How do you know they're top bin? I followed your link, and DigiKey is probably a great choice, but I don't see anything about binning. Probably missing something really obvious...
You can tell they are top bin from the part number. You can reference the bin codes in the
spec sheet.
For example: the "Z2" and "Z4" in the parts I ordered indicate the bin code. These were the best available anywhere at the time I ordered them.
My experience with PC power supplies is that they have a relatively low efficiency (or very low depending on the load) and a large standby power consumption. I did those tests before I had very accurate equipment to measure with and I am sure not all power supplies are created equal.
The AC DC conversion is a major factor in the total system efficiency of our lamps and since digital ballasts are so efficient ~90% I figure that should be our mark (for our drivers and fan power supplies). So in the case of driving PC fans, if we use wall worts we probably get 50-70% efficient with a very poor power factor. Maybe the drivers with built in 12V output can do a better job. Looking forward to your testing caretak3r.
I'm curious to look into this, because I was under the impression that modern PC power supplies were actually pretty good at conserving power. I believe they already convert AC into DC power. A standard molex from a PC power supply runs at +12V.
By using a PC power supply, it seems like a ton less work from my perspective. It already provides several 12V Molex outputs which I can plug the cooling fans directly into without any modifications. A
simple fan speed controller should allow me to dim 6 different 45watt channels. Throw all of this in a mini itx case and call it a day.
The main motivation here is to show just how easy it can be to build your own badass DIY panels. If I can easily plug-n-play my panels using everyday PC components and not lose a ton of money in electricity upkeep, then I'm all for it. Imagine just soldering on a few molex adapters and being done with it! If it's really that easy, a lot of us could forget the often-shady LED manufacturers and just build our own kick-ass panels in minutes.
I have a kill-a-watt and a few different PSUs I can do some tests with. I'm curious what the PC PSU cost (per/month) would be compared to dedicated drivers like the ones you bought. Perhaps I can grab some numbers and plug them into that sweet spreadsheet?
Also, would
something like this work? If it only pushes out 2 amps total, then it probably won't power all 3 panels. If it's 2 amps per 3-pin output, maybe it'd work though. Maybe use one(or 3) of these instead of a PC PSU? Or each panel with its own unit and thermal sensor? Could look pretty cool, and you'd have constant monitoring of chip temps!
All that said... ...if using dimmable drivers is a far better solution electricity-wise, then I'll probably just order the ones you got and build a custom enclosure for them.