Let's Settle this once and for all. (LED's)

Michael Huntherz said:

You are absolutely right, 3-5W diodes are not great, thanks for making that distinction.

COBs, LES diodes if you prefer, are fuuucking awesome, though.

But yeah, the cheap blurple LEDs are loud, heavy, hot, and inefficient like HID, and produce lower yield (although it tends to develop nice trichs)

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We'll be putting a bunch of COBs together in a sizeable array, one big enough to get the attention of commercial growers. I can't WAIT to see what we pull out of there!

sunny747 said:

#ttystikk

Lots of questions.

What ever happened to all of the claims about the deep red and bright blue/violet specturms that 3w manufacturers made? Has that mostly gone out the window?

Do most people add a lense? If so what angle?

Is there any major advantage to the CXB3590 over the Vero29?

Is there a max wattage you can drive the COB at? What happens if I hook 1 CXB3590 to a 200w driver?

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Good questions!
In order, then;

1. We growers tested these claims and found them false. It turns out that plants benefit from full spectrum PAR, the more of it the better to the upper limit of 1500PPfd. Those spectra are still important, but overall output remains critical in getting successful results.

2. Lenses are optional but popular, both to help direct the light and to protect the fragile light emitting surface of the COB. I see a lot of people talk about getting 80° or 90° lenses, like I got. COB LED lasts for years; softly driven, for decades- unless you screw up that LES.

3. THE advantage is efficiency. Since that's the name of the game, it's a substantial advantage. Remember that acquisition cost is only once and that maintenance and operating costs continually add up. This makes an ever stronger argument for the more efficient chip, as no matter how much more expensive it is up front, it will always be less expensive in the long run. And no bulb changes!

Every COB, like every other circuit known to Man, has an upper limit, or 'nominal' output. This is maximum wattage- and surprisingly, it's also the point of LEAST efficiency! Running more COBs at lower wattage boosts efficiency substantially, which is why you see a lot of DIY COB LED panels running underdriven chips.

Example, CXB3590 3500k CD bin;

Nominal is either 100-110W per chip and returns 44% efficiency.

50W means twice the chips and twice the cost, but you get 56% efficiency, 12 points or 27% higher.

23W means twice as many chips again as the 50W example, but efficiency climbs still more, to 63%(!)... for quadruple the cost in chips.

Softly driven chips are also shown to last dramatically longer, like pass them down to your kids longer.

COB chips die when they get too hot. Overdrive a chip and you'll fry it.

ttystikk said:

Good questions!
In order, then;

1. We growers tested these claims and find them false. It turns out that plants benefit from full spectrum PAR, the more of it, the better to the upper limit of 1500PPfd. Those spectra are still important, but overall output is also critical in getting successful results.

2. Lenses are optional but popular, both to help direct the light and to protect the fragile light emitting surface of the COB. I see a lot of people talk about getting 80° or 90° lenses, like I got. COB LED lasts for years, softly driven, for decades- unless you screw up that LES.

3. The advantage is efficiency. Since that's the name of the game, it's a substantial advantage. Remember that acquisition cost is only once and that maintenance and operating costs continually add up. This makes an ever stronger argument for the more efficient chip, as no matter how much more expensive it is, it will always be les expensive in the long run.

Every COB, like every other circuit known to Man, has an upper limit, or 'nominal' output. This is maximum wattage- and surprisingly, it's also the point of LEAST efficiency! Running more COBs at Lee wattage boosts efficiency substantially, which is why you see a lot of DIY COB LED panels running underdriven chips.
Example, CXB3590 3500k CD bin;

Nominal is either 100-110W per chip and returns 44% efficiency.

50W means twice the chips, but you get 56% efficiency, 12 points or 27% higher.

23W means twice as many chips again as the 50W example, but efficiency climbs again to 63%.

Softly driven chips are also shown to last dramatically longer, like pass them down to your kids longer.

COB chips die when they get too hot. Overdrive a chip and you'll fry it.

Click to expand...

Thx so much..
I can't figure out what "bin" refers to..
Which is more efficient, vero 29 or cbx3590?

sunny747 said:

Thx so much..
I can't figure out what "bin" refers to..
Which is more efficient, vero 29 or cbx3590?

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Bin codes refer to a grading system, as not all LEDs are created equal; some shine more brightly when when a given current is applied. These 'higher binned' chips are often sold at higher prices because they're more efficient. For more details, @SupraSPL is the go-to guy.

ttystikk said:

Bin codes refer to a grading system, as not all LEDs are created equal; some shine more brightly when when a given current is applied. These 'higher binned' chips are often sold at higher prices because they're more efficient. For more details, @SupraSPL is the go-to guy.

Click to expand...

Got it.. thx..

How about volts? Which voltage do I want? Does it make a big difference either way? I think it just changes the amps. Amps x volts = watts I believe.

What's next for cree a CXC?

sunny747 said:

Got it.. thx..

How about volts? Which voltage do I want? Does it make a big difference either way? I think it just changes the amps. Amps x volts = watts I believe.

What's next for cree a CXC?

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I'm sure there are some subtleties to voltage, but there isn't a lot of difference in basic operation.

Ask Cree. I'm hoping they come out with it soon just so pricing on CXB3590 chips will drop, lol