quick question I can’t find an answer to anywhere.
I’m installing an LED Strip T1 (LEDS-K02) under a kitchen cabinet in an old apartment where there’s no outlet — just two always-on mains conductors coming out of the wall that used to feed the old fixture. So instead of the stock plug-in adapter, I’m having an electrician hardwire a 24V constant-voltage non-dimmable Class 2 driver, then running 18/2 to a screw-terminal male barrel plug into the T1 controller. Non-dimmable because the T1 handles dimming digitally over Zigbee.
What’s the barrel connector spec on the T1? It isn’t in the manual, the spec page, the FCC filings, or any review I could find, and the third-party “T1-compatible” adapters on Amazon won’t state it. I’m assuming 5.5 × 2.1mm center-positive, but 5.5 × 2.5 is common enough that I’d rather not guess — a mismatched plug seats fine and then goes intermittent later.
If anyone has measured theirs or used a third-party plug successfully, I’d love the confirmation.
Also: has anyone run a T1 off a hardwired driver instead of the stock adapter? Any flicker, dropouts, or pairing issues? And where did you end up hiding the inline controller — it’s bulkier than the strip and needs to disappear too.
Thanks
I’ve had a dig through Aqara’s documentation for you. The electrical side is confirmed: the T1/LEDS-K02 controller is designed for 24 V DC, and the original Aqara power supply outputs 24 V DC at 1.5 A.
The frustrating bit is the barrel connector. I can’t find an official Aqara specification giving the OD/ID dimensions or even an explicit polarity statement. I’ve checked the product specifications, manual and FCC documentation, and they only specify 24 V DC – so I wouldn’t want to tell you that 5.5 × 2.1 mm centre-positive is definitely correct when I can’t verify it.
Your proposed arrangement should otherwise be perfectly reasonable in principle: a regulated constant-voltage 24 V DC supply feeding the original Aqara controller means the controller still handles the LED control/dimming and Zigbee side. The replacement supply needs adequate current capacity – the original is rated at 1.5 A – and obviously the DC polarity must be correct.
Because you’re already using an electrician, the safest option for the connector would be to measure the original Aqara PSU plug with callipers and verify its polarity with a multimeter rather than buying a 5.5 × 2.1 or 5.5 × 2.5 plug on assumption. That will give you a definitive answer and avoid exactly the intermittent-contact problem you mentioned.
As for hiding the controller, I’d keep it somewhere accessible and ventilated rather than permanently burying it in the wall/cabinet structure. Under/above the cabinet or in an accessible enclosure would make future pairing/resetting or replacement much easier.
If you do measure the original plug, please post the dimensions here – it’d actually be useful information to have documented on the forum because Aqara don’t appear to publish it.
Hello, welcome to the forum. Power supply voltage ~24.0 volts. Center “+24”. Size 5.5x2.5. I have a spare adapter for a mini UPS, I checked it. I’m adding a photo for clarity.
As my bathroom installer had installed a dumb LED strip in my bathroom and powering it from my loft, I was able to install the T1 LED power plug in the loft and using the existing cable down to the bathroom using these at each end…
The size of the T1 LED power plug and controller does make the use of this strip limited. Let’s hope the T2 improves this?
Thanks very much, I’ll let you know how it goes!
Thanks very much