Timber Redwood VS efficiency % decrease in a year??

[johndoe12345678]

How much efficiency does the Timber Redwood VS lose in a year? I understand led initial cost are offset with not having to run AC. But ive read LEDs loose efficiency after a year. Since the timber redwood cost $800 a light vs a SE or DE setup cost anywhere between $200-$500 plus bulbs every few runs. That being said is it worth buying a timber redwood after all costs are factor in. If I'm loosing 5%-15% efficiency after year with LED and have to buy a new set up every year or two is it really worth it, am i saving money?

 

[Airwalker16]

20%loss over 50,000 hrs

 

[Budzbuddha]

So like about 6 yrs of bud making service ....

I’m running QB 304 V1 boards ( bought in 2015 ) perpetually since then ... Dec. 2015 ( first power up ) to Now ( feb. 2020 ) .
No light decay , no flicker , no burnouts. Running 2 citizen cobs same time frame , still blazing along. But I don’t run balls to the wall with them either. Had a driver die faster than boards.

 

[johndoe12345678]

So like about 6 yrs of bud making service ....

I’m running QB 304 V1 boards ( bought in 2015 ) perpetually since then ... Dec. 2015 ( first power up ) to Now ( feb. 2020 ) .
No light decay , no flicker , no burnouts. Running 2 citizen cobs same time frame , still blazing along. But I don’t run balls to the wall with them either. Had a driver die faster than boards.

I was leaning towards buying a prefabricated, but with the savings of building your own and being able to control the par output and spectrums DIY is the way to go.

 

[Airwalker16]

So like about 6 yrs of bud making service ....

I’m running QB 304 V1 boards ( bought in 2015 ) perpetually since then ... Dec. 2015 ( first power up ) to Now ( feb. 2020 ) .
No light decay , no flicker , no burnouts. Running 2 citizen cobs same time frame , still blazing along. But I don’t run balls to the wall with them either. Had a driver die faster than boards.

6 years to where they're STILL AT 80% Of their output. basically unnoticeable n

 

[Airwalker16]

I was leaning towards buying a prefabricated, but with the savings of building your own and being able to control the par output and spectrums DIY is the way to go.

Amen brother

 

[Airwalker16]

So like about 6 yrs of bud making service ....

I’m running QB 304 V1 boards ( bought in 2015 ) perpetually since then ... Dec. 2015 ( first power up ) to Now ( feb. 2020 ) .
No light decay , no flicker , no burnouts. Running 2 citizen cobs same time frame , still blazing along. But I don’t run balls to the wall with them either. Had a driver die faster than boards.

Ya! Haha haha I feel ya in that one. I've had to RMA FOUR of my fuckin mean well 240's.

 

[johndoe12345678]

Any recommendations on builds or links to complete builds? im looking for a replacement for a 1000wat DE i want a full spectrum for veg and flower looking to light up 5x5 areas. Im gonna binge watch every LED build video online to get a better understanding.

 

[johndoe12345678]

Renfro mentioned a DIY one from cobkits.com using the CMX-22 Gen 4 chips, anyone have any experience with cobkits.com?

 

[Airwalker16]

Buy 4 v1 QB 288's and their heatsinks=$240
An hlg-600h-48/hlg-480h-48/or 2 hlg-320h or 240h-48's. = $70-130
Misc wagos, wire, aluminum angle =$60ish
Total=$370-430ish

 

[Airwalker16]

Or just buy this dope kit from cutter.
They have a discount code for RollItUp too.
Ifvtheres one DIY kit I actually reccomend, it's the SSK-550 from Cutter. The way they use Hanging Down heatsinks on t slot track is fuckin unmatched in coolness. And not to mention with T slot, 6 simple pieces you TRULY need no more than a damn screwdriver for the ENTIRE build, utilizing their corner brackets and Slot Nuts.
@welight
It is $650 though. Bit less with the discount code.

SSK-550 Kit SSK-550 Kit Samsung LM301B Cutter Electronics

The SSK-550 Kit is the Brightest led grow light by led density and provides low profile led lighting for compact grows , Get the best efficacy now %

www.cutter.com.au

 

[johndoe12345678]

Buy 4 v1 QB 288's and their heatsinks=$240
An hlg-600h-48/hlg-480h-48/or 2 hlg-320h-48's. = $70-130
Misc wagos, wire, aluminum angle =$60ish
Total=$370-430ish

Im trying to cover a 10x20 area and wanna build 8 lights, are the kits better then sourcing individual components? The kits are more expensive are components better quality? Or is the DIY build superior in performance or about the same?

 

[Airwalker16]

Im trying to cover a 10x20 area and wanna build 8 lights, are the kits better then sourcing individual components? The kits are more expensive are components better quality? Or is the DIY build superior in performance or about the same?

In that case, you'll need to ask both HLG and Cutter about quantity discount.
You also might wanna go to the Chinese route for your boards. You'd get one hell of a deal buying 8X4=32 boards.
Drivers buy from local online sellers in your country though.

 

[Airwalker16]

And performance is all based on what LED is being uses for the light and at what current it's being ran at.

 

[Rocket Soul]

It seems like real life light depreciation is a bit more than datasheet suggests. Check out migros youtube, he has a vid on running various fixtures for 6000hours and got 5% already. Seems like the longevity of leds is mainly down to die temperatures, if you can run your leds under 50C (led temps, not heatsink) they last much longer. This, along with the more or less continuous improvements in efficiency, invites to use chips which have a decent price to performance ratio at lower watts per chip, for example bridgelux strips or hlgs V1s on sale prices, and if youre comercial be prepared to exchange the chips around 3-5 years: depreciation coupled increased efficiency will give you around 10% more light on the change which is real money in terms of yield.
To run absolute top bin chips at levels closer to max than nominal is not the way to go imho: leveraging diode count using cheaper, last years hotness, chips in order to reach similar efficiency as top bin simply by doubling the chip count is a better way to go for so many reasons.

 

[hybridway2]

How much efficiency does the Timber Redwood VS lose in a year? I understand led initial cost are offset with not having to run AC. But ive read LEDs loose efficiency after a year. Since the timber redwood cost $800 a light vs a SE or DE setup cost anywhere between $200-$500 plus bulbs every few runs. That being said is it worth buying a timber redwood after all costs are factor in. If I'm loosing 5%-15% efficiency after year with LED and have to buy a new set up every year or two is it really worth it, am i saving money?

Recent testing shows a 5% decrease a yr. Using a similar set up. 20% is usually the changing point. 4 yrs approximately.
Yea you still benefit from it, just not the 8 yrs some expected.

 

[Humple]

Recent testing shows a 5% decrease a yr. Using a similar set up. 20% is usually the changing point. 4 yrs approximately.
Yea you still benefit from it, just not the 8 yrs some expected.

That needs to be qualified. Recent testing at "full power" (which can mean different things for different lights), 24/7, without active cooling, shows a 5% decrease per year. It's not at all fair to plaster that result over any given fixture, because the conditions under which it's operated can be quite varied.

 

[Rocket Soul]

Recent testing shows a 5% decrease a yr. Using a similar set up. 20% is usually the changing point. 4 yrs approximately.
Yea you still benefit from it, just not the 8 yrs some expected.

The migro tests are based on 6000 hours, thats 500 days of 12/12 so around 1.3 / 5 y or so.

 

[Chip Green]

Also, that degradation was one year, if the test was ran for an additional year, would the drop-off be linear? Or is there a "burn in"....

 

[Airwalker16]

Also, that degradation was one year, if the test was ran for an additional year, would the drop-off be linear? Or is there a "burn in"....

I'd also be interested to know the answer to this.