"High Lights" - high powered, CRI95 flowering boards made in Australia

[Prawn Connery]

No heatsinks

119W to the board


One question I get asked a lot is when to use heatsinks and when can growers get away with not using them. Well, I use heatsinks whenever I can to reduce heat and increase efficiency. But I have the luxury of having a bunch of heatsinks at hand . . .

When designing the board, we wanted it to be able to run at a decent wattage without heatsinks to give growers the option. Temperature testing gave us the following results:

At 120W (2.485A)
15C ambient = 47C at the board, and 49C at the solder junction = a rise of 32-34C

At 144W (3A)
14C ambient = 50C at the board, and 52C at the solder junction = a rise of 36-38C

With a fan blowing on the board, the temperature abruptly fell from 50C to 27C


From 15C ambient - to 47C at 120W with no heatsink - a rise of 32C


47C is 116F


A small fan blowing on the board reduced temps by almost half! 50C down to 27C


Probably the easiest way to answer the question then is to state that these boards can run up to 150W without heatsinks . . . But it really depends on the environment: how hot your grow room is, what sort of efficiency you want, and how long you want your LEDs to last.

With good thermal management (heatsinks with active cooling), LEDs can run way over their maximum current ratings for long periods of time. However, the LED manufacturers warranty their specs, and those specs will be exceeded if these boards are run at more than 225W.

Maximum current ratings are also governed by temperature. At 70C ambient temperature, the maximum allowable forward current decreases to less than half current (about 1.9A per board) at 100C.

Same goes for the solder junction where the LED is attached to the board: the maximum allowable current is "0" (zero) at 100C.

Can you drive your LEDs higher than this at higher temperatures? Yes. At the risk of burning them out.

For this reason, we suggest you don't let the boards or solder junction exceed 70C.

 

[Prawn Connery]

Layouts

By far the most common question is: how many boards do I need to run over "X" space?

2.5'x2'
Right now I have one board running at 3A (144W) without a heatsink in a 2.5'x2' clone and veg tent. The board has been running for quite a few months now - through a hot Aussie summer - without issues. PPFD figures range from 620 in the middle to 420 in the corners at 18", with an average spread of about 500 PPFD.

2'x2'/4'x2'
I am running 2 boards per 2'x2' in my 4'x2' flowering tent and getting a very even 1100-1200 PPFD at about 12" at about 95W per board (just under 2A per board). You really can't beat two boards over each 2'x2' in terms of even light spread, and other growers are doing this in their 4'x4' tents and getting a uniform 1000 PPFD at 600W at 18", and 1000 PPFD at 670W at 24" (eight boards total).

No heatsinks are required at these wattages.

3'x3'
These boards are specifically designed to be run in pairs (square configuration)with heatsinks over a 3'x3' open or enclosed space paired to a HLG-320H-48A driver. Depending on the driver, you will get 350-370+W at the boards, and a pretty even 950-1000 PPFD at 15-18". These tests were done in an open 3'x3', so you can expect better results inside a 3'x3' tent.

Basically, anywhere you would hang a 600W HPS, you would hang two of these boards being driven at 350-400W total.

600W HPS killer at 350-400W



4'x4'
The 4x4 presents a few options. You could run two boards as above (with heatsinks), and drive them at 450W combined, but you would lose a fair bit of light towards the edges. Ideal for a single plant or possibly four-plant grow, but not as efficient for a scrog.

Eight boards per 4'x4' offers almost unbeatable coverage - but obviously comes with a cost. With this layout, a 4'x4' tent would be almost wall-to-wall leds, and each High Light would only have to be driven at around 75-80W each. A scrogger's delight.

Perhaps the best compromise for a 4x4 would be 6 boards - with or without double heatsinks - arranged thus:

I I I

Each "I" represents two board end-to-end as below


With six boards, you could drive each three boards in parallel with a HLG-320H-48A (two in total) for about 120+W at each board, or a 660+W per tent. Canopy spread would be pretty good, I'm guessing - as we haven't tested this configuration yet - with the option of adding more boards later if required.

Once the boards have been spectrographically mapped, we will be able to upload the data to an IES file to start computersied PAR mapping. I would hope to have this done by next week, but we'll see how it goes. In the mean time, I will continue to collect data from other growers and post it here.

 

[Frank Cannon]

@The Mad Scientist, I don't understand your x files stuff with Teknik but can it tell me my ideal layout(spacing) for 8 panels in a 4.5 x 4.5? Then can it tell me optimum watts at say 500ppfd and 900 ppfd at 18inches v 24inches?

FC

 

[Prawn Connery]

The boards get tested at specific currents once the temps and voltages have stabilised. You then get an overall wattage at the board, which is used to measure efficiency (power in, light out).

If you've seen TEKNIK's links to his goniometer (see below), you'll know how it works: you mount the panel bare or on a heatsink, and it spins around in a dark, light-absorbing room. As it spins around, the spectrometer measures the light from each angle of the board to give a digital footprint of it with PAR (and other) measurements at each angle.

Using this data, you can project the light footprint on to any area and get a PAR measurement.

I'll be testing our boards at 1.5A, 2.5A, 3.5A and 4A. 1.5A for overall efficiency (typical 65mA per LED rating), 2.5A (320 driver over three boards), 3.5A (320 driver over two boards), 4A (480 driver over two boards).

Wattages should be about 1.5A = 70W; 2.5A = 120W; 3.5A = 175W; 4A = 200W.

Once everything is done, we should be able to go "a 320 driver with two boards will spread 1100 PPFD to 900 PPFD in an enclosed 3'x3' tent at 18" etc (that's just an example).

Here's the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=aAIaRoWF7fE&t=29s&app=desktop

 

[Randomblame]

@The Mad Scientist, I don't understand your x files stuff with Teknik but can it tell me my ideal layout(spacing) for 8 panels in a 4.5 x 4.5? Then can it tell me optimum watts at say 500ppfd and 900 ppfd at 18inches v 24inches?

FC

I would just use the layout @Or_Gro has in his room but leave a little wider gaps between the boards. 4-5" to the walls but 4 and 8" between the boards. I would leave the widest gap in the center to reduce the center hotspot a bit and move them boards farer to the outside.
You should end up with a very nice and even coverage above your 4,5x 4,5' area and you could also use a lux meter to check how even the spread is.
Play a bit with the positions until you have found the most even spread. + 80% uniformity means 1000μMol/s in the center, 900 along the sides and 800 in the corners.
Simply multiply by factor 62 if I remember correctly and you have μMol/s/m² at the measuring point.

 

[Or_Gro]

No heatsinks

119W to the board
View attachment 4328302

One question I get asked a lot is when to use heatsinks and when can growers get away with not using them. Well, I use heatsinks whenever I can to reduce heat and increase efficiency. But I have the luxury of having a bunch of heatsinks at hand . . .

When designing the board, we wanted it to be able to run at a decent wattage without heatsinks to give growers the option. Temperature testing gave us the following results:

At 120W (2.485A)
15C ambient = 47C at the board, and 49C at the solder junction = a rise of 32-34C

At 144W (3A)
14C ambient = 50C at the board, and 52C at the solder junction = a rise of 36-38C

With a fan blowing on the board, the temperature abruptly fell from 50C to 27C


From 15C ambient - to 47C at 120W with no heatsink - a rise of 32C
View attachment 4328300

47C is 116F
View attachment 4328301

A small fan blowing on the board reduced temps by almost half! 50C down to 27C
View attachment 4328303

Probably the easiest way to answer the question then is to state that these boards can run up to 150W without heatsinks . . . But it really depends on the environment: how hot your grow room is, what sort of efficiency you want, and how long you want your LEDs to last.

With good thermal management (heatsinks with active cooling), LEDs can run way over their maximum current ratings for long periods of time. However, the LED manufacturers warranty their specs, and those specs will be exceeded if these boards are run at more than 225W.

Maximum current ratings are also governed by temperature. At 70C ambient temperature, the maximum allowable forward current decreases to less than half current (about 1.9A per board) at 100C.

Same goes for the solder junction where the LED is attached to the board: the maximum allowable current is "0" (zero) at 100C.

Can you drive your LEDs higher than this at higher temperatures? Yes. At the risk of burning them out.

For this reason, we suggest you don't let the boards or solder junction exceed 70C.

Also, unless you have cold temps, locate your drivers outside tent....

 

[Or_Gro]

@The Mad Scientist, I don't understand your x files stuff with Teknik but can it tell me my ideal layout(spacing) for 8 panels in a 4.5 x 4.5? Then can it tell me optimum watts at say 500ppfd and 900 ppfd at 18inches v 24inches?

FC

Then can it grow, harvest, cure your plants for you....and fill your bowl and light it, too?

 

[Or_Gro]

I would just use the layout @Or_Gro has in his room but leave a little wider gaps between the boards. 4-5" to the walls but 4 and 8" between the boards. I would leave the widest gap in the center to reduce the center hotspot a bit and move them boards farer to the outside.
You should end up with a very nice and even coverage above your 4,5x 4,5' area and you could also use a lux meter to check how even the spread is.
Play a bit with the positions until you have found the most even spread. + 80% uniformity means 1000μMol/s in the center, 900 along the sides and 800 in the corners.
Simply multiply by factor 62 if I remember correctly and you have μMol/s/m² at the measuring point.

I think he’s asking if someone else could do it for him....i’d pop over and help the poor guy, but have to head to high mass....

 

[Prawn Connery]

Also, unless you have cold temps, locate your drivers outside tent....

I completely agree, and that's the reason there are no mounting holes for drivers on the heatsinks. All my drivers run remotely outside the tent, with long cords going to the boards and the drivers mounted near the power sockets.

 

[Prawn Connery]

I would just use the layout @Or_Gro has in his room but leave a little wider gaps between the boards. 4-5" to the walls but 4 and 8" between the boards. I would leave the widest gap in the center to reduce the center hotspot a bit and move them boards farer to the outside.
You should end up with a very nice and even coverage above your 4,5x 4,5' area and you could also use a lux meter to check how even the spread is.
Play a bit with the positions until you have found the most even spread. + 80% uniformity means 1000μMol/s in the center, 900 along the sides and 800 in the corners.
Simply multiply by factor 62 if I remember correctly and you have μMol/s/m² at the measuring point.

Correct. The conversion factor for the three colour boards is 61.5 and for the two colour boards 61.4.

So just use your lux meter to get a consistent 61,500 lux at the canopy, which is 1000 PPFD.

I think the way you've spaced the boards with the T5s in the middle should be about right. Just move the boards in and out of the corners until you're happy.

 

[Prawn Connery]

I think he’s asking if someone else could do it for him....i’d pop over and help the poor guy, but have to head to high mass....

View attachment 4328435

Nice! Is that pressed hash? I've only got a set of cheap bubble bags and a broom handle. It makes nice water hash, but yields are low.

 

[Prawn Connery]

@The Mad Scientist, I don't understand your x files stuff with Teknik but can it tell me my ideal layout(spacing) for 8 panels in a 4.5 x 4.5? Then can it tell me optimum watts at say 500ppfd and 900 ppfd at 18inches v 24inches?

FC

900 PPFD at 18" and 24" should be fairly similar to Or_Gro's PAR map, as Randomblame said.

If you have 25% more area and are happy with 10% less PPFD, and Or_Gro uses 600W at 18" and 670W at 24" for 1000 PPFD, then that's 675W at 18" and 750W at 24". That doesn't include the T5s, so take off maybe 50W for those and you end up with numbers a little higher than Or-Grow's.

You'd need to set the amperage at the boards with your drivers for about 2A for 760W and about 1.8A for 680W.

 

[Or_Gro]

Nice! Is that pressed hash? I've only got a set of cheap bubble bags and a broom handle. It makes nice water hash, but yields are low.

That’s pressed bud...

Talking near/full melt:

20% or more is considered good for bubble....next step up for you could be a tabletop washer...Take some of the work out...

Pressed bud, w good equipment and technique (depending on micron size of bags, temp, time, bag psi), is similar range.

I like press over all solvent-based methods, you get full terp and cannabinoid profile...aroma flavors are soooo good....unless you have a good concentrate vape, you look like a crackhead doin it...

Here’s a useful chart on yield vs bag pressure (bag pressure (psi) = force of press (lbs) divided by area of bag (sq in); eg
6-ton press 2”x5” bag: (6x2000)/(2x5) = 1200 psi):

 

[Or_Gro]

900 PPFD at 18" and 24" should be fairly similar to Or_Gro's PAR map, as Randomblame said.

If you have 25% more area and are happy with 10% less PPFD, and Or_Gro uses 600W at 18" and 670W at 24" for 1000 PPFD, then that's 675W at 18" and 750W at 24". That doesn't include the T5s, so take off maybe 50W for those and you end up with numbers a little higher than Or-Grow's.

You'd need to set the amperage at the boards with your drivers for about 2A for 760W and about 1.8A for 680W.

Maybe you should go to his grow lounge and do it for him....while he observes from a comfortable chair with a umbrella’d libation....smokin a big fatty....

 

[whytewidow]

I'm really interested in these boards. Are any being sold to test? I'd like to run some beside my strip light builds.

 

[Or_Gro]

I'm really interested in these boards. Are any being sold to test? I'd like to run some beside my strip light builds.

Pm @Prawn Connery

 

[Prawn Connery]

Maybe you should go to his grow lounge and do it for him....while he observes from a comfortable chair with a umbrella’d libation....smokin a big fatty....

LOL! You got it the other way around - I'm the brains, he's the brawn

He's actually pretty handy, is our Frank.

EDIT: Come to think of it, he's the brawn and I'm the prawn!

 

[Or_Gro]

LOL! You got it the other way around - I'm the brains, he's the brawn

He's actually pretty handy, is our Frank.

EDIT: Come to think of it, he's the brawn and I'm the prawn!

He knows i’m just yankin his chain....without him (you too) i wouldn’t have the Frank Cannon Supernova....

 

[Frank Cannon]

Well my angle was to sit back smokin fattys and let you lot do everything

TBH I was actually more interested in how the X files calcs compare to real world readings.

600ppfd for veg is ok or a bit high?
I'll prob run 900pfd for bloom and see how it goes before upping to 1000.

I can't remember my layout spacings off the top of my head, I'll get them tonight but I did consider what I thought would be optimal spacings on my Vesuvius sinks I tried to allow for evenness... we all know what happens when I try to think tho!

 

[Or_Gro]

Well my angle was to sit back smokin fattys and let you lot do everything

TBH I was actually more interested in how the X files calcs compare to real world readings.

600ppfd for veg is ok or a bit high?
I'll prob run 900pfd for bloom and see how it goes before upping to 1000.

I can't remember my layout spacings off the top of my head, I'll get them tonight but I did consider what I thought would be optimal spacings on my Vesuvius sinks I tried to allow for evenness... we all know what happens when I try to think tho!

Veg: 300-600

Keep thinking....