Hi Guys, thanks in advance to anybody willing to shed some light on my questions, secondly; my apologies for yet another noob question - this is all very new to me and I have been reading so much trying to figure this out for myself and as a result my brain is almost leaking out my ears...after a bit of sleuthing I found this forum and I believe I am in the right place - finally.
A friend of mine is looking at purchasing some very expensive LED lights, and due to our location (New Zealand) everything is hella expensive here, an HLG 550 is retailing for $1600 a piece!
I had a feeling a DIY option would be available and after finding the DIY guides I have piqued his interest at building a rig or two to save him some dough.
I am stuck on which drivers to select for a LT-FB22B 4x4 build. In N.Z we have 240 volt systems and our wall sockets are mostly rated to 10amp, pulling any more than that they pop.
The HLG-480H-48A is listed as running at 10A, which is obviously too much for our sockets if he wanted to run 1 at full blast with any other appliance at the same time.
Would I be correct in assuming that the HLG-480H-C2100A would be the correct choice to hit the 480 watts he wants to acheive? I am not super electrically minded but my monkey brain tells me that 2.1A @ the listed 229 V gives us 480.9 watts, having the rig wired in series he should be safe, right?
Due to my aforementioned monkey brain and general lacking in electrical knowledge I am sure I am either missing something, or completely misunderstand something all together, If this is the case, and any of you would like to shed some light on my situation, I would be very very grateful to converse with you and try to sort this out for my friend.
Sorry for the long post, if you have made it this far I truly appreciate your time, Cheers.
A friendly Kiwi seeking some advice..
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unkle_psycho
- LED Wizard
- Reactions:
- Posts: 1537
- Joined: Fri Apr 27, 2018 1:49 pm
I think in terms of your sockets you need to be looking at the values in the drivers input side. The ten amps you are talking about is on the output side of the driver. The quick connectors on your strips will have their own max values, but the 10 amps will be shared within the system, divided between the amount of modules running.
I'm using a 240w driver for a 2x4 space, it puts out 5.71A at 42V. It gets divided between 6 blades each receiving something like 0.95A. So at least connecting in parallel the way I do current gets divided between the system.
There are many ways to set up the system. Total power will come as a function of amps and volts, which vary by model of strip, driver, and how hard they are driven. in my case strips were 19.5v and there was no 20v driver model. I added a series connection which bumped my voltage to 39v, and got the 42v driver. This means the power I'm getting is 39x5.71=222.69w.
So if those drivers and strips are both at 48v they should make a very balanced fit. The 10A would get divided by the amount of strips you connect and that would be your system current.
A 480w 48v driver will likely have 95.5% efficiency, while 240w models would loose a % or two, but smaller drivers are also an option. The ELG series from meanwell would save about 10$ per driver and have similar efficiency as the HLG series, at 240w.
Picking the driver is really about this type of fine tuning which might be quite irrelevant for someone who is going DIY just to save a buck. For my first build I let a user pick me a driver and focused on my interest areas of light positioning and cheap heatsinks.
I'm using a 240w driver for a 2x4 space, it puts out 5.71A at 42V. It gets divided between 6 blades each receiving something like 0.95A. So at least connecting in parallel the way I do current gets divided between the system.
There are many ways to set up the system. Total power will come as a function of amps and volts, which vary by model of strip, driver, and how hard they are driven. in my case strips were 19.5v and there was no 20v driver model. I added a series connection which bumped my voltage to 39v, and got the 42v driver. This means the power I'm getting is 39x5.71=222.69w.
So if those drivers and strips are both at 48v they should make a very balanced fit. The 10A would get divided by the amount of strips you connect and that would be your system current.
A 480w 48v driver will likely have 95.5% efficiency, while 240w models would loose a % or two, but smaller drivers are also an option. The ELG series from meanwell would save about 10$ per driver and have similar efficiency as the HLG series, at 240w.
Picking the driver is really about this type of fine tuning which might be quite irrelevant for someone who is going DIY just to save a buck. For my first build I let a user pick me a driver and focused on my interest areas of light positioning and cheap heatsinks.
"Nothing is true, everything is permitted"
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Jolly Green Giant
- LED Wizard
- Reactions:
- Posts: 835
- Joined: Thu Jun 15, 2017 1:35 am
- Location: somewhere in NY
welcome to the forum first off.. 
^ Shimbob gotcha covered
also, just in case you are unaware https://www.cutter.com.au a good place for DIY parts near you.
again welcome
^ Shimbob gotcha covered
also, just in case you are unaware https://www.cutter.com.au a good place for DIY parts near you.
again welcome
Cheers mateJolly Green Giant wrote: ↑Wed Apr 10, 2019 1:52 pmwelcome to the forum first off..
^ Shimbob gotcha covered
also, just in case you are unaware https://www.cutter.com.au a good place for DIY parts near you.
again welcome
Sup bro.
You are not alone I'm just doing my first build also just got all my parts sorted.
No we are not spoilt for choice in our amazing little part of the world but we do have options and I'm happy to help in anyway I can but be for warned I'm still a noon my self
O.k here is what I've learnt so far. . Don't shop at any of our local shop's it's all over priced imported junk that you can import yourself probably cheaper.
https://www.digikey.co.nz Is amazing and super quick and spend over $70 and you get free shipping I love digikey
https://www.quickbloomlights.com.au If you want HLG products and soaring is a legend to deal with will even spilt you package to save you on customs duty, because anything over $400 and you gotta pay tax
https://www.cutter.com.au Long story bout that one. But nice leds kit sets or diy but yeah. . .
Hit me up if you need any help bro. I even found a guy in Aucks through this forum who builds his own boards he's really good cunt.
Hopefully this weekend I'll be doing my build and I'll start my own thread and show everyone what im working with.
You are not alone I'm just doing my first build also just got all my parts sorted.
No we are not spoilt for choice in our amazing little part of the world but we do have options and I'm happy to help in anyway I can but be for warned I'm still a noon my self
O.k here is what I've learnt so far. . Don't shop at any of our local shop's it's all over priced imported junk that you can import yourself probably cheaper.
https://www.digikey.co.nz Is amazing and super quick and spend over $70 and you get free shipping I love digikey
https://www.quickbloomlights.com.au If you want HLG products and soaring is a legend to deal with will even spilt you package to save you on customs duty, because anything over $400 and you gotta pay tax
https://www.cutter.com.au Long story bout that one. But nice leds kit sets or diy but yeah. . .
Hit me up if you need any help bro. I even found a guy in Aucks through this forum who builds his own boards he's really good cunt.
Hopefully this weekend I'll be doing my build and I'll start my own thread and show everyone what im working with.
http://ledgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=1124
That's the guy from Aucks I mentioned and heaps of info on what he is up2. His biggest unit is still cheaper than your quote for the 550
That's the guy from Aucks I mentioned and heaps of info on what he is up2. His biggest unit is still cheaper than your quote for the 550
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Futuregrow
- LED Enthusiast
- Reactions:
- Posts: 67
- Joined: Tue Jul 10, 2018 10:48 am
Hello,
Cheers for mentioning my thread!
Yep, Futuregrow Ltd is in production of Quadra 200 and 400 gen 2 luminaires, and smaller 60w narrow form factor lights for use with shelving units, idea for stacking.
These luminaires have 320 diodes per square foot, and in the 400W configuration have more than double the diode count of a HLG550, making them far more efficient. I haven't run the numbers, but I am guessing the light output of the 400W will be close to or comparable to that of the HLG550 because of the vast increase in efficiency over the 550.
These are configured to be run at 50W per square foot, and when covering every square foot of canopy with these luminaires, expect PPFD to be well over 1000 at all places on the canopy, with minimal waste heat generated in the process.
I am building a batch of lights to sell at harvest festival over easter, and will be continuing to produce lights going forward.
Let me know if I can help you. Remember this is plug and play, ready to roll, zero hassles figuring anything out, and zero time spent building anything.
Prices without dimmers:
200W $650
400W $1200
Dimmer is an optional extra.
Oh, and I am located in Hamilton.
Thanks!
Cheers for mentioning my thread!
Yep, Futuregrow Ltd is in production of Quadra 200 and 400 gen 2 luminaires, and smaller 60w narrow form factor lights for use with shelving units, idea for stacking.
These luminaires have 320 diodes per square foot, and in the 400W configuration have more than double the diode count of a HLG550, making them far more efficient. I haven't run the numbers, but I am guessing the light output of the 400W will be close to or comparable to that of the HLG550 because of the vast increase in efficiency over the 550.
These are configured to be run at 50W per square foot, and when covering every square foot of canopy with these luminaires, expect PPFD to be well over 1000 at all places on the canopy, with minimal waste heat generated in the process.
I am building a batch of lights to sell at harvest festival over easter, and will be continuing to produce lights going forward.
Let me know if I can help you. Remember this is plug and play, ready to roll, zero hassles figuring anything out, and zero time spent building anything.
Prices without dimmers:
200W $650
400W $1200
Dimmer is an optional extra.
Oh, and I am located in Hamilton.
Thanks!
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Hey mate, cheers for ya reply, good to hear my buddy and I arent the only ones out there going down this route. Hows your build going so far? I would be keen to see what youve used for heatsink material...we have not quite gone down this rabbit hole yet...Lednewbie wrote: ↑Thu Apr 11, 2019 2:56 amSup bro.
You are not alone I'm just doing my first build also just got all my parts sorted.
No we are not spoilt for choice in our amazing little part of the world but we do have options and I'm happy to help in anyway I can but be for warned I'm still a noon my self