB port, I can reach about 150/255 before nearing 3A. Some animations with more white pixels would breach 3A and significantly reduce voltage (below 4V).
It's best to power the ESP32 (~1.5W constant) separately, so that voltage sag from the panels does not cause brownouts.
For sunlight conditions, the ability to go brighter would be better. Maybe use 2 ports and split up the power distribution for each panel?
Actual power measurements:
- ESP32 running basic-walk.gif:
1W - ESP32 with Wifi ON running basic-walk.gif:
1.5W - Bubble machine running @ 5V:
1.5-4W - 1x LED panel running basic-walk.gif:
| Brightness | Power |
|---|---|
| 10/255 | ~1.5W |
| 25/255 | ~2W |
| 50/255 | 3W |
| 128/255 | 5.7W |
| 165/255 | 6.8W |
| 200/255 | 8.3W |
| 255/255 | 10W |
Serial.print("8-bit/DMA Memory Available: ");
Serial.println(heap_caps_get_free_size(MALLOC_CAP_DMA));