Ordering Parts for two quantum boards tonight, need feedback before I pull the trigger

Hey guys,
My current grow is a MH/HPS in a 4x4 tent. I can basically gro
I am currently in the process of building 2x 4x4 flowering light and a 2x4 vegetative light. I am getting a pile of mixed information on this forum and across the internet. I will be using two 240W (480W) for flowering and one 240W driver for my veg.

Will be running my two flower tents off one set of drivers, setting them up to be on opposite schedules.

Will pull clones off strongest plant / start seeds ~two weeks before harvest to root/sprout and pre-veg. When I harvest tent #1, veg tent moves into harvest tent #1, and pre-vegged moves into veg tent to replace harvest tent #2 in ~1 month.


I am looking for FACTS, not opinions on these specific questions.

1. I see most people recommend driving their LED lights at ~75% power. Reviewing the Samsung data sheet it is rate to run ~50000 hours at 100% power, and I don't see anything indicating loss of efficiency due to the Auger effect (current droop).

What is the reasoning behind running the strips at a reduced power? Is it simply for temp management or will I observe a palpable difference in grow results adding additional strips and running them all at 75% power? Can anyone provide facts and links explaining why?

2. How much of a difference in results can be expected in using specific kelvin ratings of 3000K for flower and 4000k for veg? as opposed to running either a 3500k or 4000k for the full grow cycle.

According to the data sheet there is a ~5% difference in Lumens per Watt in using say the 4000k for the whole grow as opposed to the 3000k. Will this Lumens per Watt give me more of a difference in yield then utilizing the best possible kelvin rating for the stage of growth?

I am interested in people's opinions on any factors I am not considering when building a light with these strips. I am not looking to debate which types of lights are best, I AM using these strips and want to build my light to its best potential.

Thanks in advance for any input

The softer you drive your strips, the more photons you get for your $. Its up to you to figure out how long its going to take to recoup the increase in initial investment from the savings on your power bill.

An added bonus of more diodes driven softer is increased uniformity which theoretically increases your weight/sqft but is largely dependent on growing style and canopy management.

Strips at any current are relatively easy to keep at a safe operating temperature so not a whole lot of savings to be had on that front.

No one can say that one spectrum outperforms another and it is unlikely there will ever be a definitive answer to which is the "best" spectrum. You will see growers get great results from 6500k thru 1750k. Only you will know what works best for you in your environment.

TL;DR - if you live in an area with expensive electricity buy a bunch of 3000k strips and run them at 50-75% max current
If you live in an area with cheap electricity buy a few 3000k strips and run them 75-100% max current

DietCokehead said:

Hey guys,
I am currently in the process of building a 4x4 flowering light and a 2x4 vegetative light. I am getting a pile of mixed information on this forum and across the internet. I am looking for FACTS, not opinions on these specific questions.

1. I see most people recommend driving their LED lights at ~75% power. Reviewing the Samsung data sheet it is rate to run ~50000 hours at 100% power, and I don't see anything indicating loss of efficiency due to the Auger effect (current droop).

What is the reasoning behind running the strips at a reduced power? Is it simply for temp management or will I observe a palpable difference in grow results adding additional strips and running them all at 75% power? Can anyone provide facts and links explaining why?

2. How much of a difference in results can be expected in using specific kelvin ratings of 3000K for flower and 4000k for veg, as opposed to running either a 3500k or 4000k for the full grow cycle.

According to the data sheet there is a ~5% difference in Lumens per Watt in using say the 4000k for the whole grow as opposed to the 3000k. Will this Lumens per Watt give me more of a difference in yield then utilizing the best possible kelvin rating for the stage of growth?

I am interested in people's opinions on any factors I am not considering. I am not looking to debate which types of lights are best, I AM using these strips and want to build my light to its best potential.

Thanks in advance for any input

Click to expand...

Hey, thanks for the quick reply Nogod!

I don't understand how there would be any difference in power consumption, as either way I will be running driver at 100% capacity.. just over more strips so output from driver to each strip is less but over power is the same.

I also edited my first post just before you replied with more information about what I'm doing.

nogod_ said:

The softer you drive your strips, the more photons you get for your $. Its up to you to figure out how long its going to take to recoup the increase in initial investment from the savings on your power bill.

An added bonus of more diodes driven softer is increased uniformity which theoretically increases your weight/sqft but is largely dependent on growing style and canopy management.

Strips at any current are relatively easy to keep at a safe operating temperature so not a whole lot of savings to be had on that front.

No one can say that one spectrum outperforms another and it is unlikely there will ever be a definitive answer to which is the "best" spectrum. You will see growers get great results from 6500k thru 1750k. Only you will know what works best for you in your environment.

TL;DR - if you live in an area with expensive electricity buy a bunch of 3000k strips and run them at 50-75% max current
If you live in an area with cheap electricity buy a few 3000k strips and run them 75-100% max current

Click to expand...

DietCokehead said:

1. I see most people recommend driving their LED lights at ~75% power. Reviewing the Samsung data sheet it is rate to run ~50000 hours at 100% power, and I don't see anything indicating loss of efficiency due to the Auger effect (current droop).

What is the reasoning behind running the strips at a reduced power? Is it simply for temp management or will I observe a palpable difference in grow results adding additional strips and running them all at 75% power? Can anyone provide facts and links explaining why?

Click to expand...

its basically heat dissipation. there is not a single LED in existence where the efficacy doesnt improve when the current is lowered. a rule of thumb is if you cut current in half, efficacy will go up ~10%

DietCokehead said:

2. How much of a difference in results can be expected in using specific kelvin ratings of 3000K for flower and 4000k for veg? as opposed to running either a 3500k or 4000k for the full grow cycle.

Click to expand...

very slight differences between 3000 and 4000K

DietCokehead said:

According to the data sheet there is a ~5% difference in Lumens per Watt in using say the 4000k for the whole grow as opposed to the 3000k. Will this Lumens per Watt give me more of a difference in yield then utilizing the best possible kelvin rating for the stage of growth?

Click to expand...

plants dont use lumens, they use PAR. lumen is a green-centric measure related to human vision.

if it were all about lumens wed be using green monos. spectrum is important, the 5% "lumen" difference between 4000K and 3000K is offset buy the 3000K spectrum having light which is more absorbable by the plant

DietCokehead said:

I don't understand how there would be any difference in power consumption, as either way I will be running driver at 100% capacity.. just over more strips so output from driver to each strip is less but over power is the same.

Click to expand...

overall input power is the same. overall output flux will be greater with more strips run softer