As I look at options, what’d the difference;
12 group buck vs 12 group linear?
Buck driver’s more efficient, it’ll run cooler and longer.
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A buck converter is pretty much a switching power supply for the LED, so 10W out only needs maybe 11W in, or a difference of 1W.
A linear regulator has pretty much the same current in as out, so 3A out draws 3A in, and the difference in voltage is burned off as heat. 3V LED, 4V from the cell, that’s 1V (times current) burned of as heat, so ~3W for 3A.
So linear is less efficient, but can be way more robust. Switching regulators almost always have surface-mount inductors that can break off (or just break) if you drop the light.
Tradeoffs…
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