Hi all, I recently decided to make the switch to LEDs and decided to do it myself. This is going to be a couple questions also, just to clarify.
So, I grabbed the slate2 triple and 3×qb288 v2 rspec boards from hlg. I had some trouble selecting a driver and still am not 100% sure of my choice. Which is the hlg-480h-54b. I do know that is pushing the boards hard, and planned on adding some active cooling, i.e. laptop cooling pad mounted to the slate2.
Firstly, would like to know if I'm figuring the power right.. which is, whatever my drivers output is, is divided my the number of boards which would give me how much power each board is getting...?
Second, the email I got from HLG today implied they are switching to inventronics drivers as an upgrade... wondering if I should do the same, and if so which model should i choose?
Lastly, after watching the videos about the qb288s durability.. I took away that I could basically run a 600w diver on these 3 boards with active cooling and maintain efficiency? If there's any chance I can get an explanation of this and the benefits or flaws of a setup like this. I would greatly appreciate it.
Thanks in advance for your time and any advice/knowledge provided.
-GrnDad
QB288 v2 rspec help please.
Yup, so on that hlg-480 driver each board would get around 160W, which is really pushing them hard.Firstly, would like to know if I'm figuring the power right.. which is, whatever my drivers output is, is divided my the number of boards which would give me how much power each board is getting...?
Have you seen this page by HLG?
Yeah, i saw the driver was rated at 8.9amps which is just under the max for 3 boards which would be 9amps at 3000mA per board. But if I'm not mistaken the CV B type driver wont exceed its max of 8.9 or it would switch to CC. So I was thinking with that and added active cooling I could get optimal efficiency and have the ability to add a board in a few months if I wanted.
This is my first build, any advice or suggestions would be great. I just did some research and purchased some parts to get this together. I would just like to make sure I'm not screwing anything up, along with finding out how well this build will run, and how to figure these out myself.
Pushing the boards hard but keeping them cool will make my light more powerful as well as efficient with the active cooling right?
This is my first build, any advice or suggestions would be great. I just did some research and purchased some parts to get this together. I would just like to make sure I'm not screwing anything up, along with finding out how well this build will run, and how to figure these out myself.
Pushing the boards hard but keeping them cool will make my light more powerful as well as efficient with the active cooling right?
Actually, there's another wrinkle in the big picture. The HLG-480h-54 has been tested to put out 9.9A, and it will unless you add a dimmer.
Technically, "Optimal efficiency" for LEDs isn't running them hard and hot, it's running them soft. Efficiency of the LED goes up as current goes down. If you're really chasing efficiency, get 6 boards
Technically, "Optimal efficiency" for LEDs isn't running them hard and hot, it's running them soft. Efficiency of the LED goes up as current goes down. If you're really chasing efficiency, get 6 boards
1. So temperature has no effect?
2. Also curious, as in ledgardeners 1st video pushing one qb288 he used a larger driver(hlg-600h-54b) than I am for 3 boards. Also stated he felt he could comfortably run that single board at that current of 2800mA. (**i.e. from the HLG-600h-54b driver in that video he was unable to pull anything more than 2800mA until he changed to the slate3 heatsink which even then he didnt get anything higher than just over 2900mA at 90°+) ** How would active cooling affect this?
If I'm missing something please explain... With a Constant Voltage B-type driver you can not get it to run harder than its rated current. Which you could do with a Constant Voltage A-type driver.... getting this from led gardener youtube videos. Again if I'm mistaken, please explain.
4. When running boards harder, which would increase temperature, what affect does active cooling have? What are the pros and cons of adding active cooling directly related to led efficiency?
Thanks for your time... just trying to learn and understand here
2. Also curious, as in ledgardeners 1st video pushing one qb288 he used a larger driver(hlg-600h-54b) than I am for 3 boards. Also stated he felt he could comfortably run that single board at that current of 2800mA. (**i.e. from the HLG-600h-54b driver in that video he was unable to pull anything more than 2800mA until he changed to the slate3 heatsink which even then he didnt get anything higher than just over 2900mA at 90°+) ** How would active cooling affect this?
If I'm missing something please explain... With a Constant Voltage B-type driver you can not get it to run harder than its rated current. Which you could do with a Constant Voltage A-type driver.... getting this from led gardener youtube videos. Again if I'm mistaken, please explain.
4. When running boards harder, which would increase temperature, what affect does active cooling have? What are the pros and cons of adding active cooling directly related to led efficiency?
Thanks for your time... just trying to learn and understand here
Of course temperature has a direct effect, the hotter the less efficient. The more cooling the better.
My point was that while active cooling of a couple boards is great, another alternative to complicating your build with active cooling, heatsinks, fans, power supplies for the fans, etc, is to simply add more LEDs so that they run cooler and reduce the amount of cooling needed.
>With a Constant Voltage B-type driver you can not get it to run harder than its rated current. Which you could do with a Constant Voltage A-type driver.... getting this from led gardener youtube videos. Again if I'm mistaken, please explain.
-A and -AB usually have Io and Vo adjustments while -B don't. This lets you manually adjust the max current & voltage by a small degree. Plus Meanwell drivers tend to put out more current than listed in their specs (see the test reports)
My point was that while active cooling of a couple boards is great, another alternative to complicating your build with active cooling, heatsinks, fans, power supplies for the fans, etc, is to simply add more LEDs so that they run cooler and reduce the amount of cooling needed.
>With a Constant Voltage B-type driver you can not get it to run harder than its rated current. Which you could do with a Constant Voltage A-type driver.... getting this from led gardener youtube videos. Again if I'm mistaken, please explain.
-A and -AB usually have Io and Vo adjustments while -B don't. This lets you manually adjust the max current & voltage by a small degree. Plus Meanwell drivers tend to put out more current than listed in their specs (see the test reports)
Okay I'm getting it. So my decision for this is budget and ability to expand. I was only able to get 3 boards and heatsink. But I know I will be able to maybe grab another 2 boards and heatsink in a couple months. The idea was to have a driver that I could add those to, hence my choice of the 480. As for the cooling, we have a couple laptop cooling pads that i planned on mounting to the heatsink. Will i be able to run this efficiently until i can add to it? With the active cooling? Also have rapidleds cased potentiometer for dimming
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Tom Bombadil
- LED-Curious
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- Joined: Sat Nov 07, 2020 6:29 pm
I run mine at 125 watts each (x4) and they are very warm but you can touch them without issue (mounted on 1/4x8x14 inch aluminum bar stock). I have cranked them up to 155 or so and they start getting much hotter but the light output is not a linear ratio so as mentioned earlier the efficiency suffers and it really isn't worth maxing them out. You also shorten the life span.
Cooling is a double edged sword as cooling them will actually drop the current, and also lower the output so as Shimbob mentioned running more boards at lower outputs is preferred. You should be fine running them at 120 to 140 watts each and will have plenty of light unless you have all other variables perfectly tuned or you are running the lights 30+ inches off the canopy.
Also of note as mentioned earlier, but not to be taken lightly, is that most Mean Well drivers will overshoot up to 30 percent over their rated output. This means you could deliver north of 200 watts per board if you aren't careful.
Enjoy the lights, they are fantastic.
P.S. One tip I can offer is be mindful of your spacing as you can place them a lot further apart than how HLG makes their fixtures. I have my 4 centered at 24 inches and the light coverage is showing fairly even at 20 inches hang height.
Cooling is a double edged sword as cooling them will actually drop the current, and also lower the output so as Shimbob mentioned running more boards at lower outputs is preferred. You should be fine running them at 120 to 140 watts each and will have plenty of light unless you have all other variables perfectly tuned or you are running the lights 30+ inches off the canopy.
Also of note as mentioned earlier, but not to be taken lightly, is that most Mean Well drivers will overshoot up to 30 percent over their rated output. This means you could deliver north of 200 watts per board if you aren't careful.
Enjoy the lights, they are fantastic.
P.S. One tip I can offer is be mindful of your spacing as you can place them a lot further apart than how HLG makes their fixtures. I have my 4 centered at 24 inches and the light coverage is showing fairly even at 20 inches hang height.
So would the 320h-c2100b be a better option for the 3 boards then?
Also, if I was to add a board... Would I be able to add a qb648? Can they be wired in series or parallel with the qb288 rspec?
EDIT: I decided to follow the list of compatible drivers from ledgardeners video, I didnt catch it before, but he has that the 480h-c2100 will run 3 and 4 boards at 70% so I have one on the way. Then when I plan to add a board, I can do so safely and still run at 70%. Though 4 boards at 216v sounds a little scary tbh. Any advice or direction for the new design would be great.
Thanks again for all the help and advice guys! Sorry if I'm a little annoying @ shimbob. Just a little ocd and trying to learn
Also, if I was to add a board... Would I be able to add a qb648? Can they be wired in series or parallel with the qb288 rspec?
EDIT: I decided to follow the list of compatible drivers from ledgardeners video, I didnt catch it before, but he has that the 480h-c2100 will run 3 and 4 boards at 70% so I have one on the way. Then when I plan to add a board, I can do so safely and still run at 70%. Though 4 boards at 216v sounds a little scary tbh. Any advice or direction for the new design would be great.
Thanks again for all the help and advice guys! Sorry if I'm a little annoying @ shimbob. Just a little ocd and trying to learn
