QUOTE
well they will all be arranged in parallel circuits. and i dont think in what sort of circuit theyre arange in will make any difference to the load they place over the circuit.
Of course it will!! The same current flows through all components in a series circuit.
Look at it this way. if I have 3 LEDs, each LED has a forward voltage of 3V and I want 20 mA through each, I also want to wire them to the 12V supply then I have two options :-
In parallel
Itotal = 3 * 20 mA = 60 mA.
Vfoward total = 3V
(12V-3V)/60 mA = 150 ohms series resistor.
Power dissipated in the resistor would be (12V-3V) * 60 mA = 0.54W
In series
Itotal = 20mA (since the same current flows through each LED)
V forward total = 3 * 3V = 9V
(12V-9V)/20 mA = 150 ohms series resistor.
Power dissipated in the resistor would be (12V-9V) * 20 mA = 0.06W
So its clear that wiring the 3 in series to the 12V supply you draw only a 1/3 of the current of wiring them in parallel. In the parallel circuit most of the power is being lost in the series resistor.
Another bonus of wiring them is series is that if one blows then they all go out, which isn't really a bonus, but if one of the LEDs in the parallel circuit blew then the other two will be getting another 10 mA each. If your supplying Imax in the first place another 10mA is going to damage the remaining two until they are all blown.
In short series rocks. Not as easy to wire as parallel but far better in the long run.
