LED noob, need help!

Y

YzermansGoat

Member
I was hoping you guys could answer my questions. I know nothing about this stuff so bear with me.

I’m trying to figure out a few things regarding building my own lights for flowering, I have a 4x6 area that I was going to fill with 4’ strips of lm561c. (is this the same as Samsung F Series S6?)

My questions were,
How many 4’ strips would I need to reach 30w/sq.ft in a 4x6 space?

How many drivers would I need and what models? Would it be possible to have dimmable drivers at half power and still reach the desired 30w/sq.ft while staying relatively cool?

Is a 50/50 ratio of 3000K and 3500K strips okay or is there a better ratio?

Would it be beneficial to add any Cree lighting strips if possible?

Would this be more cost efficient than running a 1000w hps and blaring the AC?

Thanks so much!
 
pulpoinspace

pulpoinspace

Well-Known Member
https://horticulturelightinggroup.com/collections/quantum-boards/products/qb132-v1-quantum-boards

for a really nice cheap setup i've always had my eye on these 4 packs. 3 of em, that's 12 QBs, 1600 lm561c diodes already mounted to boards no heatsink necessary. plus hlg is american company, warranties, backs their products.
pick up a 240h-36a for each pack, $57 each on arrow

so that whole set up is like $500 and will push over 720w, which just so happens to be 30w/sqft in a 4x6

not sure if it can be done cheaper with strips. certainly not simpler.
 
TEKNIK

TEKNIK

Well-Known Member
It really depends on how much you want to spend and how much work you want to do yourself, if you are a complete "noob" with LED's I would suggest to find something easy to assemble. If you are happy to do a heap of work yourself learn a few things and get some help along the way you could make a really good set up for yourself.
 
Y

YzermansGoat

Member
pulpoinspace said:
for a really nice cheap setup i've always had my eye on these 4 packs. 3 of em, that's 12 QBs, 1600 lm561c diodes already mounted to boards no heatsink necessary. plus hlg is american company, warranties, backs their products.
pick up a 240h-36a for each pack, $57 each on arrow
Click to expand...
Perfect. That will definitely be choice number one if I man up and spend the money.

I was just wondering about the strips because I saw these cheap ones on alibaba (cant link) and I could make the frame and heatsink myself for little to no cost, so I’d basically just be buying the drivers and attempt to wire it with the help of google.
 
Y

YzermansGoat

Member
TEKNIK said:
If you are happy to do a heap of work yourself learn a few things and get some help along the way you could make a really good set up for yourself.
Click to expand...
Thats what I’m hoping to do, I can build the frame and heatsink. If these strips on alibaba are legit and actually arrive at my door then the only problems I think I would have to worry about is buying the drivers and wiring it up. Also learn all these crazy technical terms.
 
1

1212ham

Well-Known Member
YzermansGoat said:
I was hoping you guys could answer my questions. I know nothing about this stuff so bear with me.

I’m trying to figure out a few things regarding building my own lights for flowering, I have a 4x6 area that I was going to fill with 4’ strips of lm561c. (is this the same as Samsung F Series S6?)

My questions were,
How many 4’ strips would I need to reach 30w/sq.ft in a 4x6 space?

How many drivers would I need and what models? Would it be possible to have dimmable drivers at half power and still reach the desired 30w/sq.ft while staying relatively cool?

Is a 50/50 ratio of 3000K and 3500K strips okay or is there a better ratio?

Would it be beneficial to add any Cree lighting strips if possible?

Would this be more cost efficient than running a 1000w hps and blaring the AC?

Thanks so much!
Click to expand...
1. The number of strips needed depends on the power level each strip is driven to.

2. The number of drivers depends on their power rating. I'd use Mean Well HLG drivers, probably two 320 watt with A type dimming or two 480's with B type dimming.
Yes, drivers could be run at 50%, if they have double the watts needed. But why?

3. No need to mix strips, 3000k or 3500k is fine.

4. No idea. Got a link?

5. Depends on how you define cost efficient. LED will cost more to buy or build, but cheaper to operate.

http://ledgardener.com/diy-led-strip-build-designs-samsung-bridgelux/
 
Y

YzermansGoat

Member
1212ham said:
1. The number of strips needed depends on the power level each strip is driven to.

2. The number of drivers depends on their power rating. I'd use Mean Well HLG drivers, probably two 320 watt with A type dimming or two 480's with B type dimming.
Yes, drivers could be run at 50%, if they have double the watts needed. But why?

3. No need to mix strips, 3000k or 3500k is fine.

4. No idea. Got a link?

5. Depends on how you define cost efficient. LED will cost more to buy or build, but cheaper to operate.
Click to expand...
I was going to run them low because I was hoping to not have to make a heatsink, but I didnt notice how cheap they were to just buy.

This is where I get lost, if I run the strips at full power (assuming thats safe to do?) and have 2 of those 480w HLGdrivers, how many 4’ strips would I need to reach 30w/sqf? Is there a way to calculate this? Like how many watts per diode per strip?

And I was thinking using the Cree xpe lights similiar to this HLG Red Supplement (cant include links yet) but I’m probably misunderstanding something.

Thanks a bunch though man, you’ve started me on the right path
 
Chip Green

Chip Green

Well-Known Member
Volts x Amps= Watts
Find your chosen emitters Voltage requirement.
Choose a corresponding amperage, per strip, to reach said "wattage".
Example: 20V strip, running at 1400ma, consumes 28 Watts.
 
Y

YzermansGoat

Member
Chip Green said:
Volts x Amps= Watts
Find your chosen emitters Voltage requirement.
Choose a corresponding amperage, per strip, to reach said "wattage".
Example: 20V strip, running at 1400ma, consumes 28 Watts.
Click to expand...
So in your example it would take 30 strips to reach 840w? Would that be 35w/sqf in a 4x6 space? Sorry, I fucked off in science class lol
 
Chip Green

Chip Green

Well-Known Member
Ok, one design option. This is a basic, no frills, solderless, middle of the pack efficiency wise, workhorse, budget build, yet still will pack quite a punch.

4 x HLG-185H-C1050A drivers. Each Driver will run 9x bxeb-l0560z-35e2000-c-b3 strips in a series circuit.
The Bridgelux 3500K EB Series Gen2, can be run without heatsinks at this amperage. Basic angle aluminum, for framing, and thermal tape to attach the strips. If one were so inclined, a lenght aluminum U channel, or angle, on the back of each strip for structure, and heat removal, but not completely necessary. Use 18ga solid core wire, and Wago connectors.
Each set of 9 strips, on each driver, will consume around 210w(ish).
36 of those strips will set you back close to $300 on Arrow.
4 of those drivers around $250 from Digikey.


There are seemingly endless options, but since you asked for 840w for a 4x8, this is what I'd do.....
 
Y

YzermansGoat

Member
@Chip Green Sorry, I cant reply to you for some reason, but this is exactly what I was hoping to gain out of this thread. I’d like all of your posts but I cant yet. Thank you so much man!

It’ll be a while but if youre interested I could post pics when it’s up and running. Will probably be this exact design, with all credit to you
 
Chip Green

Chip Green

Well-Known Member
I like to wire in series. I like using CC drivers. I like to keep the Voltage per fixture on the lower side of 200. I also like my lights for larger areas in pieces, so they have more flexibility long term.
This particular combination meets all those requirements.
Glad I could help, others did it for me when I was first learning this stuff a few years back.
 
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