I think the fluence lights use the same diode you are looking at, and a comparable driver, so just posted it as a referance.DubJ wrote: ↑Wed Nov 21, 2018 3:43 pmunkle_psycho wrote: ↑Wed Nov 21, 2018 2:00 pmIn the spydrx series Fluence promises a ppfd of 800 using 345w in a 4x4, and a ppfd of 1500-1700 using 650w in a 4x4. The power per sq foot in these models ranges from 21.5w to 41.25w. Please note that these fixtures are designed to be run very close to the canopy.
The lower power model is designed for environments without co2, and the higher power model for a co2 supplemented grow. The standard builds LedG has prepared usually aim for around 30w/ sq foot, so it should reach/ surpass 800ppfd. Naturally the final ppfd figures will depend on fixture height and wall reflection, and it will be hard to get the light close to the canopy if you don't have enough strips to keep light even.
https://fluence.science/technology/spydr/
Thanks for the reply. These lights are impressive but they are also very expensive at $2.50-$3.00+ per watt
I don’t have a set budget so I could get these if I wanted but I would rather save a few $ by building the same or, similar or even better light fixture. None the less these Fluence lights would be awesome in a commercial setting. I would rather DIY using strips and or QBs. I’m leaning towards the strip builds that LedG has prepared or similar. Have you seen any PPFD testing done on these builds at all? That would be key data I could use to determine exactly what I’m going to do.
On possible places to save money without loosing specs, one area you will have to think about is heat dissipation. Heatsinks can cost quite a bit, one alternative is adding lots of strips, switching heatsinks to cheap alu extrusions and having a generally more efficient setup.
On the broad spectrum, the currently most efficient strips are 80cri which is quite broad. There are also 90cri strips where efficiency is sacrificed for an even broader spectrum. There is quite a drop though, from around 190lm/w to 135lm/w. Even when adjusted to take all parameters into account there is about 10% less plant responsive photons.
A more efficient solution, which seems quite popular in the commercial market is to add some extra 660nm red diodes.
There are a bunch of things you could do comparisons, like the H-series with vs without 660 supplementation. There are currently no authoritative 80 vs 90cri comparisons available, though there seems to be interest (perhaps one 2x4 vesta build which is 90cri with a tunable spectrum from 2700k-5000k). Also there are really no good comparisons on intensities, most people wonder how much power, it would be interesting to see side by sides in the 25w-45w per sq foot region.
Earlier for a 2x4 fixture using 2 foot strips I went for 8 strips, and never felt I was lacking coverage, even when running at 15cm from canopy. Cant say if I could have gotten away with less. There are quite a few options on the H-series, with single and double row strips and such. Not really sure how their price compares.
