I've just built my first batch of prototypes and hope to be selling these as complete luminaires very soon. Each board has 320 LM561C S6 diodes on it for that mad diode density!
I performed loads of PPFD testing in a Homebox Ambient AQ120+ tent, using the Apogee SQ520 quantum sensor. The floor was marked in 33 places with pieces of tape, and readings were taken at each location for 12", 18", and 24" heights.
Luminaires tested included my 120W, 200W, 300W, 400W designs, and a monster 800W (dual 400W) configuration, a 600W HPS overdriven to 700W, and a generic grow shop "full spectrum" 6 COB light.
The numbers are in! My 400W luminaire which draws just under 400W from the wall, compared to "700W" HPS (drawing 703W), with both running at 18" height.
18" seemed the optimal height to compare them at and it gives the HPS a solid ass whooping. 12" was too close for either light and PPFD readings were too high to be plant healthy, and conversely at 24", the 400 still outperformed the HPS, but this height was kinda redundant because the 400 still had approximately the same PPFD values in the corners and sides as at 18", so why would you even run it at 24"? Only the HPS would need to be raised because of its mammoth bright spot right in the middle.
Oh and just for the heck of it, I've attached the PPFD map of the dual 400W lights at 24"... this is bananas, and you'd probably want to be running these another 4"-8" higher or more!
Many hours of design time, and many more hours and late nights of hard work painstakingly assembling fixtures, fitting PCBs, running wire etc. They're pretty labour intensive to build to my exacting standards, and everything is within less than 1mm tolerance. I do have help from a buddy who is involved thankfully, and have taken pics throughout the build process.
