Help With Strip Spacing for 800 ppfd

nfhiggs

Well-Known Member
BXEB-L0280Z-35E1000-C-B3
So i got the imfo i have from digikey i just put the part number above in and came up with info i sent - i couldnt get the data sheet to open ( digikey website doesnt cooperate with my iphone so well) but they are 6.50 each compared to 15.50 for f strips - do you think 5 f strups would veg and flower 4 plants in a 7 sq ft area as far as voltage the 2 ft f strips are 23v at 1.2 amp and the ed strips are 19.5 @ 700ma so if druven at 1amp or 1.2 like He f series im at 19.5 to 24 v the way i figured it would be about 260-280w and about 49k lumen ( i know lumens arent best way to measure eff. But thats all i got to work a comparison with
You would double the current to get double the lumen output from them. That will get you to about 4800 lumens per strip. Ten strips will get you 48,000 lumens. Using a rough conversion factor of 70, that would yield an average PPFD of a bit over 1000 uMols in 7 square feet.
 

Shadrock15

Member
When you say wire 2 in series and 6 in parralel do you mean to run a sort of hybrid parrelel and series set together? I ambguesing that 12 is to manybfor ine driver??
You would double the current to get double the lumen output from them. That will get you to about 4800 lumens per strip. Ten strips will get you 48,000 lumens. Using a rough conversion factor of 70, that would yield an average PPFD of a bit over 1000 uMols in 7 square feet.
what driver would you suggest for 10 of the bridgelux
 

Shadrock15

Member
HLG-240H-20A is what I would recommend.
How about
HLG-240H-20A is what I would recommend.
What would you say to either of these vs the bridgelux and i what driver would you think works best. I almost like the 10 inch ones best as they can be pushed harder but im not sure about coverage. And I appreciate you helping i dont know much about building my own light and i have looked at so much stuff im on oberload. I should stuck with the 1212 citi cobs i started to think about getting lol but i like the strips for cost any wy man i do thank you. And any one else who might add 2 cents
IMG_7910.PNG IMG_7909.PNG
 

welight

Well-Known Member
I would not lay the strips out evenly, its a waste as you will get centre hotspots, wider in the centre than the edges
 

Shadrock15

Member
I would not lay the strips out evenly, its a waste as you will get centre hotspots, wider in the centre than the edges
Well thats interesting i had thought the strips would alleviate that but thank you. What driver would you use for 8 of eithet of those strips and is 8 enough for 7 sq ft
 

welight

Well-Known Member
When you have significant qty of light in small areas, your dealing with photonic density rather than general illumination and the issue is always that when 2 strips, as an example, are in close proximity the light between 2 is greater that the light outside the 2, log math, it is therefore prudent to take the hotspot and spread the light out more. The game is to get as even a coverage across your canopy as possible. This makes placement of strips a bit more than just even distribution, you can do that but a bit more planning will get greater light utilisation and better yields, you could in fact end up using less strips, but as a minimum you will get a grow that has plants the same height/yield over the whole footprint
 

nfhiggs

Well-Known Member
Well thats interesting i had thought the strips would alleviate that but thank you. What driver would you use for 8 of eithet of those strips and is 8 enough for 7 sq ft
The "hot spot" you might see with strips is nothing like what is typically seen with a "regular" panel type fixture. I would not be concerned with it.
 

Fubard

Well-Known Member
That is why i like to work with datasheets and calculations and graphs. it can be a bit overwhelming if you don't have all the info. like the efficacy table seen earlier in this thread.
Then you're hoping the data is right.

Now with QB's and brand name strip setups we can trust the data sheets, but we can't on many other options, so sometimes it is handy to have something that can give you an indication of what you have built. As.I say, a phone app is no use when it tops out early, so 10 buck lux meter will give you a better indication of how even your cover is.
 

Sour Wreck

Well-Known Member
View attachment 4159834

This was the 7 x 320w with 7 strips on each. they are spaced 3 inches in this pic, but like i said i rate that was too much light.

this one is 480w with 12 stirps
View attachment 4159840

the 7 x 320w's setup

View attachment 4159841
i like what you have going. looks like it does very well growing.

i currently have 16 f strips being driven by a meanwell hlg-480h-48a covering a 4x4 area. so far i am pretty impressed.

i have 1 more hps to eliminate in the flowering room as soon as i save up for more strips and a driver.
 

wietefras

Well-Known Member
I would not lay the strips out evenly, its a waste as you will get centre hotspots, wider in the centre than the edges
There really is no hotspot with strips. They are so spread out, where would a hotspot have the space to appear? What you do see is a bit of a "dark area" around the walls where there is slightly less light, because you lose it on the walls. However if you put more light there ... you mostly end up losing more light on the walls.

There is only a minor difference in uniformity when you space the strips closer to the walls than in the center and you end up with slightly less light overall because more light is lost on the walls. If any measurable effect is caused by this at all, it will most likely have a negative effect on yield.

I ran some simulations and it really only mattered a few tenths of a percent in average light intensity and uniformity really wasn't any different at all.

It's funny how there were people spacing their strips/COBs away or even going through the trouble of angling them away from the walls. Saying this is better. Yet now there are also people who do the opposite and put their strips closer to the wall. Also saying this is better. As usual in cases where people claim that two opposites are "best", the truth usually is that there is no benefit in either.
 

Shadrock15

Member
There really is no hotspot with strips. They are so spread out, where would a hotspot have the space to appear? What you do see is a bit of a "dark area" around the walls where there is slightly less light, because you lose it on the walls. However if you put more light there ... you mostly end up losing more light on the walls.

There is only a minor difference in uniformity when you space the strips closer to the walls than in the center and you end up with slightly less light overall because more light is lost on the walls. If any measurable effect is caused by this at all, it will most likely have a negative effect on yield.

I ran some simulations and it really only mattered a few tenths of a percent in average light intensity and uniformity really wasn't any different at all.

It's funny how there were people spacing their strips/COBs away or even going through the trouble of angling them away from the walls. Saying this is better. Yet now there are also people who do the opposite and put their strips closer to the wall. Also saying this is better. As usual in cases where people claim that two opposites are "best", the truth usually is that there is no benefit in either.
I appreciate the feedback but at the moment hotspots are last in my list I was hoping some-one would recommend a/ the proper driver for the f- series strips i pictured above. And if anyone had an opinion on the 1ft vs the 2 ft strips that would be awesome I dont mean to disregard the comments above but my current situation is an empty spot not a hot one lol thanks in advance folks
 

shimz

Well-Known Member
Meanwell HLG-240H-24A will run those 8 in parallel at around 75% of max. You can dial down from there to get the output you require.

Use the size strips that fit best in your space.
 

dbrn32

Active Member
Any chance you could help determine the correct driver to run 12 of these strips in a 7 sq ft area- i would like to run them around 1-1.2 amps to increase my output some and bring them up closer to the f series output but these strips are half the cost and failry efficient - i think
View attachment 4160032

This is the info for 560mm eb strip, and it later post you list part number for 280mm eb strip. Voltage is same but current ratings are different. You should probably get that straight before selecting a driver.
 

wietefras

Well-Known Member
I appreciate the feedback but at the moment hotspots are last in my list I was hoping some-one would recommend a/ the proper driver for the f- series strips i pictured above. And if anyone had an opinion on the 1ft vs the 2 ft strips that would be awesome I dont mean to disregard the comments above but my current situation is an empty spot not a hot one lol thanks in advance folks
Well at least you don't waste time figuring out the "optimal" spacing pattern :)

Problem with picking a driver is that it's also based on personal preference. Type of wiring, efficiency, multiple smaller or one big driver etc.

Guess it's more a check list to arrive at what to use than a sinlge piece of advice.

For the F-series you could get a 1050mA constant current driver (Serial wiring) or 700mA if you want to go nuts on efficiency. Or go for a 24V constant voltage driver (parallel wiring).

Here are a lot of handy pages with info on what this all means: http://ledgardener.com/diy-guides/

One you decide on which route to go, just pick the drivers with the amount of watts you need/want.

Or simply copy what someone else did. Ledgardner lists a lot of example fixtures for different sizes grow.
 

welight

Well-Known Member
There really is no hotspot with strips. They are so spread out, where would a hotspot have the space to appear? What you do see is a bit of a "dark area" around the walls where there is slightly less light, because you lose it on the walls. However if you put more light there ... you mostly end up losing more light on the walls.

There is only a minor difference in uniformity when you space the strips closer to the walls than in the center and you end up with slightly less light overall because more light is lost on the walls. If any measurable effect is caused by this at all, it will most likely have a negative effect on yield.

I ran some simulations and it really only mattered a few tenths of a percent in average light intensity and uniformity really wasn't any different at all.
If they are so spread out, then you will get shadowing, with not enough light, you cant have it every way you want it. You cant ignore the cumulative value of light and why should you, just work with it. I have loaded many ies files for strips into simulation programs also and never seen 'a few tenths of a percent in average light intensity' from centre to edge, would love to see your example here
 

wietefras

Well-Known Member
If they are so spread out, then you will get shadowing, with not enough light, you cant have it every way you want it. You cant ignore the cumulative value of light and why should you, just work with it. I have loaded many ies files for strips into simulation programs also and never seen 'a few tenths of a percent in average light intensity' from centre to edge, would love to see your example here
"Shadowing" really? It's led strips man. I think you are completely missing the point here.

Also, those "few tenths of a percent" is the difference between evenly spaced strips and strips more shifted towards the walls. Uniformity difference was also negligible and that's an area where you need quite big differences to matter at all.

Either way, this is another example were growers try to micromanage things while for the plants it's doesn't matter at all. Plus the TS already stated that he doesn't care about this stuff, so
 

Shadrock15

Member
"Shadowing" really? It's led strips man. I think you are completely missing the point here.

Also, those "few tenths of a percent" is the difference between evenly spaced strips and strips more shifted towards the walls. Uniformity difference was also negligible and that's an area where you need quite big differences to matter at all.

Either way, this is another example were growers try to micromanage things while for the plants it's doesn't matter at all. Plus the TS already stated that he doesn't care about this stuff, so
In the case of the f strips my build will be 24x24 covering a 35x29 in area so shadowing and wall distance aint an issue. Nor will spacing on my propsed light bar. Each strip will consume 2.75 in. And the edges of alu panel will be covered by 1/2 in aluminum L channel - my issue is being confused by how to run all 8 strips in series and not parallel and what driver would do. I assume that the strips will run in parallel because V- is so high <--- (pun) lol - ne way, i just want to know what driver would get me min. 220-240 watts after any driver loss - and still run at 48000 limens and up since that is the only way i can come close to calculating par/ ppfd - if some one can suggest a driver (personal preference doesnt matter to me ) because i dont have one just to het the strips to run efficient with good penetration and safely soooooo yeah that. I appreciate the post from SHIMZ my only question is 24v enough and if I ran a 240-48v in parralel would that be too much for the strips and do i need cc-cv or just cc or just cv and i want one that is dimmable internaly any help plz plz
I not that worried about all the manusha i aint micro managing I just want to build my my light 240. W for 250-260 bucks - na mean thanks guys
 
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