I want to build an LED light of 1000w (First time here)

[BackWoodBilla]

Hi I'm going to start growing soon and I need to build my lights now that I've decided im not gonna buy one. I need some advice on how to go about this. I 've seen some of the guides but I think im looking for something with a bunch of Led strips im just wondering how many strips do I need to have on my panel to get 1000w or is their an alternative option. I'm new to this and open to all suggestions !

[tazztone]

twenty VESTAs
https://www.digikey.com/product-detail/ ... ND/7899252
but no matter what you chose don't forget the heat sink's costs too. or maybe you can find something from scraps to mount the strips to using thermal transfer tape. the strips don't usually need very sophisticated heat sinks, as long as you drive them at, or below Test current

[Jolly Green Giant]

welcome to the forum!!

with a few questions, we'll have a idea what ya need..

what size space are you planning on running?? what are ya growing? ( I'm assuming cannabis) do you plan on vegging and flowering under same light? any other little bits of info you can share?

http://ledgardener.com/diy-led-strip-bu ... #more-2416
is a good place to gather info on strip builds.. he pretty much tells you which type of strip,how many strips, and how much each fixture would cost with framework and extra goodies..

another option besides strips is my favorite the quantum boards... I ran 4 boards in a 5x5 tent for almost a year with great results. https://horticulturelightinggroup.com/collections/kits
here's the link to their kits.. you can buy all the separate parts a little bit cheaper, but multi shipping costs can make it even..

I forgot to mention at the start... with these lm561c or lm301b diodes we can get a 1000w single ended hps equivalent from around half the wattage! so if you were thinking 1000w hps was needed you'll only need around 500-600 watts. my 4 quantum boards on a 480w driver equaled my old 1000w hps all day long!!

don't be afraid to ask questions.. it's why most of us love being here... helping others get into this hobby and again.... welcome

edit: forgot a good question... where are you at? North America? the EU? The Land Down Under? etc? it will help when we figure who to order parts from

[Hyakutak]

welcome to the forum!!

with a few questions, we'll have a idea what ya need..

what size space are you planning on running?? what are ya growing? ( I'm assuming cannabis) do you plan on vegging and flowering under same light? any other little bits of info you can share?

http://ledgardener.com/diy-led-strip-bu ... #more-2416
is a good place to gather info on strip builds.. he pretty much tells you which type of strip,how many strips, and how much each fixture would cost with framework and extra goodies..

another option besides strips is my favorite the quantum boards... I ran 4 boards in a 5x5 tent for almost a year with great results. https://horticulturelightinggroup.com/collections/kits
here's the link to their kits.. you can buy all the separate parts a little bit cheaper, but multi shipping costs can make it even..

I forgot to mention at the start... with these lm561c or lm301b diodes we can get a 1000w single ended hps equivalent from around half the wattage! so if you were thinking 1000w hps was needed you'll only need around 500-600 watts. my 4 quantum boards on a 480w driver equaled my old 1000w hps all day long!!

don't be afraid to ask questions.. it's why most of us love being here... helping others get into this hobby and again.... welcome

edit: forgot a good question... where are you at? North America? the EU? The Land Down Under? etc? it will help when we figure who to order parts from

You rock Jolly Green Giant!

[BackWoodBilla]

welcome to the forum!!

with a few questions, we'll have a idea what ya need..

what size space are you planning on running?? what are ya growing? ( I'm assuming cannabis) do you plan on vegging and flowering under same light? any other little bits of info you can share?

http://ledgardener.com/diy-led-strip-bu ... #more-2416
is a good place to gather info on strip builds.. he pretty much tells you which type of strip,how many strips, and how much each fixture would cost with framework and extra goodies..

another option besides strips is my favorite the quantum boards... I ran 4 boards in a 5x5 tent for almost a year with great results. https://horticulturelightinggroup.com/collections/kits
here's the link to their kits.. you can buy all the separate parts a little bit cheaper, but multi shipping costs can make it even..

I forgot to mention at the start... with these lm561c or lm301b diodes we can get a 1000w single ended hps equivalent from around half the wattage! so if you were thinking 1000w hps was needed you'll only need around 500-600 watts. my 4 quantum boards on a 480w driver equaled my old 1000w hps all day long!!

don't be afraid to ask questions.. it's why most of us love being here... helping others get into this hobby and again.... welcome

edit: forgot a good question... where are you at? North America? the EU? The Land Down Under? etc? it will help when we figure who to order parts from

Hi Green Giant thx for taking the time to write all that appreciate it ! I'm going to get a tent that is 5’x9’x6’11” or 4’x8’x6’11” I was thinking since its gonna be that big I might have to build 2 separate lights or 1 big 1, if so should it be with boards or strips? yes Cannabis. Yes I plan to veg and flower with same light is that bad should I be doing it a different way ? In terms of other info I plan on cloning and even trying to grow other vegetables too and whatnot. if u have questions I can answer them. OH and how much would this cost me approximately to build a 1000w led

[BackWoodBilla]

twenty VESTAs
https://www.digikey.com/product-detail/ ... ND/7899252
but no matter what you chose don't forget the heat sink's costs too. or maybe you can find something from scraps to mount the strips to using thermal transfer tape. the strips don't usually need very sophisticated heat sinks, as long as you drive them at, or below Test current

So I would have to get 20 vesta strips to = 1000w

[alienfarts687]

I doubt you really need quite 1000w. Without doing any watt/sq. ft calculations, my guess is you could go with two ~400w lights for a total of 800w. Reasoning behind doing two lights is one large light is going to be ridiculously big and difficult to move around and hang up. Once you start adding the frame and heatsinks, they are going to start getting fairly heavy. It's a big hunk of metal after all!

Shouldn't have a problem vegging and flowering with the same light. 3000k is better for flower, 4000k for veg, but you can get away with just one of those. Many people do that and get great results. Usually you'd go for 3000k if you can only get one colour temp (at least for cannabis). Since your space is so big, you might want to try to split it up if you can, that way you can have one veg area with a 4000k light and a flower area with 2700k-3000k.

The price is really going to depend on where you're from. Prices tend to be higher if you're not in the US.

[Jolly Green Giant]

ok.. so your rolling with we'll say max of dual 5x5 spaces.. you were right at about 1000 watts total...

now depending on how DIY savvy you are and what tools you got, it's how I would choose whether to go strips or boards.. if your like I was a year ago with minimal tools, know-how, and experience I would do quantum boards... https://horticulturelightinggroup.com/collections/all a screwdriver and some wire cutters is all you really need. ( soldering iron also to "tin" the AC side of driver ( it's braided wire)not necessary but a safety insurance thing.. ) you can order kits that have everything you need in it.. or save a few bucks and order parts separately ( 18awg wire.. ip67 connector for a.c.. a.c. power cord, wagos etc.) best quantum board configuration for you would be either 4 288's on a slate 5 with a 480w or 600w driver.. ( basically it's a hlg550 clone for each 5x5 ) or 4 slate 2 triples with 2 288's on each ran with 240w drivers..( more control for dimming.. each 2.5x5 has its own light) price wise those are about the same... it's roughly 500( 480w a type) watts = $600-650. ( 600w is capable with slate 5 hlg550 clone build/kit) that will cover a 5x5. the 240 driver for multiple is half the cost of the bigger 480.. the heat sinks might be $20 in difference..

strip wise... I'm still kind of a noob ( haven't built one yet ) but I'm going to say follow Ledgardener's strip build for a 4x4 in his blog http://ledgardener.com/diy-led-strip-bu ... #more-2416. I say only the 4x4 because I run 480w driver in a 5x5 and it's enough, especially if your not running CO2... I aim for over a 4x4 scrog net but I fill the tent to walls also makes framework and heat sink numbers even ( less extra cut offs instead of 5') I would recommend either the F series single row or double row.. or the EB gen 2 builds.. looking at Ledgardener's rough pricing your looking at $500- 550ish per light or 5x5 side...

the only real down side with strips imo is a lot more time involved.... and tools needed for building... if you need the light now or last Tuesday, your out of luck.. it's going to take you a bit.. going over everything, building it and double checking after ya built it.. and the $100 you saved over QB'S could be spend on tools needed to build the frame. ( extra drill bits.. tapping bits if screwing down strips etc) QB kits everything comes in a bag.. you screw driver and boards to heatsink.. + to + - to - pretty much ( parallel with the 54v cv+cc drivers in kits) then hook up a.c. power and your good to go in under 30 minutes to a hour.

on spectrum and having veg only and flower only.. that's budget related... if you can go for it... 3000 or 2700 for flower.. 4000k for veg.. but going single color for both I would go 3000k over 4000k or mix both.. if you can get lm561c/EB gen2 in a 3500k, that's what I would get. ( with strips or QB's half 3k half 4k should be similar) I picked 3500k without really knowing anything about spectrums.. I knew I was going to veg n flower under same light, so while looking at the color roller coasters of each CCT I saw 3500k had a nice blue and red spike instead of one or the other.. almost a year later I'm still loving my 3500k quantum boards. I just added two 2700 to add some redder hue and get my other 4 to run cooler.. but you can't beat that 3500k base!

either way works. even a vero 29 cob build... keep asking questions and imagine your build in your tent how it suits you...it's like I always try to tell people when they ask if they should do this or that??.. " do what works for you" you'll be happier in the long run. I like to experiment with new ways, techniques, products etc.. but I always fall back to what worked the s best...what works for me might not work for you and vice versa..

almost forgot https://growerslights.com/collections/h ... 2943942538. link for a 600w quantum board kit. hlg doesn't sell that one on their site but the 600w normally same price as 480w drivers if you choose the hlg550 clone route . we can also go more into dimming and remote driver set-up after awhile

story time over ( newer people will notice I ramble sometimes trying to give a response )

[Geavadr]

welcome to the forum!!

with a few questions, we'll have a idea what ya need..

what size space are you planning on running?? what are ya growing? ( I'm assuming cannabis) do you plan on vegging and flowering under same light? any other little bits of info you can share?

http://ledgardener.com/diy-led-strip-bu ... s-samsung-gambbridgelux/#more-2416
is a good place to gather info on strip builds.. he pretty much tells you which type of strip,how many strips, and how much each fixture would cost with framework and extra goodies..

another option besides strips is my favorite the quantum boards... I ran 4 boards in a 5x5 tent for almost a year with great results. https://horticulturelightinggroup.com/collections/kits
here's the link to their kits.. you can buy all the separate parts a little bit cheaper, but multi shipping costs can make it even..

I forgot to mention at the start... with these lm561c or lm301b diodes we can get a 1000w single ended hps equivalent from around half the wattage! so if you were thinking 1000w hps was needed you'll only need around 500-600 watts. my 4 quantum boards on a 480w driver equaled my old 1000w hps all day long!!

don't be afraid to ask questions.. it's why most of us love being here... helping others get into this hobby and again.... welcome

edit: forgot a good question... where are you at? North America? the EU? The Land Down Under? etc? it will help when we figure who to order parts from

You rock Jolly Green Giant!

The answer to your question is No
Chances are its a rip off as most LEDs are usually poor quality
the 120 degree is not ideal for home growing most people like to use 90 degree
I have seen these advertised and they seem to be getting a lot of negative feed back

What I would say is "Do you actually know how to grow?" If you are a confident grower using CFl or HPS or even out side then you can look to introduce LEDs

I would not recommend a new grower starting with LEDs its a very steep learning curve and even if you did I would still be expecting to use a HID light in Flowering

Be warned there are very many useless LED panels out there and perhaps one or two that actually cut the mustard the ones that do the business are generally rather expensive the Old adage if it sounds to good to be true it usually is, springs to mind so be carful. If you absolutely know what your doing then make sure you are dealing with a ruputable company because there are many out there that are simply ripping people off which is probably hindering the development of LEDs in growing.

All the best with your growing anyway
ukrainian software developers

[majorana]

Chances are its a rip off as most LEDs are usually poor quality [...]
the 120 degree is not ideal for home growing most people like to use 90 degree [...]
I would not recommend a new grower starting with LEDs its a very steep learning curve

Even poor quality LEDs match HPS in terms of efficiency. Buying from a reputable supplier pretty much guarantees quality.

The ideal angle would depend on several different factors. As far as I know there is no solid research that sealed the debate on that.

LEDs actually have a lesser learning curve. Heat is far less of an issue (for me it's rather the lack of heat), so there's one less thing to worry about. You can also allow the plants to get much closer to the light without burning, so that's another thing not to worry about. Of course building everything DIY involves learning, but if you can afford it then you can buy everything ready-made and not think twice about it.

I just finished building my 1kW light. Here's what I've learned.