input needed on led options

[pedrovski]

Hey guys Ive currently got a 100w 'full spectrum' led from vanqled and on the next grow wanting to upgrade to make an led panel for around 4 plants,wanting to keep it pretty discreet so will be making some sort of closet to house the plants and was wondering what you guys think would be the best options for making an led panel, the budget in mind for the panel is about £100/$170.

seen people talking about leds like the CXA3070 which look pretty cool so was considering a couple of them but have seen chinese cob leds that are 3000k 50w and claim 5600lumens and they are a fraction of the price of the CXA3070 but im guessing you will get what you pay for with these leds in terms of useable light by the plants?

Any suggestions for what led's would be best to get would be greatly appreciated.

 

[smokey the cat]

Ok, here are a few thoughts, all $ in USD.


Bridgelux Vero are a lot cheaper than Cree CXA - the Vero 18 is basically a ~35Wnominal (60Wmax) emitter for $17.
http://www.newark.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Search?catalogId=15003&langId=-1&storeId=10194&st=bridgelux vero&pageSize=25&showResults=true&pf=810018513
These are great chips, though not quite as efficient as Cree competitors. Importantly - cheap as all hell.


Budget driver from Satisled for $14, 1 per emitter
http://www.satisled.com/50w-power-led-driver-ac85265v-input-dc3036v1500ma-output_p1549.html
This driver puts out 1500mA - it will run the LED a little on the hard side so you lose efficiency and little bit of lifespan. But we can assume the driver will underperform somewhat we're looking probably at 1300mA - just 200mA above nominal current, which will mean we're feeding the LED about 40W if my brain remembers right.
Satisled has smaller drivers that will give more efficient performance - but I think you need get maximum light out of every emitter as your doing this on the cheap.

Add one CPU cooler to each COB, hook up a 12V supply you scavenged from something else in the house, and aim to keep drivers and LED as cool as possible in your environment, and add a fuse before plugging it on.


Maybe you could squeeze four or five of these Vero setups out of your budget. That's be 160W-200W of pretty reasonable light for a grow cupboard. Or buy and build a few of them at a time - expanding as you go.

 

[ak84]

Ok, here are a few thoughts, all $ in USD.


Bridgelux Vero are a lot cheaper than Cree CXA - the Vero 18 is basically a ~35Wnominal (60Wmax) emitter for $17.
http://www.newark.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Search?catalogId=15003&langId=-1&storeId=10194&st=bridgelux vero&pageSize=25&showResults=true&pf=810018513
These are great chips, though not quite as efficient as Cree competitors. Importantly - cheap as all hell.


Budget driver from Satisled for $14, 1 per emitter
http://www.satisled.com/50w-power-led-driver-ac85265v-input-dc3036v1500ma-output_p1549.html
This driver puts out 1500mA - it will run the LED a little on the hard side so you lose efficiency and little bit of lifespan. But we can assume the driver will underperform somewhat we're looking probably at 1300mA - just 200mA above nominal current, which will mean we're feeding the LED about 40W if my brain remembers right.
Satisled has smaller drivers that will give more efficient performance - but I think you need get maximum light out of every emitter as your doing this on the cheap.

Add one CPU cooler to each COB, hook up a 12V supply you scavenged from something else in the house, and aim to keep drivers and LED as cool as possible in your environment, and add a fuse before plugging it on.


Maybe you could squeeze four or five of these Vero setups out of your budget. That's be 160W-200W of pretty reasonable light for a grow cupboard. Or buy and build a few of them at a time - expanding as you go.

Hey smokey, can you suggest any drivers for these leds? I want to build a lot of 3-4 piece small lights instead of making a big one (they're actually not for cannabis, but I may even use them to supplement my Hans panel).

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/3W-180lm-200lm-High-Power-Taiwan-Epistar-Chip-LED-Bulb-Lamp-Beads-Pure-Cool-White-Warm/835380598.html

 

[SupraSPL]

Hey Pedro, you are correct when it comes to no name LEDs you get what you pay for. It comes down to efficiency. The no name LEDs only create half the light (or less) than the real deal. If you want to save some bux you are better off using Cree and driving it harder. Here is an example setup in your price range:

(2) CPU heatsinks w fan $20 (eBay)
(2) Cree CXA3070 3000K $85 (digikey)
(2) drivers 900mA $22 (fasttech)

This will give you 8500 lumens (minimum), 64 dissipation Watts @ 40.5% efficiency for $127 or $2/W. There literally is no technology out there that can beat those numbers. You could run them harder 1050mA meanwell drivers are about $20 each.