HLG-C Driver Selection Tool

ledgardener

ledgardener

Well-Known Member
Hey all,

I pulled some data from the product simulation tools of a few different COB manufacturers and made up a little spreadsheet that lets you pick a COB, enter quantity, and select a drive current, and it highlights the HLG-C drivers that suit your choices.

Let me know what you think.

http://ledgardener.com/cob-led-driver-selection-tool/

And the link to the spreadsheet itself, though I can't get it to work properly via mobile. To be able to input numbers, click "Edit Workbook", then "Edit in Browser" in the top right:

https://1drv.ms/x/s!ArOL9OAtfR2NePrRBSD8b2eqagg
 
Last edited:
ledgardener

ledgardener

Well-Known Member
CobKits said:
looks cool! sorely needed....
Click to expand...
Thanks!

I'm finding that I'll need to use a different case temperature for higher currents (right now it's all based off of 50 deg. C) because on configurations that are really close to the minimum or maximum voltage of certain drivers, the tool might disqualify a driver when it shouldn't.

For example, I might end up with the tool saying you can't run something like 4x CLU048-1212 off a 185H-C1400, which apparently you can do no problem.

If the COB Tc was actually running that cool, the total voltage would be out of range, however, in real world scenarios, one guy told me his were running like a half volt less each than the tool predicts.

I will have to run some thermal calculations for standard pin fin sinks and try to figure out how to weight the higher currents properly.

Moral of the story is there is some wiggle room when the total Vf is very close to a min or max of a driver, and you might be able to get away with it.
 
CobKits

CobKits

Well-Known Member
where did you derive your data from.

theres an unlocked spreadsheet of the gen5 citi calc that you can peek behind the curtain and derive equations from
 
ledgardener

ledgardener

Well-Known Member
CobKits said:
where did you derive your data from.

theres an unlocked spreadsheet of the gen5 citi calc that you can peek behind the curtain and derive equations from
Click to expand...
I used the Cree PCT, Citi V5 simulator, and Vero simulator. When I was gathering my voltage data, I just set all the Tc to 50 though, regardless of current, and am thinking I should set the Tc for higher current values to a higher temperature in order to get more accurate voltage readings.

Will just have to figure out what Tc to use for 700mA, 1050mA, 1400mA, 1750mA, 2100mA, and 2800mA of current.
 
S

Shugglet

Well-Known Member
This is great, but you should still read up more on the driver it recommends just to be sure. But very nice work.
 
shadow_moose

shadow_moose

Well-Known Member
ledgardener said:
Thanks. Can you elaborate? What other info would you like to see?
Click to expand...
He was saying one should not purchase a driver purely based on your spreadsheet's recommendation, you should double check and try to understand why that specific driver works for your plans. Along the same vein, hyperlink to datasheets would be nice.
 
ledgardener

ledgardener

Well-Known Member
shadow_moose said:
He was saying one should not purchase a driver purely based on your spreadsheet's recommendation, you should double check and try to understand why that specific driver works for your plans. Along the same vein, hyperlink to datasheets would be nice.
Click to expand...
Ah, I see. Good idea about the links.
 
ledgardener

ledgardener

Well-Known Member
Just updated the spreadsheet.

- Reentered COB data from manufacturer config tools to reflect higher Tc (and, as a result, lower voltages) at higher levels of current. The Tc referenced is now displayed below the inputs.
- Added links to driver data sheets
- Added a "Power Total" readout for the COBs/quantity/current selected
- Added an orange highlight for drivers that are only out of range by 2 volts or less, as these may be close enough to work, depending on dimming and temperature (e.g. - CLU048-1212 x4 at 1400mA).
 
Cherkan

Cherkan

Well-Known Member
ledgardener said:
Just updated the spreadsheet.

- Reentered COB data from manufacturer config tools to reflect higher Tc (and, as a result, lower voltages) at higher levels of current. The Tc referenced is now displayed below the inputs.
- Added links to driver data sheets
- Added a "Power Total" readout for the COBs/quantity/current selected
- Added an orange highlight for drivers that are only out of range by 2 volts or less, as these may be close enough to work, depending on dimming and temperature (e.g. - CLU048-1212 x4 at 1400mA).
Click to expand...
So the use of 4 passive cooled 1212's on the HLG-185H-C1400B might work dimmed down even though orange on your spreadsheet? Orange doesn't feel as comfortable as green haha
 
licoricetree

licoricetree

Well-Known Member
ledgardener said:
Hey all,

I pulled some data from the product simulation tools of a few different COB manufacturers and made up a little spreadsheet that lets you pick a COB, enter quantity, and select a drive current, and it highlights the HLG-C drivers that suit your choices.

Let me know what you think.

http://ledgardener.com/cob-led-driver-selection-tool/

And the link to the spreadsheet itself, though I can't get it to work properly via mobile. To be able to input numbers, click "Edit Workbook", then "Edit in Browser" in the top right:

https://1drv.ms/x/s!ArOL9OAtfR2NePrRBSD8b2eqagg
Click to expand...
Def has been needed. Nice webpage man loads of good info good job man.
 
ledgardener

ledgardener

Well-Known Member
Cherkan said:
So the use of 4 passive cooled 1212's on the HLG-185H-C1400B might work dimmed down even though orange on your spreadsheet? Orange doesn't feel as comfortable as green haha
Click to expand...
Heheh. If it makes you feel better, I know a dude who is running 4 of them on that exact driver and they work fine. At full bore, his are pulling 142V total (max voltage is 143V for that driver!). You would actually want them to run a bit hot because it will lower the forward voltage across each.

I made configurations like this show orange just because they're so damn close and I want people to know that it's borderline and there's a chance it won't work in their environment.
 
Cherkan

Cherkan

Well-Known Member
ledgardener said:
Heheh. If it makes you feel better, I know a dude who is running 4 of them on that exact driver and they work fine. At full bore, his are pulling 142V total (max voltage is 143V for that driver!). You would actually want them to run a bit hot because it will lower the forward voltage across each.

I made configurations like this show orange just because they're so damn close and I want people to know that it's borderline and there's a chance it won't work in their environment.
Click to expand...
Yeah that's fair enough. Might be worth the few extra dollars though in the long run to get something I know will work.
 
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