Luminus CXM (x4) driver advice

Took the plunge into my first LED build. Ditching all HPS/MH ballasts and accompanying hardware + downsizing.

I have and am planning a build with 8x Samsung SL-B8V7N90L1WW on HLG-320H-48B. Will be lighting up a 3x3.

I am considering adding 4x Luminus CXM-22-27-80-54-AC30-F4-3 as bloom boosters for flowering stage.

** What I am asking the LED community is whether I should power them with either a HLG-240H-C1050A or HLG-240H-C1400B.

The cost is similar, one is dimmable which may be nice, but the wattages at the COB's are quite varied and the source of my inquiry lies here.

Is there better driver options that I may have missed?

I realize the 1400 will be running a little hotter than the 1050, as these are for boosting during flower and not for full plant cycle I think Im not too concerned with this.

So far plan is to run them mounted bare on 50x600mm strip heat sink.

Thoughts or advice are welcome.


Thanks.

Hey @Morbid Angel ,

Both of those drivers offer current adjustment. The A model has an internal potentiometer and the B model has leads so you can wire an external potentiometer.

The HLG-240H-C1050A is a good option with 4 COBs wired in series.

The HLG-240H-C1400B doesn't have a high enough voltage range for 4 COBs wired in series. You could use a 2s2p arrangement, although the HLG-240H-C1050A would be a better choice.

HLG-240H-54 (A,B, or AB depending on preference) with 4 COBs wired in parallel is a solid option if you want to stay in that same wattage range.

The newer XLG series is also worth looking at. They are somewhat less expensive than the HLG series.

XLG-240-L-AB wired in series.
Or XLG-240-H-AB wired in parallel.

You're going to need a more robust heatsink with more surface area than you have planned. So you will need to look for a larger piece of aluminum that will help to better dissipate the heat generated by the COBs or look into getting sufficiently sized pin heatsinks.

I appreciate the response.

Is it a must to run a diffuser or lens over the cobs?

Morbid Angel said:

I appreciate the response.

Is it a must to run a diffuser or lens over the cobs?

Click to expand...

No it's not a must, especially if you have good reflective walls/ceiling. Just be mindful of water or other liquids when running a humidifier or foliar spraying while you have bare COBs in your space.

Morbid Angel said:

Took the plunge into my first LED build. Ditching all HPS/MH ballasts and accompanying hardware + downsizing.

I have and am planning a build with 8x Samsung SL-B8V7N90L1WW on HLG-320H-48B. Will be lighting up a 3x3.

I am considering adding 4x Luminus CXM-22-27-80-54-AC30-F4-3 as bloom boosters for flowering stage.

** What I am asking the LED community is whether I should power them with either a HLG-240H-C1050A or HLG-240H-C1400B.

The cost is similar, one is dimmable which may be nice, but the wattages at the COB's are quite varied and the source of my inquiry lies here.

Is there better driver options that I may have missed?

I realize the 1400 will be running a little hotter than the 1050, as these are for boosting during flower and not for full plant cycle I think Im not too concerned with this.

So far plan is to run them mounted bare on 50x600mm strip heat sink.

Thoughts or advice are welcome.


Thanks.

Click to expand...

If this is for a bloom booster id recommend using 90cri chips: more red and far red which seems to work great in flower.

Rocket Soul said:

If this is for a bloom booster id recommend using 90cri chips: more red and far red which seems to work great in flower.

Click to expand...

The reason I was looking at these was because of the 2700k temp for that reason...

so what would be a good cob for bloom boost? I am not convinced on strips penetration ability like the cob seems to have

Morbid Angel said:

The reason I was looking at these was because of the 2700k temp for that reason...

so what would be a good cob for bloom boost? I am not convinced on strips penetration ability like the cob seems to have

Click to expand...

As for bloom spectrum; 2700k 90cri works great as per what ive seen from blux vesta strips and from other grows.

Theres no specific need to complement strips with cobs in bloom for penetration, a deep cannopy of buds have more to do with other things than intracannopy light levels. In fact: strips generate light which hit the plant from all directions and you will see less shadows in a total strip build

K. Am I doing the math right here?

Lets say I want to run 4 x Lumileds LHC1-2790-1211 COB (2700k, 90 cri, Vf 35.5, max cur. 2.4a)

If I drive them w/ XLG-240-H-AB (VO 27~56V, COM 4.9a, 240W) in parallel:

4xCOB= COM 4.9a/4 = 1.225a ea. = Each cob runs at (Vf35.5 x 1.225a) 43.49W/cob for a total of 173.96W for all 4

If I drove them in Series using XLG-240-L-AB (VO 178-342v, COM 0.7a, 239W):

4xCOB= COM 0.7a x 35.5Vf/COB = 24.85w/cob for a total of 99.4W for all 4

Is this correct? In parallel I divide led forward voltage by driver max current output to see what the leds will be driven at and in series I divide the total driver power by the led power consumption to see how many the driver will power at it's stated output current?

Every time I think I have it down, I go and run new numbers with different drivers and leds and get tripped up.

Also it looks like both drivers have internal dimmers.
Am I correct in thinking that with the parallel driven I will have full dimming because I am using all available W of the driver but with the series driven I will experience a dead zone because I am not using up the full power of the driver only driving the cobs at .7a?

Your understanding is correct except...
When you driver them in series the voltage adds up and must fall between the listed range, 178v-342v
So your would be less at around 140v, so it wouldn't be an option with that driver.
But you could use the xlg-240-m-ab because the voltage range on that is 90v-171v. You would get max waatage

The other thing is your math on the parallel wired xlg-240-h-ab, the listed current is 4.9amps but its adjustable up to 6.66amps so you would get close to full wattage from the driver.

Those drivers arent ideal for those cobs. AFAIK The h-ab is a very versatile driver in that it will adapt to a wide range of voltages. But it will be more efficient the higher the voltage. For parallel youd be better off with a hlg240-36ab.

And for series, with xlg drivers, better off with the xlg240m. It will give you a bit more juice. The L-ab has voltage range of 178 -342V, and your four cobs only reach 140V aprox. Youre leaving a lot of watts unused.


Internal dimming: datasheet generally indicates 50-100% dimming but usually it goes a bit lower.

Also: are you sure of those cobs? It seems like they are obsolete to me

Not those cobs no. Perhaps these ones.

I’m not in a super rush right now so just taking my time getting my shit together.