DiY LEDs - How to Power Them

J

JDMase

Well-Known Member
Was just told this, can anybody clarify the info here for me?

Actually constant voltage power supplies are better for cobs than constant current because they contain both leds in series AND paralel. A 36V constant voltage supply will run the cobs at about 2400mA which is a good value, efficiency is a little lower than at 1050 but not by much and you only need half as many leds!
DO NOT choose the leds with the highest lumens rating, they are actually the worst spectrum for plants as they concentrate their light in the middle of the spectrum where human eyes are most sensitive and palnts get the least benefit from the light! Get high CRI cobs, the best are the Osram Brilliant colour series and the Cree CBA2 Studio lighting series (if you can find them) in a warm version Cree 3200K for example. These have a CRI of 93 because their spectrum is very close to that of sunlight!
You can buy everything you need from KingBrite on alibaba and their prices are great. get the 180mm pin heatsinks they are only about $17 each. They also have the Cree studio lights. Dont worry about the low lumens, they put out just as much light as they other cobs, it is just concentrated differently spectrum wise.

Cree cba2 in 3200k are better than cxb 3590 in 3500k? Ive never heard anyone here recommend those.
 
alesh

alesh

Well-Known Member
JDMase said:
Was just told this, can anybody clarify the info here for me?

Actually constant voltage power supplies are better for cobs than constant current because they contain both leds in series AND paralel. A 36V constant voltage supply will run the cobs at about 2400mA which is a good value, efficiency is a little lower than at 1050 but not by much and you only need half as many leds!
DO NOT choose the leds with the highest lumens rating, they are actually the worst spectrum for plants as they concentrate their light in the middle of the spectrum where human eyes are most sensitive and palnts get the least benefit from the light! Get high CRI cobs, the best are the Osram Brilliant colour series and the Cree CBA2 Studio lighting series (if you can find them) in a warm version Cree 3200K for example. These have a CRI of 93 because their spectrum is very close to that of sunlight!
You can buy everything you need from KingBrite on alibaba and their prices are great. get the 180mm pin heatsinks they are only about $17 each. They also have the Cree studio lights. Dont worry about the low lumens, they put out just as much light as they other cobs, it is just concentrated differently spectrum wise.

Cree cba2 in 3200k are better than cxb 3590 in 3500k? Ive never heard anyone here recommend those.
Click to expand...
B/S about the drivers.
3200K studio is an interesting COB but it's more expensive and hard to come by (could be outdated info as you're saying KB have them). Photon output is also considerably lower than other more common versions. 3000K/90Ra seems like a better choice IMO.
 
MarCus M.D

MarCus M.D

Well-Known Member
I need to dimming the hlg-185h-c1400B (200W) and hlg-320h-c2100B (300W).

- 3W 1K - 10KΩ Ohm Metal Film Resistor Resistance.
- 100K OHM 3 Terminal Linear Taper Rotary Volume B Type Potentiometer Pot.

I miss anything?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/5pcs-100K-OHM-3-Terminal-Linear-Taper-Rotary-Volume-B-Type-Potentiometer-Pot-/311399709193?hash=item4880de7a09:g:~J4AAOSwFfhXjSeo

http://www.ebay.com/itm/10pcs-3W-1K-10K-Ohm-Metal-Film-Resistance-Resistance-1-new-arrival-/162209691375?var=&hash=item25c47376ef:m:mNN698BW7-qDkr4xswwe0RQ
 
BobCajun

BobCajun

Well-Known Member
JDMase said:
Was just told this, can anybody clarify the info here for me?

Actually constant voltage power supplies are better for cobs than constant current because they contain both leds in series AND paralel. A 36V constant voltage supply will run the cobs at about 2400mA which is a good value, efficiency is a little lower than at 1050 but not by much and you only need half as many leds!
DO NOT choose the leds with the highest lumens rating, they are actually the worst spectrum for plants as they concentrate their light in the middle of the spectrum where human eyes are most sensitive and palnts get the least benefit from the light! Get high CRI cobs, the best are the Osram Brilliant colour series and the Cree CBA2 Studio lighting series (if you can find them) in a warm version Cree 3200K for example. These have a CRI of 93 because their spectrum is very close to that of sunlight!
You can buy everything you need from KingBrite on alibaba and their prices are great. get the 180mm pin heatsinks they are only about $17 each. They also have the Cree studio lights. Dont worry about the low lumens, they put out just as much light as they other cobs, it is just concentrated differently spectrum wise.

Cree cba2 in 3200k are better than cxb 3590 in 3500k? Ive never heard anyone here recommend those.
Click to expand...
Constant voltage would be for parallel only, if it puts out 36v. With constant current drivers you can also parallel them but it divides the current between them. But with the constant voltage if you put them in series the driver couldn't drive them, I guess they just wouldn't light up. At least this is my understanding of it.

Also, about the spectrum, 2700k regular is also a good spectrum in my opinion. I use that color LED 100w replacement A19 bulbs for my "early flower" chamber. If you look at the spectrum charts for LEDs you'll see that they have a lot of red. Not quite as high in the red range but still the most red of all available 70-90 CRI. They don't actually sell 95 CRI replacement bulbs anywhere I know of. I also put a couple in with the 4000k COB high bays in my mid-late chambers to improve the overall spectrum. I guess they don't show the 2700 spectrum in most COB data sheets, but they list them in the spec tables so they must be available.
 
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DankaDank

DankaDank

Well-Known Member
Need some help.

I want to run 10 x CLU048 1212's in series off an HLG-240H-C700 , I also want to run a 12V PC fan in series with the cobs, so that if the fan fails so do the COB's. Since the fan has 20/22 gauge wire and I want to use a DC jack and receptacle for the fan (which is rated for 3A 12V DC) How do I go about doing this do I need a DC/DC step-down converter or something like that ?


 
BobCajun

BobCajun

Well-Known Member
DankaDank said:
Need some help.

I want to run 10 x CLU048 1212's in series off an HLG-240H-C700 , I also want to run a 12V PC fan in series with the cobs, so that if the fan fails so do the COB's. Since the fan has 20/22 gauge wire and I want to use a DC jack and receptacle for the fan (which is rated for 3A 12V DC) How do I go about doing this do I need a DC/DC step-down converter or something like that ?

Click to expand...
Bad idea. Just get a separate power supply for the fan and a heat triggered cutoff for the COB power supply mounted on the heatsink. I think it's called a thermal cutoff.
 
DankaDank

DankaDank

Well-Known Member
BobCajun said:
Bad idea. Just get a separate power supply for the fan and a heat triggered cutoff for the COB power supply mounted on the heatsink. I think it's called a thermal cutoff.
Click to expand...
Thanks Bob. I didn't want to go that route but I think it's probably the best way.
I was going to use the KSD9700 Temperature Switch set for 75°C

.

I'm not sure how to use it though, do i need a relay? . Do I wire in series with the negative wire?
 
BobCajun

BobCajun

Well-Known Member
You got me on that one. I know a few other people on this forum do use thermal cutoffs though. Just gotta find one of those dudes.
 
DankaDank

DankaDank

Well-Known Member
Thanks Dawg, I was hoping to just use one thermal switch on the AC side. But that design is pretty good as it wouldn't cut out the light completely. Which in the case that the fixture over heats at least there would still be some light and the light cycle wouldn't be disturbed. Does Rx mean resistor x meaning a pot can still be used with that configuration ? An HLG driver only has a dim+ (Blue) and dim- (white) so do I leave out the step for the Vaux wire ?
 
M

MACDRIZZLE

Member
Hey guys quick question, I got a hlg 240h 2100b driver a while back because I wanted to only power a few cobs at higher currents (bad idea).

So the "constant current" region for the driver is - 59 ~ 119V, which is only 3, 36v cobs in a series maximum.

Anyways, I started thinking about different ways to run more cobs with the driver and I wanted to ask, could I run 6 cobs total by running 3 cobs in series next to each other (in parallel).

Would I be correct if I said that the current would be split between the two sides so at max current each cob would be at 1050 mA, but the voltage would be the same across the two?

I shouldn't have tried to run fewer cobs at a higher wattage because most cobs are more efficient at lower currents. Anyways, just looking for ideas to get the most out of this driver.

Thanks!

Data sheet-

http://www.mouser.com/ds/2/260/HLG-240H-C-spec-806189.pdf
 
welight

welight

Well-Known Member
MACDRIZZLE said:
Hey guys quick question, I got a hlg 240h 2100b driver a while back because I wanted to only power a few cobs at higher currents (bad idea).

So the "constant current" region for the driver is - 59 ~ 119V, which is only 3, 36v cobs in a series maximum.

Anyways, I started thinking about different ways to run more cobs with the driver and I wanted to ask, could I run 6 cobs total by running 3 cobs in series next to each other (in parallel).

Would I be correct if I said that the current would be split between the two sides so at max current each cob would be at 1050 mA, but the voltage would be the same across the two?

I shouldn't have tried to run fewer cobs at a higher wattage because most cobs are more efficient at lower currents. Anyways, just looking for ideas to get the most out of this driver.

Thanks!

Data sheet-

http://www.mouser.com/ds/2/260/HLG-240H-C-spec-806189.pdf
Click to expand...
Hi Mac
Your correct
Cheers
Mark
 
P

pepperdust

Well-Known Member
hi guys,

I built a bunch of bars with cree XM-L2 and wanted to "upgrade" as apparently I'm old school now, looking for advice which would be a simple exchange.. I'm guessing 2-3 cobbs? my bars right now have 18 xm-l2. honestly can't tell you drive stats, I think they were at 1.4 amp. I believe they were each powered at 3-4 watts a piece, so... can't tell you as I'm on a trip, but looking for the next layout..

love to hear opinions for easy replace to keep these updated, and without much effort..

believe supraSPL at the time said the XM-L2 at 1.4 amp was "approx" 32.8% efficient, then he said the 3070AB run at 1.4 amp would be 42.1%.... wondering if what your suggestion is, what percentage you think your suggestion would be in efficiency % upgrade? ...

thanks, DSC05516.JPGDSC05516.JPGDSC05630.JPG
 
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J

Jiddlez

Member
About to attempt my first grow and I've been racking my brain trying to digest all this great information. Could I run a single HLG-320H-C1050 to power 2 x CLU048-1212C4-403H5K2 and 4 x CLU048-1818C4-353H5K2? I am trying to build something for a 4 x 2 x 6 tent that will not break the bank rather than buy a pre-built LED.
 
Tomula

Tomula

Active Member
Hello I want to build COB light and I want to use HLG-150H-54A for 2x CLU058 1825. Is that all right? Thank you for insights guys. Happy growing! :leaf:
 
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lilsativa

lilsativa

Member
hello,
need advice.
if hlg-185h-1050 has 190 output voltage it means I can run 5 clu048-1212 right?
and if yes which is better options 4 clu048-1212 at 1400mA or 5 at 1400ma?

and why should I choose 3k version over 4k?


as I understand it according to this chart 4k will also work for veg and almost same for flowering
 
J

JDMase

Well-Known Member
lilsativa said:
hello,
need advice.
if hlg-185h-1050 has 190 output voltage it means I can run 5 clu048-1212 right?
and if yes which is better options 4 clu048-1212 at 1400mA or 5 at 1400ma?

and why should I choose 3k version over 4k?


as I understand it according to this chart 4k will also work for veg and almost same for flowering
Click to expand...
About the 1212's at 4k I read that someone here uses them as they, as you said, have similar amounts of red in but more blue?
 
The Dawg

The Dawg

Well-Known Member
lilsativa said:
hello,
need advice.
if hlg-185h-1050 has 190 output voltage it means I can run 5 clu048-1212 right?
and if yes which is better options 4 clu048-1212 at 1400mA or 5 at 1400ma?

and why should I choose 3k version over 4k?


as I understand it according to this chart 4k will also work for veg and almost same for flowering
Click to expand...
Ok With The 1400mA Driver You Can Run 5 1212's At 48ish Watts Per Cob. With The 1750mA Driver You can Run 4 1212's At 60ish Watts With An HLG-240-1750. I Would Also Suggest The 4000k @ 90 CRI, That's My Next Setup. I Run The 4000k In The Vero29 Series And I Love It :peace:
 
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