DIY LEDs - The write-up

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I have taken kcress advice and spent the last few hours doing some searching and reading. So I am now planning to run half as many drivers with a plan to have three lights with two drivers each running two strings each with 12 LEDs. This makes 48 LEDs per light with a total of six drivers which I believe I read correctly as a maximum to run based on using the ELN 60-48D drivers.

Another option is to use the Inventronics or TRP drivers which are similar to the HLG with the PFC front ends.

One thing I am not understanding is what size wattage HLG driver do I need if I decide to go with the mean well option. I understand I would need something with enough voltage to run the strings of 12 LEDs but considering I only want to run two strings how do I calc what size unit. That is if I use a 48v unit how many watts do I need.

I will take a guess from what I have seen:

3.2v * 0.7A * 24 = 53.76 watts therefore a unit of at least that many watts. Or do I have this wrong.

I really appreciate any help with this.
 
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patmack said:
So does that mean 4 strings of 12 LEDs at 1 amp per led? Really not saving money here at all from the sounds of it but I don't know how many you can run per driver.
Click to expand...

Just to make it clear almost 1 amp. That would be 48 LEDs and I believe the driver runs about $100. For the ELN it runs $102-$140 for four. So no you don't save much, but when you need 96 LEDs the other advantages of the HLG far outpace the ELN IMO.
 
I have gone back a ways but still have one question. The inrush is for the 48D drivers but does the 48P drivers have the same issue? Sorry I can't find this answer.
Thanks
 
dlp211 said:
FishMan,

Couldn't you use the 100w version of the HLG and still drive 48 LEDS? 100/48= ~2*.85(effeciancy)= ~1.7a.

I had a quick question though with the HLG's. When driving the LEDS, when you say 4 strands of 12 are you doing that in parallel or they still in series?
Click to expand...

Not sure what you are asking. If you used to 100 watt version each LED would run at about 2 watts. Which works if that is what you want.

4 string in parallel and each string is a series so both modes are used.
 
kirsto71 said:
I have taken kcress advice and spent the last few hours doing some searching and reading. So I am now planning to run half as many drivers with a plan to have three lights with two drivers each running two strings each with 12 LEDs. This makes 48 LEDs per light with a total of six drivers which I believe I read correctly as a maximum to run based on using the ELN 60-48D drivers.

Another option is to use the Inventronics or TRP drivers which are similar to the HLG with the PFC front ends.

One thing I am not understanding is what size wattage HLG driver do I need if I decide to go with the mean well option. I understand I would need something with enough voltage to run the strings of 12 LEDs but considering I only want to run two strings how do I calc what size unit. That is if I use a 48v unit how many watts do I need.

I will take a guess from what I have seen:

3.2v * 0.7A * 24 = 53.76 watts therefore a unit of at least that many watts. Or do I have this wrong.

I really appreciate any help with this.
Click to expand...

You have the wattage calculation correct, but I would increase to 3.5 and 1 amp (or the max for the LED) so you can turn them up later if you want.
 
TheFishMan65 said:
Just to make it clear almost 1 amp. That would be 48 LEDs and I believe the driver runs about $100. For the ELN it runs $102-$140 for four. So no you don't save much, but when you need 96 LEDs the other advantages of the HLG far outpace the ELN IMO.
Click to expand...

Sweet! Thanks fish man! I just ordered 2 HLG-185h-b last night. I would like to run 2 HLGs and 2-4 ELNs. The ELNs would be used for additional sunrise sunset effect, maybe even moonlights.
Thanks again for the clarification.
 
dlp211 said:
FishMan,

Couldn't you use the 100w version of the HLG and still drive 48 LEDS? 100/48= ~2*.85(effeciancy)= ~1.7a.

I had a quick question though with the HLG's. When driving the LEDS, when you say 4 strands of 12 are you doing that in parallel or they still in series?
Click to expand...

Another thing should be noted the HLG-185s are 98 % efficient (at full load)!! :inlove:

Where the ELNs are about 85%..
 
Well I have twisted and turned my layout several different ways and it still comes down to 13 LED strings. I could do it at 12 but my OCD will not allow me to build something without perfectly even coverage. Problem is that I have seen conflicting opinions regarding the forward voltage on XP-E and XP-G LEDs. Some people say allow for 3.7 to 3.8 and others say figure on 3.4 to 3.5 is max. At 3.5 I can do it but at 3.7 I cant. Any input?

I dont want to build something that is going to be a constant problem.

The idea is to run (2) 13 LED strings of XP-Es in parallel on a 48D and run (2) 13 LED strings of XP-G LEDs in parallel on a 48D driving them at 850mA max and dimmed by an Apex.

Would you do it this way?
 
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DFason said:
I'm surprised more people on here have not caught on to the TRP or Inventronics drivers. Much better than Meanwell's and with high numbers, they end up needing less.

-Dave
Click to expand...

I don't know that they are better, they may be, but I think the biggest thing about these other drivers is the high output voltages they operate at. Kcress, who I deeply respect and whos advice I would take above all others, has pointed out many times the inherent risk you run when you start to go above 50V. Its simply a safety issue and for the average DIY its not worth the risk when you can accomplish the same thing with lower voltages. Now with the HLG line we also do not need to stack a bunch of ELNs and the HLG seems to be a much higher end product.

I might add that the TRC drivers are way pricier than MWs and harder to get. I don't know about availability and pricing on the Inventronics but they too seem to operate in the higher output voltage range.
 
Gold Stripe said:
Well I have twisted and turned my layout several different ways and it still comes down to 13 LED strings. I could do it at 12 but my OCD will not allow me to build something without perfectly even coverage. Problem is that I have seen conflicting opinions regarding the forward voltage on XP-E and XP-G LEDs. Some people say allow for 3.7 to 3.8 and others say figure on 3.4 to 3.5 is max. At 3.5 I can do it but at 3.7 I cant. Any input?

I dont want to build something that is going to be a constant problem.

The idea is to run (2) 13 LED strings of XP-Es in parallel on a 48D and run (2) 13 LED strings of XP-G LEDs in parallel on a 48D driving them at 750mA max and dimmed by an Apex.

Would you do it this way?
Click to expand...

A 48D only has 1.3 amps total so 2 string would be 650 each. According to the data sheet the XP-G is about 3.2 volts at 650ma. The XP-E (RB) is about 3.4 at 650.
 
Thats what I mean. The datasheet says 1.3 amps max but if you look at JP's thread Kress had him turn the pot up and he is driving (2) 12 LED strings at 1000mA each with a 48D. Now thats obviously not a good thing to do long term but if it will max out at 1000mA each then would 850mA each be a bad thing for 3 hours a day? I dont know. And I dont know how much I trust the datasheet. What does it say the forward voltage is on the XP-E/XP-Gs at 850 mA? If the 48D would drive them at that rate would the combined forward voltage still be less than 48V?
 
Large investment and i'm a poor man. I dont want to blow up $600 worth of equipment that I will never be able to replace. I only get one shot at this and i'm a little nervous. By the same token, I am stretching my budget about as far as it will go now and the thought of another $75+ for additional drivers sucks too. Plus, then I will be running only 8 or 9 LEDs per string and that seems like a waste and inefficient.

The datasheet says 1.3A but we clearly see 2A. What if the datasheet says 3.5v and its really 3.8v. There goes a driver and maybe some LEDs. Just a little uneasy about the variation in numbers we are seeing.
 
Gee I thought I had caught up after my mini vacation I think I missed that whole page. ELN have a power rating which is voltage * current. So maybe you can get the current with less voltage. I don't know the internals well enough to state if it is safe.
 
TheFishMan65 said:
Not sure what you are asking. If you used to 100 watt version each LED would run at about 2 watts. Which works if that is what you want.

4 string in parallel and each string is a series so both modes are used.
Click to expand...

Ok, sorry I am new to this, and while I understand Ohm's law, I don't understand how to practically apply it.

Anyway, you answered my question, which leads me to another. Don't most people underdrive their LED's anyway to preserve their life. I believe the XPG's can be run at 1.5a, but most drive them at 1a, and since it is a 3w LED, driving it at 1a would be 2w. Is this correct?

Thanks
DLP211
 
With 13 LEDs it probably wouldnt put out that much current but really no way to tell what it would do. But if I add 2 more drivers then I will have a total of 6 and I understand that its risky to have that many ELNs. I have 2 tanks that I am trying to cover. I need 2 drivers for the smaller tank and I was trying to get by with 2 drivers for the larger tank. The only other option is to spend the extra $$ and go with 2 HLGs on the larger tank but I think I saw something about the HLG185s not dimming all the way to 0.
 
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