DiY LEDs - How to Power Them

Rocket Soul

Well-Known Member
My calculations give me around 215ish at board level, 525 mA per board, with fV at around 102 V per board. I wanna see how i can get more, either using a 2100 driver, 4 parallel or 1050 driver with 2 string of 2 boards.
 

gibby84

Member
I’m trying to light up a 4x8 tent with about 1000w of LEDs using 5-6 of the alibaba 800 diode light boards underdriven. Was wondering what the most efficient use of drivers would be for that setup?
 

Mary's Confidant

Well-Known Member
@Randomblame - Last build I need from you (thanks, you've helped me put two together with a 3rd in process). I have 12 EB gen2s for a veg/clone light.

Should I just run with this driver? It doesn't have the A at the end of the name, is it still internally adjustable? I want to make sure I can dim this light as needed. It certainly won't need to be full blast at the beginning.

https://www.arrow.com/en/products/hlg-150h-24/mean-well-enterprises

And final question: Do you have a link to aluminum sheet for the strips to be glued to? I still have some aluminum c channel that I'll cut and glue to the back but I want to order thick enough aluminum sheet.

Thanks for all your help and the pictures are forthcoming.
 

GBAUTO

Well-Known Member
That looks like the A version based on the specs. I have used commercial aluminum baking trays to act as a frame to mount strips. It also does a great job acting as a heatsink. Full sheet trays are 18x24.
 

Randomblame

Well-Known Member
@Randomblame - Last build I need from you (thanks, you've helped me put two together with a 3rd in process). I have 12 EB gen2s for a veg/clone light.

Should I just run with this driver? It doesn't have the A at the end of the name, is it still internally adjustable? I want to make sure I can dim this light as needed. It certainly won't need to be full blast at the beginning.

https://www.arrow.com/en/products/hlg-150h-24/mean-well-enterprises

And final question: Do you have a link to aluminum sheet for the strips to be glued to? I still have some aluminum c channel that I'll cut and glue to the back but I want to order thick enough aluminum sheet.

Thanks for all your help and the pictures are forthcoming.

For alu sheets look at e3ay, I've seen 1m² 3mm sheets for around 65€ shipped. But its configurable, you only need to set L and W to your specific needs and costs go down accordingly.

For a 150w driver I would use the HLG-150H-20A or B(dimmable down to 6% with B100k potentiometer).

EB strips at 700mA need 19,5v according to the datasheet, an HLG-150H-20 would have 7,5A, divided by 12 strips each strip gets ~625mA. That means the needed voltage would be ~19,4v and fits perfectly in the constant current area of an HLG-150-20 A or B(10-20v CC area).

When you take the same driver with 24v the strips would use only 19v because the 24v version has only 6,25Amps and each strip would run with only 520mA and at 520mA a strip would need even less voltage. So 19v x 6,25A is only around 120w. Thats not what you looking for...

To get 100% out of any Meanwell driver you need to use almost all of the available voltage. If you use less voltage you don't get all of driver power.

HLG-150H-20A if you only need 50% dimming and the HLG-150H-20B + additional B100k poti if you want dimming down to 6%.
I always use B version, much better for inspection or when you have to open the tent. My 300w LED looks incredible bright from outside the house when I open my tent and even when dimmed down to 50% at night it looke crazy bright. Dimmed down to 6% its not so visible against the normal 15w/CRI95 led bulb I have on the ceiling and much less treacherous from the outside. Safety first!
I found a light-tight shutter in my sisters basement that I'll use in the future. I need only to cut it to the needed length because its 7' long and I need a 4' and 2' shutters. I often forget to dimm the light down when I only want to have a quick look at the girls and because I run night cycles its always treacherous and I could bite me in the ass when I forget it
 

67vdub

Member
I started my first grow with Quantum boards a few weeks back, so far loving it. Running 8 288 v2's and 16 132's. I was wondering how would I go about running them off of an alternative source such as solar or wind power? I started to read about it last night but stopped when I realized I would need close to 5k worth of batteries to run 2k watts at 18 hours a day. Can anyone point me in the right direction for some good reading on how to power Quantum boards with alternative energy? Thanks
 

Randomblame

Well-Known Member
I started my first grow with Quantum boards a few weeks back, so far loving it. Running 8 288 v2's and 16 132's. I was wondering how would I go about running them off of an alternative source such as solar or wind power? I started to read about it last night but stopped when I realized I would need close to 5k worth of batteries to run 2k watts at 18 hours a day. Can anyone point me in the right direction for some good reading on how to power Quantum boards with alternative energy? Thanks
Forget it!
It's maybe possible but upfront costs would explode. You need either batteries to store the energy or -if your network operator allows it- you can feed it into the network so that your counter either turns backwards or you get money for it. A completely self-sufficient system without batteries is not feasible, at least not without diploma in electrical engineering, lol!
 

67vdub

Member
Forget it!
It's maybe possible but upfront costs would explode. You need either batteries to store the energy or -if your network operator allows it- you can feed it into the network so that your counter either turns backwards or you get money for it. A completely self-sufficient system without batteries is not feasible, at least not without diploma in electrical engineering, lol!
Hmm ok batteries it is I am dedicated to get up to 3k watts running 12 hours a day. The cost is just something I'll have to work on. Thanks Just from poking around minimum cost looks like 10k.
 

Greennner

Well-Known Member
Hello , i want to build a light with 5× cxm32
And i want to Power them with 700mA -1900mA
,i think they run on 50V.
Can you help me with the driver?
Is there a driver big enough to driver all 5.
Or do i need 2 driver
(Like the
HLG-320H-C2100B)

Maybe you know something less expensive✌
 
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Dave455

Well-Known Member
Hello , i want to build a light with 5× cxm32
And i want to Power them with 700mA -1900mA
,i think they run on 50V.
Can you help me with the driver?
Is there a driver big enough to driver all 5.
Or do i need 2 driver
(Like the
HLG-320H-C2100B)

Maybe you know something less expensive✌
ledgardener,com Has driver selection tool. FYI
 

Sickplayer13

New Member
First time here guys, sorry my english.

i'm looking for a single cob to push 2 plants. i found the Meawell HBG-160-60A and its says that the A's is 1.6~2.6A, thats mean i can choose to use it with 1600Ma or 2600Ma??

So if i put together a CLU048-1818 3500k with HBG 160-60A with a 100w pin heatsink, i can run it in aproximatly 80w when setted for 1.6A and changed any time for apx 140w changing for 2.6A?
And its possible work in the middle, like 100w or 120w, how i'm gonna know whats power is at?
Sorry, i'm new growing. cheers.
 
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verticalgrow

Well-Known Member
First time here guys, sorry my english.

i'm looking for a single cob to push 2 plants. i found the Meawell HBG-160-60A and its says that the A's is 1.6~2.6A, thats mean i can choose to use it with 1600Ma or 2600Ma??

So if i put together a CLU048-1818 3500k with HBG 160-60A with a 100w pin heatsink, i can run it in aproximatly 80w when setted for 1.6A and changed any time for apx 140w changing for 2.6A?
And its possible work in the middle, like 100w or 120w, how i'm gonna know whats power is at?
Sorry, i'm new growing. cheers.
https://www.ebay.com/p/Digital-Power-Saving-Energy-Monitor-Watt-Amp-Volt-kWh-Meter-Electricity-Analyzer/12016158160?iid=282562106503
 

Sickplayer13

New Member
Thanks a lot man...

Soo I'm correct, with this monitor watt I can dimmeble anclu 048 1818 with HGB 160-60A between 80w and 140w? Cheers
 

Greennner

Well-Known Member
Thanks dave454

I found the meanwell hgl 320h to Power 3 cxm32
With 1400-2100mA
And the hgl 240h for 2 cxm32.

Is there a dimmable driver for just 1 cmx32
(1050-2100mA) (Or without dimming with 1900 or 2100mA)
I couldnt find it.

The meanwell hgl 320h is what i think very expensiv. So 2× hgl240 with a Single driver could save Money ?
✌
 

Randomblame

Well-Known Member
Hmm ok batteries it is I am dedicated to get up to 3k watts running 12 hours a day. The cost is just something I'll have to work on. Thanks Just from poking around minimum cost looks like 10k.
But the good thing is these batteries run for a long time; at least 10 years or more before you need to renew them. So its a long time investment. You could probably power the whole house this way which makes the whole thing much more interesting. There are also energy networks that are fed exclusively by private energy producers. If you join there, you can use smaller batteries and get power from the grid when needed. I'm sure such private clubs are also available in the US.
By producing energy all day long you could feed excess electricity into the grid instead of in batteries, for a fee of course, and if needed you can get energy out of the grid; much more cost-effectively of course.
Batteries would be reduced to a minimum because the network of thousands of private batteries has at any time enough reserves ready. It only depends on whats available in your country. This way you could more invest in producing the energy than store it in batteries and you could even make a small provit in the end when you fed in more than you take.

The best you go to such a private network operator club and let you advise what would be best for your situation. You're probably going to be surprised what's possible and getting started probably will not even cost 5k ..
A few panels on the roof for extra energy and warm water and a windmill for the main supply and 1 or 2 batteries for the primary care. Everything that does not go into the batteries goes into the grid and if you need more like you have, you get it from the grid! Easy peasy!
 
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