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Arduino Nano

Arduino Nano - LED Strip

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

You can switch the LED strip with a relay or with a MOSFET module. A relay can only turn the strip ON and OFF. A MOSFET module turns it ON and OFF as well, and it can also dim the strip, so you choose how bright it shines. We will go through both options.

Hardware Preparation

1×Official Arduino Nano
1×Alternatively, DIYables Nano V3.0 Development Board
1×USB A to Mini-B USB cable
1×Relay
1×Alternatively, MOSFET Module (AOD4184, LR7843 or FR120N)
1×12V 1-color LED Strip
1×12V RGB LED Strip
1×12V Power Adapter
1×DC Power Jack
1×Jumper Wires
1×Breadboard
1×Alternatively, 24V 1-color LED Strip
1×Alternatively, 24V RGB LED Strip
1×Alternatively, 24V Power Adapter
1×Optionally, 5V Power Adapter for Arduino Nano
1×Recommended: Screw Terminal Expansion Board for Arduino Nano
1×Recommended: Breakout Expansion Board for Arduino Nano
1×Recommended: Power Splitter for Arduino Nano

Or you can buy the following kits:

1×DIYables Sensor Kit (18 sensors/displays)
Disclosure: Some of the links provided in this section are Amazon affiliate links. We may receive a commission for any purchases made through these links at no additional cost to you.
Additionally, some of these links are for products from our own brand, DIYables .

Overview of 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 Nano non-addressable led strip Pinout

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

Relay or MOSFET Module for a LED Strip?

To learn the MOSFET module itself (pins, inside parts, code), see the Arduino Nano - MOSFET Module tutorial.

Relay MOSFET Module
Light control ON/OFF ON/OFF and brightness (PWM dimming)
Sound a click on every switch silent
Speed slow, milliseconds very fast
Life contacts wear with use no moving parts to wear
Type of power AC or DC DC only
Strip voltage any within the rating 6V or more (12V and 24V strips are fine)
Isolation yes, coil vs contacts yes, PC817 optocoupler
Pick it for AC lights, plain ON/OFF 12V/24V strips that need dimming or fast switching

If you want to dim a 1-color 12V or 24V strip, choose the MOSFET module. For an RGB strip, each color channel (R, G, B) needs its own MOSFET module, so you need three modules, just like you need three relays.

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 Nano and 12V LED strip. Arduino Nano can control the 12V LED strip via the relay. Unfamiliar with relay, including their pinouts, functionality, and programming? learn about relay in the Arduino Nano - Relay tutorial

Wiring Diagram.

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

The wiring diagram between Arduino Nano and 12V LED strip

This image is created using Fritzing. Click to enlarge image

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

The wiring diagram between Arduino Nano and 12V LED strip

This image is created using Fritzing. Click to enlarge image

Arduino Nano Code

Arduino Nano 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,

/* * This Arduino Nano code was developed by newbiely.com * * This Arduino Nano code is made available for public use without any restriction * * For comprehensive instructions and wiring diagrams, please visit: * https://newbiely.com/tutorials/arduino-nano/arduino-nano-led-strip */ #define LED_STRIP_PIN D5 // The Arduino Nano 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 repeats indefinitely 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 Nano 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)

/* * This Arduino Nano code was developed by newbiely.com * * This Arduino Nano code is made available for public use without any restriction * * For comprehensive instructions and wiring diagrams, please visit: * https://newbiely.com/tutorials/arduino-nano/arduino-nano-led-strip */ #define BLUE_PIN D6 // The Arduino Nano pin connects to the blue pin of LED strip via relay 1 #define RED_PIN D5 // The Arduino Nano pin connects to the red pin of LED strip via relay 2 #define GREEN_PIN D4 // The Arduino Nano 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 repeats indefinitely 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); }

Detailed Instructions

  • Wire the components according to the provided diagram.
  • Connect the Arduino Nano board to your computer using a USB cable.
  • Launch the Arduino IDE on your computer.
  • Select the Arduino Nano) board and its corresponding COM port.
  • Connect Arduino Nano 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 Nano
  • 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

How to Dim a LED Strip with MOSFET Module

This section uses a MOSFET module in place of the relay to control a 1-color LED strip. With PWM, the Nano can make the strip brighter or dimmer.

Wiring Diagram between Arduino Nano, MOSFET Module and 1-color LED strip

The wiring diagram between Arduino Nano and LED strip MOSFET module

This image is created using Fritzing. Click to enlarge image

See The best way to supply power to the Arduino Nano and other components.

Arduino Nano / Power / Strip MOSFET Module
Nano pin D9 PWM pin
Nano GND GND pin
12V adapter + + terminal
LED strip + (12V) + terminal, shared with the adapter +
LED strip − (GND) LOAD terminal
12V adapter − − terminal

A LED strip has no coil, so you do not need a flyback diode here.

Arduino Nano Code for Dimming 1-color LED strip

The strip is fully bright for 2 seconds and dark for 2 seconds. Next, the brightness climbs from 10% to 100% in steps, and then it goes back down to 0%.

/* * This Arduino Nano code was developed by newbiely.com * * This Arduino Nano code is made available for public use without any restriction * * For comprehensive instructions and wiring diagrams, please visit: * https://newbiely.com/tutorials/arduino-nano/arduino-nano-led-strip */ const int MOSFET_PIN = 9; // Arduino Nano pin connected to the PWM pin of the MOSFET module void setup() { Serial.begin(9600); pinMode(MOSFET_PIN, OUTPUT); analogWrite(MOSFET_PIN, 0); // start with the load OFF } void setLoad(int percent) { int duty = map(percent, 0, 100, 0, 255); // convert 0-100% to 0-255 analogWrite(MOSFET_PIN, duty); Serial.print("Load power: "); Serial.print(percent); Serial.println("%"); } void loop() { // turn the load fully ON, then fully OFF Serial.println("Load: ON"); setLoad(100); delay(2000); Serial.println("Load: OFF"); setLoad(0); delay(2000); // increase the power step by step (PWM) for (int percent = 10; percent <= 100; percent += 10) { setLoad(percent); delay(500); } // decrease the power step by step (PWM) for (int percent = 90; percent >= 0; percent -= 10) { setLoad(percent); delay(500); } delay(1000); }

Quick Steps for MOSFET Module

  • Get the Arduino IDE ready as described in the Quick Steps above.
  • Wire the Nano, the MOSFET module and the strip as in the diagram, but keep the 12V adapter unplugged.
  • Upload the code to the Arduino Nano.
  • Plug in the 12V adapter.
  • Open the Serial Monitor with baud rate 9600 and watch the strip get brighter and dimmer:
∞
Newbiely | Arduino IDE 2.3.8
──
☐
✕
File
Edit
Sketch
Tools
Help
Arduino Nano
Newbiely.ino
···
8 Serial.println("Hello World!");
Output
Serial Monitor
Message (Enter to send message to 'Arduino Nano' on 'COM15')
New Line
9600 baud
Load: ON Load power: 100% Load: OFF Load power: 0% Load power: 10% Load power: 20% Load power: 30% Load power: 40% Load power: 50% Load power: 60% Load power: 70% Load power: 80% Load power: 90% Load power: 100% Load power: 90% Load power: 80% Load power: 70% Load power: 60% Load power: 50% Load power: 40% Load power: 30% Load power: 20% Load power: 10% Load power: 0%
Ln 11, Col 1
Arduino Nano on COM15
2

Remember: the MOSFET module switches DC only, and the strip supply must be at least about 6V. For AC lights, use the relay.

Video Tutorial

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