Quick driver question

I am planning to build a led fixture for my grow tent and I am wondering if drivers make noise like hps ballasts do?

if so, how noisy do you think it is (comparison)

No noise on any of my meanwell drivers.not even the slightest hum.

sixstring2112 said:

No noise on any of my meanwell drivers.not even the slightest hum.

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I have noticed that sometimes when theyre dimmed they do make a VERY low hum. But it is barely audible so it is probably of no concern for him.

No fans either, but if you are running them full tilt they might need a bit of airflow as they can get hot.

what about cheap drivers? have you ever tried one?

newguy123 said:

what about cheap drivers? have you ever tried one?

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Ive tried cheapos off ebay. Didnt work as advertised, will never stray from a quality meanwell driver again.

Shugglet said:

Ive tried cheapos off ebay. Didnt work as advertised, will never stray from a quality meanwell driver again.

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How were they not doing the job?

Pretty sure it was advertised as CC but it was actually a CV, fried several LEDs, got meanwell drivers and never looked back. Have never had a problem with them, they are a very solid high quality product.

Anymore I typically deal with high voltage drivers and I dont think Id want to trust a lower quality product, all things considered.

Plus most of the newer meanwells carry a 7 year warranty, hard to beat that really

sixstring2112 said:

Plus most of the newer meanwells carry a 7 year warranty, hard to beat that really

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If you keep the case temps below 50C you should be able to get a minimum of 11.5+ years out of them running 24/7 lol

Driver efficiency is another reason to use quality drivers. If you build a 1000w light with, say, an HLG, you will get between 910w to 960w actually going to the COB's. If you go with, say some cheap 82% efficient driver, you are only starting with 820w going to the COB. That is throwing away 100+w per 1000w used. To me this makes Meanwells worth every penny. Plus look at all the protection that comes on an HLG.

nevergoodenuf said:

Driver efficiency is another reason to use quality drivers. If you build a 1000w light with, say, an HLG, you will get between 910w to 960w actually going to the COB's. If you go with, say some cheap 82% efficient driver, you are only starting with 820w going to the COB. That is throwing away 100+w per 1000w used. To me this makes Meanwells worth every penny. Plus look at all the protection that comes on an HLG.

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I don't think the efficiency is that much of a problem honestly.
If you buy drivers from Alibaba you save money to buy extra COBs and drive them lower, so with the same system cost you may actually be able to achieve a higher efficiency.
But this depends on a number of factors, but lower driven COBs are more efficient, and since they will run cooler this also adds a little to the efficiency.


Meanwell drivers are much more reliable and are much more unlikely to malfunction in harmful ways though.
I think safety is a much bigger argument, efficiency may not be an argument or a weak one.

Sheeit, they should be called dowell...