LED strips vs Quantum Boards for 4x4

[ZzackRaw]

Hi, everyone! I'm moving from a 2x2 to a 4x4, and I'm moving on from my Spectrum King 140W to a DIY LED build. I definitely need some help and figured these forums would be a great stop for advise / help.

I've watched most of Growmau5s videos and I'm definitely set on building my own frame and light rig but I'm unsure as to what lights would provide the best coverage. I've seen setups with 120s with no heatsinks, I've seen cob setups, and I've even seen interesting strip setups with strips going vertical as well as horizontal... I'll be honest and say I have NO CLUE as to what's best, but I'd like to make my setup as efficient as possible so what should I do?

FYI There will be a 2x2 tent in one corner of the 4x4 which will house my SK140 and be used to veg out plants, so the flowering space is 4x4x2, which means I'll need an L shaped frame possibly.

Zack

[ZzackRaw]

By the way, I was leaning towards 132s but they are currently sold out everywhere so those are no longer an option for me. Are there other boards out there, maybe from a competitor, that are similar to the 132s? The 120s would only be good from vegging from the info I've gathered.

[DaveJonesFan]

If you want some good flower power, I'd consider the QB288V2 boards.

Throw 5 QB288V2 3000K on slate 2 single heatsinks, orient them well, and run an HLG-480H-54(A or B for dimming) variant. You will want to wire them in parallel with WAGO's instead of daisy chain to handle the current.

Also consider the Atreum 288.2 boards with similar output results, but slightly higher operating temps on their heatsinks. They include the heatsinks at the same cost as HLG naked.
https://atreumlighting.com/collections/ ... ung-lm301b

Something like this with the HLG:

And Atreum's are more square, maybe easier for an L frame around them:

There are many, many options. This is a great one for simplicity and great efficiency. On these new 288 boards they are using the highly regarded Samsung LM301B SK+ diodes that are the highest efficiency available.

With COB's or strips you could get great results as well, and could potentially save some $. We would be adding complexity and extra work designing and building, but if you want to seek that route, we'd be glad to help plan a build as well. You could go with strips with similar Samsung diodes, or even more affordable options that are almost as efficient, such as the Bridgelux EB Gen 2 strips or Vero type C COB's.

[ZzackRaw]

Hi and thanks for the response. I love your ideas so far, except I want to keep the setup at or under 400 watts. That being said. Would you suggest the led strip route or 4x288s?

I love those boards. I've actually done a bit of research on them already, I just heard that if i did strips i could save on the heatsink if i don't run them at 100%.

[ZzackRaw]

Wow those bridgelux strips are really affordable! The samsung ones I was looking at were close to $30 a piece. If I went this route I could easily pick up like 40 strips as opposed to 10.

If you want some good flower power, I'd consider the QB288V2 boards.

Throw 5 QB288V2 3000K on slate 2 single heatsinks, orient them well, and run an HLG-480H-54(A or B for dimming) variant. You will want to wire them in parallel with WAGO's instead of daisy chain to handle the current.

Also consider the Atreum 288.2 boards with similar output results, but slightly higher operating temps on their heatsinks. They include the heatsinks at the same cost as HLG naked.
https://atreumlighting.com/collections/ ... ung-lm301b

Something like this with the HLG:
QBsbebe.jpg


And Atreum's are more square, maybe easier for an L frame around them:
atreumbebe.jpg


There are many, many options. This is a great one for simplicity and great efficiency. On these new 288 boards they are using the highly regarded Samsung LM301B SK+ diodes that are the highest efficiency available.

With COB's or strips you could get great results as well, and could potentially save some $. We would be adding complexity and extra work designing and building, but if you want to seek that route, we'd be glad to help plan a build as well. You could go with strips with similar Samsung diodes, or even more affordable options that are almost as efficient, such as the Bridgelux EB Gen 2 strips or Vero type C COB's.

[ZzackRaw]

Also,
Would using a combination of Atreum 288.2s and strips work for the amount of space I'm trying to fill? That could also be an option. 4x288s would put me at $300 before shipping, which is do-able, but if I could power 2 of them and a combination of LEDS and get the same results with less electricity used I'd love it.

[DaveJonesFan]

Hey. Yeah all this stuff is great kit and will get you there. We could design a combination light with multiple types of emitters mixed in if need be. I think it would mean running multiple drivers. I myself run a lot of the options provided and some in mixed fashion. The Bridgelux EB strips can be some of the best bang for the buck, If you want to focus in on the initial budgeting as low as possible, while still acquiring great efficiency.

Here's some EB Gen 2 strips in mixed temperature veg space:

An Atreum board with some COB's in a flower tent:

As far as heatsink vs no heatsink, this is all tradeoff. I don't strive to run without heatsinks myself, but you can run certain power levels on boards and strips and keep them within their safe operating temps. Heatsinks and airflow can always help improve performance by lowering the operating temps. Some designs go toward favoring buying more strips or boards and running them lower power than the with heatsink options. This can get you great even coverage. With strips, sometimes good heatsinks can approach the cost of the strips. So it becomes a design decision thing how to go in the end.

I always tend to overpower the drivers slightly for flowering, with proper dimming so the lights can be used adaptively. Sometimes the driver options and their costs and simplicity of the whole design lead to that as well. The 320 didn't seem like enough power for the space in this case. Of course, what are you flowering?

If we are looking at multiple drivers anyway, the max power could potentially more closely get the 400w number.

With EB Gen 2 we can work up a design with them exclusively, or see how they could fit in with a few (I'd probably stick with an odd number in my recs) of quantum boards.

Let me know what you favor most, the upfront cost or the efficiency, and I'll put together some more ideas.

[LEDG]

Another quality post from DJF!

The EB strips are great bang for buck. Strips will be a lot more work than boards so it comes down to how much money you want to put in vs. how much work you want to do. The nice thing about strip builds is that they’re infinitely customizable and if you run them soft to the point that they don’t need a heat sink, you can save a lot of money.

[sdfoster22]

If you are in the USA, heatsinkusa.com is a great option for heatsinks. I bought 10 1' eb gen 2 3500k strips.

In my area here is the price comparison.

1' eb gen 2 3500k strip $4.5 before taxes and shipping from digikey.

1"×1"×1/16" angle aluminum $2.50/ft for a 10ft piece after taxes from home depot.

1" wide aluminum extruded heatsink from heatsinkusa $3.30/ft after shipping and taxes.

With 10 strips it was really a matter of $8 more for the 1" heatsink, and it already comes cut up into the 1' pieces.

[ZzackRaw]

Thank you so much for the help. Can't tell you how much this has helped. You're really willing to go above and beyond to help a fellow out and I applaud you for that.

That being said,
I bought 4x Atreum 288.2s with the heatsink combos.
I also got a waterproof connector, 2x wagos, solid copper wire 18 gauge, and the HLG-480H-C2100B. I know the A can be over-powered but i'm more worried about being able to dim them.

Do I have everything right so far?

I'll need to buy some aluminum at the store soon.

I bought 4 of the strips you recommended as well to experiement with an old driver I have. My chameleon enclosure has some plants that dont get enough light...

Hey. Yeah all this stuff is great kit and will get you there. We could design a combination light with multiple types of emitters mixed in if need be. I think it would mean running multiple drivers. I myself run a lot of the options provided and some in mixed fashion. The Bridgelux EB strips can be some of the best bang for the buck, If you want to focus in on the initial budgeting as low as possible, while still acquiring great efficiency.

Here's some EB Gen 2 strips in mixed temperature veg space:
EBGen2.jpg


An Atreum board with some COB's in a flower tent:
Tester_Tent_Luminaire_Upgrade.jpg


As far as heatsink vs no heatsink, this is all tradeoff. I don't strive to run without heatsinks myself, but you can run certain power levels on boards and strips and keep them within their safe operating temps. Heatsinks and airflow can always help improve performance by lowering the operating temps. Some designs go toward favoring buying more strips or boards and running them lower power than the with heatsink options. This can get you great even coverage. With strips, sometimes good heatsinks can approach the cost of the strips. So it becomes a design decision thing how to go in the end.

I always tend to overpower the drivers slightly for flowering, with proper dimming so the lights can be used adaptively. Sometimes the driver options and their costs and simplicity of the whole design lead to that as well. The 320 didn't seem like enough power for the space in this case. Of course, what are you flowering?

If we are looking at multiple drivers anyway, the max power could potentially more closely get the 400w number.

With EB Gen 2 we can work up a design with them exclusively, or see how they could fit in with a few (I'd probably stick with an odd number in my recs) of quantum boards.

Let me know what you favor most, the upfront cost or the efficiency, and I'll put together some more ideas.