This is my first LED build, and I don't want to f it up.
2 x 4x4 flower spaces. 2 light fixtures, with 20 2ft Gen 3 each but using a 4ft bar. 2ft is all I can find available for the strips that I want.
For each fixture I'd like to go with a mix of 10 4000k 90 CRI and 10 3000k 80 CRI. My reasoning is that this is a good balance between increased spectrum range while keeping it at a decent efficiency. If anyone feels strongly that this is a bad idea please let me know and why.
Wiring all 20 in parallel for simplicity, but if required for the right driver I would do a combo of series and parallel. For the driver, at first I was going to go with HLG-480H because I thought I needed that many watts - still learning. Seeing others on the forum using HLG-320H for this amount of leds, so would like to do that.
Where I'm having trouble is with the specific driver. It seems like the HLG-320H-24 would be best for my strips, the voltage range for those strips is 17v-21v. But with that driver my current would only be about 667mA per strip which seems a little under powered. The light would be only drawing 252 watts, and the flux per strip would be less than 100%. I don't want to max it out or anything, I'd like to hit a mid range sweet spot of good flux, with decent efficiency and relatively low heat - I'll use aluminum angle at minimum for heatsink.
As I said this is my first build so I'm wondering if the drivers have some kind of control knob that allows you to increase current and or voltage? So I could tune it a little bit higher if I use the HLG-320H-24?
Also, I've been seeing people talking about efficiency in micromouls per joule, and weather a configuration will have too much or little PPF. How do I calculate these measurements given the driver build I'm considering using?
Newbie says thanks.
About to pull the trigger but need help with driver choice
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The_Mouse_Police
- LED Lover
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- Joined: Mon Mar 25, 2019 2:57 am
On PPF, uMol/J is basically an equivalent to Lm/W, and usually tracks it at almost a 1:1 rate, but for being an instant measurement, which is mostly superfluous. IE, PPFD as uMol/mm^2/s is like Lm/mm^2, AKA Lux.
If you have X strips each at Y uMol/J at a given Wattage W (just ignore where the s^-1 goes), covering area A, X*Y*W/A = naive PPF at the emitters. It won't be even, and you'll lose a bit from absorption and distance, 80% or so of that would be a nice general estimate of what reaches most of the leaves, assuming a reasonably short (like 18" or less) distance.
Make sure the driver is rated for the current needed first and foremost, and then around or over the wattage. Consider the -20 and -42 (2S) models, rather than -24, for more practical adjustment range.
If you have X strips each at Y uMol/J at a given Wattage W (just ignore where the s^-1 goes), covering area A, X*Y*W/A = naive PPF at the emitters. It won't be even, and you'll lose a bit from absorption and distance, 80% or so of that would be a nice general estimate of what reaches most of the leaves, assuming a reasonably short (like 18" or less) distance.
Make sure the driver is rated for the current needed first and foremost, and then around or over the wattage. Consider the -20 and -42 (2S) models, rather than -24, for more practical adjustment range.