Driver - question about using currents below/beyond an LED rating

looking at samsung f-series. 46v, 1.12A

2 drivers im looking at -

• hlg-480-c1400a : 343v, 1.4a
• hlg-240-c1050a/b: 250v, 1.05a

from the looks of it, the 240 is under the current. however, the a version someone said can but bumped up because of a potentiometer to run at 1.12a. not sure if true? not sure what the b version is

questions:

• is it bad to use drivers that have less current than what the led strips want? its kinda close 1.05A vs 1.12A (94%)
• is it bad to run a driver at its max rated current? (for hlg240, 1.05A will be constantly be drawn, heard that itll "burn out" faster)
• can the hlg240-1050A actually be increased to 1.12A due to its potentiometer?

the reason i am considering the 240 is that it can drive 5 strips, whereas the 480 drives 7 strips but double the cost.

kdt15 said:

• is it bad to use drivers that have less current than what the led strips want? its kinda close 1.05A vs 1.12A (94%)
• is it bad to run a driver at its max rated current? (for hlg240, 1.05A will be constantly be drawn, heard that itll "burn out" faster)

Click to expand...

I can take these two:

• No, the specified current of the strips is their nominal current. The current that all the specs are what they say they are. You can run them at less current to get less light output, the ~94% output you quote. They will be slightly more efficient at this power though, so that's an up side.
• It is possible that running it at max current could lower the lifetime but again the specs are quoted at the rated power output. Running at 100% power output for its full life, there's an MTBF of 180,000 hours of runtime at 25C ambient temperature and >62,000 hours expected lifetime (within 2 standard deviations, units will start to fail around this point, but the average unit will go 180,000 hours, and some will up to 300,000 hours).

And the A version can only adjust output current in the HLG-XXXH-CXXXX models, the non-C modules have the voltage and current adjust (but are low voltage).

noodle-led said:

I can take these two:

• No, the specified current of the strips is their nominal current. The current that all the specs are what they say they are. You can run them at less current to get less light output, the ~94% output you quote. They will be slightly more efficient at this power though, so that's an up side.
• It is possible that running it at max current could lower the lifetime but again the specs are quoted at the rated power output. Running at 100% power output for its full life, there's an MTBF of 180,000 hours of runtime at 25C ambient temperature and >62,000 hours expected lifetime (within 2 standard deviations, units will start to fail around this point, but the average unit will go 180,000 hours, and some will up to 300,000 hours).

And the A version can only adjust output current in the HLG-XXXH-CXXXX models, the non-C modules have the voltage and current adjust (but are low voltage).

Click to expand...

great thanks, so it is spossible to bump up the A version from 1050mA to 1120mA with the potentiometer?

The A version maxes out at 100% power output with its built-in potentiometer. I don't know if the B version can be over-currented, I've never tried it.

kdt15 said:

it is spossible to bump up the A version from 1050mA to 1120mA with the potentiometer?

Click to expand...

No. The potentiometer/resistor can only dim down from the max current. Not increase.

The forward voltage (e.g. 46v) are additive when wired in series. The number of strips is limited by the constant current region of the driver.

The 240H-C1050 the CC range is 119 ~ 238V, it can drive between 3 and 5 46v strips.
The 480H-C1400 171 ~ 343v can drive between 4 and 7 46v strips.

Neither can drive more than it's maximum rated currents of 1050mA and 1400mA.

240H-C1050A = 1280 mA max
480H-C1400A = 1490 mA max

available voltage demand from the strips determines how many volts you use. amps are the same 1400ma or 1050ma constantly drawn at the voltage connected. connected volts will determine how many watts or how much power you draw. when you maximize volts closest to the maximum you achieve the maximum power or watts available in the driver.

Match your amps to your desired amp draw and connect strips up to match the voltage demand

max volts- 343v/46v = max strips in series(7) per driver for 480 watts of power.