Bridgelux EB series gen 3 strips

[BirdBare]

I know a lot would be interested in the results of the gen3.

It depends if I hear back from bridgelux. I want to create lights for 3 4x4 Chambers. 12 lights per 2x2 driven at min 30 watts and max 60 watts. So a total of 144 strips. I'm wanting to use the hlg-240h-c1050a for each 2x2.

I'm interested in the IES files because I'd like to know how high I can hang the lights to maintain a minimum of 600 ppfd at 240 watts.

Actually I have a question if you don't mind. If my forward voltage during startup is higher than the driver range, what will happen? Will the driver just reduce the current until the lights heat up and the vf drops?

Here is my situation. The max output voltage of the 240h-1050 is 238v at 1050ma. The expected forward voltage of 12 eb gen 2 strips at 25*c is 240v. But when they reach stable operating temp the vf is 236.4v. Can the driver cope with that at startup or would it reduce the life of the driver? I don't want to run in parallel, hence my delima.

I really appreciate the help.

Hate to shit on your idea, but the connectors and boards of slims are not rated to handle 240v. afaik their listed at 60V with the caveat that maximum voltage depends on end application.

I'm not looking at slims. TBH I am wanting to run these naked at 1050ma max. Sure, I will hoepfully never run them max but based on my research it is possible and I don't want to spend the cash on heatsinks. Honestly, that is the reason I am switching to strips. The coverage and lack of heat. I have been running 16 CXA3070 on a 4x4 for a couple years now. Best buds I've ever seen but I want something with less heat and more coverage. Again, please change my mind!

[BirdBare]

Good point, I have never built or designed a product to work with high voltage in series, to me it increases the risk of fire and electrical saftey. I have been in the game for 13 years and have always run products in parallel, now more than ever due to tight voltage bins it is safer.

Is parallel really safer? I mean honestly I think the temperature is the scariest thing when running LEDs. In my opinion, high voltage is not an issue as long as you do not touch the connectors. Which you should never do anyway. Heat is produced by amperage, not voltage. Sure you could get a spark, but again you should never be touching the connectors. Preferably, they should be covered with a silicone material. But in the case of LED strips, it may not be necessary because of the wire connectors. Again, please change my mind. Maybe I am an old geezer who needs some real information thrown his way.

[BirdBare]

I really appreciate your responses and I love the back and forth. I think this will help me design a light that I can depend on for years to come.

Thanks so much!

[TEKNIK]

If you have a strip fail in a parallel build the result is this will supply extra current to the remaining strips, it will not damage them unless they get too hot. If you use a meanwell A or AB driver you can prevent the strips being supplied extra current by adjusting the voltage to suit your needs. The higher the voltage the easier it is for a spark to jump, this matters on a board such as a bridgelux strip as the pcb lay out is quite tight and a very slight imperfection can cause a short, electricity will always take the shortest path and by increasing the voltage 6X the rating you are risking a short. I am not sure who pushed all these high voltage circuits to begin with but they obviously had very little experience with it all. I know Grow Mau used to push it but now days he pushes parallel builds for this reason, he now has more knowledge than he did when he first started.
It is your choice how you do things, I am terrified of fire burning someone's house down so I always do what ever I can to reduce risks as I have seen too many electrical faults over the years. I also always reccomend an automatic fire extinguisher in any room these builds are in too.

[BirdBare]

If you have a strip fail in a parallel build the result is this will supply extra current to the remaining strips, it will not damage them unless they get too hot. If you use a meanwell A or AB driver you can prevent the strips being supplied extra current by adjusting the voltage to suit your needs. The higher the voltage the easier it is for a spark to jump, this matters on a board such as a bridgelux strip as the pcb lay out is quite tight and a very slight imperfection can cause a short, electricity will always take the shortest path and by increasing the voltage 6X the rating you are risking a short. I am not sure who pushed all these high voltage circuits to begin with but they obviously had very little experience with it all. I know Grow Mau used to push it but now days he pushes parallel builds for this reason, he now has more knowledge than he did when he first started.
It is your choice how you do things, I am terrified of fire burning someone's house down so I always do what ever I can to reduce risks as I have seen too many electrical faults over the years. I also always reccomend an automatic fire extinguisher in any room these builds are in too.

Oh I agree! You better believe I am running a hanging auto fire extinguisher, I have pups and could not imagine the pain if they died in a fire. Biggest worry I have every day. So I run the lights at night so if it goes up in flames, I will be there and can get everyone out... Hopefully.

How does adjusting the voltage work? Based on my research, if I use a CC/CV driver it only works in one mode. So if I set it to run CC it will force a certain amperage down the strips. Also, if one goes out they will most probably all fail due to the increased temp because CC forces the current down the strips. And it increases with each strip that fails, so eventually they will all be running at obscenely high currents. No if, ands, or butts about it. Of course you get it.

Did I miss something on the datasheets? I never noticed a max voltage rating.

Honestly I have been running 480 watt driver with 8 lights for such a long time maybe I am used to the high voltage. It helps keep intruders out too lol. Not everyone feels safe with crazy voltage levels lol. I don't post too much because I am in an illegal state but I have been running Grow Mau's setup before he thought the idea up lol. RUI is my mother site. I've been lurking since my freshman year in college.

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I look at it this way, the automatic extinguisher can handle fire but There is no solution for electrocution.

[BirdBare]

I look at it this way, the automatic extinguisher can handle fire but There is no solution for electrocution.

Sure I agree completely. But if growers are fondling their lights then we have a bigger issue completely hahaha. Plus, has no one heard of grounding the lights??? This completely protects you from stray voltage. If I am wrong please correct me.

[BirdBare]

I look at it this way, the automatic extinguisher can handle fire but There is no solution for electrocution.

Sure I agree completely. But if growers are fondling there lights then we have a bigger issue completely hahaha. Plus, has no one heard of grounding the lights??? This completely protects you from stray voltage. If I am wrong please correct me.

Another thing to keep in mind... DC electricity has to travel to the source to be dangerous. If you touch a positive at 100,000 volts DC but never touch the negative you will be fine. If you touch both, it will travel through your finger from positive to negative. Ac is much more dangerous because the ground is the negative so it always wants to travel through you if your resistance is lower, for ex. if your barefoot on concrete or soil obviously lol.

Touch the positive of your car battery and dance around. Nothing will happen to you. But as soon as you complete the DC circuit by touching positive and negative you will have a very bad day. DC is very safe because you MUST complete the circuit. AC not so much. No good example for AC, sorry folks. lol

[TEKNIK]

You can set the maximum current by limiting voltage, A drivers and AB drivers have a voltage adjustment. If you set the maximum voltage you want the strips to run at even if one fails or 3 fails the driver will not supply extra current to the strips as in order to supply extra current extra voltage is required. I can run a single led chip on a HLG 600 and not burn it out, this is because the voltage is limited therefore the current is limited. It is not difficult to set this up either, it takes about 2 minutes once your light is built and the use of a multimeter to view the voltage.

[TEKNIK]

http://ledgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=4776

Read through this one