CaliWorthington
Well-Known Member
Yes it looks like you should bump this build up to a 480-watt driver.
For those that have done strips DIY need advice on driver selection...
- Thread starter tilopa
- Start date
The power works for me. of course, assuming you will hang the lights close to the tops of plants.
I guess my biggest question is why have them all on one driver? Maybe separate into two 240h drivers incase one fails you won't be stuck in the dark. Just a contingency.
Also, maybe get the B version of the driver for more dimming options? Upgradability in mind. You can parallel dimming wires so they always dim the same.
So I've worked through a bunch of numbers for diff drivers on my 10 strip build and am down to just one last question about the driver. I think I'm decided on the hlg-120h-36a which could run the strips up to 680ma and roughly 19 volts a piece, but want to make sure this is a viable option since it is a little above the driver rating. The voltage adjust range is from 33-40v so I figure I would be pushing the upper limits of this if I decided to turn it all the way up, so would it be safe to be pushing the driver this hard if I turned it up or should I be sure to not run the driver above the 120 watts?
I have no problem running it dimmed somewhat and staying within the 120 watt range if need be. I like the amp output of the 120-36 being just under the nominal 700ma on the datasheet, so a thumbs up that this would be acceptable and not pushing the driver too hard would be appreciated.
I have no problem running it dimmed somewhat and staying within the 120 watt range if need be. I like the amp output of the 120-36 being just under the nominal 700ma on the datasheet, so a thumbs up that this would be acceptable and not pushing the driver too hard would be appreciated.
I didn't think about getting two smaller ones, that's probably a good idea.
I've gone back and forth between A and B, not sure I even fully understand the diff. The A you can adjust the voltage AND the current by opening the case and adjusting a screw, correct? Obviously not going to be doing that every other day. But I figure going into flower its less important adjusting power, the plants are adults and fully acclimated. So maybe for the first week or so I would turn the power down, and then after that turn it up full and leave it for the duration. B, lets you adjust just the voltage with a dimming function. Add a potentiometer via the external wires and you can conveniently adjust the voltage and thereby dim the light, is that right? This seems like a really good feature for veg.
You're looking at the wrong value in the datasheet. The LEDs will be run constant current so you need to look at the constant current voltage region, which is 18-36v. That is my understanding at least. Most drivers have a little wiggle room there, but not by much more than a volt. 38 volt may be too high and the driver may 1) not light the leds or 2) reduce the output current to account for the higher voltage. Only way to know is to ask Meanwell.
I personally dim with a raspi so I went with B. Either would work so you can go with both. I will let others chime in on the differences with the A version, as I have never worked with it.
Oh dang, I thought with the A version of that 120 driver I would be able to pull the full 40 volts out of that adjustable range if needed. Even if this driver will power these up just fine, still not sure if it would be advised to run the driver above that 36 volt mark. Any clarification on this is appreciated.
cobshopgrow
Well-Known Member
you will leave the CC region of the driver going above 36V, but you still have the limit of what the driver can supply by itself, it wont magically become a 240W driver.
i would see to get a AB version driver, which combines the best of both worlds, i wont give up on the dimming either.
the xlg 150-h is maybe a option too.
i would see to get a AB version driver, which combines the best of both worlds, i wont give up on the dimming either.
the xlg 150-h is maybe a option too.
Yea that seems like a solid option at roughly half the price too. Thanks for all the info from you guys though, hopefully I can get everything else soon and make it all work.
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Barristan Whitebeard
Well-Known Member
I have bought several HLG "AB" drivers from TRC Electronics. When I bought them at least, they were a non-stocked item, and had to be shipped overseas by Mean Well.
The shipments took between 2 and 4 weeks from order date to get to me (2 orders).
CaliWorthington
Well-Known Member
A series has both adjustable current and voltage via the built-in potentiometer.
B has 3-in-1 external dimming *this is not the same as adjustable current/voltage
AB has current adjustment only via the onboard pot, and external 3-in-1 dimming.
I've only used B series. I run my strips soft, so I haven't even bothered wiring up the dimming yet.
A series sounds like it might actually be best for grow lights, if you plan on dialing them down a lot.
But if you have a lot of drivers, I suppose it's easier to wire them to one external control.
3-in-1 dimming is explained at the link below.
What is Mean Well 3-in-1 Dimming?
B has 3-in-1 external dimming *this is not the same as adjustable current/voltage
AB has current adjustment only via the onboard pot, and external 3-in-1 dimming.
I've only used B series. I run my strips soft, so I haven't even bothered wiring up the dimming yet.
A series sounds like it might actually be best for grow lights, if you plan on dialing them down a lot.
But if you have a lot of drivers, I suppose it's easier to wire them to one external control.
3-in-1 dimming is explained at the link below.
What is Mean Well 3-in-1 Dimming?
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Barristan Whitebeard
Well-Known Member
The HLG AB and A versions that are constant voltage and constant current drivers have onboard voltage and current adjustment. Oddly one exception to this are the HLG 320 watt AB version such as HLG-320H-54AB. These models only offer onboard current adjustment and leads for wiring a potentiometer.
The HLG constant current drivers and also all HLG B versions offer current adjustment or in the case of the B versions, the drivers have leads that you can wire a potentiometer to.
CaliWorthington
Well-Known Member
I did happen to be looking at the spec sheet for HLG-320H. You're right, the 240H says voltage and current on the AB.
Wiring a pot to a B version controls it via resistance. The other option with 3-in-1 dimming is PWM.
Barristan Whitebeard
Well-Known Member
Or the other other option 1-10VDC or 0-10VDC to dim, depending on driver used.
Mean well HLG 320, 480, and 600 watt drivers are compatible with 0-10VDC dimming. As are certain Mean Well ELG (B and AB versions) and XLG (AB versions) series drivers.
CaliWorthington
Well-Known Member
Yeah the article said "some models accept a 0-10V input". I figured most people weren't doing that, so I edited it out.
You want to run these drivers as close to 100% as possible. They get more efficient. So if it would work, it would be the worst thing. I doubt it would work though
cobshopgrow
Well-Known Member
running the 36V driver maxed out to 40V would mean running him 100%+.
I realized I put worst thing, I meant best thing. Sorry for confusion.