DIY LED Strip Build Designs for Samsung H-Series, F-Series, Q-Series, and Bridgelux EB Gen.2

DIY LED strip builds have become very popular recently. The mid-power section of our forum is full of threads created by DIYers looking to build their own custom lights, and new builds and ideas are surfacing every day. If you don’t live somewhere where you have easy access to premade lights like HLG Quantum Boards or ChilLED lights, you can save a lot of money on customs, duties, and shipping fees by piecing together your own lights using the same diodes as these guys do. That being said, building these lights does require a fair amount of work, and if you’re new to the game and can afford to buy a premade light from a reputable company like those listed above, we’ll usually recommend going that route first to get your feet wet. However, if the cost is prohibitive or you’d prefer to roll up your sleeves and build one yourself, you’ve come to the right place.

In this article, we’ll kick things off by reviewing the pros and cons of the 4 best, most efficient DIY LED strips available, and list the part numbers for each color temperature to make them easier to search for (Digi-Key is your friend!). Next, just to make your life easier, we’ve put together a design using each of these strip types for every common grow space size including 2’x2′, 2’x4′, 3’x3′, 4’x4′, and 5’x5′.  We’ll even provide a complete shopping list for each design to eliminate the guesswork. Let’s do this.

Please note: These designs were put together using data sheets only and have not been tested, nor are they guaranteed in any way. It is the full responsibility of the user to ensure their system uses proper components that are designed and installed correctly. The following are design ideas only – use them at your own risk and do not attempt them if you don’t have the required skill and know-how. These systems run at high voltage/current and can be a hazard to you and your home if they aren’t done right. Parallel/constant voltage systems are for advanced users only and some LED manufacturers recommend against parallel wiring. The beauty of parallel systems is the fact that voltage can be kept much lower than series systems, and is safer in that regard (lower chance of shock), however the downside is that the chance of current hogging/thermal runaway is always present which can result in damage if appropriate measures are not taken to counteract it. I have personally not seen it happen in a strip build but this doesn’t mean it won’t happen to you. If in doubt, just go series with multiple drivers instead and try to keep circuit voltage reasonably low.

EDIT 01/29/18: Added 1-foot builds for 2’x2′ and 2’x4′ spaces for a better fit in tents.

EDIT 01/31/18: Updating wire and resistor part numbers/requirements.

EDIT 02/02/18: Changed wire type recommendations. I recommend you consult with an electrician to determine proper wire gauge for your specific build. I am not an electrician.

EDIT 02/23/18: Added 2-foot strip builds for 4’x4′ spaces.

STRIP OVERVIEW & PART NUMBERS

There are 4 different series of strips that we’d recommend using for your build:

  • Samsung F-Series Gen.3
  • Samsung H-Series Gen.3
  • Samsung Q-Series
  • Bridgelux EB Strips Gen.2

Each type has its strengths and weaknesses, and after crunching the numbers on all of these designs, we’ll share our thoughts at the bottom of the article as to which strips are best. First, let’s do an overview of each type and list off the part numbers to help you find them easier.

Samsung F-Series Gen.3

The F-Series is a great bang-for-buck strip that utilizes Samsung LM561C diodes, which are the second-most efficient diode on the market with only the Samsung LM301B diode having better efficiency. The beauty of the F strips is that these strips cram in many more diodes per strip than the others. For example, the F-Series LT-F564B 2′ (560mm) strip, boasts a whopping 144 diodes. Compare this to the other 2-foot strips: the Samsung H-Series comes in at 48 diodes, the Q-Series has only 40 diodes, and the Bridgelux Gen.2 EB strip uses 112 diodes (though these are smaller diodes at 2.8mm x 3.5mm vs the LM561C at 3.5mm x 5.6mm).

For the F-series, there are a few options for strip configurations at different lengths. The 1-footers have only one option, but there are 2 different configurations for the 2-footers and 2 different configurations for the 4-footers. As such, these strips run at different voltages. Click the link below to show the Samsung part numbers for each length and color temperature.

Click here for the F-Series Gen.3 data sheet.

Samsung H-Series Gen.3

The H-Series was the first iteration of Samsung strips to utilize the LM561C diode. Despite having fewer diodes than its F-Series brothers, it’s still a decent choice and you can offset the lower count by adding more strips to even things out.

The H-Series is pretty simple. All strips run at the same voltage (typically around 24V), and the only thing that differs among the 3 lengths is the diode count and current requirement.

Click here for the H-Series Gen.3 data sheet.

Samsung Q-Series

Samsung’s Q-Series uses the current top-dog of diodes: the LM301B. These diodes are rated at over 200 lumens per watt, vs. the 187 lumens per watt that the LM561C is rated for. The Q-Series strips are still quite new, and, as such, are more expensive than the H-Series and F-Series strips. They also have the lowest diode count per strip, which does matter in medium to large sized builds.

Opposite of the H-Series, the Q-Series strips all have the same max current, but the typical voltage across each length is different.

Click here for the Q-Series data sheet.

Bridgelux Gen. 2 EB Strips

Bridgelux’s second generation of their EB strip line offers a significant increase in efficiency over their first generation (up to 180 lumens per watt vs. 159 lumens per watt). The most attractive thing about these strips is the price point, and since they’re very close to the LM561C in terms of efficiency, they’re a great alternative to Samsung’s offerings.

Like the Samsung F-Series, the EB Gen.2 strips have a mix of different voltages and currents. Bridgelux does not list the specific diode used to build these strips, but through some detective work, we believe that they’re using the 2835 .2W 3V Gen.2 Bridgelux SMD. All figures have been calculated on this assumption.

Click here for the EB Strip Gen.2 data sheet.

EXAMPLE DESIGNS

Now, the fun part. Below, we’ve put together a design using each strip type for a variety of different grow spaces. In these designs, we’ve done our best to strike a balance between simplicity, user-friendliness, cost savings, and, of course, bitchin’ PPFD.

Some notes:

  • We’ll shoot for around 30 watts per square foot and aim to drive the strips at about 75% of their rated max.
  • Although lumens aren’t a great measure for grow lights, they still provide a good metric for comparing output of lights of the same color temperature. We will use lumen output as a rough guideline to balance the number of strips required for each light when driven at ~75%.
  • We’ll use constant current drivers for builds that end up with a reasonably low circuit voltage when wired in series (below 200V), and we’ll use parallel wiring with constant voltage drivers for those builds that would have too high of a circuit voltage if wired in series.
  • We’ll try to avoid having to use multiple drivers. We’ll only need multiple drivers for 5’x5′ spaces.
  • Each system will be designed so that the driver cannot overpower the group of strips. However, note that current hogging can still occur within individual strips in the group in a parallel/CV build and this can cause strips to overheat and fail. There are measures that can be taken to prevent this from happening (current mirrors, resistors, thermal switches, fuses, etc.), but this is beyond the scope of this article and is up to the reader to incorporate if they choose. Devices like this are not included in the designs.
  • On the constant voltage/parallel systems, all strips must be connected at once to prevent the chance of strips being overpowered. If the design calls for 10 strips, do not only hook up 5.
  • System current for “B” type drivers will be based on the driver data sheet’s rated current, and system current for “A” type drivers will be based on reported current, since you can get more power out of them.
  • All diodes will be top bin for flux. Specs will be based on a temperature of 45 degrees Celsius.
  • I personally use 18 gauge to connect wagos to strips (the strip connectors likely won’t take wire any bigger than 18 gauge) and I use a minimum of 14 gauge wire for the wago-to-wago connections in parallel systems – the cable needs to be at least this thick since these wago-to-wago runs carry more current. I am not an electrician – these are suggestions only and I recommend checking with a licensed electrician to ensure you’ve selected the proper wire for your system and installed it properly.

The spaces we’ll examine are:

  • 2’x2′
  • 2’x4′
  • 3’x3′
  • 4’x4′
  • 5’x5′

2’x2′ Grow Space Builds

In a 2’x2′ space, you’ll need ~120 watts of power. If you’re growing in a 2’x2′ tent, you’ll probably want to use 1-foot long strips in order to save some room in the tent. If you’re in open air and have the space, you might prefer to use 2-foot long strips to maximize your canopy spread. We have included both types of builds below – just be sure to measure your space to ensure your strips and frame will fit nicely.

2’x4′ Grow Space Builds

In a 2’x4′ space, we’ll aim for ~240 watts of power. Just like in the 2×2 section, if you want to use 2’ strips for your 2’x4′ build, even though these strips are not actually a full 24” long, they will be a tight fit by the time you incorporate your frame (if you’re growing in a tent) so be sure to measure your space to ensure they’ll fit. If you have the room, you may want to run the 2-footers for better coverage, but if they won’t fit, we’ve included 1-foot designs as well, so you’re covered either way.

 3’x3′ Grow Space Builds

We’ll want about 270 watts of power  for a 3’x3′.

4’x4′ Grow Space Builds

In a 4’x4′, we’ll need ~480 watts of power. We can’t quite hit this with an HLG-480H-48B, but we can hit it by using an HLG-480H-48A (you can get more power out of this version since you can increase the voltage) and cranking the voltage and current. The difference between the A version and B version is the A version has 2 built-in potentiometers to allow you to adjust voltage and current while the B version has leads for you to solder your own potentiometer so you can run a length of wire and dim the driver remotely. The A version also only dims down to 50% power, which will be fine for this application. This is the same driver that the HLG 550 light uses.

For the 4’x4′ space, you may not quite be able to fit 4’ strips – even though these strips are not actually a full 48” long, they may be a tight fit by the time you incorporate your frame (if you’re growing in a tent) so be sure to measure your space to ensure they’ll fit. Just in case, we’ve also included builds for 4’x4′ tents that utilize 2 strips if you can’t fit 4’ strips.

5’x5′ Grow Space Builds

Finally, for a 5’x5′, we’ll need about 750 watts of power. To get this much power, we’ll need to use multiple drivers and it’s important to make sure that your house’s AC circuit can support this much current draw (you’ll need to consult the data sheet for your driver and check the AC current input).

 Conclusion

After crunching the numbers, it’s clear that 2 families of strips stand out above the others: the Samsung F-Series Gen.3 and the Bridgelux EB Strip Gen.2. Both of these strips pack a lot of diodes per foot and offer near-identical efficiency. While the Samsung LM561C has a higher efficacy on paper (187 lm/w), you’ll notice that in our designs, the EB strips often have a higher efficacy than the F-strips. Interestingly enough, we believe the reason for this is that Bridgelux has underrated their EB Gen.2 strip max current. 

If our hunch is correct and Bridgelux is, in fact, running 2835 .2W 3V Gen.2 diodes on these strips, then the 1-footers would have a true max of 1,200mA (not 700mA, as the data sheet says) and the 2-footers and 4-footers would have a true max of 2,400mA (not 1,400mA, as the data sheet says). That being said, if the true max current of these strips is significantly higher than stated, we would actually be running the strips quite soft, and, as a result, they will run at a higher efficacy than the F-series in our designs.

While the F-Series strips are far more expensive than the EB Gen.2 strips, you don’t need to use nearly as many of them, and this cuts down on heat sink costs as well. By the time you factor in the additional heat sinks required for the EB Gen.2 strips, the price of each build is nearly identical for the same output. The advantage of running the dense F-Series strips is that there’s a lot less work to do since with fewer heat sinks and strips to wire. The advantage of running the EB strips is the fact that you’ll get a more even spread with the additional strips and can get more uniform coverage across your canopy.

The H-Series and Q-Series are distant runner-ups in this group. Both have low diode counts and require a lot more strips to hit the same output that the F-Series and EB Gen.2 can achieve with fewer strips. This results in a lot more work and significantly higher heat sink costs. The saving grace of the Q-Series is that you will save a little on your electrical bill since they’re more efficient than the other strips.

All in all, our ranking is as follows:

#1- Samsung F-Series

#2- Bridgelux EB Gen.2

#3- Samsung Q-Series

#4- Samsung H-Series

Which strips will you use for your build? Let us know in the comments below.

171 Comments

  1. Clayts Johnston

    Hey there,

    Great post. Thank you for all your well-prepared information. It has made researching my 2×2 diy strip build so much easier.

    One thing I’m confused of though, is your wiring diagram for the F562B build. Every time I look at it, I convince myself that it is in parallel as opposed to series (which is what the description of the build is). Am I missing something obvious?!

    • LEDGardener

      Nope – my mistake. Thanks for pointing that out. I had initially went C.V./parallel for every build, then decided to change a few to series and forgot to switch the drawings.

      Edit: Made the changes so the proper diagrams are in place – thanks again.

      • Clayts Johnston

        Yeah man, no worries.

        Thanks heaps for updating everything! Bout to pull the trigger on ordering all my bits for my F-series strip build for my 2×2.

        I had everything lined up and designed using h-series strips then saw this post and changed my mind. Can get away with way less wiring and less aluminium cuts this way. Less room between the walls of the tent and the frame though I guess. But arguably better coverage.

        Anyway I’m rambling. Thanks again for your site. Such good info.

        • LEDGardener

          Nice. The F strips are the bomb. Only issue with 2 footers in a 2×2 is space but luckily they are only truly 22” or so.

          • Anonymous

            This is the last thing I am trying to decide on. My space is 600mm x 600mm. These strips are meant to be 560mm. It doesn’t leave much space at either end of the mounted strips (onto the C channel aluminum) to connect the C channel to the frame.

            This is probably not a question for you, but do you think it would be better to try and squeeze this frame in (say something like 590mm square) with the 2 ft strips, or use more of the 1 ft strips and just centre the light on a frame that is say 300mm x 500mm or something. I feel like it would make sense to leave a bit of space between the edge of the frame and the sides of the tent. With the 2 ft build, it only leaves a few mm or so at most.

          • LEDGardener

            I’m considering adding a couple sections for this. Those that are growing in tents will be constrained on the 2×2, 2×4, and 4×4 sizes since the strips are nearly the length of the tent. I may add some 1-footer builds for the 2×2/2×4 spaces and 2-footer builds for the 4×4 spaces.

          • Clayts

            Oops, that ‘anonymous’ post is actually me. Sorry

      • Rose O'Ferrall

        Thank you, for putting together everything in DIY LED strip build designs for samsung h-series. I think you have covered all the major points in this article, I will share this with my network as well. I really appreciate your way of explanation. Keep it up!

  2. Zaccharie Jacquat

    Thank you very much for those informations! Awesome!

    I juste have one question, can we find somewhere the spectrum of the Samsung F-Series Gen.3?

    Is it similar to the HLG board?

    Thank you very much!

  3. Brad V (bvolt)

    The infusion of options for – truly dialing-in on and distributing the type and quality of light that you want, or that limited, or odd-space requires – has made DIYing high-diode-count fixtures possible w/o having to be a golden ticket holder. With this as a jump-off point and the forum for support, a strip build is probably up next for me. Take care.

  4. Anonymous

    hi
    I have a HLG-185-1400 driver how many EB 2 foot strips can use on it ,and can i used flat bar or c channel for heat sink thanks mark

    • LEDGardener

      6 of them. I’d definitely go C channel at minimum since you’re running them at max. May want to look into heatsinkusa 1” profile for that power unless you dim.

  5. Anonymous

    Where you say:

    On the constant voltage/parallel systems, all strips must be connected at once to prevent the chance of strips being overpowered.

    Should that not be constant current/series systems?

    • LEDGardener

      Nope – you could get away with it on CC/series systems as long as the circuit voltage was still within the constant current region. However, on some of the C.V./parallel builds, the voltage of the driver would cause the strips to pull too much current if there wasn’t enough of them connected.

      For example, for the 4’ EB strip build, there is no 40V driver in the Mean Well lineup, only 42V. If you hooked it up to only half the strips called for in the design, that high of a voltage would cause them to pull way too much current and cook them. If you hook up all the strips though, when the driver dumps all its current into he circuit, it’s no longer high enouh to destroy the strips because it’s split up among a greater number of them.

      • Ken Clark

        I ordered 6 of the 1 ft EB’s for 14″ X 14″ small grow box, what Mean Well can I use so I don’t overpower the strips, your design only shows using 12 – 1 ft EB’s in CV / Parallel

    • Brad Voltero

      Voltage is “pushed” (so out if spec voltage on a PSU is damaging) but current is only ever “pulled” as needed.

      • Troy

        Yeah, I can’t tell if the author has a misconception here, or if he’s envisioning a contingency plan for a thermal runaway situation.

        (I’m confident that the following is accurate, but I’m not an expert, so please correct me if not.)

        For example, even if you just have a single 24V LED strip that draws 0.5A, then a 24V, 1000W constant voltage driver should be just fine to use; the LED strip will draw the 12W that it needs, with 988W of headroom.

        However, should that LED strip enter thermal runaway, its current draw will accelerate, and that 988W of headroom could become a liability. A much smaller 15W driver (with only 3W of headroom) could have an advantage in that case by limiting the current draw to 0.625A, which likely wouldn’t destroy the LED strip. That assumes that the driver has a current limiting feature, which I believe is basically ubiquitous from a quality manufacturer like Mean Well.

  6. Anonymous

    perfect!!!

  7. upcominggeek

    Looking into the data sheets, it looks like BridgeLux specifies their properties at 25 deg C while Samsung specifies it at 65 deg C. BridgeLux does provide a graph that shows about 6% drop in Luminous Flux at 65 deg. That should bring the efficacy of BridgeLux below Samsung, rt?
    But in the conclusion part, you mentioned that “While the Samsung LM561C has a higher efficacy on paper (187 lm/w), you’ll notice that in our designs, the EB strips often have a higher efficacy than the F-strips.” Does that mean in your tests, BridgeLux was still found to be higher efficacy at the same temperature as Samsung?
    My apologies if all of this is obvious, just trying to make sense of the numbers here.

    • LEDGardener

      Hey geek. The Samsung and Bridgelux official calculators allow you to input a temperature so I set them both to 45 degrees and this modifies the efficacy figure that it spits out.

      • upcominggeek

        Hey, thanks for the quick reply and for clarifying my question. Separately, I was not able to locate the official calculators for either Samsung or BridgeLux with the referenced strip lights. Can someone be kind enough to share the calculators if it is readily available. Thanks,

        • LEDGardener

          Samsung engine calculator here: http://www.samsung.com/led/support/tools/engine-calculator/

          For the EB strips, I used their SMD product simulator and did the math based on the assumption that the strips are built with a particular diode in a particular layout.

  8. Digger Leveler

    Hey,
    On the “Bridgelux 2′ LED Strip Build – 2’x2′ area” you use 6 of the 2′ strips. From my calculations the HLG-120H-C1050B driver can handle 7 of the strips (7 strips @ 147v vs. 148v maximum). It is within a volt of the maximum. Is that the reason you used less?

    Thank you

    • cc

      whats the Waterproof Connector for? Are there other quick connectors you recommend >?

      • LEDGardener

        It’s for the AC power connection of the driver. I think it’s the way to go for this application – HLG uses them in their kits.

    • LEDGardener

      That’s one of the reasons – yes. Since Bridgelux says the strips can be 19.5-21.5V there is a chance that if you get a batch of strips that run on the high side for voltage, you could pick up that extra volt or more along the 6 strips and exceed the rating. Also, 6 strips is a nice number to work with, plus it balances nicely in terms of lumen output compared to the rest of the strips.

      • cc

        is this the same driver as the one in your 2 x 2 2 Samsung f strip build?

      • Digger Leveler

        Sorry to belabor the point, but when I look at the Bridgelux datasheet, it shows a 19.4-21.6V variation based on 1400ma. If you run it at 700ma the range is 18.5-20.6V.

        So I assumed (and hoped) that running them at 1050ma would put the range in the middle- 19-21V as the range.

        Is there another calculation involved? Or is there a concern that ad libbing the datasheet can be essentially reading untested logic into it?

        Because 21V would put 7 strips at 1V under the maximum. And that would give me the pleasure of an added 20watts at the outlet, and the photons that come with it.

        Hope, of course, is a four-letter word when your driver blows in the midst of a cruel summer.

        • LEDGardener

          You can certainly try! Consider these builds a baseline and you’re free to tweak them as you see fit. As you say, it’s probably fine. I was trying to balance a number of different factors for each build and they can be modified to satisfy whatever it is most important to you, be it price, efficiency, labour, or whatever.

        • Brad Voltero

          The spec should chart current on the y-axis and voltage on the x-axis. See where the line crosses x, when y = 1050.

  9. cc

    is this the same driver 1x Mean Well HLG-120H-C700B Driver
    https://www.arrow.com/en/products/hlg-120h-c700b/mean-well-enterprises

    just trying to make sure i got an idea of what Im looking at and for lol thanks alot!

  10. That one guy

    Man, this is the best resource I’ve found yet in my search for a replacement for my 1000w HPS. I was almost set on trying to figure out a COB setup until I ran across your site here. I must thank you for what you’re doing. I’m very mechanically inclined, but I’ve got about a 3 year olds grasp on anything electrical. I’ll be running in a 4×4 tent and using a scrog for my grows. I’m thinking that I’ll use your plans for the 5×5 tent using the FB24B strips. I’ve got a lot of aluminum sheet at the house already to build my frame and “heatsinks” for the strips. There’s no reason I shouldn’t be able to just order everything on your list and assemble as you have laid out in the provided diagram, correct? This is very exciting and I’m looking to start collecting my parts as soon as possible. Is there a favorite dealer that you use for parts in the US?

    • cc

      from what ive seen best sources are ebay for things like tape pot meter wagos, digikey for lights, and mouser or arrow for driver arrow if your in Canada and are buying a few.

      • That one guy

        Thank you. Can anyone tell me if running the 5×5 FB24B rig in a 4×4 tent will be inefficient? I think I’d like the ability to hit over 500w without running anything too hard.

        • cc

          sounds kind of over kill to me wait for the master to return for answer lol

          • That one guy

            It’s so awesome how helpful this guy is. You don’t see a ton of people with this kind of knowledge who are so willing to share it.

        • LEDGardener

          Nothing wrong with running more strips – it’ll make it more efficient (if you’re talking about using more strips on the same 480H driver). Will the 4 footers fit in your tent? I’m in the process of doing builds for 4x4s with 2-footers for this reason.

          • That one guy

            I was thinking I’d just use your 5×5 FB24B guide (with the 2 drivers) and make it fit in my tent. Would running the 6 strips on just the one driver be better for some reason? From what I’ve seen online, the strips measure in at 44″ in length. My tent measures 48″ so I’ll fit them in there even if the walls are pushed out a little.

          • That one guy

            Is it stupid to try to run 700w in a 4×4? I would like the extra headroom for when I eventually start playing with c02. Or would it not run efficiently at less power if the 700 ended up being too much light with my current growing setup?

          • LEDGardener

            No not at all. If you’re running CO2 in The future, it’s a great idea.

  11. Clayts

    One more question open to anyone. With these constant voltage/constant current drivers like the HLG-120H-20B, how do we know what current it will actually put out through these strips? I mean, from what I read on the datasheet, it seems to me that it by default puts out a constant 20V (for this driver) and then the strips take whatever they take at that voltage (and temperature). Then, if conditions change for whatever reason and the strips want more current, the driver will stay at constant 20V but increase current until a maximum. In this case that maximum is 6000mA. Is that correct?

    Assuming that is correct, if you have 12 strips all in parallel (like in the 2×2 EB series 1′ build), if 11 of them went dark for whatever reason, the 1 remaining would still get 20V and the driver would just decrease the current to whatever the strip draws at that voltage, which is roughly 525mA. Have I got that right?

  12. LEDGardener

    You’ve pretty well got it. I cover it with a demo in this video: https://youtu.be/J6o-z8vJeN8

    • Clayts

      Thanks again!

  13. cc

    Can you let me know if 10 SI-B8V521560WW and 5 of these https://www.arrow.com/en/products/hlg-120h-c1400b/mean-well-enterprises are compatible? looking to make 5 of the 2 x 2 Samsung F series rigs. Do you think your better of with the 4 Samsung single rows for better distribution or not a lot of difference in coverage really between the two.

  14. mitch

    hey LEDGarderner, thanks for the great article! Going to use this info to make my own from barebones diy.

    this is a pretty big project so i’ll possibly be using 100x f series to light up my room of 95sqft canopy, if that matters.

    do you have a guide on how to actually put this together and what stuff is needed aside from a driver (suggestions?), fseries lights, and wires (any types 18g 14g)? regarding aluminum sheet, anything specific to look for in terms of quality/thickness/etc? not sure what else we need (solder kit? other tools?)

    also, how do i calculate how much f-series i need for my space – is it just 30w / sqft? and how to calculate how many drivers to support that?

    do you have recommendations on drivers as well?

    lastly, is there any difference between f-series lights that have double voltage? 23v vs 46v, not sure which is better (cost is a little less than double as well, and lumens is doubled)

    • cc

      Did you happen to read the article he answered most of your questions mang.

  15. Fawkes420

    Hi.
    I have been starting to look into led strips, and i specially look at bridgelux setup for 2×2.
    However, when i run the “panel strip tool” i get confused. It tell me to look specially at the “System voltage” box, and when i do that it tells me that it would not be ok with HLG-120H-20B as you wrote in the guide since the box says that the system voltage is 22.8.
    The panel strip tool suggest HLG-150H-24.
    Please help as i’m going to order soon.

    • LEDGardener

      Hey there. The strips in the tool are Gen.1 EB and ran at a different voltage. You want 20V drivers for Gen 2.

      • Fawkes420

        Wow! Thanks for swift answer. Another question,,, is there a reason for that you used parallel wireing rather than series. If i want to use series wireing, what driver will i need for 12 strips?
        Regards

        • Clayts

          Hey man,

          I’d suggest having a click around on this site. All the answers to your questions are found in the different links on this site already. If I was you, I would start at the start (ie with the COB links) and follow them all the way through. It’ll take a few hours, and by the end you will know how it all works.

          This link – https://ledgardener.com/wiring-led-cobs/ – explains series vs parallel.

          If you hook up 12 strips in series, the voltages add up, so you end up with 12 * 20 = 240V going through it which is crazy high. That’s why either a combination of series and parallel, or just straight up parallel is required..

          • Fawkes420

            Hi there.
            Yeah, after i post in this tread i read up a little and i think i’m getting a hang of it now (i think) ;).
            As i understand it is depending of number of strips in the system, right? The more strips the more voltage in the end.
            Well, i think i’m going for the parallel setup. 🙂

          • Clayts Johnston

            Yeah it took me a while to understand what was going on, but after enough reading and remembering some high school physics, I got the hang if it.

            It definitely depends on the number of strips, but also how you group them together when you’re wiring. With 12, you can still quite easily run them in say, 3 groups of 4. That is, 4 in parallel and then the 3 groups in series. This would allow you to run it at a lower (and constant) current, but I guess at a higher voltage (around 60V in this case).

  16. Fawkes420

    Thanks for info.
    I have dicided to run my setup as suggested, 12 strips parallel wired.

    Just one more Q.
    Is there a reason for using Mean Well HLG-120H-20B and use 1x 100K Ohm Potentiometer insted of using HLG-120H-20A with built-in Potentiometer?

    • Fawkes420

      Is itn ok to go for a HLG-150H-20A for this setup? I’ve read it some where, just need confirmation 🙂

      • Anonymous

        I think I found the answer here under the 4×4 build “The difference between the A version and B version is the A version has 2 built-in potentiometers to allow you to adjust voltage and current while the B version has leads for you to solder your own potentiometer so you can run a length of wire and dim the driver remotely. The A version also only dims down to 50% power, which will be fine for this application. This is the same driver that the HLG 550 light uses.”

  17. cg

    With those thermal tapes you’ve listed (the amazon and ebay listings), have you noticed any problems with using them in humid areas? Sometimes with heat and humidity, adhesives break down, and I’m trying to decide if that will be an issue. I’m debating use a tape like that for ease of use, a thin layer of thermal adhesive paste (which would be more permanent), or a thin layer of non-conductive glue like gorilla glue (easier to obtain locally, but not specialized for heat transfer).

    • LEDGardener

      If you wanted to be sure, you could throw a couple self-tapping screws into each strip. I have only heard that this tape is incredibly sticky though.

  18. Fawkes420

    Hi again.
    “Since Bridgelux says the strips can be 19.5-21.5V there is a chance that if you get a batch of strips that run on the high side for voltage”.
    I have ordered this: https://www.tme.eu/en/details/hlg-150h-20a/led-power-supplies/mean-well/
    Will this be a problem if i get a batch from the high side?

    • LEDGardener

      Nah, you’re good. Worst case scenario is they all run at a slightly higher voltage and end up pulling less slightly current as a result. It’d be more of a problem on a constant current driver.

      • Fawkes420

        Thanks!
        Looking forward to start building my setup. Will post picture in forum when done for inspiration.

        • LEDGardener

          Sweet. So which strips and how many did you settle on? You were saying 12 of the EB Gen.2 1-footers?

          • Fawkes420

            Yes! I’m going for that config.

          • Fawkes420

            Hi.
            As seen in this link – https://ledgardener.com/samsung-lm561c-build-finishing-touches/
            You glues the strips to the heatsink, however, the backside of the Sasung strips looks different on the backside from Bridgelux eb gen.2.
            Whar would you use on EB’s, silicone or thermal tape?
            Best regards

          • LEDGardener

            I’d go the tape route. I have one of these Gen 2 strips and they’re a little smoother but don’t feel a whole lot different.

  19. Anonymous

    Could the 4×4 design be modified for a 3×6?
    Or would it be better to build 2 of the 3×3 set ups?

    • LEDGardener

      We’re talking a difference of a couple sq.ft so I’m sure it’d be fine either way.

  20. brian baker

    On the 5×5 builds .the light pattern is a L. Shape. Can the build be designed any differently

    • LEDGardener

      That’s just a wiring diagram. You’re free to physically lay it out however you like.

      • brian

        and is there a rule of thumb when laying out the strips, how far apart or how close there sopposed to be?

        • LEDGardener

          Not really. It’s tough to get it precise unless you have a meter but just eyeball it and you’ll be fine.

  21. Fawkes420

    Today i started building and i decided to screw my strip to the heatsink. They are very flush to the heatsink and i wonder if it is neccesery to use thermal paste too?

    • Fawkes420

      I’ll pst in the forum instead. Realised that is the proper forum for Q.

  22. Jan Busschow

    How would i incorporate this light into a triangle room? See link for pic: https://imgur.com/a/iyoYH

    I was about to look up diy cob to replace my hps since the hps are having to many blindspots in my room, however i was given the link to this site and this looks interesting..

    Room is for both flower and veg and will be near full spec. i asume i would also be able to mix the strips in color.

    I was hoping to end up with a adjustable led light that covers the full room in even light compareable to my 400W hps in yield of cannapy..

    This looks like a viable option, however i have no idea how to best set it up in a triangle room..

    • LEDGardener

      Damn, that’s gonna take some straight up math! You’d have to get a little creative with some angles.

      • Jan Busschow

        I know right, the picture i showed in my first post here had also Cobs on it, “the yellow circles”, those i can fit, but then i have so many cobs hanging..

        If from Europe so my measurements is in CM and M..
        1 inch = 2,54cm
        1 foot = 30,48cm

        However iv been looking at a few other grows with strips or at least their light setup, to get some ideas..
        And this is what i came up with.. The left side of the grow room is 60cm, and the F-Series LT-F562B 2 is 56cm so a length will fit and if i space them out so there is 8-10cm between each strip a full length from left to right will fit maybe 10 of those strips. Then i only need the one corner witch i can probaly fit 5 extra strips in or so..
        So my thought is to make 3 fixed lamps with 5 strips each. 2 of them will me 60x50cm or so and the last a bit more custom then that..

        To make it more easy for u to answer, is a spacing of 3-4 inch between the strips good or to much when running the F-Series LT-F564B 2′? If so then my above measurements might fit..

        Here is a picture to make it visible https://imgur.com/a/Oag7Q

  23. Alex

    All this information is amazing and very well put together! I am planning on building a design for a 2’x1.5′ area.
    I was thinking to achieve maximum efficiency of lumens with the LM561C 3000K at 88ma could I would run 5 x F562B strips in parallel with the HLG-100H-24A and then use the built in potentiometer to reduce the current to 3.96A and the voltage to 23.2V.
    This would give each strip 792ma and 23.2V. Since the internal circuitry of the F562B is 8 series and 9 parallel it would be giving 88ma per LED diode and 2.9V
    Total draw of the setup = 91.85W
    200+L/W

    Any thoughts?

  24. tazztone

    so in this build: “Samsung F-Series LT-F562B 2′ LED Strip Build – 2’x2′”
    you are using 1400mA driver and wiring the 4 strips in series. aren’t you overpowering the strips by giving each strip 1400mA instead of the 1120mA specified in the datasheet?

    • LEDGardener

      The value in the data sheet is just the test current. It’s the level of current they used to derive the rest of the numbers in that datasheet. These strips use the LM561C diode. This diode has a max current of 200 mA. On that strip there are nine parallel runs, so that means that the max current is 1800 mA.

  25. Pasi

    i understood from another chat, that the EB gen2 strips dont need heatsinks. Are they really necessary for all of these? How about just using aluminium strips or aluminium panels designed for led strips?

  26. Dale Carroll

    Can I run the fb24b strips at 60 to 70 watts with no heat sinks?

    • LEDGardener

      I wouldn’t.

  27. Nick

    This may seem like a really silly question, but what’s the best way to attach the heatsinks to the aluminum frame? The ones I have didn’t come pre-drilled and the fin spacing is pretty thin so screwing it in may not be ideal? These are the heatsinks I got: http://www.heatsinkusa.com/2-079-low-stock/

    • LEDGardener

      I think I’d rest it on the 3/4” or 1” aluminum frame and drill up into it from the bottom with a self-tapping screw.

  28. J.R.R.

    Hi LED-G,

    Awesome site, and great post here on the strips…it’s greatly appreciated.

    One question; I usually see grow LEDs in general, and flower tent LEDS in particular, in the 3500k range, not 3000k like in your builds…is there a definite reason for this (for you using the 3000k, I mean)? Would it hurt to bump up the F-series or EB series strips to 3500k? Would the driver/wiring information change on an F-series at 3500k? I’ve seen GREAT success with 3500K Samsung LM561C diodes

    I’m not certain even if the 3500k strips exist in the F-series, but it would surprise me if they didn’t. Is there any way you could link-up the F-series in 2′ and 1′ versions, just so we know we’re buying the correct pieces to plug-and-chug into your build designs.

    • J.R.R.

      Whoops…I should have read the article twice; I see the info I’ve asked for is here…my bad.

      In a flower tent, do you (OPEN QUESTION TO ANY GARDINERS) see a benefit to combining different spectrums of strips together, like half 3500k and half 4000K/4500k? What spectrums work the best together? Are 3000k suitable for vegetative growth?

      Thanks.

      • LEDGardener

        Hey J.R.R., glad you found the info. Some people like to mix their colour temps up but I think, for the most part, you’ll just end up with an overall colour temp that’s somewhere in the middle. 3000K is a tested and true temperature for vegging right through flowering. If I had to pick one temp for the whole process, it’d be 3000K or 3500K.

  29. J.R.R.

    In reference to the build using Samsung F-Series LT-FB24B 4′ LED Strip Build – 4’x4…the plans indicate using the HLG-480H-48A for a driver, but specify cranking the current and voltage all the way to the right to make it work. I’d like to run this build at @ 75% for better efficiency. So do the plans (that tell us to crank these settings up) automatically drive these 4 strips at @ 75%…that is, with settings fully cranked is this driver JUST ENOUGH to put these lights in the 75% range? Essentially, do the max settings on current and voltage JUST do enough to underpower these lights in the 75% range, and thus hitting the “sweet spot” for peak efficiency?

    Might it be advisable to go with the next higher driver available, and crank down the settings (to reach 75% of full power)? I’m not trying to spend more on a driver that’s not needed, but if someone is spending over $500 for this 4’x4′ setup, it seems (from a novice’s perspective) that it might be advisable to upgrade to the next-level driver. But again, I defer to expert opinion…is the HLG-480H-48A really all this system needs?

    Thanks in advance.

    • LEDGardener

      Yeah, you’ve got it. You need to crank it to get it into the 75% range. I was hesitant to recommend the next size up since there’s a chance that it could overpower the strips if it wasn’t set right, but you could definitely go that route if you set it correctly. I can attest though, a 4×4 can be powered nicely by a 480H.

      • J.R.R.

        Thanks, LG…I’m finally starting to understand this stuff. Throwing electricity into the mix kind of adds to my learning curve, as I’d prefer to not burn the place down!

        I was considering using the flexible/reel strips for this light project, but it seems any small savings you might realize (in the cost of the strips) is mitigated by the added cost of extra heatsinks, frame, Wagos, wiring, etc., not to mention the PITA of soldering all that stuff together. At @ 60 LEDs per meter (versus 288 LEDs on these 4-foot sections), that’s SO much extra work, costs, and potential for error that it’s obviously not worth it. Will the coverage (spread of light on canopy) really be that much better using 18-20 60-LED sections verses the 4-288 sections in your 4’x4′ build? I bet not…and being a first project, it’s probably best for newbs not trying to reinvent the wheel!

        Thanks again, LG, for the great site!

  30. Brandon Miner

    I’m having a problem wrapping my mind around something here. In North america the standard outlet is 110v with a 15 amp breaker, but in the 4×4 (2′ strips) builds we are using a driver which supplies 20amps to the led strips. How is this possible? And is it safe?

    • LEDGardener

      The purpose of these drivers is to manipulate the voltage and current from the wall and turn it into something that suits the LEDs. You have 110VAC coming into the driver, which it then converts to DC and lowers the voltage to, say, 48V. Power is equal to voltage times current and since the voltage has been lowered, that means there is more current available from the same input source. Long story short, the voltage and current on the output side is not the same as the input side. To get a rough idea of what your input current would be from the wall, you can take the power of the driver (480W) and divide by your household voltage (110V) and get a current draw of 4.36A from the wall.

  31. Souljasam

    If I plan on using the 2 foot LT-F564B strips is it 100% necessary to get 2″ heat sinks? The strips are just over 1.5″ wide and the actual area where the LEDs are located is even smaller than that. Would you just be able to use the adhesive tape and adhere the strips to the heat sinks that way? You never make any mention of screws or anything so I just assume the thermal tape is strong enough to hold the strips on?

    • J.R.R.

      Good question. I believe LEDG addressed the 2-inch heatsinks in other threads…advises the 2-inch, or at a minimum “C” channel aluminum…the double-row strips throw off more heat than the singles (Captain Obvious, I know!).

      I’d like to hear more about mounting the double-row strips (4-foot, in my case) as well. Unless otherwise advised, I was planning on using the tape and a few strategically placed zip ties. The melting point/failure point of the zip ties seems to be considerably higher than the strip’s high temps…but if we need to tap a hole into a proper heatsink, some explanation would help. Of course, if you use C-channel, you can just use self-tapping screws into it, but don’t torque the strip down too much.

      • J.R.R.

        (BTW, I just reread my above comment, and I wanted to clarify that I’m referring to myself as, “Captain Obvious,” not LEDG…that guy knows his stuff.)

      • Souljasam

        Yeah I planned on using C channel. Was going to use 1.5″ because the strips are 1.56″ I cant imagine that .06″ of an inch not touching will make much of a difference.

        Also do you know if the LED strips will accept 14awg wire? ledgardener keeps mentioning 18awg but if 14awg is usable then I wont have to buy more wire!

        • LEDGardener

          All the Samsung and Bridgelux strips will only take up to 18 gauge.

  32. T-Time

    Would there be any harm to put 8x F564b on hlg-240h-48a ?
    That would be 625mA per strip as that drivers only pumps out 5A, but cause it would switch to CC mode would it power the strip ?
    I think the mninimum Vf for that strip is 43.7V but not sure how much would it be @ 625mA .
    Looking at LM561c charts it looks it would be ~2.8V per string and theres 16 of them on that board, so Vf @ 625mA would be around 44.8V ? Am I calculating that wright ?

    If not, could You recommend a better driver ? I need to power 16 of those strips and wanted to put them on two separate drivers to lit 5×3 space and have a dimming option.

    Many thanks
    T

  33. Chris Sohail

    Hi,

    I think this is a great site and I really appreciate all the help you’ve given on this and other pages of this site.

    I’m about to make my own light but wanted to ask your advice on my build.

    At the moment I’m torn between the f type strips or the LT-QB22A 4′ Strips.
    The most important thing for me is efficiency and efficacy and to have low electricity bills. The initial cost of lights etc isn’t as important a factor to me.

    I wanted to know if i made a 4×4 light as per your guide above, could I increase the number of lights and run them on the same driver? The aim of this would be to keep the wattage the same (around 500w) but because there are more lights it would be pushing the leds less and therefore increase efficacy and I would end up with higher par/umol.

    Can I do this? Is this a good idea for someone in my position? And is it as simple as just wiring more lights into your existing plans?
    Ie: for the 4×4 plan using 14x Samsung LT-QB22A 4′ Strips. Could I increase that to around 20 strips?

    Thanks in advance for your help 🙂

  34. Anonymous

    contrary to what is written in this post I run 6 strip f series with a hlg 600h 48a in a space of 1.25×1.25 and it works great !!! I have in order 500 strip fb24b

  35. John Marsh

    Hi, this site is great! Thank you so much for all the information. I have a question.

    1. For a 3 x 2 grow space, would it make sense to match the HLG-185-24 driver with six Samsung LM562B (72 diode) strips in parallel?

    2. For this same grow space, which driver would be appropriate for running the six strips in series instead of parallel?

    Thx!

  36. Jason K

    Does anyone have an idea what the micromoles/s/w the EB gen.2 strips provides is it above the 1.7 for hps DE?

  37. Strainsan

    Hi all,

    i would like to know which driver is better to use setup below in serie, a little issue is that all leaves need be very close of the light, to touch and not burn.

    BXEB-L0280Z-35E1000-C-B3 – 4
    BXEB-L0280Z-40E1000-C-B3 – 4

    Tks,

  38. demoneye999

    Hi

    I’m looking at building a 4′ x 4′ build using a HLG-480H-24A driving 16 Samsung LT-F562B 2′ Strips.

    I’d really like to add a dimming circuit – can you recommend a Meanwell driver that would do this?

    Regard

  39. Neil

    Hello thanks for making this guide. I want to build a 3×3 Bridgelux light with the HLG-320H-20B. I was looking for a power cord to connect to it and realised I only have 10Amp sockets in the house. I’m in Australia. Does that mean I can’t use the HLG-320H-20B since it’s 15Amps?

  40. Alex

    Hi everyone! LedG you are the man! Site is super informative. I’ve just built 4×4 using 2’ strips of F-series according to your guide. Comparing it to my 1000w hps it’s almost the same. But I have a question I used 10gauge solid copper wire to connect wagos, and 14 gauge stranded copper wire to connect strips…was it a mistake? Because I haven’t put light into grow area, only tested it twice, and it got crazy hot in about 20 minutes…question is how to know if the temperature is acceptable not to worry about?

    • LEDGardener

      Check the temperature on them and see how hot they’re running if you can. It’s not uncommon for high-power LED rigs like these to run hot to the touch.

      You can always turn the driver down if you think they’re running too hot though. The less power you give them, the more efficient they’ll get. I would think 10 and 14 gauge should be fine for wire.

      • Alex

        After an hour of work with no ac and almost no air movement temperature in the middle of the strip is 79C, but that’s only one hour of work… Wires are slightly warm but nothing serious (my guess is it’s radiant heat from the frame and heat sinks) and heat sinks are super hot(can’t touch) but thermometer shows only 35 🤔… Another thing, Samsung data sheet says not to use stranded wire, solid only for some reason.

      • Myke

        I’ve read all the comments here and I don’t seem to see the question being asked about the specs you have listed for the 4×4 build with the 4ft bridgelux strips the driver you have listed hlg 480h 42…you have the system current listed as 12amps. According to the data sheet of the driver if has it listed as 11.4amp. Am I missing something? I’m a bit of a noob so I might have over looked or misunderstood something. Your response would be greatly appreciated to help me on my build.

        • LEDGardener

          You will typically get more power than rated – especially on the A-type drivers where you can turn the voltage up. Mean Well offers a report for most of their drivers so have a look at the report rather than the spec sheet for that driver and you will see they got more than rated current.

          • Myke

            Thanks for such a prompt response I’m working with a 16sqft area just trying to figure out if the 2 watt
            Per sqft difference between the bridgelux and Samsung f-strips are worth paying more for? Or if it’s a negligible difference.

  41. Anonymous

    Hello Guys,
    I found your diy builds for a 4×4 setup using 4 of these strips for the setup.
    My question is, can I add 2 more strips to this setup with the one Mean Well HLG-480H-48A Driver??? This would make a total of 6 strips in parallel , would this be enough driver for all 6 and be at typical operation. I will be using Co2!! No tent involved..
    Thanks for your time!!!!
    Don

    Thanks for the reply’s!!!
    What do you about just getting 2 Mean Well HLG-480H-48A drivers and install 3 strips to each???

  42. Dayoff

    Hi, thanks for your article! It is great help for building DIY
    I would like to know if the 3×3 EB 2 design is good also for 3,2×3,2
    Also, are the U channel aluminium good for heatsink?
    Thanks for your help again!

    • abraham

      I can’t find the link at the moment but I have recently read a forum post on rollitup which discussed different materials, but aluminum flashing as a heatsink for the strips was top cost effective, en run them at 1.05ma for best efficacy.

  43. Herr Müller

    Hey

    Im thinking of a simmilar build to what you did with bridgelux 112 Strips in a 4by4 Tent.
    Do you think it is possible to run 14x ‎BXEB-L1120Z-35E4000-C-B3 with a HLG-480H-C1750A?
    7 Strips in Series and 2 of them Parallel?

    I think if you use the driver to the max it is more effecient andI think it is safer (if you for example rip out a wire it will not destroy your Strips). Because of the lower Amps you could use the in build connectors of the strips. Or am I making any mistakes in my planing?

    Sorry for my bad english 🙂

    Thanks a lot your webpage is very inspiring

    Herr Müller

  44. Anonymous

    Hi everybody – what a fantastic resource this place is!

    I’m helping build a large lighting build (to support 3 hydroponic 4mx1m high A-frames – not a tent) and I’ve got some Samsung Q series LED strips in front of me to evaluate.

    I’ve been running them at the datasheet current (450mA) and they’ve been drawing a bit over 11V and seem pretty bright to my inexperienced eyes!

    But they just don’t seem hot to the touch on the rear panel even after a few minutes – just barely warm!

    They really do seem completely different to other reasonably high power led’s I’ve seen in terms of heat output.

    The pcb material of the strip isn’t the white clad aluminium commonly used to aid heat dissipation – it seems like very vanilla FR4. There was quite a bit of warmth coming off the front of the led’s though as radiated energy – you couldn’t hold them close to your hand for more than a few seconds…

    So I was wondering with these modules – is heat sinking necessary in a non-tented environment?

    The room has a very high ceiling and plenty of space around the growing rig for natural ventilation.

    Any advice or comments welcome – I’m still digesting the information on this page alone let alone the other threads! so apologies if I’ve missed the sticky

  45. Budda

    Do you have any ball park figures what the 4 x 4 using bridgelux is pulling at the wall at a given voltage.
    I imagine most are on 110V
    I also imagine that if your supply is 230v it would roughly half the current,,, I imagine alot but I am not sure.
    May I commend you on this artical it is very well organised and informative!
    Thank you.

    • LEDGardener

      Best bet is to check the data sheet for the driver and see what sort of AC current draw you can expect at max.

  46. Jonny

    Hi thank you for this guide.
    I already made one for a 3×3 with a small space between the strips.
    I have a question.
    What’s the best position for the strips?
    Should the strips be placed side by side or leave a small space between them?

    • LEDGardener

      I think it’s better to leave some space

      • Jonny

        some space like “1 inch” or “4 inch” to fit the tent?
        or “no space” like a quantum board?

        • LEDGardener

          I’d try to spread them out to cover the tent.

          • Jonny

            Thank you so much LEDGardener

  47. Aarron Hernandez

    I am interested in seeing how this setup performs on a larger scale. Like seriously interested. I was curious LED gardener if you could shoot me a list or build reference for a 10 x 10 area with co2, and the best heatsinks possible for the max amount of light possible in this space? I will provide build and grow journal updates no issue. I just need the parts list if possible. You really are a humble person, truly appreciated, and intelligent beyond alot of “grow led companies”. Had a friend go and buy 10 4ft. Feit “led full spectrum lights” from Home Depot for $400+ bucks a piece and they are neither full spectrum nor compatible with growing in general. So those out there getting dooped by these companies can find alot of appreciation in you my friend. Many blessings to come your way 🙏…..thanks again. I will order as soon as I get logistics, and keep you updated with grow pics if requested. Just shoot me an email I can show you before pics now with 12k watts. (Obviously the 10 x 10 is smaller). ☮️

  48. Aarron Hernandez

    Ok, I apologize for the last post it was in error. I missed a vital part of your read. I am actually in a 8 x10 enclosed room, not a 10 x 10. Or at least that’s the area I have available. I want to actually use 4- 750w builds in my 8 x 10 for Max production, how would I go about doing this? Is there a way to make the 5 x 5 room build specs on a frame as to where you could fit 4-750w in a 8 x 10 room? I run co2 and am looking for Max production. They may never run at full potential, but I like the power and output capabilities! Lol. If all goes well, gonna do a build for a 40 x 40 space. Power capabilities are new and recently facilitated to handle much more lighting than needed. Thank you.

    • David L

      Hi, was wondering if you ever got this 10×10 room up and running? I have a 9×9 room where im trying to maximize yeild with led. Just wondering what you went with for wattage per light and how much weight you pulled.

      Thanks

      David

  49. Deece

    Fantastic article, thanks. Providing a bunch of different actual sample designs helps to direct my research efforts and demystify a lot of stuff that i’m otherwise trying to pull out of drawn out forum threads or confusing data sheets!

    Question about your 4×4 4′ Bridgelux sample design.
    It looks like you state 39.2V at 1000mA drive current, but am I reading the sheet correctly that the forward voltage of the strips is about 39.8V at 1000mA? This would mean it would draw 477W as opposed to 470W.
    And is there a reason you would drive them at 1000mA when the design current is 700mA? Is it still possible to dial down the input current to the design current of 700mA with this driver? And would you advise for or against doing that? The wattage would be 327W instead of 470W if I’m correct in reading the sheets

    Finally, I’ve read that people are getting away with just taping to aluminum track without a heat sink, what are your thoughts on doing this for cost saving?

    Word!
    Thanks again

  50. Jacques

    I have a question when 2 x B type drivers are dimmed simultaneaously using a potentiometer. When only 1 x driver is dimmed, a 100k pot is used. When 2 x drivers are dimmed, a 50k pot is used. What size pot to use if you want to dim 3 x drivers or 4 x drivers simultaneaously?

  51. prometheus666

    what drive will i need for wiring 12 Samsung F-Series LT-FB24B 4′ in series

  52. Andreas

    Hi!
    The obvious first: excellent webpage! Thank you.

    Now, a question  😏
    I try to build the Samsung F-Series LT-F564B 2′ LED Strip Build – 2’x2′. But due to the fact that I live in Germany I first have run the number in cm / mm and as well have the problem in finding a local heat sink producer / seller.
    I found up to now only one and he, of course, does have different heat sinks with different no of fins and spacing etc.. So tried to figure out how you came up with your heat sink regarding heat dissipation with the help of this page https://www.electronics-cooling.com/1995/06/how-to-select-a-heat-sink/.
    This lead me back to the data sheet of the Samsung F-Series LT-F564B 2′ and there I tried to figure out how you came up with the operating voltage and current…

    LONG QUESTION, SHORT: How did you come up with the numbers?

    System Voltage: 93.9V
    System Current: 1,400mA

    The specs show a typical current of 1120 mA and 46 V at a temperature of 65 °C?
    And do I find out about the dissipated energy?

    Thanks.

    • Anonymous

      Hello bro did u sort it out ?

  53. Anonymous

    Interesting project you got there my friend.
    I’m planning to do something similiar at my own.

    Well i’m new to this entire led grow build thing.
    My goal is to build some grow lights of the samsung lm301b.

    Found this that looks realy cheap, well it’s china.
    But for those prices 5 usd for 45w strip i’m can get away very cheap.
    As for you mention that you are running every strip for 250 mAh is that for the LM301B?
    Still a bit unsure how you manage to get them down to 250 mAh.
    Ofcourse i’m want to do the same 😉

    For the most grow lights on the market with samsung is running on 675w.
    Here is litle bit where i’m stuck at, as i’m can’t find an driver that is giving that amount of power, seens like i’m need to go for more then 1 driver.
    But to get them down to 250 mAh i’m will just need set up more strips?

    How to get the lights waterproof or isn’t that needed? can se that you have been handling the cables, but isn’t the diods need to being waterproofed as well?

    https://brightest.en.alibaba.com/product/62172182513-810665570/Plant_Grow_led_Samsung_LM301B_48W_Strip_Light_for_Indoor_Plant.html

  54. Todd Levesque

    Trying to do a build with 12 x 2ft lm561c strips. Looking for wirring and driver recomendations. Really enjoying this thread

  55. Rusty

    Hello. I have read that the Bridgelux EB gen 3 strips are out. Just wondering where you would rank them and if you have build info for a 4×4 tent with the generation 3 strips.

  56. nunya

    How far would you have your Samsung F-Series LT-FB22B 4′ LED Strip Build from the top of your canopy?

    • Anonymous

      Im also very curious – anyone? with F strips, low wattage, about 100-120w, 1f/2f – 2-4 strips. how close can you get? I heard you get get as close as 3-6″….

  57. Fredbuds

    I built a 3×3 bridgelux build using 9×3500 and 6×3000 strips. Added a gfci and a 3 way switch to run it with 9 or 15 strips. Love the light. Pulled 530 grams dried, from my 3×3 in my first grow. If anyone is interested in seeing the light, look me up on instagram.

  58. Anonymous

    hi what power source did you use to connect to your driver? HLG-120H-C1050B

  59. Anonyn

    The design for 5×5 with 6x LT-FB24B 4′ strips has 2 drivers connected to 4 strips and 2 strips. What’s the reason for this? Will 3+3 strip work and what drivers to use? How to install two pots so that both sets can be dimmed on their own?

  60. Anonymous

    Bro …. do you have a configuration for 4×4 with extra far red deep red uv and ir ?

  61. James Carpenter

    I may have missed it somewhere, but do any of these builds include red spectrum for flower, or are these builds just designed for veg? Thanks

  62. Skip Disaster

    I don’t think this is linked in the DIY Guides section, which helps me reference it for people who have questions. Thanks for the hard work man great guide.

  63. Seb

    Is it possible to build a lamp out of 2 different LED series (ex. Samsung LT-F564B and LT-V564F) with only one driver or all LED strips should be from the exact same series? Thanks!

  64. Pip

    Does the thickness of the angle aluminium matter? Couldn’t find one with 1/8″ thickness but found one with 1.59mm instead. Will it work?

  65. New To LED

    Samsung F-Series LT-F564B 2′ LED Strip Build – 2’x4′

    Am i able to do parallel circuit for this? Plan to put 2x 2′ strips together (4′ total), will the Mean Well HLG-240H-48B Driver be able to support this?

  66. Gauss

    Hi. About the 1″ heatsink sugestion, I can find localy a similar one but with 04 fins instead of 06, so less dissipation area. Would it be ok to use it for the 3×3 feet brighlux example? It would depend of how much spare dissipation area is availiable for the sugested heat dissipator. I assume I can use gen 03 brighlux strips instead of the gen 2 of the exemple?

  67. Marek

    Hello. Can you correct showing of connection diagrams ? issuie is on each web browser. thanks a lot !

    • LEDgardener

      Should be fixed

      • Marek Masłyka

        okay 🙂 thx, i ordered 50pcb, test soon

  68. Dylan Smith

    Great post with alot of great information my only question is color temps I’m in a 5×5 so I’m looking at the LT-FB24B or LT-FB22B and I’m just not sure what temps to use, I know I should use a mix of 3000k and 5000k but I don’t know what temps and how to configure them.

    My thoughts:
    LT-FB24B
    2 – 5000k
    4 – 3000k
    LT-FB22B
    4 – 5000k
    8 – 3000k

    • LEDgardener

      The recipe of the new QB288 Rspec board from HLG is 112x 5000K diodes and 160x 3000K diodes per board (plus 16x 660nm red), so it’d be a good idea to extrapolate from that.

  69. Anonymous

    What temps do the f series 4’ strips run at ? I couldnt find any running temps

  70. Jim

    HI All

    currently getting all the stuff together to a build with the samsung Q LT-Q562a strips
    but i have a question i have tried to get the answer myself but i just get confused

    if i want to test light 1 samsung q strip after mounting on its heat sink could any one point me in the right direction for a suitable driver for the purpose

    sorry if this is the wrong spot but i have spent hours lookin

  71. MR DAVID PURCELL

    Has all the build info gone ?? I was looking for 4×4 plans and the link just brings me back to this page

    • Jim

      you have to click the orange link on the 4×4 and it opens up the info you need
      i have just built 3 2×2 using the samsung Q series
      super cool they are

  72. Matt

    This is an extremely educational post, many thanks to the author.

    I would like to build a light using Samsung H-Series Gen4 SI-B9W222B2HUS, the 4′ strips with 90 CRI. I would like to build a system that uses 800w in total to create a relatively high w/ft^2 of 50.

    I notice that your 4×4 and 5×5 builds use what seems to be far less than 75% of max power for H series 4′ strips. If the max power of these strips, is 3.7 mA x 23.7V, from the data sheet of the SI-B9W222B2HUS, then using 18 of them @ 702w, as per your 5×5 build, would use 44.6% of their max power, if the max rated power 87.69w. Is this correct?

    If I want to run these strips at closer to 75% power, for 800w 12 of them would give me this,
    800w/12 = 66.66w, 66.66w/87.69w = 76.02%
    This seems to be the perfect setup for my needs – am I missing anything?

    • Matt

      a few days later i figured this out. The Gen 3 H series in the builds here have a max amperage of 2400mah, where the Gen 4 SI-B9W222B2HUS that I am talking about, has a max amperage of 3700mah.

      So the Gen 3, at V 22.5 x 2.4A = 54W max per strip. So if you have 12 of them at 480w, thats 40w per strip. 40/54 = 74%, exactly in line with your desired 75%

      The gen 4, at 3.7A x 22.5V, = 83w. So if I had 4 per 240w, 8 per 480w. Thats 480/8 = 60w,
      60/83 = 72%
      So i can indeed run 12x gen 4 H series at 720w, and have 72%.

      had to think about that a bit. can anyone confirm I am correct here?

  73. Sj

    Samsung F-Series LT-FB22B 4′ LED Strip Build – 4’x4′

    I built this a little while ago. It seems to be working fine, but a someone thinks the diodes are spread out too far. They’re basing this off of a theory they’ve pulled out of their ass, but I’d like to quiet them. I notice i can get a lot closer to the lights with a lux meter than an hlg550 to get the same reading, but is it possible that it would spread the light out too much if you space all 8 strips evenly over a 4′ area? I was getting 600 ppfd a couple inches away from it which is the lowest recommendation for flower. It’s weird because the par meter i use shows that it should be fine at some levels, but then the plants show that they’re getting too much light if I do. Any recommendation for height of the light for this build for flower?

  74. HardHouse

    I wonder how the H-Influx series are compared to these?

Leave a Reply. For help with your own build, please make a thread in the Forum

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

© 2024 LED Gardener

Theme by Anders NorenUp ↑