Thanks for the insights. I got the 18 gauge notion from a video tutorial, so I'm following his specs for everything. M project will be a 1m long 24v COB strip.

I guess one question would be: he recommends this 24v 2.5a power supply, but he's working with a 5m strip in the video. If I'm only using 1m, should I go with a lower amp supply? The strip I'm using is 14 watts per meter.