8x8 Light Comparison - Need help and advice

DubJ said:

My room size is actually 12x12. I’m leaving a nice amount of space for reservoirs / co2 tanks / all the other equipment and of course a path to walk through. I could do 100% of the room but I’m just being sensible right now as I could add more later So I figure 4 4x4 footprints for now.


So essentially all I need to do is come up with 1 4x4 build and make 4 of them (or 8 2x4 modular). I’m going to do some testing with multiple builds and test different lights side by side using the same genetics to determine which lights work the best. I love the idea of 2x4 modular builds so I think I will go this route and build 8


I am 100% into fabricating / diy. The only thing I would need a little help with is the electrical math/ physics equations to determine what drivers to run and how I should run the wires P x S. All of the sourcing , cutting , screwing , welding , soldering , wiring is fun for me


I am not on a tight budget however I hate overpaying for anything. I don’t need ALL of the bells and whistles and if I could cut costs somewhere where it would not effect the performance of the lights then I will absolutely do so. I want great lighting and a broad spectrum. I am aiming for functionality and I just want them to do the best they possibly can for the plants.

I would be using these lights mostly for flowering however if I can test them for veg too I will do that but the main focus is on flowering. I’ decided to make 3 different builds and compare them side by side in 4x4 footprints lit by 2 2x4 fixtures. The H influx could be a great choice. I think I want to build x4 2x4’s for half of the room and then try 2 other builds for the other half of the room for some testing. One 4x4 corner will be qb96elites and the other corner is TBD (and yes I will post results here amongst other forums).


So now If im going to use the H influx strips to light 8x4 we are going to need 4 2x4’s. What driver would you all recommend per fixture ? 240w? 320w? How many 2’ strips per fixture if I was going for 240 and how many for 320 and which drivers would I use ? I do not need remote dimming.

Info on the h influx strips I will be using is here

https://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/samsung-semiconductor-inc/SL-B8V4N90LAWW/1510-2452-ND/8536581




So far we are going to have a 4x4 ran by 4x qb96 elites in 1 corner (driver and how hard we run them will be determined after the other builds are designed) and likely a 4x8 of H influx on the other side for comparison. What would the community like to see as the 3rd LED for testing in action (I would like to do another strip build to side by side with the H influx after I get them built ofc)


Please give me some input! Feed me your knowledge! Thank you and thank all of the community in advance !

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Rocket Soul said:

Ok, maybe not the best option around but id still like to see it:
Bridgelux Vesta strip build: they are double row strips, with 5000k/2700k on 2 separate channels. Both spectrums are 90cri, the only 90 cri strips i found. Efficiency is about the same as bridgelux gen 1 strips so not as good as samsungs at nominal. But they are cheap enough, 10ish $ for a 2 foot strip with 25w on each channel at nominal, 50w total. At that price you could run the soft enough for not using any heatsinks which saves a lot of hassle. Why: being able to tune your spectrum is very nice and very simple with these strips. Control stretch, node spacing, and using a full on 90 cri flowering spectrum is worthy of studying, especially when youre already doing something similar with qb96, another spectrum driven piece of gear.

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