LEDgardener

Hi Team

currently using a 2' T5 fixture, 6500K 4 x 24W bulbs. Was looking for a suggestion for a build/kit that could cover a smaller space, 2x2 or even 2x1. Just for going above my desk to light up some plants i have in the office.

i origionally posted in cob leds, but realize that the heat sinks are probably the most $$...might get more bang for my buck with strip leds

OK, i found the strip led build tool and compiled this:
8 x 12" samsung led strips
4 x LT-H282D @ 3000K
4x LT-H282D @3500K
‎HLG-120H-24B‎ driver,


Do you all think i will need heatsinks for this? could i simply mount the strips to an aluminum frame with thermal tape/paste and that would be enough for cooling?

edited to add found most info online!

frame or sinks, its the same stuff. Effectiveness is measured by total surface area. How many % are you running them at?

For the sake of being safe, I input 100 percent load into the build formula and chose an adjustable driver.

Hold on.

That driver provides 5 amps. 5 amps into 8 strips means 0.625A each. According to the Samsung engine calculator, the LT-H282D strip is maximum 0.6A.

Not to be rude, but usually safe would be seen as driving them a little softer.

Ultimately its all a question of diode temperature, so as long as you don't let them heat over accepted levels (specified in documentation) you will be ok. This can be achieved by dimming.

Downsides are that running a driver dimmed down results in a little lost efficiency. High diode temperature looses a little efficiency too. Lost efficiency is just electricity that goes to heat, so it might be desirable here in Scandinavia, but probably not in the Vegas desert.

Unkle and Shimbob,

thanks for chiming in, i dont take this as being rude at all. These components costs add up quickly and I'd prefer to do this once, and right. I could use the same driver and add a couple of more strips and should be good to go methinks. And sure i can drive them at 75% or 50%, would reduce temp too, aside from dimming, what is a better way to run them lower? a lower powered driver?

For efficiencies sake you run your driver as hard as possible, and your strips as soft as possible. There is an element of pedantry to this though, you don't loose too many % running drivers soft, it varies and is in the manuals.

And theoretically the more strips you add to any driver, the cooler and more efficient they are. Coolness should be the main determiner of their lifespan.

Usually I think the LG would advise around 70% as driving hard, but finally its the level of cooling that determines whats ok. I ran vesta strips at around 40% with no heatsinks, and they got hot. If I put a soft table fan so I could barely feel it at the strips, it was enough to cool them. Using random aluminium as heatsinks I now run them at 75% and they are pretty cool. But the aluminium I'm using is about 5.5cm wide, flat with to 1cm fins. My strips are around 3cm.

So I'm pretty sure that with almost any strips running them at 70% is safe even with less optimal heatsinks. Using a nice heatsink I imagine you could run them at max, and adding some fanning to the heatsinks you could likely 'overclock' them.

I'm no electrical genius, which attracts me to these builds is their simplicity.... silly question to those with more expierence:

can I run a small fan from the driver that is also powering my led strips?

If your replacing two 24w tubes, maybe you would be fine with the 75w Thomas Research Products driver. I guess its around 12$ and its quite perfect for 6-8 1 foot strips, with minimal heat sinking. Even a strip of foil will run them cool.
If you go for that, you might want to pair them with 90cri bridgelux vesta strips. They have 2 lines, one 2700k, and one 5000k, and being 90cri they have a lot of deep red.